Senior Sara Donatello on the breakout in action at the 2018 Northwood Invitational Tournament.
This Huskies hosted five girls teams in the 39th annual Northwood Invitational Tournament. The girls were undefeated with two ties against tough competition in round robin play, and faced Selects Academy U16 in the championship game.
The Huskies started the weekend by facing Appleby College from Oakville, Ontario. It was clear from the first puck drop that Northwood was competing to send a message. The girls immediately took over the play and Moe Tsukimoto (Forward, 2018) scored on a rush to take the lead 1-0. After a few minutes of back-and-forth hockey, Appleby was able to capitalize on a rush tying the game 1-1. The first half of the game was evenly played by both sides, with each team having ample scoring opportunities. By the time the second half came, Appleby had taken control of the offensive play, but the Northwood defense was able to hold off to preserve the tie. Ashley Davis (Goalie, 2017 PG) posted the tie in net.
The following morning, the Huskies faced off against state rivals Selects Academy U19. The play was dominated heavily by Selects throughout both halves, forcing the Northwood defense to hold strong. It wasn’t until late in the second half that Sara Donatello (Defense, 2018) made a stretch pass to Keeley Rose (Forward, 2018) who buried the game-winning goal with a slap shot, top shelf. Davis backstopped the win saving all 35 shots.
Just a few hours later, the Huskies took on a familiar RNS squad in a rematch of last weekend’s league game. The effort from the girls started right out of the gate. It was crucial that the Huskies get at least a point to qualify for the championship game. After back and forth play, Sierra Benjamin (Defense, 2018) was able to break the RNS defense on the power play, putting the Huskies up 1-0. A few minutes into the second half, Tsukimoto scored on the rush to extend the lead to 2-0. RNS struck back twice to tie the game. Overall, Northwood outshot RNS 27-15 but was unable to capitalize on all of their opportunities, resulting in a 2-2 tie. Courtney Fairchild (Goalie, 2020) posted the tie in net.
After going 1-0-2 in the round robin play, the Huskies collected enough points to qualify for the championship game. The girls faced off against Selects Academy U16 on Monday morning. For the majority of the first period the Huskies were held in their defensive zone. Despite outshooting the Huskies decisively, Selects Academy was only able to crack the Northwood defense once, and took the lead 0-1 at the half. After a stern talk in the locker room, the girls came out on fire in the second half. The Huskies scored on their first two shots of the half, taking the lead 2-1. Aimee Headland (Forward, 2019) struck first on an opportunity out in front, followed by Nicki Kendrick (Forward, 2018) knocking in one back door on the power play. After taking the lead, the Northwood offensive rush fizzled, and Selects was able to retake control of the Huskies defensive zone. A few minutes later, Selects scored off a rebound to tie the game 2-2. With time winding down and tension building, Selects scored once more from the point to take the lead 3-2. Davis saved 35 of 38 shots in the loss.
With this weekend’s results, the Huskies move to 24-8-5 on the season. This coming weekend, the Huskies will travel to Syracuse University to play back to back NAPHA games against state rivals, Nichols School.
Follow Northwood Girls Hockey games on Twitter (@nwsgirlshockey) live play by play updates year round.
All photos by Mr. Michael Aldridge
