The girls’ hockey team returned to Burlington, Vermont last weekend to compete in the Rice Prep Tournament. The girls went 5-0, winning the tournament and extending their historic winning streak to seventeen games.
The Girls’ Hockey Team poses with the championship plaque as winners of the Rice Prep Hockey Tournament in Vermont. The team’s 17-0 start is the best in program history (Photo provided).
The first game was against Ontario Hockey Academy and play was in favor of the Huskies. Right from the start, they took control of the play. Mackenzie Hull (Forward, 2021) scored just a minute into the game off assists from Aimee Headland (Forward, 2020) and Ella Fesette (Forward, 2022). In the second period, they continued their fierce play as Hadley Swedlund scored pushing the final score to 2-0 Huskies. Emilie Venne (Goaltender, 2020) recorded the shutout in net.
The second game was against the East Coast Wizards and, similar to the first game, the girls dominated play right from the drop of the puck. In the first Hull, Fesette, Maggie MacNeil (Defense, 2020), and Ashlyn Mcgrath (Forward, 2021) all scored to make the score 4-0 going into the second. McGrath’s goal marked her first tally in a Northwood sweater. But the Wizards were not going to back down, and they netted one to make the score 4-1 going into the second. In the second, McGrath added two more to record her first Husky hat trick and Hull added her second of the game to push the final score to 7-1. Rachel Hinkley (Goaltender, 2021) had a solid performance in net.
The third game was against the hosts, Rice Knights. The play was evenly-matched between the two teams as the first period saw no goals scored. In the second, however, Magdalena Erbenova (Defense, 2020) scored with a shot from the point to give Northwood, but Rice responded just a couple of minutes later to tie the game at 1. Toward the end of the second, McGrath scored the game-winner to make the final score to 2-1 for the Huskies. Venne played an excellent game in net.
The fourth game was against NAPHA opponent King’s-Edgehill School (KES). The game saw lots of scoring chances for both teams but KES capitalized first and took the lead 1-0 to end the first period. The Huskies came into the second with a fierce energy that wasn’t going to allow them to lose. Headland, MacNeil, and McGrath all scored to make the final score 3-1 in favor of the Huskies. This win earned the Huskies a spot in the championship game the following morning. Hinkley recorded the shootout in net.
The championship game was a rematch against league rival KES. Special teams were the theme of the championship as the Huskies got on the scoreboard early. Miranda Bookman (Forward, 2020) scored on the powerplay and a couple of minutes later Anna Pavlasova (Forward, 2023) scored shorthanded and then Marina Alvarez (Defense,2021) scored pushing the score to 3-0. However, KES wasn’t going to back down, and they scored late in the period to make the score 3-1 at the end of the first. In the second, Pavlasova added her second of the game off assists from Bookman and Headland to make the final score 4-1 and take the Rice Prep Tournament Championship. Venne played a good game in net.
With this weekend’s wins, the Huskies are 17-0 on the season, by far the best start in the history of the program. Up next for the squad is the Detroit 2 Nations tournament in Detroit, Michigan. Follow the Northwood Girls hockey Twitter (@nwgirlshockey) and Instagram (@northwood.girlshockey) for live updates year-round.
