The Prep Team after the championship win at the USHL American Cup (photo provided).
After a few disappointing weekends before Thanksgiving break, the Prep team was finally able to catch a break. The boys fought hard against the New Jersey Rockets, Long Island Gulls, and BK Selects to mark the American Cup as their second tournament/showcase win. Here is how the memorable weekend played out.
The weekend started with an intense game against the New Jersey Rockets, which Northwood beat earlier in the season. The Rockets were a talented offensive team, but they did not want to play the gritty style that the Huskies play. The game was intense for all three periods, where regulation ended at 2-2, forcing overtime. The boys came out strong in OT, and Nikita Mescheryakov ’23 buried a great goal, giving the team the weekend’s first win.
The next game against the Gulls would not bear the same success. The boys had played the Gulls before and lost to them, but when the Huskies play to their potential, they have a great chance of beating them. Sadly, the team could not pull through in the second game, and the Gulls won 2-0.
Luckily this wasn’t just an elimination tournament, so the boys had a do-or-die game against Bishop Kearney Selects later that same day. This was perhaps one of the team’s best games of the weekend. They came out strong, the boys were yelling on the bench for each other, and the team fought back with ferocity despite giving up an early goal. This spirit gave the Huskies the lead and allowed them to close the game 4-2.
With another win under their belt, it was time for the semifinal rematch against the Rockets. The boys slaughtered them with ease and were able to advance to an exciting championship game against the Gulls.
The team could not lose again, especially tournament championship was on the line. The game had a fantastic atmosphere. You could feel the competitiveness in the air. The game went back and forth in a nail-biting fashion until it was 2-2 going into the last minute of play. With a stunning 19 seconds remaining, Cole Bauman ‘23 was able to send one home, giving the Huskies a 3-2 lead. In a heart-stopping few seconds, the boys were able to win the championship, beating the Gulls when it mattered.
The Huskies performed great this past weekend, and it will be fantastic to see if the team can make this a turning point in their season. From this point on, all the teams faced will be great opponents, and coming up this weekend is a league game against Mount St. Charles and the Overspeed Tournament.
We look forward to seeing how the boys perform this weekend, and we hope they can keep up the great work in making Northwood proud.
The boys wanted me to give a special Shoutout to Jeremiah’s Tavern in Rochester for a great pre-game meal on Sunday. As always, go Huskies!
