Many Northwood students returned home during the February break, but the Girls’ Hockey Team remained together and had a great time. They were busy with activities ranging from tubing at Titus Mountain to driving to Arlington, Virginia, for a tournament.

Girls Hockey at Titus Mountain. Photo by Mr. Trevor Gilligan.

Sophia DeAnzeris ‘25, Laura Dyke ‘25, Eliza Quackenbush ‘25, and Jorja Gillis ‘25 at Titus Mountain. Photo provided.

To start the girls’ vacation, they hit the slopes and went tubing at Titus Mountain. The girls turned everything into a competition and decided to divide into three teams for a relay. “I went down more than everybody else because I ran up when I got to the bottom,” Shayna Deutsch ’24 said. “My favorite part was when everyone went down at once. Gilly formed teams, and you had to go down, run up, and tap a teammate until everyone finished. When I was running up, Katie two-handed me, which I felt was unfair, but overall, it was a lot of fun,” Deutsch added.

Before driving to Arlington, they headed to St. Lawrence University. The team had the opportunity to see Northwood alum and current St. Lawrence player Kennedy Wilson ’22 practice. Shortly after, the Huskies faced the Ottawa Lady Sens U22, Canada’s eighth-ranked team. The Huskies dominated play, winning 4-1, giving them momentum heading into one of the biggest weekends of the year.

The team at the Wahington Monument. Photo by Trevor Gilligan.

They arrived at Arlington on Thursday. They saw the Washington Monument, Reflecting Pool, Lincoln Memorial, and World War II Memorial. Every year during the JWHL Challenge Cup, players from each team in the league get to take part in coaching a clinic for young hockey players. This year, Scout Oudemool ’24, Katie Demers ’24, Shayna Deutsch ’24, Laura Dyke ’25, and Jorja Gillis ’25 all had the opportunity to get involved. “It was great to come together with players from different teams and work with them to teach younger players. This was absolutely something I loved doing and took a lot out of it,” said Scout Oudemool ‘24.

Friday morning, everyone got to watch the Washington Capitals practice. Some were lucky enough to get photos with some of the players.

Jorja Gillis ‘25 and Gracie Hurlbut ‘25 with Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie

Later that day, they played their first game of the weekend against the top team in the country and perhaps the best team they would face all season. Oceanne Thiffault ’26 had an incredible game, allowing only two goals on 32 shots against a team with 17 Division 1 commits.

The next day, they played two more games against tough competition. In the morning, the Huskies faced a strong goaltender and tied 1-1. Later that night, they defeated Culver 4-1, with three goals coming in a solid third period.

On their final day, they played two more games. Their first game was against a physical team and familiar opponent, Belle Tire. The Huskies won 4-3, completing a season sweep over them. Later that night, they played their final game of the weekend, which was their finest. They faced off against Canada’s sixth-ranked team and won 6-2, including a hatrick from Brac Kelley ’24.