The Prep team in Minnesota. Photo provided.
The Northwood Prep hockey team played three big games late last month against outstanding teams in Faribault, Minnesota. This was an important weekend for many reasons. First, Northwood had not won against Shattuck St Mary, ranked number one in North America, in the last 4 years. Also, they needed 3 huge wins to position themselves in a good spot for the playoffs. Lastly, they flew over there, which was a fun experience for many of them but also expensive.
The Prep were on an eight-game winning streak, winning two big tournaments, so they needed to keep the momentum going. Their first game was in the morning, against Canada’s number one ranked team, St Andrews College. ‘’They are big and skilled but stupid, so we will use that to our advantage to create smart plays and confuse them on the ice,’’ said Peter Moore ‘25 before the game.
The Prep team was more than prepared for this game; they won 5-2 and kept the streak going. Jake Shingles ‘25 had an unreal performance, carrying his team on his shoulders for that game. ‘’We played well and stuck to what worked, but we would have never won without Shingles; the saves he was making were outrageous,’’ said Prep Team captain Micheal Peluso, ‘25.
The next game would be even more challenging as the opponent had only lost 4 times in 40 games this season. The guys were hungry for this win, and they knew what to fix from the last time they played them when they lost 6-3. ‘’ I have been dreaming of beating this team since I started playing hockey,’’ said Henry Kress ‘26. Ty Simonet ‘25, scored the first goal in the last five minutes of the first period giving the team a 1-0 lead and momentum for the second period. The second period was like ping-pong hockey. Shattuck were limited in their scoring chances as Northwood was playing unreal defense, but when they did have chances, Jake Shingles ‘25 was in his net, standing on business. Unfortunately, in the third period, Shattuck found a way to score a lucky goal; it was now tied 1-1. Parker Thompson ‘25 then replied with a big goal, and in the last seconds of the game, William Schneid ‘25 scored an empty netter, giving us the 3-1 win.
‘’We just beat Shattuck; I’ve never been this happy in my life,’’ Peter Moore, ‘25, mentioned with a huge smile on his face.
They had one more game; it was an early one, and it was against a good team that they had already beat twice in the season, Culver Academy. They started slow and lazy, resulting in a one-goal deficit in the first period. Shane Tronoski ‘25 then tied it to make it 1-1 but unfortunately, they got scored on three times and lost the game 4-1.
’’The boys had a Shattuck hangover,’’ Andrew Donatello mentioned after the game. The streak ended, and the boys were devastated. ‘’It sucks, but we must keep our heads up; we played our best hockey this season; let’s be proud of this weekend,’’ Head Coach Steve Mallaro said in the locker room.
The Northwood Prep came back with two huge wins and a tough loss. Let’s hope they keep up the good work in the upcoming weekend, as they will play their most challenging tournament this season.
