The 46th Annual Northwood Invitational was a mix of emotions for the Northwood teams. Some were ecstatic, some satisfied, and some disappointed. Overall, it was a great weekend of hockey and a celebration of the Northwood community.
Girls’ Hockey
The girls’ hockey team is the champion of the Northwood Invitational for the fourth year in a row. Photo: Mr. Michael Aldridge.
The Girls’ won their 4th straight championship while maintaining a perfect 5-0 record this weekend. On Saturday, the Huskies crushed Academie Ste. Cecile 11-3, and then on senior night beat Nichols School 6-0. Sunday brought more of the same, as they beat Appleby College 9-0 in the last game of pool play. In the semifinals later that day, Northwood beat Nichols 4-1. The championship on Monday was a rematch of last year, when Hilary Wilkin ’25 scored the game-winning goal in OT, but this year was nowhere near that. Northwood beat Appleby 7-2, extending their streak to 4! Outscoring opponents 37-6, the Huskies handled business and left no doubt. The Girls head to Minnesota this weekend for a huge weekend against Shattuck St. Mary’s School, NAHA, and more. “I am super proud of our team! Winning this tournament was huge for us and our confidence as we head into the back end of our season. We will build on this momentum and continue to work hard and win games,” said Penelope St. Pierre ’27.
Prep Hockey
The Prep Hockey Conference (PHC) crossover was a success as well. On Saturday, Northwood kicked off its weekend against #2-ranked Shattuck St. Mary’s School, and huge performances from Henry Kress ’26 with 2 goals and Adam Sherman ’26, who posted a 0.955 SV%, carried the Huskies to a 4-1 win, avenging an 8-1 loss to Shattuck earlier in the season. On Sunday, the boys faced the #1-ranked Culver Academies on senior day. After beating Shattuck less than 24 hours earlier, Northwood was pumped up for this game. It was a back-and-forth game as the 1st period ended 0-0. Culver got on the board first in the 2nd period, but a snipe from Patrick McCormick ’26 tied the game up 1-1 at the end of the 2nd period. Culver took a 2-1 lead in the 3rd period, but Anton Stackow ’27 scored on the power play to tie the game late. The game went into OT, where Culver eventually won 3-2. While still a loss, the Huskies battled hard and were proud of their efforts. On Monday, Northwood ended their weekend against St. Andrew’s College (SAC), a huge rival. Henry Kress ’26 started things just 18 seconds in with a goal. Unfortunately, it was pretty much all SAC from there. In the 3rd period, there was a long parade to the penalty box, and the game ended in a 5-2 win for SAC. Prep will head to the St. Andrew’s College MacPherson Tournament next week and is looking to bring home some hardware. After this weekend, Northwood remains 2nd in the East Division and 5th in the overall league standings. “We had a great team effort this weekend. It was a shame to fall short of Culver and SAC, but we have momentum to grow from, especially leading into MacPherson. The atmosphere was also great and super fun to play in all weekend. It was great to see my family on senior night, and I am glad that we performed how we did,” said Patrick McCormick ’26. Can we add the PHC logo?
Varsity Hockey
The Varsity team in action earlier this season. Photo: Jacob Slagel ’26.
Varsity opened its weekend against Bridgton Academy on Saturday. The game was deadlocked at 0-0 until Griffin Mangan ’26 sniped from in the slot to make it 1-0. Bridgton then tied it up 1-1. Then, Elliott Murch ’27 exploded for 2 goals, and the Huskies won 3-1. On Sunday morning, Northwood faced Blyth Academy and handled them with ease, winning 6-1. On Sunday night, Varsity had their senior night game against St. Francis Prep and honored 10 seniors for their dedication to Northwood. The game was a gritty matchup that featured a fight and saw 3 players ejected, including Jett Travis ’27 and Ray Peters ’27. Regulation ended 2-2, and per the tournament rules, they went directly to a 3-round shootout. Luke Hurlbut ’26 was fantastic in net, stopping both attempts by St. Francis. Elliott Murch ’27 scored on the first attempt, and Jack Pitts ’27 ended the game with a snipe for a 3-2 Huskies win! On Monday, Varsity faced Philadelphia Little Flyers in the semifinals at 7:15 in the morning, playing a tight game that came down to the wire, but ultimately lost 1-0. Atlantic Coast Academy won the tournament 6-2 over the Philadelphia Little Flyers. While not the outcome they wanted, the Huskies played hard all weekend and have a 3-1 record to show for it. They play Bishop Timon at home this weekend and look to continue their strong play. “I am happy with how the boys played this weekend. It definitely hurts that we weren’t able to win, but it’s nothing to hang our heads on. We have important games coming up, and we need to keep up our momentum and continue to work hard in practice and in the weight room,” said Ryan Demers ’27. Can we add a picture of the team in a huddle (preferably one different from the one in the last article)?
U16 Hockey
The U16 team had itself a very solid weekend. They started their weekend with a monstrous 10-1 win over Lovell Academy and then beat the Philadelphia Little Flyers 5-1. Heading into the second day, they faced Bishops College. The 16s split with Bishops College earlier in the season, so this was a very tight game. Ultimately, Bishops won 3-2. Northwood earned itself a spot in the semifinals against Nichols School, whom they handled easily, 9-3. The championship was set between Northwood and Atlantic Coast Academy on Monday. Northwood jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to Kelly Matozzo ’27, and not long after, Gavin Boccard ’27 tallied another one to extend the lead to 2-0. However, once the second half started, Atlantic Coast took all the momentum, netting a goal 5 minutes in the power play to make it 2-1. Then, a wild shot from behind the net deflected off Riley Doyle’s blocker and went in, evening things 2-2. With all the momentum, Atlantic Coast scored again to make it 3-2, then scored an empty netter for a 4-2 final. The final game was a bummer, but the weekend wasn’t a total failure, as the 16s still posted a 4-2 record and gained some good momentum heading into the PG Winter Classic this coming weekend. “This weekend was fun for sure. It was my first Northwood tournament, and it was great having my friends here to support me. It sucks that we didn’t win, but we need to find a way to close out games, and we are working on it. This momentum is much needed as we head into a tough stretch of games at the PG Winter Classic and South Kent,” said goalie Everett Marin ’28. Can we add a picture of the 16s team in the huddle or something?
