Peak Pathways have continued to leave a mark on the Northwood community. Brac Kelley ‘24, Sophia Deanzeris ‘25, and Shayna Deutsch ’24 are collaborating on a sports management-related Peak Pathway. Early this year, they formed a SpikeBall league, and in January, they helped manage the Northwood Invitational Hockey Tournament. Now, they’ve come up with another concept that promotes our school’s theme of Unity. The three have organized a four-on-four competition for the three hockey teams that will happen just before spring break.

All round-robin games will begin on Tuesday at 8:45 a.m., with playoffs the following day. There are twelve teams in all, each with 5-6 players. The 12th team consists exclusively of faculty members. All games will last 8 minutes, and the round-robin will finish after regulation, meaning no overtime or shootouts. If a team is tied after round robin, the most victories and fewest goals against will be used as tiebreakers.

Players will have two minutes between games, so don’t be late since there are consequences. The Tournament Handbook states, “If you are late for your game, your team will have to play down a player for the number of minutes you were late!” These are not long games; therefore, participants, don’t be late!

With this being a co-ed event, there has been significant debate about the no-hitting rule. Boys are used to hitting, but girls aren’t. In this competitive environment, removing something from the game has sparked much discussion on campus.

Our tournament directors, Kelley, Deanzeris, and Deutsch, created these teams. “We paired up the girls with whom they are close with. That way, they would have someone they are comfortable with because being with the boys may be intimidating,” Duetsch explained. “We put the boys in a random team generator that came up with 11 teams, each with four guys, and then we put the girls with the guys depending on who is friends. We did move around teams depending on if they were unfair,” Deutsch added.  You know who to contact for complaints or challenges regarding the rosters.

Unfortunately, we cannot live stream these games at this time; however, if you are reading from home, be sure to check back in a few days to find out who your champions are and the memories and humorous stories that will be made!!

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.

Student-athletes devote endless hours to their sports for months on end, on top of their/ demanding academic schedule. Since sports teams are often on the road, home games are eagerly awaited. Every year, there is one weekend when all sports teams are at home. The Northwood Invitational Hockey Tournament is unique in that it draws a crowd of both participants and fans. The Northwood community has the ideal opportunity to show support for their teams, and they did just that.

The student cheering section at the 2024 Northwood Invitational Hockey Tournament Girls Championship game. Nico Cedeno ’24 is on the left, with the drum. Photo: Mr. Michael Aldridge.

Nicolas Cedeno ‘24, who brings positive energy into the community, brought the same energy to the games at the tournament, along with what appeared to be the whole school. “It is important to support the other teams on campus,” Cedeno said. “I know what it’s like to be in a game and feel the energy from the fans, and I want to give that same energy to the hockey players,” he added.

The fans not only showed up to watch, but they brought instruments. Nico was on the drums, which caught much attention, including from parents with opposing teams. “When we were at the girls’ game, a lady from the other team was upset because we were loud and we were doing chants against her daughter’s team, but that is what it’s all about, and we love that.”

The girls’ championship game was the highlight of the tournament. “When the girls had their championship game, we were so hyped that we brought many more instruments instead of just the drums. It looked like the whole school was there, so it was exciting when we were all dancing and cheering. When they won, we all went to the ice and took pictures, and it was special because we were all family at the end of the day,” Cedeno said.

Nico summed up his goal for that game’s cheering section: “If you were not with us, you would want to be with us.”

The back-to-back Northwood Invitational Champions Girls’ Hockey Team. Photo: Mr. Michael Aldridge.

Players and spectators together created a ton of new memories. Assistant captain Katie Demers ‘24 has competed in three Northwood Tournaments. She made it to the finals every time and helped her team to win the last two. She has created many memories in those years but says none compared to their championship game. “I have been here for three years and have never seen a crowd that size. We took our victory lap and carried the trophy to the corner where everyone was; it looked like the entire school was there,” Demers said.

The student section moved throughout the rink, and many people remember them being behind the players’ bench. “It felt like a mosh pit behind our bench; I couldn’t hear myself talking, and the glass was trembling,” Gracie Hurlbut ’25 said.

A cheer you should know to become a Husky Fanatic:

Nico’s favorite cheer is “Northwood’s on fire.” We usually do it after someone scores. For example, when Brac scores, we would chant:

“Brac is on fire!
Your defense is terrified!”