The Varsity team played its third weekend together at home in the Lake Placid Olympic Center, where they had two games against Norwich Academy 18U AAA. The squad was getting fired up for this weekend.

The Varsity team was hounding Norwich in the first period, leading to a goal by Griffin Mangan ‘26, deflecting a waist-high shot by Drew Tulloch ‘26 into the net. On the very next shift, Tulloch sniped one from the blue into the back of the net. The squad ended the first period up 2-0.\

The Varsity hockey team in action at the Olympic Center recently. Photo by Jacob Slagel ’26.

Throughout the second period, Northwood and Norwich kept going back and forth, not knowing which team would score next, until Norwich eventually got one into the back of the net, and the second period ended with the score 2-1.

The third period was tightly contested, but with 5 minutes left, a Norwich player dangled a Northwood defenseman and scored, tying the game 2-2, which is how the third period ended.

No goals were scored in overtime, sending the game to a shootout. In Round 1, Norwich opened with a shot that Northwood goalie Ethan Nau ’26 turned aside. Jackson Marchione ’27 went first for Northwood, but the Norwich netminder made the stop to keep it tied 2–2. In Round 2, Norwich scored to take a 3–2 lead, and Ray Peters ’27 couldn’t convert on his attempt. In Round 3, Nau came up big again with another save to keep Northwood alive. With a chance to tie it, Carson St. Louis ’27 skated in carrying Northwood’s hopes, but his shot missed the mark. Norwich claimed Game 1 in the shootout.

“It’s a tough loss when anyone loses in a shootout, but we will learn from this situation and come back head-hunting,” said Ryan Demers ‘26. “The team had a great game, showing amazing competition, but not the outcome we wanted, as the team will come to game two fired up and ready to play. Overall, this game was a close game with both teams going back and forth, with the parents and fans screaming their heads off in the rink,” Demers added.

In the second game, the Varsity squad came out determined to settle the score with Norwich. Despite that focus, they started slow, conceding two power-play goals in the first period. The tone shifted immediately in the second, when Elliott Murch ’27 buried a goal just ten seconds into the stanza to cut the deficit to one goal. Northwood continued to dominate in the offensive zone, and Joachim Neverdal ’26 tied it up with a power-play goal. The Huskies kept the pressure on as Justin MacLeod ’26 and Murch — with his second of the game — added goals to give Northwood a 4–2 lead.

But Norwich wasn’t done. They responded with two late goals before the end of the period to knot the game at 4–4. The third period was tightly contested until Norwich pulled ahead 5–4, only for Murch to complete his first-ever Northwood hat trick and tie it once again, 5–5. In overtime, both teams traded chances until Andrew Sherland ’26 fired a shot from a near-impossible angle, top shelf, to seal the OT win for Northwood.

“This game was intense with both teams battling it out for the whole three periods and overtime,” Ray Peters ’27 said. “The team’s structure throughout the game was amazing, from playing defense to offense. Overall, the game was fun to watch, and Varsity brought out amazing competition.”

Despite losing one game, the Varsity squad thinks it was a fun weekend, and they hope to cross paths with this opponent again.

The 25-26 season has just started for the Northwood boys U18 Varsity team. The Varsity team played its first two games against Somang U18 Prep at the team’s home rink, the Lake Placid Olympic Center. This was their first time playing together as a team.

The 2025 Varsity Hockey team at the Olympic Center in September 2025. Photo by Jacob Slagel ’25.

The Squad was getting fired up as their first game was about to kick off. The game was intense with both teams going back at each other, but Somang struck the first two goals on Ethan Nau ‘26. But the Varsity team ended up scoring a goal before the end of the first period, with Trey Noyce ‘28 scoring his first Northwood goal. The second period came off to a booming start for the varsity team, with an early goal by Ray Peters ‘27, scoring his first Northwood goal, which ended up tying the score. Somang Hockey answered with a goal at the end of the second period, taking the lead 3-2. The third period began, and the Varsity team was not ready to back down, as they wanted to take home the first win of the season. The team hounded Somang Hockey for the entire third period, which ultimately led to a win, with Carson St. Louis ‘27 and Joachim Neverdal ‘26 scoring a goal, securing a 4-3 victory.

“I was very impressed with the team’s first game. This team brought out a high level of competition against Somang. We were like hounds, and the way we were running our systems was amazing,” said Harry Vant ‘26.

Sunday rolled around, and the Varity team had their rematch game against Somang. In the second game, Somang came out head-hunting. This game was scoreless for the first and second period, with the goalies holding the fort at the net. In the third period, Ray Peters ’27 was set up on the power play, ready for the puck. As Harry Vant ‘26 shoots the puck, Somang’s goalie stops the puck, with it bouncing out to Ray Peters as he baseball swings the puck into the net, scoring the first goal in the game and his second goal of the season. The Varsity team won 1-0.

“The team played great with amazing structure throughout the game, with Ray Peters insane baseball swing goal. What really surprised me was our goaltending—Luke Hurlbut ‘26 and Luke Monaco ‘27 were amazing in the net, getting the first shutout of the 25-26 season. I am really excited about this year,” said Drew Tulloch ‘26.

The Varsity team had early success in their opening weekend, taking home two wins to start off the 25-26 season. They have a bright season ahead of them.