The Prep team after winning the 2025 Northwood Invitational tournament. Photo provided.

The Prep Hockey team is at home this weekend for their last league games before the Prep Hockey Conference playoffs in Minnesota. The Huskies take on Mount St. Charles this weekend, on Saturday at 7 pm, and Sunday at 11:30 am. The Prep team is looking to bounce back after dropping both games to South Kent last weekend. Momentum will play a big factor in the Huskies performance at the PHC finals next week! The Huskies are at a season split with Mount St. Charles, having beaten them once and losing to them once. They hope to sweep their division rivals at home in front of their home crowd.

Senior Forward and Captain, Parker Thompson, had this to say about the weekend, “We are eager to get back into the win column before heading into the PHC finals. We have had a great second half of the year and want to continue to build our momentum.” Thompson then added, “I’ve played against these guys for the past three years, I don’t enjoy playing them, I would really love to sweep these guys at home for the last time.”

“I can’t believe we’re already this close to the end. Time really has flown by this year.” Senior Defensemen, Patrick McCormick said. “I don’t want to take a single moment for granted this weekend. It could be potentially our last home games; I would really like to remember my last home game with a positive rather than a negative.” McCormick then added, “This weekend is also just a stepping stone for next weekend; we need to get rolling again. Momentum is going to play a huge factor in the Playoffs; we need to have that upper hand going into Minnesota.

Junior Defenseman Miles Van Mullen played at Mount St. Charles last year; he spent only one year at the school before taking his talents to the Northwood Prep Hockey team. “I would really love to sweep them. It is always nice to beat your former team and teammates. They’ve been texting me as of late, talking some trash; it will be nice to shove their words back in their face this weekend. I’m super excited to play them this weekend. It should be a lot of fun.”

Recently, the Varsity team travelled to New England Sports Center in Marlborough, Massachusetts, for a United Tier 1 Hockey League weekend. This was their second league weekend. Entering the weekend, Northwood was 3-3 in the league and was looking to add to its win total this weekend.

The Varsity team in action in Lake Placid earlier this season. Photo: Jacob Slagel ’26.

The Varsity team in action in Lake Placid earlier this season. Photo: Jacob Slagel ’26.

The Varsity team played its first game of the weekend against Velocity Academy. During the first half, Northwood was all over Velocity, up and down the ice, controlling the game at the right pace. Northwood starts the scoring with Elliott Murch ’27 sniping one past the goalie, taking the lead 1-0. Then, Velocity came off hot, scoring two goals on Luke Hurlbut ’26 back-to-back to take the lead 2-1, and that is when the team needed to wake up. Northwood answered back with a goal before the end of the first half, and Andrew Sherland ’26 tied the score at 2-2.

In the second half, Northwood came out with a different mindset, slowing the game down to the Northwood brand of hockey. The Varsity team scored a goal to break the tie by Justin MacLeod ’26, making the score 3-2. The team was all over the Velocity, scoring another goal by Jett Travis ’27, making the score 4-2. Velocity was finding no life in the second half, with Northwood scoring the finishing goal by Griffin Mangan ’26 with an open net goal, taking the win 5-2 over Velocity Academy.

“I believe that the team plays great all over the ice,” said Harry Vant ’26. “The team was able to bounce back on Velocity to secure the win and play the Northwood brand of hockey,” Harry added.

The Varsity team plays its second game of the weekend against Epic Academy. In the first half, the game was back-and-forth, with neither team able to score first, but Epic took the lead on a goal by Ethan Nau ’26, 1-0. Northwood took the goal to heart and answered back with a goal by Jackson Marchione ’27, who was able to sneak one past the Epic goalie, tying the game 1-1.

During the second half of the game, both teams have been going back and forth for many minutes, draining down period down to its final 8 minutes with Epic Academy scoring a goal on Ethan, making the score 2-1. Northwood was not done scoring a goal with 5 minutes left on the game clock by Jett Travis ’27, making the score 2-2. The game-ending Epic came down the ice at speed and scored the game-winning goal, winning 3-2. Epic Academy took the win over Northwood 3-2.

“It sucks to lose, but the team played a great game up and down the ice playing a 200-foot game,” Drew Tulloch ’26 said. “The team just needs to put this game behind us and focus on the next game moving forward and come out with the W,” Drew added.

The Varsity team plays its third game of the weekend against the New Hampshire Avalanche. In the first half, Northwood came off slow; they weren’t pounding the puck or being physical. Then, Northwood had a wakeup call by the Avalanche, almost scoring a goal to open the scoring. Northwood switched its mindset and scored the first goal on a beautiful play by Elliott Murch ’27, who set up his linemate for the score, making it 1-0 at the end of the first half.

During the second half, Northwood came out flying, scoring a goal on the power play by Drew Tulloch ’26, a snipe from the blueline bottom right corner, making the score 2-0. The game was going back and forth until Northwood scored again by Justin MacLeod ’26, a snipe in the high slot, passed the Avalanche goalie, carrying the score 3-0. Northwood takes the win over the New Hampshire Avalanche 3-0.

“The team played amazingly all over the ice. The structure we played in all three of the zones was perfect,” Ryan Demers ’27 said. The goals scored during the game were incredible. Scoring three beautiful goals was fun to watch,” Ryan added.

Varsity plays its final game of the weekend against Northeast Academy. In the first half, the teams went back and forth, with both goalies securing the pipes. Deep into the first half, Northwood was able to find a goal on the power play by Drew Tulloch ’26, a snipe from the top of the circle, zooming past the Northeast goalie, making the score 1-0 at the end of the first half.

In the second half, Northwood came out flying on Northeast. Northwood was putting up the shots, but the Northeast was holding the fort well throughout the second half. Until Northwood scored another goal by Justin Macleod ’26, making the game 2-0 for Northwood. The Varsity team takes the win over Northeast Academy 2-0.

“The team played amazingly throughout the game, structures, and systems. Overall, the team did their job,” said Luke Hurlbut ’26. “The team played amazingly this weekend, and now I am excited for the South Kent weekend,” Luke added.

The Varsity team had a great weekend, going 3-1, and is now 6-4 in this league. Let us hope the Varsity team remains hot throughout the rest of the season.

The FIFA World Cup is a golden trophy that is awarded to the winners of the FIFA World Cup association football tournament. Photo: ESPN.

The biggest sporting event in the world is approaching, and you mustn’t miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. From June 11 to July 19^th, 2026, the FIFA World Cup will be the main conversation around the globe. What makes this year’s tournament even more special is that the tournament will be co-hosted by Mexico, Canada, and the United States for the first time in history. This will make North America a focus worldwide.

There will be 16 cities spread across the continent, hosting matches and turning iconic stadiums into the center of the sports world. The games will be hosted in Canadian cities, including Toronto and Vancouver, in Mexico City, and across the United States. Each game is likely to have a full crowd as many people are flying in from different continents to support their country. Luckily enough, this year’s venue is convenient for all the fans here in America.

This tournament is special for Northwood School, as it has an exceptional soccer program and students-athletes with diverse cultures. The Northwood student body has just under 200 students, and 24 countries are represented. This tournament will be a terrific way for students of diverse cultures to share experiences that they will remember for the rest of their lives. In the dining hall, you might hear celebrating and some loud shouts, but that is what makes this tournament so special.

World Cup Predictions from some of the U17 players at Northwood/Black Rock FC:

Jorley Neto ‘27: “Brazil will definitely win the World Cup.”

Abdul Fuseini ‘28: “I think Ghana will win it this year.”

Samuel Andoh ‘28: “Spain will win.”

Philippe Joly ‘29: “Canada will win it for sure.”

The official World Cup draw. Graphic by CBS News.

The closest World Cup venue for the Northwood community would be MetLife Stadium, just outside of New York City. MetLife Stadium will host 8 matches. One of the matches is the World Cup final on July 19^th. For the group stage, the scheduled matchups at MetLife Stadium are Brazil vs Morocco (June 13^th), France vs Senegal (June 16^th), Norway vs Senegal (June 22), Ecuador vs Germany (June 25^th), and Panama vs England (June 27^th). There will also be a round of 32 and a round of 16 hosted there.

MetLife Stadium. Photo: ESPN.

This Summer, the World Cup will be something that people both around the world and here in the Northwood Community will remember forever. It will be an experience full of celebration and diversity, and you mustn’t waste this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Prep players during a mid-season workout. Photo by Charles Pigeon ’26.

The Prep team has started a new workout plan with the new Tony Greco workout app. Tony Greco is a hockey trainer known for working with players on skill development, conditioning, and overall on-ice performance. He focuses on improving skating, puck control, strength, and hockey IQ, often tailoring programs to each athlete’s age, level, and goals, from youth players to more competitive levels.

“So, we started doing this program during January, and you can just see already the team is showing less fatigue at the end of the third period. That was the kind of problem for us, not playing a full game. The team played in a tournament at St Andrews, one of the biggest prep hockey tournaments, and we won after playing 5 games in a row, with the help of Tony. We played the game we wanted to play, as I believe this would bring us to the next level,” Prep hockey player Charles Pigeon ’26 said.

“The reason for bringing Tony’s workouts for the team is that Tony knows what he wants to do and work on. Tony and I have known each other for a long time now, and pretty much the whole hockey community knows Tony,” said Pigeon. “He’s a famous trainer on social media and works with high-level hockey players. Tony brought many young stars to the top of their game and created a workout app for athletes. I would want to bring this experience back to Northwood so players can receive the best training and reach the highest level of hockey,” Pigeon added.

“The team adapted to Tony’s workouts pretty well from the first time because it’s a different workout and it attacks different muscle groups, so guys were getting sore, but once they knew the rhythm of the workouts, it started to get easier for them,” Pigeon added.

“The Tony Greco workouts are better than our previous workout, and the team can agree with Tony being the right choice. The feedback I would get from the team after the workouts is that they enjoyed it and want to keep doing it. In the old workouts, there was a lot of heavy lifting and strength building, not much speed or cardio, and I feel like you need more speed throughout the season. That’s the team, and I agree that Tony is the best workout you can for building speed, strength, and Explosiveness,” Pigeon said.

@tonygrecotg

If your legs get heavy during games, it’s probably not a conditioning issue. Most players are strong enough. The problem is your ankles can’t handle the force when you’re in that low skating position. This bodyweight circuit fixes it. Hold low positions under fatigue so your body adapts to maintaining your stride when lactic acid builds up. Do this 2 times a week and you’ll feel the difference by your third period.

♬ original sound – Tony Greco

Tony Greco trains big guys like Ty Felhaber, Claude Giroux, Brandt Clarke, Dean Letourneau, and Jack Quinn.

The Tony Greco workouts are working for the prep team, and they will continue to use the Tony Greco app for the remainder of the season because they believe it is the best way to reach the top of their game.

The English Premier League has long been considered the best footballing (soccer) league in the world. Many argue that, historically, the style of football and quality of players across the league have made it the most exciting league to watch. To add, Premier League supporters point to the prestige and notoriety of its’ top clubs: Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and, as of the last decade, Manchester City. However, over the past few years, the league has quietly suffered a now-apparent decline, attributable to financial imbalances, an increasing emphasis on statistics and set pieces, and the controversy surrounding VAR, among many factors.

Lopsided financial structure

A chart listing club wage bills, next to 2024-25 league finish.

Football operates under a financial structure where there is no limit on how much a club can spend, there is no luxury tax, and there is no salary cap. This unique model is not found in almost any other sporting league in the world. This model means that there is no pot of cash divided equally across the league. Instead, clubs are funded through the investment of their owners, meaning that the richer your owner, the more money your club can spend. This model makes the sport unique, but it has also created a sport where the rich will almost always finish at the top, while clubs with less money are doomed to relegation to lower leagues.

Why is this such a big deal?

In the NFL, teams go through phases: they compete, and eventually they must rebuild. This cycle makes the standings interesting from year to year and gives fans of struggling organizations something to hope for. In the Premier League, fans of “poorer” clubs have nothing to be hopeful about, because the rich will outspend them – the rich can offer bigger contracts and bigger transfer fees to buy superstars. Clubs with less money are stuck in a perpetual state of mediocrity because they cannot outbid wealthier clubs for quality players.

Fact: In the past 20 years, only 5 different clubs have won a league title. Of those five, four are considered among the richest clubs in the world: Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool; the one outlier is Leicester City, whose betting odds were listed at 5000 to 1 (0.02%) at the beginning of their title-winning season.

The emergence of uninventive football

The decline of the Premier League stems not only from the sport’s financial and statistical aspects but also from the creativity and flair associated with “the beautiful game”. For decades, football was a form of art. The world has witnessed players such as Pélé, Ronaldinho, Messi, and, more recently, Neymar Jr. These players were truly special for their creativity and skill, and it is what made millions fall in love with the game. Sadly, there are not many of these types of players left in the sport, and especially not in the Premier League. It is not that there is no creativity among today’s footballers; it is that they are forced to play within a system that is predominantly focused on keeping possession rather than allowing individual moments of genius.

Photo from: sportskeeda.com

In addition to a lack of dribbling and creativity, all 20 Premier League clubs operate under one of two tactical systems: high-line, possession-based, or low-block, counter-attacking football. The top teams – who are also the wealthiest – operate in systems where they have the ball for 60-70% of the game, while the lesser teams – the ones with less money – are forced to play a really low defensive line to avoid being broken down. The result is boring football games, where one team has all its players sit deep, and the other spends most of the game passing around the pitch trying to break them down.

Of course, this does not mean every game is bland; there are still moments of brilliance. But generally speaking, many games are low-scoring and don’t see many shots on goal.

Fact: In the 2024-2025 season, the average Premier League game saw 6 shots on goal – not per team, but in total.

Many other factors have affected the watchability of the Premier League. Still, if you knew nothing before, you now understand how the financial imbalance, paired with a lack of exciting play, has created a league that is now a shell of its former self.

Illustration: EPSN.

The college football playoffs have finally come to a close after a long, hard-fought playoff. We saw blowout games, low-scoring games, and games that came down to the last 30 seconds. The playoffs featured teams like the Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs, Miami Hurricanes, and many other historically great football programs. The winners were…Indiana? When was the last time Notre Dame wasn’t the best football team in the state of Indiana? Indiana went from being a completely irrelevant football program to the best in the country in 2 years. They were great last year, but this year they took it to a whole new level, going 16-0. How is this possible?

The most obvious reason for the Hoosiers’ sudden rise to the top was the firing of their longtime head coach, Tom Allen, and the hiring of Curt Cignetti. Cignetti brought a winning culture to Indiana, something they haven’t felt in a long time. At his previous schools, he had already won 3 coach of the year awards and added 2 more during his 2 years at Indiana. Winning is a habit, and Cignetti is a pro at winning. When a reporter asked him what he does well as a coach, Cignetti’s response was brief but summed up his strengths. He said, “It’s pretty simple, I win… Google me.” His record at his prior schools shows this well at IUP. His record was 53-7 at Elon, 14-9 at JMU, and 27-2 at Indiana. Cignetti brings experience and a winning habit. If you compare Indiana’s roster to that of other teams, it doesn’t have the recruits Alabama or Georgia do. Indiana did not have a single 5-star football player on their roster, but it got it done through great coaching.

Another big reason is the transfer portal. Coach Cignetti brought 13 players from his JMU team to Indiana when he left JMU. Some notable players are Elijah Suratt and D’Angelo Ponds. Despite only standing at 5’9, Ponds made his argument as the top DB in all of college football this past season. Aside from the players Cignetti brought with him, over the two years he has coached Indiana, the team has brought in 36 transfers—most notably Fernando Mendoza. Mendoza played at the University of California, Berkeley, before transferring to Indiana for his senior season. This decision paid off for Mendoza, who quickly made a name for himself as the best quarterback in college football. Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy, which means he was the most valuable player in college football, and he also won the best quarterback award. Mendoza threw for 3,535 yards, adding 41 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions, solidifying himself in the number 1 spot in the upcoming NFL draft. Mendoza brought a 16-0 season, a Heisman trophy, a national championship, and a potential first overall pick in the NFL draft to Indiana. This was only possible through the transfer portal.

After seeing how Indiana revamped its program with great coaching and recruiting, you can’t argue that the transfer portal is a good thing for college football. It allows teams that have not been great to rebuild their programs. People are tired of the Alabamas and the Georgias who win the National Championship every year. Indiana’s team has a great story and should motivate many other college football programs.