(as the NAHA girls head home, Tori & Kayla’s teacher, Kyle, steps in and shares his views of the Holiday weekend!)-
I don’t want to come off as a guy who has never seen a good hockey game before, nor as a guy who is easily impressed. The truth is, I am not easily impressed. I am jaded and spoiled by a life of comfortable leisure, solid recreation time and intermittent international adventures. But all I can say is WOW! What a pleasure it was to finally be able to see our NAHA girls in action. And I mean action! That word seems to best sum up all of the time that myself and other staffers spent watching games this past weekend at The Jay Peak Ice Haus. It was action packed from start to finish and I walked out of the rink with a distinct sense of pride. Pride that I am able to be a part of something like this school and pride in the effort and play of our student athletes.
Hockey, by its nature, is a fast and physical game, and I can’t help but be massively impressed with the play of these fine young athletes. As a teacher/tutor at NAHA I meet these girls on each weekday morning. I get to see them when they are just kids, fresh out of bed, mucking through classes, and trying (and succeeding) to get the most out of the academic subjects that will lead them into high end colleges and universities. Up until now that is how I viewed them, only because I had not yet experienced the change that happens in a person when they get into a competitive environment. I am not a naïve person, and I also get the “red mist” when I compete. I know this change very well, and I knew all along that these girls are capable of this transformation. But until now I had not experienced it and I am blown away!
What a great way to spend a few hours over the weekend. I donned my warm clothes, put on my brimmed hat with special Press Tag inserted in the band to guarantee access to staff only areas in the rink, stuffed my camera and tape recorder (yep, you read that correctly, TA-PE RE-COR-DER) in my pockets and headed up to the Ice Haus to see these girls play some hockey. NAHA White took to the ice to battle Edouard Montpetit. The first period was a back and forth battle, each team testing the other and steadily ramping up their play. Despite an early power play, NAHA was unable to capitalize. However, it seemed to me that the Winterhawks had control of the puck more than their opponents and it was only a matter of time before they put one in. During the second period, Montpetit took their play up a notch and though it seemed that NAHA still had the better puck control, the Canadians were in our territory more often. Montpetit drew a penalty giving NAHA a second opportunity to play at an advantage. Our players could smell the blood in the water and they were not going to let another power play go with out a score. Paige Savage, assisted by Lauren Kilroy, took it in and put us on the scoreboard. In the third period, with 9 minutes left on the clock Annie Pankowski left her defender trailing and scored the unassisted short-handed goal. Minutes later, I watched a great play from Jenny Ryan, scoring on a sweet breakaway but it was ruled as no goal by the referees. It certainly looked like a score from my perspective. Regardless, White took the win with a 2-0 victory.
Red took to the ice to play L’Estrie, another Canadian team. Period one was busy right off the start. With 4 minutes left on the clock L’Estrie scored in a heavy mix-up right in front of the net. It gets pretty hectic in those close scrambles! NAHA Red took a penalty early in the second period giving an advantage to L’Estrie but our solid defense got us out of trouble without any further setbacks on the scoreboard. During the third period and on a NAHA power play McKenna Brand scored to make the game 1-1. Shortly thereafter, Amanda Martin made another goal to bring Red to a one point lead. With 2:40 left on the clock Errica D’Erico, with an assist from McKenna Brand, scored another goal for NAHA which gave us the final score of 3-1. Victory! Goalie Julie Neuburger did an excellent job stopping 14 of 15 shots on goal. Overall it was a foot stompin‘, glass thumpin‘, larynx stretchin’ good time! By the time I left my voice was shot, my hands were sore from pounding the glass, and my feet were freezing but I was stoked!
I was back to cheer on the girls for their Saturday games which were just as exciting with White winning their 11:30 game against Edouard Montpetit 8-2, a real blowout! Later that evening White played another Canadian team, College Limoilou. It was a back and forth battle and this team was fast and physical. White responded well to the Canadian challenge, answering back every time Limoilou made a play. White tied the game in the third and forced a 3:00 minute overtime. This period ended with no scores and it went to a shootout. After a series of brilliant saves and goals and for each side, Montpetit hit us with a final score to bring their advantage to 3-2 and a victory for them. It’s a tough way to lose, but I thought that White played an incredible game and could have easily been the victors. With competition this high and many teams being very well matched it can be difficult to predict the outcomes of these hotly contested games.
I think that one of my favorite experiences of the weekend was seeing the girls off the ice and out of school. That is to say, in a place that was not athletic or academic. We were just people, talking and trading stories, sharing jokes and jibing each other like old friends. It was a particular pleasure to watch Dylanne, Jenny, Ali, and Hannah beat up on Andrew, one of my fellow teachers and a close friend. Nice verbal hits ladies! It was also great to be able to meet and talk with some of my students’ parents. My only lamentation is that our season is short and we have only this one big tournament here at our home rink. Perhaps that will change in the future with the completion of Jay Peak’s expansion, an increase in enrollment and some pressure from NAHA parents. Come to Vermont people!
Overall, the weekend games were very exciting. I think I speak for all other staffers, especially those who had not seen our girls play before, when I say that these ladies are electric on the ice! They move and shift, strategize and execute with an efficient grace that can only be exhibited after years of competitive play. I am glad to be a part of their time here and I see great things for the future. My hat goes off to the coaches and especially all our fantastic players! Go Winterhawks!
Best Holiday wishes and thanks for reading!
Kyle
Kyle’s pix:
Native New Yorker Jenny Ryan, number 5, looks for the scoring opportunity.
Caarlee Turner, ready for the face off, with Sarah Kelly backing her up.
Annie Pankowski, number 39, hailing from sunny California, sweeps aggressively toward the goal.
Number 22, local girl Rachel Morse grabs the puck and mounts the offensive, watch out little ones!
Sweetheart Alison Greene, lucky number 13, plays hard and still has time to smile for the camera.
Dylanne Crugnale, the Intimidator, sets up for a shot against Edouard Montpetit.
Great post, as the excitment of the game jumps out of the words. Just what were those intermittent international adventures? I would like to read about some of them, as well as following the next hockey game through the writers mind.