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One of the premier tournaments in the Country is happening Thanksgiving weekend ... and the NW Selects U19 team will be there. Traveling on Thanksgiving, the practicing at 9:00am, the team will be ready to go ... especially after their tune-up in Burnaby two weeks prior.
During the weekend, the NWS went winless, but only on the score sheet. They played some of the best competition in the Country, in front of 47 college coaches. They held their own against teams made up of all D1 players, and teams that practice 5 times a week and teams that have 20 players on the bench and held their own.
Opponent |
Recap |
| Augsburg |
Practice at Augsburg was a good warm-up for the weekend. The players enjoyed the college atmosphere (big locker rooms) and the great facility. |
| Mission |
The first game of the tourney was against Chicago based Mission who is ranked in the top five teams in the country - with all but two players committed to DI teams. It was all Mission with glimmers of success for the NWS. Swegle was outstanding in nets and the NWS play improved period over period, but were outmatched in the (0-8) loss. Coaches from both the DI & DIII levels were impressed by the NWS not giving up or getting frustrated and feedback from the tournament director was very positive on the effort. |
| Thunder Bay |
The NWS came to play and it showed in the first period. It was all NWS controlling the game and period. Posting a goal for the NWS was Lane off of a Charron rebound. With Stewart making several key saves, the NWS left the period (1-0). But in the second, the NWS fell asleep for an instant and found themselves down (1-2) going into the third. The game was even until penalties cost the NWS the third goal and the game ended (1-3). |
| Culver |
The NWS came out strong in their third game Against a prep-school team from Ohio. Mid-first period, Hansen made a dash for a dump-in and beat the goalie to the puck landing a goal in the empty net. Culver came right back and tied it up, then added another toward the end of the period, which ended (1-2). Beginning the second period down by a goal, Coach Parks stacked her lines and took advantage of a sleeping Culver. NWS took complete control for the first minute and Miller took a shoot from the point on a Lane screen for the goal tying the score. The contest remained close for about a ½ period, then the wheels fell off with Culver scoring multiple times. Lack of legs and defensive movement gave Swegle a nightmare of rebound goals and the NWS the loss. |
| Team Alaska |
The last time NWS (then the Portland Jr Hawks) saw Team Alaska was in 2005 at District in Anaheim. While this contest ended with the same result (loss), the game played out much differently. Both teams looked slow and tired in the first, but the speed and intensity increased dramatically in the second. Stewart was solid in nets and the defense stepped up their game to keep the contest (0-0) for much of the first and second period. But into the third a slapshot beat Stewart and the NWS could not rebound. Team Alaska scored 3 more times late in the third and the contest was over. |
| College Visits |
On Monday, 8 of the players and several parents stayed in Minneapolis and visited 3 schools; Augsburg, St. Thomas and Hamlin. They took tours, met the coaches and got a better feeling for where they may want to go to college. |
From a spectators stand point, the NWS are playing well. They are playing some of the best teams in the country and catching the eye of several colleges … so win, lose or draw, they are meeting with success.
All in all a GREAT weekend.
Well done NWS!!! |
