NAPHL Playoff Weekend

Our KES boys Highlander hockey team started the weekend with a 9-0 win against the Ottawa Valley Wolves at our North American Prep Hockey League (NAPHL) play-off weekend in Ottawa, Ontario. Tadeáš Bezdek '24 played a great game between the pipes, earning his second shoutout of the season. During the game, Junsu Kwak ‘25 scored his 100th point in only 36 games this season. This is an incredible achievement for this young man!

Our second game of the weekend was against the NPU Rebels. After a slow start, and falling behind by three goals, we weren’t able to catch up, losing this one by a score of 4-1.

The third game of the weekend was one of the most entertaining games of the season. A tightly called game by the officials allowed for less than five minutes of five-on-five hockey. In order for our KES boys to move on to the semi-finals, we needed to get the win, tie or lose and we went home. We faced off against College Universal, who happened to be undefeated this season. With 4:35 left in the game, we were down 1-0 before Mason Strong ‘25 scored to tie us up 1-1. Another penalty was awarded to us with less than two minutes left of game time, but we pulled the goalie and never gave up. Cole Cooper ‘25 was the hero in front of the net scoring the game winner with only 0.2 seconds left on the clock to send us to the semi-finals.

The semi-final match was against the high-powered Le Sommet. Again, we got behind on the scoreboard and weren’t able to catch up. Final score was 6-2 for Le Sommet sending them to the finals. For Joe MacLean ‘23, Zane Scott ‘23 and Simon Beaudry ‘23 it was an emotional finish, being their last game in a Highlanders jersey. I couldn’t be prouder of these young men, and the culture they have helped to build over their time here at KES. We wish them nothing but the best in their future endeavours.