An Amazing Hockey Trip!

The boys’ hockey team travelled to Montreal last weekend to compete in our NUPHL league. I was able to get us a practice at the Montreal Canadiens practice facility just outside of Montreal in Brossard. Needless to say, the team was excited to skate where the pros skate, and there was a lot of excitement in the air. About an hour before the bus arrived at the practice rink, I was able to secure tickets for the Montreal Canadiens versus Colorado Avalanche game that evening. The game was sold out, and I didn’t think we would have a chance to get tickets but an unlikely friend to the Canadiens, Brad Marchand, was able to get us 18 tickets! The Canadiens lost, but it was an exciting game and great to see Cole Harbor native Nathan MacKinnon led his team.

Our first game of the weekend was against the Rebels Academy U18. The Rebels got out to a 3-0 lead in the first period. Augie Ashley ‘22 scored early in the second period but after failing to capitalize on our powerplays in the third period, the final score was 3-1.

Our second game of the day was against Kings Heights Knights U18. Liam Rose-Berthiaume ‘22 scored early in the game to give our boys a 1-0 lead and then early in the third period Jack Sangster ‘25 scored to make it 2-0. Simon Beaudry ‘23 shut the door in nets recording his second shutout of the season for a 2-0 KES win!

On Saturday, we faced off against College Universal. The first period our boys were intimidated by the size and age of our opponents, with them having many players over 200 pounds, and seven post-grad students. We were down 3-0 heading into the second but came out with a whole new approach to the game, winning that period 1-0 with a goal by Jack Sangster. The third period saw a lot of special teams on both sides, and we were not able to capitalize on our opportunities to score. Final score was 5-1 for Universal.

Our last game of the weekend was against the host VC Academy. Early in the game it was evident that Jack Sangster was on a mission. He scored two quick goals on back-to-back shifts and on his third shift hit the post but missed. Going into the second period the score was 2-1. Our boys didn’t let up and scored twice more to make it 4-1 with goals from Zane Scott ‘23 and Augie Ashley. The third period saw a lot of rough play and put us up with the man advantage many times. Jack Sangster scored again to get his first hat trick as a Highlander. The final score was 5-1 KES with Simon Beaudry only allowing one goal against over the weekend. I was proud of the class and discipline our team showed during the rough play in the third period!