Underwater Hockey Finishes 2nd in Canada!

On a cold and blustery Saturday in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, the Roger Bacon High School Underwater Hockey Team competed at the University of Guelph’s annual tournament. Roger Bacon Team “A” finished the day with 5 wins and 1 loss to finish in 2^nd place in the “B” Division while Roger Bacon Team “B” finished the day with 4 wins and 1 loss to finish in 4^th place in the “B” Division.

Roger Bacon High School Team A's record on Saturday:

Game 1: 9:52 am: In the first game of the tournament, the Roger Bacon Team A defeated the University of Guelph “Guppies” squad by a score of 7 to 2. The Roger Bacon goals were scored by junior Bodie Accurso ‘26 and coach Andrew Kalvelage ‘03.

Game 2: 10:44 am: Roger Bacon Team A defeated Michigan State University’s Team Gooses by a score of 9 to 3. A number of Roger Bacon Spartans got into the scorebook, with goals scored by junior Bodie Accurso ‘26, sophomore Helen Russell ‘27, freshmen Wes Garrison ‘28, freshman Sofia Hidalgo ‘28, and coaches Anthony “Peppe” Mechley ‘23 and Andrew Kalvelage ‘03.

Game 3: 12:56 pm: Roger Bacon Team A defeated the London, Ontario, Narwhals “B” Team by a score of 8 to 0. Again, a number of Spartans got into the scorebook, with goals scored by sophomore Helen Russell ‘27, freshmen Wes Garrison ‘28, freshman Shiloh Vidourek ‘28, freshman Maddie Zimmerlee ‘28, and coaches Anthony “Peppe” Mechley ‘23 and Andrew Kalvelage ‘03.

Game 4: 3:14 pm: Roger Bacon Team A faced off against Team Leeches, which was the Canadian U19 national team. The Leeches had snuck an elite player into the pool from an “A” Division team. This player was not on the Leeches team roster and therefore was ineligible to play in this game. Roger Bacon head coach Dr. Paul Wittekind lodged a formal protest at the half. The Roger Bacon protest forced the tournament officials to dismiss the player from the game. The game was tied 2-2 at the half, with both of the Team Leeches’ goals scored by the illegal A Division player. So the unauthorized player was removed from the game, but his goals remained in the scorebook.

In the second half, Roger Bacon scored two more goals while shutting down the Canadians. Roger Bacon won this contentious and ugly game by a score of 4 to 2. The Roger Bacon goals were scored by coaches Andrew Kalvelage ‘03 and Joe Gering ‘00.

At the end of the round robin action, the Roger Bacon A Team held the 2^nd seed going into the “B” Division playoffs.

In the B Division playoffs:

Game 5: 5:02 pm: Roger Bacon A defeated Cornwall by a score of 4 to 3. This game was a rematch of a playoff game between these same two teams from 2 years ago, when both teams met in the Guelph University “B” Division finals. In 2023, Cornwall got the better of Roger Bacon, but today, history did not repeat itself. In a tough, well-played game, Roger Bacon defeated Cornwall by a score of 4 to 3. The Roger Bacon goals were scored by sophomore Helen Russell ‘27 and coach Andrew Kalvelage ‘03.

Game 6: 5:54 pm: In the “B” Division’s gold medal game, Roger Bacon fought hard against the Canadian Women’s Master’s team which is currently preparing for the next World Championships. While Roger Bacon played well, the Spartans ultimately lost to the Canadian women by a score of 9 to 3. The Roger Bacon goals were scored by coach Andrew Kalvelage ‘03.

The Roger Bacon Team A finished the tournament in 2^nd place in the “B” Division with a record of 5 wins and 1 loss.

Roger Bacon sophomore and team President Helen Russell ‘27 said, “I am very pleased by our performance today as a team. I am very proud of our team’s strength, resilience, and determination as we fought hard in all of our games, finishing in Second Place. I am pleased by how well both Roger Bacon teams did today. Both teams showed tremendous improvement. I am really looking forward to the U.S. National Championships in June!

Roger Bacon High School Team B's record on Saturday:

Game 1: 8:30 am: In its first game today, the Roger Bacon Team B defeated Team Leeches, the Canadian U19 national team, by a score of 4 to 3. The Roger Bacon goals were scored by junior Roscoe Putnam ‘26, freshman Fritz Russell ‘28, and coach Emmett Breda ‘23.

Game 2: 10:18 am: Roger Bacon Team B defeated the Hart House by a score of 10 to 1. The Roger Bacon goals were scored by junior Roscoe Putnam ‘26, sophomore Quincy Beringhaus ‘27, freshman Fritz Russell ‘28, and coach Emmett Breda ‘23.

Game 3: 11:40 pm: In a difficult game, Cornwall defeated the Roger Bacon Team B by a score of 4 to 3. The game was very close, and Roger Bacon was up by a score of 1 to 0 at the half. Both of Cornwall’s apparent goals in the first half were disallowed because of offensive penalties by the Cornwall team. But Cornwall slowly pushed ahead in the second half and won the game by a score of 4 to 3. The Roger Bacon goals were scored by freshman Fritz Russell ‘28 and coach Emmett Breda ‘23.

Game 4: 2:18 pm: Roger Bacon Team B defeated the University of Guelph Flounders by a score of 7 to 1. The Roger Bacon goals were scored by sophomore Quincy Beringhaus ‘27 and coaches Emmett Breda ’23 and Greg Moeller ‘04.

At the end of the round robin action, the Roger Bacon B Team held the 4^th seed going into the “B” Division playoffs.

In the B Division playoffs:

Game 5: 5:58 pm: Roger Bacon Team B defeated the Michigan State Gooses squad by a score of 5 to 1. The Roger Bacon goals were scored by junior Roscoe Putnam ‘26, sophomore Quincy Beringhaus ‘27, freshman Fritz Russell ‘28, and coach Emmett Breda ‘23.

The Roger Bacon Team B finished the tournament in 4^th place in the “B” Division out of 11 teams with a record of 4 wins and 1 loss.

After today’s games, Roger Bacon junior and team Vice-President Bodie Accurso commented, “I am extremely proud of how well both teams played today. I believe that today’s games represented the best play by any Roger Bacon team that I have been a part of. I am extremely happy with the tremendous progress that all of our freshmen demonstrated today.”

Roger Bacon sophomore and team officer Quincy Beringhaus said of Team B’s games today, “I saw a lot of freshmen players work really hard and show outstanding improvement today. Our players were really going after the puck today. I am disappointed by our loss to Cornwall, but they are a tough team. I’m pleased by all of our hard work today!”