Culver Academies Hockey claims 7th straight state championship, shines in Mid-Am playoffs
The Culver Academy girls and boys prep teams will play in the USA Hockey National Tournament on March 29 – April 3.
CULVER — The Culver Academy Eagles traveled to Pennslyvania to take part in the Mid-Am girls district playoffs over the weekend.
The Eagles began play with a 3-2 overtime win against Pens Elite 19u. They then played Gilmour Academy and won 5-3.
Grace Rentmeester led the girls in goals over the weekend (3), with Evelyn Latka, Lilly Place, Margaret Benecke, Parker Beyer, and Jordan Brady all getting on the board with one a piece. Lincoln Brown and Evelyn Latka led the team in assists with two each. Charlee Frankenfeld, Lilly Place, Lauren Johnson, Jordan Brady, and Sofia Nesvold all registered one assist as well.
CGA’s 35 wins this season are the most by the program in school history. Additionally, coach Cory Whitaker is at 97 careers wins, just three away from the 100th win milestone.
The girls travel to Dallas, Texas for the USA Hockey Nationals on March 30 – April 3.
BOYS PREP
The boys prep team will also be playing in the USA Hockey Nationals after winning their Mid-Am district playoffs. In the first round, they defeated the Cleveland Barons 7-4 with goals by Phil Lalonde (3), Joey Crowley, Luke Hogan, Romulus Riego de Dios, and Kayson Un Yi.
The Eagles went on to win the next two by keeping their opponents scoreless. They defeated the Ohio Blue Jackets 2-0 with goals by Un Yi and Riego de Dios. In the next match, Vaughn Makar posted another shutout with the lone goal coming from Riego de Dios, winning 1-0 versus Gilmour Academy.
In the final match, the boys were down two goals early. Francois DeVilliers and Isaac Fecteau would each score and tie it up to send the game to overtime. The boys showed their resiliency once again and scored early in OT to win 4-3 over Pens Elite U18.
BOYS VARSITY A
It took two overtime periods for the Culver boys Varsity A hockey team to claim their seventh straight state championship. They defeated Fort Wayne Carroll 2-1.
Teddy Shubert scored the lone goal in regulation, and goalie Cooper Pumphrey played great to send the game to overtime. Senior Sam Watson scored the game winner to seal it for the Eagles.
