Underwater Hockey Team Competes in Canada

On a cold, overcast, and snowy Saturday in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, the Roger Bacon High School Underwater Hockey Team competed in the University of Guelph’s 47^th annual College Royale Underwater Hockey Tournament. Roger Bacon Underwater Hockey finished the day with 3 wins and 3 losses to finish in 6^th place in the 11 team “B” Division.

Roger Bacon High School Underwater Hockey Team’s record on Saturday:

Game 1: 8:30 am: The Michigan State University “Spartans” defeated the Roger Bacon Spartans by a score of 4 to 3. Roger Bacon led early in the game, but Michigan State fought back in the Second Half, first tying the score at 3 and then scoring the go-ahead goal with a penalty goal with less than a minute remaining (A penalty goal is similar to a call of goal tending in basketball. The referees decided that Roger Bacon committed a penalty that prevented a certain goal from being scored.).
The Roger Bacon goals were scored by senior Bodie Accurso ‘26, senior Roscoe Putnam ‘26, and sophomore Fritz Russell ‘28.

Game 2: 10:18 am: In another very close game, Roger Bacon emerged victorious over Brampton (Canada) by a score of 4 to 3. Roger Bacon led throughout the game, but Brampton fought hard and kept the score tight.
The Roger Bacon goals were scored by senior Roscoe Putnam ‘26, sophomore Fritz Russell ‘28, and coach Emmett Breda ‘23.

Game 3: 11:40 am: In a very difficult game, a very strong Team CAMO (Montreal) defeated the Roger Bacon Spartans by a score of 5 to 1.
The lone Roger Bacon goal was scored by coach Emmett Breda ’23.

Game 4: 12:56 pm: In their fourth game of the day, Roger Bacon had another very difficult foe in Team Nautilus of Cornwall, Canada. Cornwall defeated Roger Bacon by a score of 8 to 1.
While Games 3 and 4 were Roger Bacon losses, Roger Bacon played hard in each game and demonstrated real improvement against very difficult opponents.
Again, the lone Roger Bacon goal in the Cornwall game was scored by coach Emmett Breda ‘23.

At the end of the round robin action, Roger Bacon held the 8^th seed going into the playoffs of the 11 team “B” Division. In a very busy morning, Roger Bacon played 4 games in a little over 5 hours. Roger Bacon then had to wait a long afternoon until the playoff games were announced.

In the B Division playoffs:

Game 5: 4:36 pm: In their fifth game of the day and their first playoff game, Roger Bacon defeated Hart House of Toronto, Canada, by a score of 6 to 3. Roger Bacon played a complete game, scoring often while playing solid defense to limit Hart House’s attempts to score. With the win, Roger Bacon earned another game in the “B” Division playoffs.
The Roger Bacon goals were scored by senior Roscoe Putnam ‘26, sophomore Fritz Russell ‘28, and coach Emmett Breda ‘23.

Game 6: 5:28 pm: In their sixth and final game of the day and their second playoff game, Roger Bacon defeated London, Ontario, Canada, by a score of 4 to 1. Roger Bacon again played a complete game, scoring only one goal in the first half but playing incredible defense to lead at the half by a score of 1 to 0. Roger Bacon began pulling away in the second half, only allowing London one goal late in the half.
The Roger Bacon goals were scored by senior Bodie Accurso ‘26, sophomore Fritz Russell ‘28, and coach Emmett Breda ‘23.


The Roger Bacon Team finished the tournament in 6^th place in the 11 team “B” Division with a record of 3 wins and 3 losses.

Roger Bacon senior and team Vice-President Roscoe Putnam ‘26 said, “We really played hard today. I am so very proud of the effort put forth by our three rookies today. This was their first tournament experience, and they played great!”

Roger Bacon senior and team Treasurer Bodie Accurso ‘26 echoed Roscoe’s comments, saying, “I am very proud of our team, especially our rookies Maya Beringhaus ‘29, Gretchen Russell ‘30, and Kieran Sitawi ‘30. They may not have scored, but they contributed throughout the day. As a team, we played through some rough patches early in the tournament, but we made steady improvement as the day progressed.”

Roger Bacon sophomore and Team Secretary Fritz Russell ‘28 said, “We got better as the day progressed. I am proud of our record today, and I am really looking forward to the U.S. National Championships this July!”