Jimmy Dahlke had memorable weekend leading GBN (32-12-1T-2 OTL) to two victories with a hat trick in each game.

On Saturday GBN took on the Warren Blue Devils where Dahlke scored the 1st, 3rd and final goal in a 7-2 win.

On Sunday GBN faced Buffalo Grove and Dahlke netted the 1st, 4th and 8th goal of the game finishing off his 6 goals in two games weekend.

In each contest the  speed of the Spartans created problems for both Warren and Buffalo Grove.

Nate Kasdan earned the shutout in the BG game stopping all 28 shots.

Glenbrook North (29-11-2 OTL- 1T) captured the Cornfield Cup at Culver Military Academy in Culver Indiana this past weekend.

In round robin play the Spartans defeated Carmel of Indian, Medina of Ohio and BGHW.

In the finals GBN defeated Culver by the score of 4-1.

Trailing going into the 2nd period, Owen Just snapped off a wicked wrist shot from the left circle for the Spartans 1st goal. A minute later Josh Genin scored on a goal off a  scramble while on the powerplay to give the Spartans a lead they would never relinquish.
Genin would close the period with highlight type goal as Ryan Rossi dug the puck out where Owen Just rushed the net and the puck popped up and Genin baseball batted it in.

Rossi closed out the scoring in the 3rd period when he received a pass from Just that sprung him for a breakaway and Rossi made two moves before unloading the puck in the back of the net.

Nate Kasdan was in goal for the championship game and recorded 4 wins on the trip.

GBN (25-11-2-1)  hosted the number 1 team in the state Loyola Gold Wednesday and came away with a 3-2 win.

Owen Just scored the game winning goal with just under 11 minutes to play on the power play. Just chipped the puck in recovered a rebound circled the Loyola net worked his way to the middle of the ice and let go a shot that went bar down for the winner.

GBN opened the scoring when Ryan Sandler scored just 3 minutes into the game. Loyola took the lead with back to back goals in the 1st period. Josh Genin tied the score in the second period d  with a power play goal as his slap shot beat Loyola's Bradin Haynie from just inside the left faceoff circle.

Nate Kasdan in goal for GBN made 26 saves many of high quality chances.

Oak Park, 11/18/21

GBN wasted little time in their SHL game against the Huskies from Oak Park River Forest as they scored 3 goals in a 4 minute span in the first period to defeat the Huskies  4-2.

Owen Just took a pass from Josh Genin and netted the first goal just 4 minutes into the game. Ryan Rossi would find the back of the Huskies net from just inside 7 feet for the GBN second goal. Just would get his second of the night just moment later as he took a pass from Connor Katsamakis and rammed home the 3rd goal of the period.

Ryan Sandler would get an early 3rd period goal making the game 4-0.

Michael Dimoff was given the defensive responsibility of shutting down Husky David Andolina and was magnificent in his role.

OPRF got on the board late with 2 power play goals.

Nate Kasdan was in goal for the Spartans earned the win.

Addison 11/12

It was spirit night for the York Dukes as they hosted the GBN Spartans in an SHL contest.

Spirit rained down hard on the Spartans as for two periods York had much of the better play.

A 1-1 tie heading into the 2nd period saw the Dukes score 4 unanswered goals.

On the first shift of the 3rd period Aiden Seigel gave a little life  to GBN as he put a shot past Dukes Ben Foley to cut the lead to 3.

Strange is it seemed, Jimmy Dahlke put a hard hit on a York forward and was whistled for a penalty. The hit seemed to really charge the Spartans a ton of energy from the hit.

GBN would kill of the penalty and then would strike on a power play  of their own at 13:01  as Owen Just would net the next goal.

Just 36 seconds later Seigel would score his 3rd of the night to cut the lead to 5-4.

As the clock wound down GBN had a number of great chances, Defenseman Josh Pick unloaded on a wrist shot from about 30 feet that beat Foley but hit the cross bar.

With less then a minute and again on the power play GBN pulled goalie Nate Kasdan who had replaced Karchmar. Ryan Sandler jumped on the ice for the 6th attacker went to the net and beat Foley from in close to tie the game and send the GBN bench up for grabs.

The 3 on 3 OT saw many good chances by each team but both goalies stood tall.

York decided to shoot first in the sudden death shoot out and Gary Lee came down on Nate Kasdan and shot one high over Kasdan. 

Owen Just was picked to shoot for the Spartans and made a couple of quick moves that had Foley out and down and Just finished the comeback with a sensational shoot out goal.

A remarkable comeback one that will be talked about for a long time.

NORTHBROOK — Summarizing a team’s play sometimes comes down to two words.

“Specialty teams,” Glenbrook North coach Evan Poulakidas said. “Our power play was great tonight but our PK was just as good.”

The host Spartans scored four of their five goals on the power play in a 5-2 win over Saint Viator on Wednesday, and also successfully killed off six penalties.

North’s play on the power play bore a ton of fruit on Wednesday.

“We had a lot of opportunities and we got a lot of pucks to the net,” North forward Owen Just said. “Our power play has improved a lost since the start of the year. think we just have to trust each other, get pucks to the net, and I know our guys on the ice are capable of making plays.”

If Glenbrook North (4-2-0 in SHL play) had a hero on each end of the ice, its offensive hero was Just, who finished with two goals and an assist on the night. Kyle Burke, Aidan Siegel, and Ryan Sandler scored a goal apiece and Conor Katsamakis also had two assists for the Spartans.

Saint Viator (5-5-0) went into the game on the heels of bookend wins over Barrington, on either side of a 3-2 win over New Trier Green. The Lions are deep and they can put goals on the board.

Ultimately, Saint Viator finished with a 28-20 edge in shots on net. But from the start of the second period on, that net had the door of a bank vault on it.

North goalie Drew Karchmar, take one step forward.

“We had a great power play chance in the first period, some 2-on-1 chances in the third period we didn’t capitalize on, and a breakaway we didn’t capitalize on,” Saint Viator coach Tim Benz said. “(Karchmar) played a great game.”

Karchmar recently sat out 10 days under concussion protocol and only had one day of practice to decide if he would make his return to net against Saint Viator.

“It was tough to stay sharp but after about twenty minutes of practice last night, I felt ready,” Karchmar said. “We had a tough weekend, missing a few of our guys, but in the locker room today we looked focused and ready to play. We came out and built our way through the game as it went on. The effort tonight was just what we wanted.”

After Angelo Massaro gave Saint Viator (5-5-0) a 1-0 lead on a Sean Wilson assist in the first period, Just tied the game on assists from Katsamakis and Josh Genin.

Saint Viator’s Tommy O’Neill scored unassisted to give the Lions a 2-1 lead heading into the second period.

“Our effort was there,” Benz said. “It’s a Wednesday night in Northbrook in a tough place to play and we needed energy and we brought it. What bit us was penalties. I think we had more opportunities or more whatever statistics you want to throw up there, except the one that mattered.”

In 10 SHL games, O’Neill has led the way for the Lions with 5 goals. Gavin Wright leads with 6 points while O’Neill, Massaro, Wilson, Sean Nutley and Patrick Neary have 5 SHL points apiece.

In his third varsity season, O’Neill has risen to his coach’s challenge.

“O’Neill has been playing great hockey lately,” Benz said. “He knows his role is to produce this year. He’s one of our guns and he’s got to bury the puck. We’re going to lean on a guy like that to take games over, lead, and produce for us.”

Just has similarly risen to every challenge for Glenbrook North, as he continues to shine in his second season as a Spartan. Just has 6 goals and 5 assists through 6 SHL games, and he and Genin lead the Spartans overall with 29 points apiece.

What stood up as Wednesday’s game-winning goal came off the stick of another North player in his first game back from concussion protocol. All North captain and defenseman Kyle Burke did after sitting out for two weeks was get roughly 30 minutes of ice time and score a goal mid-way through the third period, on a Ryan Rossi assist.

“It’s good to have No. 7 back,” Poulakidas said of Burke.

“We battled. We weren’t as good in the defensive zone as I would have liked us to be — we lost too many board battles — but Karchmar made a couple gloves saves that were just ‘wow’. And in general, to get out with a win in this league is what’s important.”

Just assisted on Siegel’s goal at the 8:03 mark of the third period and Sandler finished the night’s scoring with an empty-netter, with less than two minutes to play.

Glenbrook North travels to York for its next SHL game while Saint Viator hosts Carmel on Saturday night.

“Even with (Wednesday’s) loss, I think we’re starting on a good trajectory,” Benz said. “Our goal every season is to peak at the end of January. Our first game was September 15 and if you look at how our season has been from then to October 15, and from October 15 to now, we’re getting significantly better and that’s the path we want to go.”

Game notes:
Glenbrook North
Just wasn’t just concerned with his stats in Wednesday’s win.
“He was superb on both sides of the puck,” Poulakidas said. “He was probably our most skilled player last year. He’s just very skilled. You should see him in practice when he lights up. He makes plays that you don’t see coming. They just appear.”
Just’s first year of high school hockey came last year and he’s glad he made the decision to play for Glenbrook North.
“High school hockey is unbelievable. These guys are like my family,” Just said. “They’re  my brothers.”
With so many games played in a long hockey season, you might think some of those wins and losses would be hard to recollect.
But goalies have a long memory and Karchmar was particularly happy with North’s win over Saint Viator.
“That was fun and it’s a lot more fun because we lost to them 1-0 last time we played them,” Karchmar said. “It felt good to get a little revenge. And now it’s on to the next game.”

Saint Viator
O’Neill’s evolution from varsity sophomore to chief cog in the Saint Viator offense as a senior came thanks to a certain skillset.
“He’s very patient and skilled with the puck. He’s not necessarily the fastest guy on the ice but he’s flashy and he has a sneaky quickness about him,” Benz said. “Defensemen get up on him and before they know it he’s around them and he’s got a step on them.”
Benz was yet again pleased with the day’s work put in by another one of his seniors on Wednesday.
“He didn’t get on the score sheet but Gavin Wright is just a constant. He’s consistent every game,” Benz said. “He’s always working hard and playing at the same level. He’s consistent and I always know that no matter when in the game, or what day of the week, we’re going to always get the same Gavin Wright.”

GBN TAKES DOWN RITA FOR THE 2ND TIME

11/4 Northbrook

Anther quick start propels GBN (14-3-1) to their 2nd win of the season over Catholic League rival  St. Rita by the score of 5-2.

In a 4 minute span in the 1st period, 4 goals were scored, 3 by the Spartans.

GBN forward Aiden Siegel received a nice pass from Connor Katsamakis at the red line and went in on a partial break-away and took aim on the short side and buried a writs shot at  the11 minute mark. Just a minute later Lev Vaynberg Movchan made it 2-0 with a helper from Ryan Rossi.

Rita got one back 1 minute later when  a bad  Spartan give away in their own zone allowed Jake Jana to walk in and beat Freshman GBN goalie Michael Reyderman.

Colin Cypers would close the scoring in the period as he camped out from in the slot roughly 18 feet out, received a nice pass from Matt Melnick and drilled a shot that beat Mustang goalie Mike Menard.

Rita closed the gap to start the 2nd period, when Luke Maher scored a short handed goal making the score GBN 3 Rita 2.

Vaynberg Movchan delivered late in the second period when he  drove the left side of the Mustangs net and found a small opening on the short side to restore the Spartans 2 goal lead.

GBN would score the lone goal of the 3rd period.

While on the power play Josh Genin found Aiden Seigel on the back door and delivered a tape to tape pass and Seigel tapped it in to an empty net  to make the final 5-2 Spartans. 

For the game GBN outshot the Mustangs 40-14.

GBN'S FAST START TO MUCH FOR HINSDALE CENTRAL

GBN (13-3-1) welcomed the Hinsdale Central Red Devils into Northbrook Saturday afternoon and handed the Red Devils a 4-1 loss.

GBN's line of Josh Genin, Owen Just and Michael Dimoff did much of the damage as the  line scored 3 goals in 1st period, with each player getting one goal.

The game slowed up a bit in the 2nd period but late in the stanza GBN's defenseman Connor Katsamakis made a long rush up the ice and cut to the net going right to left and neatly found the back of the Hinsdale net.

With the score 4-0 Hinsdale was given a 2 man advantage midway thru the 3rd period and that is when Nate Kasdan shut out was ruined as the Red Devils were finally able to get one back.

For the game Kasdan made 20 out of 21 saves for the win.

In a battle of top rank teams, Stevenson defeated GBN by the score of 4-1 Wednesday night in Northbrook.

The 2nd period was the key frame in the game as the Patriots netted 3 goals one of them a shorthanded variety.

Stevenson's physical play shut down much of the Spartans offense, allowing very few shots on goal and dominating the offensive zone time.

Each team scored a goal in the 3rd period, GBN's goal coming with less than a minute to play in the game on a power play.

The Spartans host Hinsdale Central Saturday in Northbrook.

10/24 Crystal Lake 

GBN (11-2-1) traveled Sunday to Crystal Lake to face the Barrington Broncos in an SHL contest. The Spartans left with an 8-2 victory.

Barrington opened the scoring 6 minutes into the game but then the Spartans specialty teams got going. Josh Genin scored the 1st of his 3 goals to tie the game on the Spartans first power play with 8 minutes to play in the period. on a goal mouth scramble.

With Barrington up 2-1 in the 2nd, Genin put on a show. Killing a penalty,  Genin  stole the puck at center ice beat one defender and then snuck the puck past Barrington's netminder to tie the game. From that point forward the momentum changed.

Some of the unsung heroes of the night were the defensive core of Jordan Gentner,  Connor Katsamakis, Tobey Downing and Alan Adanin who were forced to kill off a number of penalties in the 2nd period and were short one defenseman when Kyle Burke sustained and upper body injury early in the game.

Gentner would contribute offensively  when he  put the Spartans up for good 3-2 as he scored from the right point on a power play,  this one was in the form of a 4 on 3.

GBN's Owen Just took over the game in the 3rd period scoring 3 of the 5 goals scored in the period by GBN. Ryan Sandler scored on a power play and Josh Genin netted his hat trick to close the scoring.

The Spartans for the game scored 5 power play goals and 1 short handed goal.  Shots were 45 to 15 in favor of GBN.

KASDAN, GBN DEFEAT CARMEL

Northbrook 10/14/21

By the final score of 4-1 you would think that GBN had a relatively easy night with Carmel Catholic in an SHL game, but that was not the reality.

Carmel got on the board quickly scoring a power play goal just 2 minutes into the game. 

GBN's (8-2-1) (2-1 SHL) notorious slow starts continue to plague the Spartans. Down by one goal a defensive breakdown with 9 minutes to play in the period allowed a Carmel break away.  GBN's  goalie Nate Kasdan stoned the shooter who gave a fake from left to right but Kasdan stayed with it and made a save that gave life to the Spartans.

Just a minute later Owen Just fed Josh Genin for the tying goal.

In the 2nd period GBN got rolling, hard forechecking and some grinding play allowed Colin Cyphers to gain possession of the puck behind the Carmel net and fed Connor Katsamakis  who came in from his defensive position.  Katsamakis let go with a  43 foot wrist shot that beat Carmel goalie Dylan Lloyd for the go ahead goal and he eventual winning goal.

Owen Just would find a loose puck around the Carmel net and put the Spartans up 3-1 to close the 2nd period scoring. 

Kasdan again came up big when with under a minute to go in the 2nd period he made 4 critical saves to preserve the 2 goal lead heading into the 3rd period.

Michael Dimoff closed the scoring in the 3rd period with goal assisted by Cooper Shalin and Aiden Seigel.

The Spartans welcome in Medina Ohio for two games this weekend.

GBN met one of the Catholic Leagues top teams Sunday and the game ended up in a 3-3 tie.

Ryan Sandler scored first for GBN 8 minutes into the game on a power play goal.

St. Ignatius answered back with a power play goal less than 2 minutes into the 2nd period. Goalie Drew Karchmar made the initial save but the rebound eluded him and Corbin Klein jumped on the loose puck to tie the game at 1.

The Spartans would get a go ahead power play just a minute later as Ryan Sandler would get his second of the night giving the Spartans a  2-1 lead.

Late in the 2nd period a mishap from behind the Spartans net enabled  Wolves Tyler Pan to tie the game at 2 heading into the 3rd period.

Lev Vanyberg Movchan had the shot of the night as he entered the Wolves zone on a 2 on 1 and blistered 28 foot wrist shot past Wolves goalie Cash Volpe with just 7 minutes left in the game.

With less then 1:30 to play and a face off in the Spartans end, the wolves emptied their net and it paid dividends as Bobby Eber was able to push a puck pass the sprawled out Drew Karchmar to tie the game.

The Spartans have their first SHL game at home on Wednesday against Carmel.

SPARTANS DEFEAT STEVENSON TO OPEN UP SHL PLAY

9/25/21
Twin Rinks, Buffalo Grove

In front of a large vocal crowd,  the visiting GBN Spartans beat Stevenson 3-1 in the Spartans first SHL game of the season.

The games first goal was score by GBN's Ryan Sandler with 7:34 to play in the 1st period.  The goal was a power play goal and assists went to Aiden Siegel and Ryan Rossi.

The game was scoreless in the 2nd period with both goalies, Drew Karchmar of GBN and Jonathan Adler of Stevenson having to make a number of big saves.

Stevenson finally gave the home team fans  something to cheer about as Will Harlow came up the slot after receiving a pass from Davis Jegers with less 8 minutes to play and blasted a shot that beat Karchmar. The goal was a power play goal.

3 minutes later Lev Vaynberg Movchan of GBN got the lead back  by popping in a powerplay goal for the Spartans. 

Stevenson pulled their goalie in the closing minutes of the 3rd period and had a number of high quality chances.  GBN forwards and defenseman sold out their bodies and blocked a number Patriots  shots.

With 25 seconds left Ryan Sandler got hold of a loose puck and from 140 feet let go a long shot that hit the open Patriot net sealing the win.

The Spartans are now 6-1 overall and 1-0 in the SHL.

Back to back 7-0 wins were the story of the weekend for GBN as they hosted Medina from Ohio for two games.

Although the scores were the same the games were slightly different.

In the 1st tilt on Saturday, GBN wasted no time and struck early just 30 seconds into the game when Aiden Siegel found Owen Just camped out in front of the Medina net for the 1st goal.  6 minutes later Matt Melnick found a rebound off the stick of Kyle Burke for the 2nd goal.  Ryan Rossi would make it 3-0 2 minutes later.

Owen Just and Ryan Rossi would each score again along with Ryan Sandler and Josh Genin to close the scoring.

Drew Karchmar was in goal to earn the shutout.

The second game the Spartan's dominated the 1st period but could only get a late goal by Lev Vaynberg Movchan.

GBN was able to score 3 times in each of the last 2 periods.  Michael Dimoff had a 2 goal game along with 1 assist. Josh Genin also had a 3 point night (1 G 2A).

Nate Kasdan earned the shutout with his best save coming on a breakaway midway through the second period. 

GBN's power play went 2-6 and for the game GBN had 68 shots on goal.

9/22/21

GBN defeated Brother Rice 4-3 for the second time in less than a week.  

Josh Genin and Michael Dimoff  provided all the offense with each player scoring  2 goals.

Genin and Dimoff  netted a goals in 1st period.  Providing a 2-0 lead into the 2nd period.

Genin then pushed the Spartans lead to 3-0  scoring on a goal mouth scramble in the 2nd period.

Brother Rice fought back by scoring a powerplay goal  at the 9 minute mark of the 2nd period and then followed up with a  goal from Sean Curtin minutes later cutting the Spartan lead to one heading into the 3rd period.

Genin would score in the 3rd period after receiving a pass from defenseman Ian Burns. Genin ripped a shot from about 30 feet out.

Brother Rice would answer Genin's goal just minutes later when a wrist shot from Brett Jones beat GBN goalie Drew Karchmar.

With seconds remaining Karchmar made an outstanding save moving quickly from the left side to his right side and stopping the last chance Brother Rice had to tie the game.

The Spartans travel to Stevenson Saturday night at  8pm.  The game marks the opening of the SHL season for GBN.

9/18/21

Behind 2 goals each by Aiden Siegel and Michael Dimoff the Spartans defeated Brother Rice by the score of 6-3 in a non SHL game.

The Spartans trialed early as Brother Rice scored just 43 seconds into the game.

GBN answered when Colin Cyphers came out of the right side of the Brother Ric e zone and his wrist shot from about 20 feet found the upper part of the Brother Rice net. The period ended in a 1-1 tie.

2 power play goals in the 2nd period, one by Siegel and the other by Dimoff gave the Spartans some breathing room. Each power play goal was the result of some fine puck movement.

Siegel would score just a couple of  minutes after his PP goal. Brother Rice did get one back with 4 minutes left in the 2nd period.   Dimoff would score with seconds left in the period to push the lead to 5-2 at the end of two.

Josh Genin would score 4 minutes into the 3rd period closing out the scoring for the Spartans. Brother Rice would also net one in the 3rd period.

Josh Genin had a nice offensive night with 1G and 2A.  Kyle Burke was very solid on defense.

Shots for the game were 55 to 25 in favor of the Spartans. The win pushes GBN's record to 4-1.  A rematch at Brother Rice will take place Thursday.

10/21 Southwest Ice Arena

For the 3rd straight game, GBN (11-2-1) shutout their opponent.  On this night is was the St. Rita Mustangs by the score of 6-0.

The Spartans started quick, scoring 4 goals in the 1st period, 3 of the goals in less than a 4 minute span

Jimmy Dahlke got GBN on the board first when he took a wicked shot from the left side of the ice that caught the upper corner of the Mustangs net. 

Michael Dimoff would follow Dahlke's goal less then 2 minutes later.  Moments later on a powerplay,   Aiden Siegel received a nice pass from Owen Just in front of the Mustang net, Siegel made a terrific spin move and beat the Mustang goalie for the 3rd goal. Siegel would score another powerplay goal to close out the 4  goal 1st period. 

GBN got somewhat sloppy in the 2nd period and that is where goalie  Drew Karchmar earned his keep as he was tested with 10 shots and stopped all 10.  Owen Just righted the ship at the end of the period when he banked a pass off the back of the Mustangs net, a defenseman flew bye and Just walked out and found Josh Genin down the slot and Genin made no mistake giving the Spartans a 5 goal lead heading into the 3rd period

Copper Shalin would finish off the Mustangs with a lone goal in the 3rd period.

Spartans travel to Crystal Lake on Sunday for an SHL tilt against Barrington.

By Ross Forman, 10/13/21, 9:45PM CDT

FILLED WITH DEPTH, STEVENSON LOOKS FOR A RETURN TO THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

By Ross Forman
New Trier Green skates into the 2021-2022 season with its familiar No. 1 ranking in the state, anchored on its championship game win earlier this month in the annual 4-day, 20-team Pre-Season Invitational tournament, held at Center Ice of DuPage in Glen Ellyn.

The Trevians defeated Glenbrook South 2-1 in the finals.

“It’s nice to be back to normalcy, for the most part,” said Stevenson head coach Tom Wood, whose team won its first 3 games in the Pre-Season Tournament over Fenwick, Glenbrook North and Waubonsie – outscoring those 3 foes a combined 24-3. The Patriots were ultimately eliminated from the tournament in overtime by the Trevians.

Green reached the finals with an overtime win over co-op PREP. 

Glenbrook South advanced to the finals with a 5-0 semifinal win over Providence Catholic.

Glenbrook North is ranked No. 2, followed by Glenbrook South, Saint Viator and Loyola Gold. York is No. 6, followed by PREP, Providence Catholic, Saint Ignatius and Benet Academy to round out the top 10.

“There are no nights off, particularly this year,” said Wood, who brings the Patriots into the 10-team Scholastic Hockey League – with all teams ranked in the season-opening Top 20 rankings.

“Our league is extremely deep this year.”

The Patriots slipped past Saint Viator 3-2 on Sept. 18 in Mount Prospect. Sean Nutley scored twice in a 61-second span of the first period, giving the Lions a 2-0 edge. Stevenson scored the next three goals to grab the W. Dylan Jette scored the game-winner at 7:45 of the third period.

“Key early wins are important for the mental side of the game,” Wood said. “We definitely are optimistic for this season. Our JV team was in final four when (the season) was cancelled in 2020. We’re super talented. Our junior class is very deep. We have strong returning defensemen and a very solid returning starting goalie.

“It’s almost a perfect storm for us.”

Does that mean the Patriots are primed for a return to the United Center? Stevenson skated for its only varsity state championship in 2018.

“I think so,” Wood answered.

“I think we have more depth than anyone, but I don’t know if we have the best players on a line. Every now and then a team just has one really good team. I just think all four of our offensive lines are good. We also have very good depth on defense. And our goaltending is very, very solid.

“Overall, I think this team is more talented than the team that went to the United Center (in 2018), when we had a great goaltender, good offense and a young defense.  This year, we’re more balanced.”

Jonathan Adler is starting in goal for Stevenson and Wood said Adler “is as good as anyone.”

The Patriots’ backup goalie is Andrew Smoller.

“We have two talented goalies,” Wood added.

The Stevenson defense is led by Zach Meyers and Will Harlow, both of whom “see the ice well and very skilled offensively,” Wood said.

Nolan Jones is as solid as any defenseman in the state.

Stevenson’s biggest strength is its offense – with depth on all four lines, Wood said. Dylan Jette and Davis Jegers are two of the most dynamic forwards in the state and they are joined on the ice by linemate Ethan O’Gradney. Rafael Biedron, Cam Schneider and Maximo Poretto comprise a lethal line, too.

“Poretto is a great forechecker, Rafi has a great shot and Cam is a good passer,” Wood said. “They’re just a really good line together.”

Stevenson’s third offensive line was the No. 1 line last season on the Stevenson JV team: Alan Wu, James Mendelson and Andrew Lermer.

The fourth line is Brandon Schultz, Spencer Harman and Zach Kulick.

“I feel confident putting our fourth line on the ice against anyone, and that hasn’t always been the case,” Wood said.

Here is the Illinois High School Hockey Top 20 Rankings (as of September 27), as compiled by Ross Forman
1.    New Trier Green
2.    Glenbrook North
3.    Glenbrook South
4.    Saint Viator
5.    Loyola Gold
6.    York
7.    PREP
8.    Providence Catholic
9.    Saint Ignatius
10.    Benet Academy
11.    Naperville North
12.    Glenbard
13.    New Trier Blue
14.    Carmel
15.    Warren
16.    Lake Forest
17.    Barrington
18.    OPRF
19.    New Trier White
20.    Maine Township
Others to watch: Wheaton West, Hinsdale Central, AWFM, BG/H/

11/14 Northbrook

The Barrington Broncos came to Northbrook to take on the Spartans Sunday afternoon and were defeated by GBN (18-6-1) by the score of 3-0

The 2nd period is where all the damage by GBN was done.
Barrington had just killed off a penalty but the Spartans gained some momentum from the man advantage and on the next shift after the Broncos penalty was over, Ryan Rossi fired a shot from the left side of the ice that hit the crossbar and in to start the scoring at the 11:30 mark.

6 minutes later Owen Just shot a puck from the point while on the power play, the initial shot was saved by Broncos Jake Kunzon but Lev Vaynberg-Movchan found the rebound and poked it home doubling the Spartans lead.

Spartan Owen Just would close the scoring with 2 minutes to go in the period when he weaved his way through the Broncos defense and tucked home a shot after the had pulled Bronco goalie Jake Kunzon out of position.

3rd period was scoreless. The defense played much better then they had Friday night against York.  Giving up few chances and only one odd man break.

GBN goalie Nate Kasdan stopped all 22 shots and earned the shutout. 

11/14 Northbrook

The Barrington Broncos came to Northbrook to take on the Spartans Sunday afternoon and were defeated by GBN (18-6-1) by the score of 3-0

The 2nd period is where all the damage by GBN was done.
Barrington had just killed off a penalty but the Spartans gained some momentum from the man advantage and on the next shift after the Broncos penalty was over, Ryan Rossi fired a shot from the left side of the ice that hit the crossbar and in to start the scoring at the 11:30 mark.

6 minutes later Owen Just shot a puck from the point while on the power play, the initial shot was saved by Broncos Jake Kunzon but Lev Vaynberg-Movchan found the rebound and poked it home doubling the Spartans lead.

Spartan Owen Just would close the scoring with 2 minutes to go in the period when he weaved his way through the Broncos defense and tucked home a shot after the had pulled Bronco goalie Jake Kunzon out of position.

3rd period was scoreless. The defense played much better then they had Friday night against York.  Giving up few chances and only one odd man break.

GBN goalie Nate Kasdan stopped all 22 shots and earned the shutout. 

Vernon Hills 11/16

In a SHL clash, GBN traveled to Vernon Hills to take on the Carmel Corsairs.

Josh Pick 's 1st period goal and Colin Cyphers power play goal in the 2nd gave the Spartans a 2-0 lead heading into the 3rd period.

With GBN on a power play the Corsairs turned the tables when Nolan Herubin was sprung on a break away and scored a short handed goal with 3:40 to play in the 3rd period.

With  49 seconds left in the game Charlie Lenihan drove the right side of the Spartan net untouched,  and flipped a shot that  GBN goalie Drew Karchmar got a piece of but the puck slid across the goal line   to tie the game.

In the 3 on 3 OT Brye Sensrud again drove the right side of the Spartan net and found a crease and delivered the winning goal  giving the Corsairs a dramatic come from behind win over the Spartans.

Oak Park, 11/18/21

GBN wasted little time in their SHL game against the Huskies from Oak Park River Forest as they scored 3 goals in a 4 minute span in the first period to defeat the Huskies  4-2.

Owen Just took a pass from Josh Genin and netted the first goal just 4 minutes into the game. Ryan Rossi would find the back of the Huskies net from just inside 7 feet for the GBN second goal. Just would get his second of the night just moment later as he took a pass from Connor Katsamakis and rammed home the 3rd goal of the period.

Ryan Sandler would get an early 3rd period goal making the game 4-0.

Michael Dimoff was given the defensive responsibility of shutting down Husky David Andolina and was magnificent in his role.

OPRF got on the board late with 2 power play goals.

Nate Kasdan was in goal for the Spartans earned the win.

Oak Park, 11/18/21

GBN wasted little time in their SHL game against the Huskies from Oak Park River Forest as they scored 3 goals in a 4 minute span in the first period to defeat the Huskies  4-2.

Owen Just took a pass from Josh Genin and netted the first goal just 4 minutes into the game. Ryan Rossi would find the back of the Huskies net from just inside 7 feet for the GBN second goal. Just would get his second of the night just moment later as he took a pass from Connor Katsamakis and rammed home the 3rd goal of the period.

Ryan Sandler would get an early 3rd period goal making the game 4-0.

Michael Dimoff was given the defensive responsibility of shutting down Husky David Andolina and was magnificent in his role.

OPRF got on the board late with 2 power play goals.

Nate Kasdan was in goal for the Spartans earned the win.

by Gary Larsen

NORTHBROOK -- York pulled a monkey off its back and left it sitting on the ice at Glenbrook North on Sunday.

“Finally,” York coach Matt Boeing said.

The reason for York’s sigh of relief? The Dukes won their first SHL overtime game in five tries this season. After regulation and overtime couldn’t decide the second day of back-to-back games between the Dukes and Spartans, their 1-1 tie went to a shootout.

The Dukes got off the schneid when Sam Kamienski converted his shootout attempt, and goalie Adam Kaczmarek stopped Glenbrook North’s ensuing shootout try to secure the win.

“It’s a Sunday afternoon, we got a monkey off our back, and I’m proud of my teammates and how hard we worked,” Kamienski said. “We’re working hard and we were due for a win.”

After giving up four third-period goals in a 5-3 loss to Glenbrook North (9-5-0 plus 2 OT losses) on Saturday, York (9-4-0 plus 4 OT losses) buckled down on Sunday.

Glenbrook North’s Lev Vaynberg-Movchan buried an unassisted goal with six minutes remaining in the first period and York didn’t give up another goal in the game. North also scored four goals in the third period in a 6-5 win at York on Nov. 12.

“The past two games we played against them, they scored four goals in the third periods,” Kaczmarek said. “It was nice to get a good third period going against them. Sometimes our defensive coverage isn’t the best but I thought we did good on that today, and we brought some good energy.”

York posted a 35-27 edge in shots over Glenbrook North, which has been playing and defending well as it works towards putting more pucks in net. North went into Sunday’s game having won four of its last five games, and two of its last three against SHL competition, including a 3-2 win over Stevenson.

“We won four in a row and gotten a point in five straight games,” North coach Evan Poulakidas said. “Beating Stevenson was a nice lift and beating York yesterday — we’ve really played pretty good hockey since the (Glenbrook) South game.”

For North, the difference between Saturday’s win and Sunday’s loss to York came down to offense.

“They were similar games but we created more offense yesterday in the third period,” Poulakidas said. “I didn’t think our first line played particularly well today. That line was terrific yesterday and today, honestly, they were just average. I thought that was the difference in the game.”

The first period on Sunday saw scoring chances both ways, with York earning an 11-10 edge in shots. North’s Josh Genin and Ryan Sandler found a pair of shots early on, while York’s Greg Lee and Chuck Colantonio took swipes to the the game’s 8-minute mark.

Kaczmarek stopped North’s Owen Just on a breakaway and then North’s Ryan Rossi, before Vaynberg-Movchan went in alone and buried a backhand from point-blank range at 6:00 to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead.

York’s Bobby Plummer, Shane Gorski, and Kamienski all fired on net before period’s end, but North goalie Drew Karchmar kept the slate clean.

The game stayed largely even in scoring chances both ways in the second period, with Karchmar and Kaczmarek up to the task. but Glenbrook North got whistled for six penalties in the period, and with 2:05 left in the period, it caught up to them.

York was on a 5-on-3 power play when Plummer buried a wrist shot from the left side to tie the game.

Plummer spent the weekend locating good looks on net and he finally got a payoff on Sunday.

“Bobby Plummer had a lot of chances in both games and he probably hit five crossbars,” Boeing said. “Nine out of ten times he’s going to score in those situations but the hockey gods (largely) prevailed on him this weekend. It was good to see him get rewarded.”

Poulakidas saw it as a pivotal shift in the game.

“That second period really hurt us, with that 5-on-3,” Poulakidas said. “I thought 5-on-5 we were fine but that kind of took the wind out of our sails.”

York’s 14-7 edge in shots in the second period included shots taken by Plummer, Kamienski, Michael Iorii, Ryan Booth, and Brendan Quinn. Glenbrook North’s Genin, Aidan Siegel, and Kyle Burke put pucks on net but Kaczmarek turned them away.

Kaczmarek gloved a Burke shot to start the third period and Karchmar turned Kamienski away soon thereafter.

Kaczmarek stopped Genin during a North power play and Karchmar made a point-blank save on York’s Nico Ptak near the 9-minute mark. Kaczmarek gloved a Rossi shot with 16 seconds left in regulation.

York posted a 3-1 edge in overtime shots and Frank Nicosia kick-started that edge.

“(Nicosia) was great on the dot today, especially in overtime, a lot of good draws,” Boeing said. “Overtime is huge with possession so that first draw is huge. Brendan Quinn was good again today and Elijah Maurer is a junior and he’s the fastest kid on the ice and the hardest-working kid on the ice, and he won every puck battle.”

GAME NOTES:
Glenbrook North
The Spartans are defending well, with Burke in the thick of things and another big, physical presence at play over the weekend.
“Outside of Burke coming alive, Tobey Downing — who’s had a lot of injuries — he’s like 6-foot-3, he has really solidified our defense, and he can bring some offense, too. When he plays well, he’s a force, and he was really good yesterday and he was good today.”
North’s scoring has picked up after some recent struggles but the Spartans know that if they’re going to compete for the SHL crown this year, they’ll need to be even better.
“New Trier and Loyola are tough matchups for us because they’re capable of scoring, and no matter how good you play defense you’re going to have to score two or three goals to beat them,” Poulakidas said. “That’s just the reality.”

York
Kamienski decided to change things up some prior to his shootout attempt
“I told my coach right before that I was going five-hole the whole way,” Kamienski said. “That’s usually not my move but I was feeling the speed and made a quick shot. It’s all feel. Against Stevenson I went with the fake shot and didn’t work, so I decided to mix it up and it worked out well.
“We’ve been struggling to finish games out and I’m proud of the way we finished out this one. It was a great team effort.”
Boeing was happy for the benefits his team reaped in on Sunday, for reasons beyond wins and losses.
“It’s all about that confidence and you build that confidence with experience,” he said. “That’s the first time we’ve won in a shootout and now that we’ve got that monkey off our back, we can go into that situation with more confidence.”

GBN (25-11-2-1)  hosted the number 1 team in the state Loyola Gold Wednesday and came away with a 3-2 win.

Owen Just scored the game winning goal with just under 11 minutes to play on the power play. Just chipped the puck in recovered a rebound circled the Loyola net worked his way to the middle of the ice and let go a shot that went bar down for the winner.

GBN opened the scoring when Ryan Sandler scored just 3 minutes into the game. Loyola took the lead with back to back goals in the 1st period. Josh Genin tied the score in the second period d  with a power play goal as his slap shot beat Loyola's Bradin Haynie from just inside the left faceoff circle.

Nate Kasdan in goal for GBN made 26 saves many of high quality chances.