WC_011719

winnetkacurrent.com SPORTS
the winnetka current | January 17, 2019 | 35
Adam Jomant/
22nd Century Media
1st-and-3
three PLAYERS of
the WEEK
1. Bennett
Kwiecinski
(above). The
Loyola junior
boys basketball
player scored 15
points and had
six rebounds in a
win over Marian
Catholic.
2. Tinah Hong. The
New Trier junior
girls basketball
player scoring
the game-winning
free throws with
4.7 seconds
remaining to
help the Trevians
defeat Evanston.
3. Bobby Soudan.
The New Trier
Green hockey
player scored
two goals in the
Trevians’ 4-1 win
over Loyola Gold.
Boys Hockey
Trevians’ penalty-ridden game no factor in win over Ramblers
Brittany Kapa
Freelance Reporter
Puck possession favors
the bold, and in a battle
between New Trier and
Loyola Academy, the Trevians
had the advantage.
Despite a grand total of
104 penalty minutes between
both sides at Winnetka
Ice Arena, Saturday,
Jan. 12, New Trier Green
came out on top with a 4-1
win over its biggest rival.
“It’s always a very emotional
game, and unfortunately
there usually are
a lot of penalties,” New
Trier Green coach Bob
Melton said. “We do have,
what I feel, is the best
penalty kill in the state. As
much as I didn’t like some
of the penalties I took – I
thought they were kind of
dumb – our penalty kill
came through big time.”
Jakob Travis scored
the Trevians’ first goal in
the opening period, but
the Ramblers made it interesting
tying the game
in second off an Eamon
O’Brien goal.
“I thought Loyola outplayed
us a little bit in
the second,” Melton said.
“The third period we came
out strong. Jack Norehad
might have scored the
go-ahead goal, and it just
seemed we built on that,
and I thought we were the
better team in the third.”
Norehad’s follow up
from a rebound put the
Trevians a goal ahead
with 12 minutes, 43 seconds
left in the game.
But a one-goal advantage
wasn’t enough for
the Trevians, who capitalized
on the only powerplay
goal of the night.
Loyola’s Cole Corrigan
was cited for a minor head
contact call and a 10-minute
misconduct with 7:31
left to play in the third. A
man short, the Ramblers
staved off New Trier’s attack
until Bobby Soudan
employed the rarely used
wrap-around move and
added an insurance goal.
“I had some good speed
going to the net, and I
saw a lot of space in the
front of me since it was a
power play,” Soudan said.
“I kind of cocked it back,
and tried to get the defenseman
to try and bite on
the fake shot.”
It worked, and Loyola
Gold’s goalie, Andrew
Shearson, followed by
coming out of the crease
a little higher to adjust.
That gave Soudan enough
room to feed the puck in
the back of the net.
“I told the boys, if we
can ever get out power
play as good as our penalty
kill then we’ll be unstoppable,”
Melton said.
Loyola struggled to
maintain possession of the
puck as New Trier utilized
their momentum in an
energy-filled third period.
Shearson finally made it
to the bench with just 52
New Trier’s Bobby Soudan (right) wraps-around the net for an insurance goal against
Loyola late in the third period Saturday, Jan. 12 in Winnetka. Brittany Kapa/22nd
Century Media
seconds left to play.
Like the Ramblers
many power plays previously,
the man-advantage
didn’t help. Soudan capitalized
on the empty net
and added his second of
the night with 21 seconds
to play.
“We weren’t happy
with how we played last
time we went against
these guys head-to-head,
but we feel this game was
a big factor in the seeding
of state playoffs,” Soudan
said. “This win should really
set us apart from the
group.”
Loyola Gold co-coach
Blake Sorensen knows
that this was not his
team’s best game.
“Physically they abused
us and we weren’t willing
to match it,” he said.
“I think some of the New
Trier kids got in our
heads early on, got under
our skin, and it impacted
our play. It impacted our
mindset to be competing
for loose pucks.”
For Sorensen, that was
the different in the outcome
of the game.
“Our game is based on
puck possession, taking
pucks to the net and skating
not in a verbal confrontation
against kids,” he said.
“I think it was too many
kids trying to do it on their
own [tonight]. For us to be
effective we have to share
the puck, and enter the zone
with speed.”
Loyola’s schedule
won’t let up either, they
still have to face powerhouse
teams like Glenbrook
North, Stevenson
and Barrington. Sorensen
knows that this loss will
only help his team.
“We’ll leave the rink
with our heads high because
it’s only January
12,” he said. “We’re going
to become a better hockey
team because of this result
tonight. We need to learn
from that, learn from our
mistakes and be willing to
be a teammate and not an
individual.”
Listen Up
“It was very loud, but I kept telling myself ‘I
can make this.’”
Tinah Hong — New Trier girls basketball player about
what was going through her head before her gamewinning
free throws.
tunE in
What to watch this week
BOYS BASKETBALL: It’s a shootout for a good cause as Evanston
hosts the War on the Shore.
• New Trier, Loyola play in a shootout Saturday, Jan.
19, at Evanston. NT at 3 p.m., LA at 4:30 p.m.
Index
33 - This Week In
31 - Athlete of the Week
Fastbreak is compiled by Sports Editor Michael
Wojtychiw, m.wojtychiw@22ndcenturymedia.com.