New Trier Varsity Girls vs Naper Valley Varsity Girls

Tonight's matchup pinned two of the top teams in the metro girls division against each other as the Naper Valley girls held a 2 point lead in the standings. Both of these teams are positioning for the playoffs and New Trier really wanted to play well against the defending state champs and set themselves up for a deep playoff run. Naper Valley was looking to solidify themselves as the top team in the division and set up an easier spot to repeat as champs.
Early on New Trier came out with a lot of offensive pressure, keeping the puck deep in the Naper Valley zone and really doing a great job keeping the puck out of their zone. Then captain Kelly Seymour, Naper Valley, got the puck deep in the New Trier zone and fired a shot for a 1-0 Naper Valley lead. That was the score after the first period.
The second period started off with some back and forth play and then finally New Trier was able to get on the board and tie it at 1. The score remained that way for most of the period until Kelly Seymour let one rip from the right wing dot and went top shelf over Cirrincione for a 2-1 Naper Valley lead.
The third period was dominated by New Trier. Carolyn Hickey squeezed a shot past Monzel on the short side to tie the game at 2. Then Carolyn Fuwa let a wrist shot fly from the top of the right wing circle that made it through some traffic to light the lamp for New Triers first lead of the game. New Trier was able to add on another goal and then held on to a 4-2 victory and some very important points in the girls metro division.
Lucky for us we were joined after the game by four of the New Trier girls, senior captain Mackenzie Martin, senior forward Carolyn Fuwa, junior alternate captain Hannah Merens, and junior goaltender Alexis Cirrincione. To hear the interview with these girls go to www.sportstownchicago.com and download the game and post game for free.

Glenbrook North vs St Viator Recap

Glenbrook North had an outstanding performance from their goaltender Carroll as he blanked St Viator on Saturday night 2-0. Glenbrook North was able to score off a great rebound that they put top shelf against Schmidt to take a 1-0 lead early in the second. As the second period winded down St Viator was able to earn a critical 5-3 as the period expired, but could not capitalize on fresh ice and Glenbrook North killed the 5-3 with only allowing a few shots. Both teams defenses were able to keep the other team out of sustaining time in the offensive zone but there were a lot of turnovers in the neutral zone. With a little over a minute left in the game St. Viator pulled their goalie for the extra attacker and won a face-off in the Glenbrook zone and fired a shot that was deflected around in front of the net. Glenbrook North was able to control the puck send a lead pass to Day who popped in an empty netter from almost center ice to seal the 2-0 victory for Glenbrook North.

Statistically both teams were pretty much even except for on the scoreboard where it counted. St. Viator played a very good game just came up short but definitely showed why they are one of the top teams in the Metro North. Their defense was quick and fought for a lot of pucks and were able to clear the zone just fell victim to a nice rebound right to Glenbrook North.

Glenbrook North continues their dominance in the goal crease. Only allowing 20 goals in division play and continue to dominate the second and third period on the scoreboard. Carroll got the nod but between him and Ramsay the Spartans have two solid goaltenders who can take over any game. Depending on the outcome of Stevenson's game Glenbrook North is now on top or in second by 1 point in the Metro North and look to gain the top spot.

Glenbrook North vs St. Viator

Tonight we will be covering a match-up of number 2 St. Viator vs number 3 Glenbrook North. Both teams have 28 points coming into this game and it is really a game that could go either way. St Viator has a 13-3-2 record while Glenbrook North is 11-1-6.

St. Viator will be looking for a big game from their leading scorers, Divito, Gattone, and Renner. They are currently second in the metro north standing in goals for and hope to continue to light the lamp tonight against one of the toughest teams to score against.

Glenbrook North will depend on their goalies tonight who have only allowed 20 goals over 18 games. If they have another great game tonight and get big production from Day, Washburn, and Sanipass, then Glenbrook North should be able to pull out a victory tonight.

Maine Township vs Barrington Recap

In any hockey game the team that generally wins the face-off battle ends up winning possession time, when you lead in possession time you generally end up with more shots, and when you end up with more shots you will usually get more goals. That statement could not have been more true last night. Barrington dominated in the face-off circle and for the better part of the game was attacking Maine Township. Barrington dominated in the shots on goal and ultimately it led to an impressive 8-2 victory over the 3rd ranked Maine Township team.

Barrington started the game quick. Just 17 seconds in and they held a 1-0 lead and really never looked back. Caplin, McVickers, Dulla, and Wagner all contributed in Barrington's high powered offense. Wagner, Zimmerman, McGregor, and Aloisio kept Maine out of the offensive zone for majority of the game. Barrington decided to go with goalie Evans before the game, but mid way through the second period they pulled him after he allowed a second goal. It was an alright performance for his first game back from an injury, but Barrington's coach decided it was time for Lukowicz to finish the game off.

Maine Township was fighting an uphill battle all game. When they were finally able to score on the power play towards the end of the first, off a puck that trickled past goalie Evans, Barrington came right back and scored again. Goalie Juister was playing a very good game but too many good shots came at him off far too easy shooting lanes for Barrington. Juister was later pulled for goalie Hamielec in the third but by that time the game was decided. Maine was short handed 4 times in the game which added to their league leading penalty minutes. The penalties have really hurt Maine because their coach has been suspended for four games including tonights. He will also be in the stands against Crystal Lake South, Fremd, and the rematch against Barrington. Mack played a solid game for Maine but spent a little too much time in the box.

Maine Township vs. Barrington

Tonight we will be covering the Maine Township at Barrington Varsity hockey game. Maine comes into this match up with an 8-6-3 record and in 3rd place in the Metro Central standings while Barrington is in 1st place with a 15-0-1 record. Barrington starting goaltender Justin Lukowicz has a GAA of 1.00 in 10 games and looks to keep Barrington out of the losing column again. Maine switches up between two goalies, Justin Nicholas and Alex Hamielec, but whoever is in goal tonight is going to have to do better than their stats show. GAA 2.25 and 3.0 respectively. Barrington is averaging more than 5 goals a game so if Craig Caplin, Zach Dulla, and Patrick McVickers get it going early on it could be a long night for Maine. Maine is going to need a productive game from their top point scorers Ethan Slopecki, Scott Chapp, and Joe Gallotto if they want to be the first team to hand Barrington a lost.

WELCOME TO NEW SEASON!

Hello High School Hockey Fans,

Peter Ferreri here, the PD of SportsTownChicago.com and I just wanted to send a quick welcome to you all for following the 2010-2011 coverage of HS Hockey in the greater Chicagoland area. We have a lot of great boys/girls hockey games on our slate for this season, and we will be keeping you all updated to our thoughts about the games/teams/players!