SPORTS
It’s ice outside By DAN SANTAROMITA dsantaromita@shawmedia.com
Many hockey players get nostalgic about playing outside, whether it’s on a manicured rink or a frozen pond. The recent popularity of the NHL’s Winter Classic has given extra attention to the idea of playing outdoors and more area high school teams are jumping on the bandwagon. “It’s something every team should do,” said Glenbard coach Jason Hawkins. “We obviously picked it up from the NHL. We stole their idea and ran with it.” The Illinois High School Hockey League West Division, which features area teams Bartlett Wheaton West, Hinsdale Central, South Hockey and York, even took the name and Jan. 1 date from the NHL. “We’ve got what we call our Winter Classic games,” West commissioner Jim McKeague said. “We play at the Elmhurst YMCA for the varsity games and we play at the outdoor rink at Evergreen Park for the JV. There’s a total of eight games this year. It started out as two. They’ve been very successful.” For the third consecutive year, the Glenbard hockey club will play an outdoor game against PREP at the Watts Ice Center in Glencoe. This season’s matchup was set for Jan. 5. “The kids have a blast with it,” Hawkins said. “They put on the eye black even though we play our game at night. It’s a really great experience and we’ve had a lot of success with it.” Hawkins said that it usually takes the two teams a little bit to get acclimated to the new environment but after that, it is business as usual.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013 Suburban Life* • CC
23
High school hockey teams ‘have a blast’ playing games on outdoor ice rinks
Lyons Township League: IHSHL Suburban Division Record: 13-1-1 Team leaders: ■ Goals: Nicholas Wink 17; Charlie Malay 13 ■ Assists: Nicholas Wink 19; Hugh Meehan 11 ■ Saves: Paolo Delfini 143; Alexander Hernandez 103
Fenwick League: Chicago Catholic Hockey League Record: 10-1-2 Team leaders: ■ Goals: Joseph Scorpio 15; Samuel Gomolinski 7 ■ Assists: Ian Murdoch 8; Joseph Scorpio 7 ■ Saves: Zachary Danna 206
Guerin/Naz Schools: Nazareth, Riverside Brookfield, Immaculate Conception, Guerin League: IHSHL Suburban Division Record: 5-8-1 Team leaders: ■ Goals: Philip Martyn 7; Michael Helf 7 ■ Assists: Luca Melone 9; Patrick Boniecki 8 ■ Saves: Allison Kurek 231 “The first period, the teams are feeling it out, getting used to it,” he said. “But once they get comfortable, it gets really competitive. Both teams really want to win it.” Hinsdale Central has already played two outdoor games this season, one in Cicero and one in Elmhurst. The Red Devils faced Lyons Township in one of those match-
Hockey fans bundle up in the stands while Lyons Township’s Nick Wink (No. 6) carries the puck along the boards during the inaugural Hockey Winter Classic against Hinsdale Central Dec. 14 at the Bobby Hull Community Ice Rink in Cicero. Matthew Piechalak — mpiechalak@shawmedia.com
ups with Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville dropping the puck. “It brings you back to old-style, oldschool hockey,” said Hinsdale Central coach Mike Rohdenburg. “Everybody really enjoyed it. It is different and a different kind of environment but I liked it a lot.” “Hockey players just love playing outdoors or out on the pond,” LT coach Ricky Reznick said. “You’re playing in a different setting, you’re outside, you’re playing in a rink you’re not used to. It’s just a good night of hockey for both clubs participating in it.” While most players would enjoy an outdoor game, it’s not something that every
program is doing yet. AWF coach Marc Pinto is in his first year with the team and hasn’t entertained the thought of playing outside. Pinto admitted the ice conditions aren’t always the best outside and can slow down the play, however, he has fond memories of playing outside. “I grew up playing at the Elmhurst Y,” Pinto said. “Every now and then we’d skate with a bunch of guys." The Elmhurst YMCA is one of a few outdoor options available in the area along with the Evergreen Park Ice Rink and the Community Ice Rink in Cicero. Scott Schmid also contributed to the report.
Change brings co-op hockey teammates closer By DAN SANTAROMITA dsantaromita@shawmedia.com
A number of high school sports are forced to utilize co-op teams to make numbers for a full team. Hockey has one of the more complicated co-op set ups because there isn’t as much organization as there is with the Illinois High School Association for other sports. Last year the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois decided to reorganize its co-op teams to group teams within districts and limit travel times for some of the players as much as possible. One of the worst travel set ups involved players from Montini, which played on the same team with players from Andrew in Tinley Park. Now, the Bronco hockey
players are grouped with Addison Trail, Willowbrook and Fenton in a more local set up. “We looked at the high schools that made sense playing together,” said Illinois High School Hockey League West Division Commissioner Jim McKeague. The Glenbard Hockey Club got an addition this year as Glenbard East joined the group which already included Glenbard North, Glenbard South and Glenbard West. “They wanted to see more long-term solutions,” said Glenbard coach Jason Hawkins. “In the past, it was a lot more year to year. They wanted to make it more geographical-based. Solidifying the co-ops should help teams have long-term success. “And for us, it is a good thing for the players to be all
together as a district.” Things are still a bit murky for the South Hockey Club, which includes players from Hinsdale South (seven) and Downers Grove South (five). Downers Grove North, which used to co-op with Lemont and Lockport, has three players on the varsity team, while there are a few Lemont and Lockport students who still play for the South Hockey JV team. The new redistricting rules are more geographically friendly, which is both a positive and negative for South Hockey. “I have football players from all three schools,” head coach Mike Dorich said. “In every other sport it’s a big rivalry for those schools and now they’re trying to form a team together. It’s hard to change that mentality.”