Ask any Lake Forest hockey player. Wins aren’t handed to you on a silver plate in the league that the Scouts play most of their games in. Yet they still have a (9-4) record with 23 points. If the record doesn’t convince you that the team isn’t worthy of our attention just yet, you can catch them at the Platinum Varsity Championship Game this weekend against Lake Zurich (LZMW).

Winning the championship will not be an easy task for the Scouts. Lake Zurich, which also has kids playing from the towns of Mundelein and Wauconda, enters the game with seventeen wins and one loss; that one loss, of course, came from Lake Forest. LZMW has quite the talent on offense and on defense. Senior forward Brett Parola has been blowing away recruiting scouts throughout the year with 23 goals in the 18 games that he has played. Sergei Vorobiov, an underrated threat, will be the man to watch for in Sundays game. Due to other hockey commitments, he has been limited in the amount of games that he can play for Lake Zurich, but is lethal when he’s in the starting lineup. He is expected to start Sunday afternoon. LZMW certainly has the talent to be a championship team, but is going up against the one team that they lost to early on in the season, which still renders their title hopes uncertain. 

The Lake Forest Scouts got off to a rocky start to their season, but once they entered divisional play they turned on the jets, lighting up every rink they skated on. Freshman and junior forwards Charlie Altounian and Trevor Allen have been scoring machines, leading their team in goals while star defensemen Henry Yehle and Carter Allen with the help of goalie Charles Krebs have kept their opponents to a considerably low total of goals. Together the team bond strengthened as they coasted through divisional play and into the Platinum Varsity Tournament.

Before the game on Sunday, I sat down with a couple of the star Scouts players, Trevor and Carter Allen, before they take the ice in their big game against Lake Zurich.

From the standpoint of a defenseman, what is the main way your team can shut down Lake Zurich’s powerful offense?

Carter: “We need to stay in between their players and our net, especially with their more skilled players so that they don’t get so many good scoring chances.”

Will confidence play a role for you guys in the championship knowing that you are the lone team to knock off LZMW? If so, how?

Carter: “I think that our team definitely has more confidence than most other teams in the league since we are the only ones to beat them, but they did beat us a couple of games ago in the playoffs. They, too, will be confident against us in Sunday’s game.”

After a triumphant victory over LZMW earlier this season, has the offensive gameplan from that game changed as you get ready to face off with them again?

Trevor: “I think the biggest thing that our coaches have changed is that we are rolling the lines for the most part. Everyone is getting their chance to contribute, and that gives everyone more energy throughout the game to get scoring chances.”

In order to beat Lake Zurich what is the key area of their game that you need to shut down? Is there something specific that they are known for?

Carter: “They have a bunch of skilled offensive players that we need to shut down and they are very physical, so we need to not let that change our game.”

At the conclusion of the interview, the players added that Lake Zurich has brought tons of fans to all their games, so they expect a hefty opposing crowd. They are hoping for a passionate crowd of Scouts fans to show up to the big game to help cheer them on against the best team in their conference. The championship game takes place this Sunday, February 26th, at 3:10 at West Meadows Ice Arena in Rolling Meadows. Come support the Lake Forest Scouts Ice Hockey team as they look to win the league’s most prestigious accolade.