After a difficult inaugural season in the Scholastic Hockey League (SHL) last year, the Lake Forest Hockey Club has officially clinched the SHL playoffs with a wild overtime 5-4 win over the York Dukes.
The season has been a wild one for the Scouts. They have been battling to stay above .500 in the backend of the season. With a record of 13-13, they are currently ranked eighth out of the 13-team league.
Two series sweeps against the Stevenson Patriots and Fenwick Friars contributed to this success. They look to add a third win against Carmel on January 30th.
Although the Scouts have struggled against higher ranked teams, they have succeeded as an underdog with a trio of 2-1 series wins over St. Viator, York, and St. Ignatius.
A slow offensive start to the season led to some doubting their ability to win yet the Scouts have scored 14 goals in the last three and won five of there last seven games. Three of those goals can be attributed to Senior Forward Andrew Marsch. Senior forward Jackson Drum currently leads the team with 17 goals and 31 points.
On the defensive side, the Scouts have played extremely well against the SHL. A gritty and heavy-hitting defense leads to entertaining games but has also become a downside. They have been one of the most penalized teams with 73 penalty kills but still rank third in the league, with 83% of opposing team’s power plays ending without a goal.
The Scouts finish off regular season play with games against Loyola, Glenbrook North, and finally with Carmel Catholic.
