After a recent controversy strengthened an already bitter rivalry, the Lake Forest Scouts varsity blue hockey team went into Highland Park with plenty of hype from the Scouts faithful. Coming off a heartbreaking tie against Nazareth, the Scouts tried to get back on track by defeating the Giants on their home ice. The game seemed to go back and forth in the first two periods, only for Highland Park to turn on the jets in the third period, scoring three unanswered goals, ultimately resulting in a Scouts defeat.
The Highland Park Giants wasted no time to score the opening goal of the game. Only 38 seconds into the game, jnior George Giese got the puck past Scouts goaltender Jack Nemickas to give the Giants momentum for the rest of the period. Throughout the first, the Giants dominated possession of the puck, while the Scouts sprinkled in a few scoring chances on the Giants’ end of the ice. The period ended with Highland Park up by one with a third of the game complete.
The Scouts looked much sharper in the second period. Stefan Riedel was able to score one after he ripped a shot past the Highland Park goaltender. After that, the Scouts seemed to control the puck much better with redoubled scoring opportunities putting Scouts fans on the edge of their seat for the duration of the period. When the horn blew to signify the end of the period, the game was still tied, making for an exciting finish in a rivalry game.
Just like in the 1st period, it did not take the Giants long to capitalize on a Scouts mistake. With 1:31 gone in the final period, a Scouts turnover led to a Giants 3 on 1, which allowed Ron Genender to put the puck in the back of Lake Forest’s net, giving them a crucial 2-1 lead in the third period. Following the goal, the Scouts continued to have scoring opportunities, including a power play with just over four minutes remaining in regulation, but couldn’t seem to get the puck past the Highland Park defense and their goaltender. With 2:39 remaining in the game, sophomore Jack Elbaum scored the Giants’ third goal of the night, which secured the victory for Highland Park. 30 seconds later, Samuel Frazier put in an empty netter, which proved to be somewhat meaningless in the Giants 4-1 victory over the Scouts.
For the Scouts, this one definitely hurts. The score does not reflect the intensity of the game as the Scouts brought the intensity and had the Giants matched into the third period. But the Scouts had a few too many mistakes in the game’s crucial moments, allowing the Giants to defeat them by three. There were a couple of bad turnovers given up by the Scouts, including a handful of missed opportunities that led to their downfall. Those mistakes will need to be cleaned up for future games if the Scouts plan to compete with good teams on the road.
Up next for the Lake Forest Scouts varsity blue hockey team will be the Latin Romans who are (3-2-3) on the season and will be coming off a game against New Trier. The game will be held at Johnny’s West arena on Saturday at 6:30. After a tough loss to their bitter rivals, Scouts hockey will look to rebound against a beatable Latin hockey team.
