This Thanksgiving break was no break for the Niles Nighthawks. Facing their third game of the week against the Barrington Broncos Saturday night, the team was hoping to come away with a win, but unfortunately lost 3-1, putting them in third place at the Loyola Thanksgiving Tournament.

First Period

Right after the first face-off, it became apparent that the Broncos meant business. They instantly swarmed around the Nighthawks goalie, Taft freshman Jason Dorsche. The Hawks eventually pushed the puck towards the opposing end. Ida Crown freshman Josh Daniels set himself up at the point to block any Bronco attempts at clearing the puck. The first penalty of the night was taken by a Bronco. The first period was foreshadowing of the tension between the two teams. A lot of pushing and shoving took place, and it seemed that players from both ends were slipping and sliding, most noticeably Lincoln Park junior Tony Ercoli, who fell down on the ice repeatedly, trying to reach the Broncos’ goal each time.  Ida Crown junior Ethan Herman tried to take up the puck from the right side, but was unsuccessful. Ida Crown  junior Elazar Kolom also tried to score, but couldn’t put the puck in. Unfortunately, a Bronco broke away from the cluster on his end and stick-handled his way into making it 1-0 Broncos. Junior Nick Brummitt and Kolom tried to retaliate, but it was Ercoli who scored unassisted, making it 1-1. Senior defensemen Nick Clark and Eli Sherman worked hard to leave the score that way to end the first period.

  Second Period

To start off the second period, Barrington attempted a break away but were thwarted by Nighthawks defense. Clark poke checked the puck away for Ercoli to make a break away of his own, but the puck stopped at the Broncos’ goalie. Ida Crown junior Seth Greenberg tried to slap shot the puck in, but also was unsuccessful. Unfortunately, Barrington took the puck away from their zone and crowded Dorsche until the third goal of the night was made, making it 2-1 Broncos. Ercoli was determined to keep up the momentum and put three shots on the Broncos’ goal, one after the other, but none went in. Niles North senior Benji Berg-Einhorn tried to score by using the boards but the Broncos’ defense made sure he didn’t.

 Third Period

To start off the third period, Clark whiffed on the puck and the Broncos tried to capitalize on the puck being in the Nighthawks’ zone, but luckily could not. Daniels made an attempt to score, but couldn’t. The pair of Niles North sophomore John Kinne and Sherman also tried to pass to one another and score, but were met by the Broncos. One of the most painful things in hockey is sacrificing the body, meaning the player will get down on the ice, lay still, and block the oncoming puck. That’s exactly what Niles North senior Jack  Burke did to try to stop a Bronco goal, and he did his job well. Berg-Einhorn, Ercoli, and Brummitt all tried to match the score to 2-2, but could not, especially Brummitt because he injured his leg within the last five minutes of the game. Not too long after Brummitt got hurt, the Broncos scored again, making it 3-1. Frustrations came out as Ercoli and a Bronco had a minor skirmish, but unfortunately the score remained 3-1 Broncos.

Sherman feels that lack of communication hurt the team.

“We needed to talk. Both on the ice and on the bench. Last game there wasn’t much communication between the guys and it’s hard to play as a unit out there if you don’t talk to each other and make sure everyone is on the same page then you’re just making it a lot harder on yourself to win. We may have had a bit of a rough weekend, but we are a good team and good teams bounce back,” Sherman said.

Sherman believes that the problem will be fixed by next week’s game against Warren.

“We just need to fix what we talked about after the games and hopefully we will have a couple good practices to work on our breakout and communicating, but I’m excited for our next game. The guys always use a loss as a learning experience and a lot of them get better each game. It’s just fun to be a part of.”

Barrington earned the top spot in the Nighthawks division. The team played against St. Viator and St. Ignatius Friday, Nov. 23 at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively. The Nighthawks beat St. Viator 4-1 and lost to St. Ignatius 5-2. For more information about the Nighthawks recruitment, email assistant coach Kevin Kruszysnki at [email protected].