Facing the Cary Grove Trojans with a short bench (five players out,) the Nighthawks fell to the Trojans 6-3 Saturday, though Lincoln Park junior Tony Ercoli came away with a hat trick.
First PeriodTo start off the first period, Ercoli tried for his first goal of the night, going up the right side and attempting to score from the middle, but lost the puck. Niles North junior Joey Bleadon also tried to score early on, but was blocked at the Trojans’ net. The Trojans brought up the puck towards the Nighthawks’ zone and goalie, Taft freshman Jason Dorsche. Niles North senior Jack Burke and Ercoli tried to get the puck out, but couldn’t succeed. Luckily, Cary Grove took a penalty against Burke and allowed for a Nighthawks’ power play.
Senior defenseman Eli Sherman battled with the puck up the right side of the board and faced off with a few Trojans, but was unable to come out on top. Ida Crown freshman Ari Daniels passed to Niles North sophomore John Kinne up the left side, but that attempt was also unsuccessful. After junior Nick Brummitt and Ida Crown sophomore Seth Greenberg were unsuccessful in getting the puck out of the zone, the Trojans scored their first goal of the night, making the score 1-0 Cary Grove. Not too long after, Cary Grove had a shot at a breakaway, but luckily for the Nighthawks, Chicagoland Jewish High School sophomore Ethan Herman defended Dorsche and even got down on his knees to block the shot. All seemed well until the Trojans managed to score a few moments later and then again after the next face-off, making the score 3-0 Cary Grove. Just when it seemed like things couldn’t get worse, the Trojans scored their fourth goal of the night. The Nighthawks needed to score at least one goal to build up momentum, and Ercoli did just that, coming up the left side alone and scoring from the right side of the Trojans’ goal with an assist from Sherman. Unfortunately, Niles North senior Benji Berg-Einhorn took a rough hit and didn’t truly recover for the rest of the night. Shortly after his first goal, Ercoli had a breakaway and raised the score to 4-2, cutting the lead in half to end the first period.
Second Period
Shortly after the first face-off of the period, Ercoli was tripped, creating a Nighthawks power play. Ercoli passed to Burke, but Burke lost control of the puck. Ercoli tried passing to Kinne, but the duo were unable to score a goal. Brummitt took a penalty, creating a Trojan power play. The Nighthawks refused to let the Trojans to capitalize on this opportunity and kept the puck away from goalie Dorsche. Cary Grove took a penalty themselves, and amid the call it was discovered that the Cary Grove goalie’s mouth was bleeding. While no one likes injuries on either side, the incident allowed both teams to catch their breath as the referees checked the Trojans’ goalie out. Once play resumed, the Trojans took another penalty, allowing for a five on three for the Nighthawks. Ercoli passed to Sherman, but Sherman’s shot was caught by the Trojans’ goalie. The score remained at 4-2 Cary Grove at the end of the period.
Third Period
To start off the last period of the game, Berg-Einhorn tried to score, but quickly encountered the Trojans’ strong defense. Senior defenseman Nick Clark took a penalty, allowing for a Cary Grove power play. Much confusion surrounded Dorsche as the Trojans advanced towards him, but he was able to prevent the puck from entering the goal. Unfortunately, his efforts were for naught when Cary Grove scored their fifth goal of the night just five minutes later. Brummitt guarded Dorsche and blocked several potential goals for the Trojans. Halfway through the period Greenberg took a penalty and Cary Grove scored their sixth goal of the night. Fans, players and coaches were getting frustrated. Head coach Steve Glickman and team manager Jeff Brummitt became verbal from the bench and stands, respectively, shouting at their players to stop chasing. Clearly not ready to give up, Ercoli brought up the puck from the left side and scored, earning himself a hat trick and cutting Cary Grove’s lead in half for the second time of the night. Nearing the end of the period, Brummitt took a stick to the face, making it a Nighthawks power play. Sherman wound up a slap shot, but couldn’t score, leaving the game’s result at 6-3 Cary Grove.
Sherman believes that the team needed to keep up the momentum against Cary Grove in order to beat them.
“We moved the puck pretty well. That was the only bright spot. We did not have a good all-around game, which is what we need in order to beat a team as good as they are. [Our] power play was bad. We bunched up and collapsed too fast. Most importantly, we just needed to work harder. This game is all about hustle and tempo. If we don’t have that from the first puck-drop, we only make it harder on ourselves, ” Sherman said.
