High school hockey: Cary-Grove falls to New Trier White in Blackhawk Cup quarterfinals

BENSENVILLE – Cary-Grove hockey coach Anthony Sode has no doubt his Trojans can skate with anybody.

The Trojans, who advanced to the Elite Eight of the Amateur Hockey Association Illinois Blackhawk Cup for the third straight year, just might not have the same experience as others.

On Sunday morning, C-G’s season ended with a 5-0 loss to New Trier White in a quarterfinal matchup of the White Varsity Division at The Edge Ice Arena. New Trier advances to play the winner of Lake Zurich and Mount Carmel in the semifinals at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday.

“We can skate with anybody,” said Sode, an assistant for nine seasons before taking over this year.

“We just have to put the effort in, and sometimes we need to be reminded of that. I just think with the early morning game, we got off to a little slow start. ... I think we stood with them and skated with them for the whole game. We just couldn’t put the puck in the net and get it out of our zone.”

New Trier, the No. 1 seed, outshot C-G, 46-12, but the ninth-seeded Trojans (21-19-8) stayed in the game behind the play of goalie Frankie Saliba, who turned away 16 of 17 shots in the first period.

Only a nifty backhand goal from New Trier’s Ethan Brunso with 10:29 left in the first found its way past Saliba.

Saliba, a senior at Libertyville, made 41 stops in all.

“I kind of play for everybody else,” Saliba said. “I would hate it if my teammates let me down, so I never try to let them down. It’s always fun to keep your team in the game.”

The Trojans, a young team with only one senior line, couldn’t keep up with the constant cycling of New Trier, which held a 33-to-7 shot advantage in the first two periods combined.

“They did a lot of cycling around, just getting it around us and they would hold it until we made our move,” said senior forward Dominic Miller, who led the team with 30 goals this season. “It was tough to break it out around that. They’re a very good hockey team.”

New Trier did eventually break through with two goals in the second period and two in the third.

New Trier's Robert Soudan beat Saliba top right with 11:48 left in the second, and Blake Glass put in a rebound goal with 9:11, making it 3-0. Samuel Balch and Peter Lifvendahl tallied goals in the third period.

C-G had two power plays in the first period but came away with only three shots. Miller had two shots on goal in the third, and Thomas Martin had a breakaway in the second that was chased down.

Other than that, the Trojans didn't have many scoring opportunities.

Jake Kraeger, a senior defenseman, sees good things ahead for the Trojans, who had an up-and-down season but won their first tournament in 10 years.

"They (New Trier) have a lot of hockey smarts," Kraeger said. "We have a lot of freshmen, but I'm really optimistic about the team's future. I think they’ll gain some of those hockey smarts. They're new and it’s a just different level of play than they’re used to."

Junior forward Nick Kaspari (27 goals, 31 assists) led the Trojans this season with 58 points, and senior Mitch Whitehouse was second with 53.

UNSUNG HERO

Dominic Miller

Cary-Grove, sr., F

Miller had the best chances against New Trier with two shots on goal in the third period. The senior led the Trojans with 30 goals this season.

THE NUMBER

46: Shots on goal for New Trier (12 for Cary-Grove)

AND ANOTHER THING …

Cary-Grove goalie Frankie Saliba, a senior at Libertyville, kept the Trojans in the game with 41 saves, turning away 16 of the first 17 shots against him in the first period. It was his third game with 41 saves (Nov. 25 vs.PREP and Jan. 27 vs. Warren).

AGATE

New Trier 5, Cary-Grove 0 

Cary-Grove    0    0    0    –    0

New Trier    1    2    2    –    5

First period

NT–Brunso, 10:29

Second period

NT–Soudan (Freedman), 11:48

NT–Glass, 9:11

Third period

NT–S. Balch, 4:17 NT–Lifvendahl, 1:11

Goalie saves: Saliba (CG) 41, Paul (NT) 12