High school hockey: Marist stops Crystal Lake South in Blackhawk Cup quarterfinals

BENSENVILLE – Down three goals halfway through the second period and with only 10 healthy skaters available, the Crystal Lake South hockey team calculated its chances of coming all the way back against Marist on Sunday weren’t all that great.

Still, the Gators showed no quit.

In the first game of the season, it was Marist that erased a 4-1 deficit to tie South. So the Gators figured they could, too.

“It’s really hard to come back, especially by three goals, just because we are short on players,” Gators junior captain AJ Saputa said. “Everyone out there is working their [butts] off the entire game. Everybody is out there giving 100 percent, and trying to put the puck in the back of the net.”

Freshman Evan Jewson provided the Gators with a spark, passing back and forth with Harrison Hinz before coming off the boards and finding just enough space between the side post and Marist goalie Andrew Reif to give South its first goal in the closing minutes of the second period.

But the RedHawks, who added a empty-net goal in the third period before conceding a last-second goal to South, never let the Gators come all the way back.

Sixth-seeded Marist knocked off the third-seeded Gators, 4-2, at the Edge Ice Arena to reach the semifinals of the White Varsity Division in the Amateur Hockey Association Illinois Blackhawk Cup.

Marist will play second-seeded Loyola Academy Maroon – which beat Niles Township, 13-0, Sunday – at 8:35 p.m. Tuesday.

“It’s really hard to come back from 3-0,” Gators coach Rick Perillo said. “2-0 is not bad, but 3-0 is a lot harder. It’s just the mental part of the game. … Our guys played great. For the last two months, our guys did everything possible. We were short benched, but these guys came together as a team and did everything they could possibly do. I’m very proud of them.”

South started the season with 16 players on its roster but was down to 12 for Sunday’s quarterfinal game, including goalies Josh Albrecht (16 saves) and Jacksen Applequist (nine saves).

Disciplinary issues and an injury accounted for the short bench, Perillo said, but his players never used it as an excuse.

Albrecht started for the Gators (14-23-6) and held Marist scoreless for the first 12:14. A shot by Marist's Vito Dellorto deflected off Albrecht and trickled in behind him.

In the second, Joseph Prkut scored after he tracked down a loose puck with 12:03 left. Timothy Carlson intercepted a pass near center ice and beat Albrecht to his left, giving the RedHawks a 3-0 lead with 6:22 left.

Jewson's goal came with 4:42 left in the second and gave the Gators some much-needed momentum heading into the final 15 minutes.

“We were going through on the power play, and I just ended up being on the side and touched it over to Harrison,” Jewson said of his goal. “He ended up passing it to me, and I was a little close to him, so I wasn’t expecting the pass. I just shot at the net and it ended up going in.”

South had a 5-on-3 opportunity to start the third but was unable to capitalize after Perillo called a timeout. The Gators only put two shots on goal during the power play.

Marist scored an empty-net goal with 2:34 left before freshman Michael Helm finished the scoring for South with 9.7 seconds left. The play was assisted by his brother, junior Eric Helm.

"A lot has changed since the first game of the year," said Eric Helm, who is second on South with 35 points (18 goals, 17 assists). "We've gotten a lot better, but clearly so have they. I still think on any given day we could beat them. It's just the way we showed up today. We came together more than we have the past two seasons. Overcame adversity ... not a bad way to end the year."

UNSUNG HERO

Evan Jewson

Crystal Lake South, fr., D

Jewson scored the Gators' first goal with 4:42 left in the second period, cutting Marist’s lead to 3-1.

THE NUMBER

10: Healthy skaters for Crystal Lake South on Sunday

AND ANOTHER THING …

Leo Johnson, one of two seniors on South, was held scoreless Sunday but led the Gators with 49 points this season. He scored a team-high 23 goals and added 26 assists. Peter Mateo, the other senior, was South's defensive captain and a team leader. Both were on the team all four seasons.

AGATE

Marist 4, CL South 2  

CL South    0    1    1    –    2

Marist     1    2    1    –    4

First period

M–Dellorto, 2:36

Second period

M–Prkut (Gapski), 12:03

M–Carlson, 6:22

CLS–Jewson (Hinz), 4:42

Third period

M–Prkut (Meeker), 2:34

CLS–M. Helm (E. Helm), 0:09

Goalie saves: Albrecht (CLS) 16, Applequist (CLS) 9, Reif (19)