On Jan. 25, The Chicago North Hockey Club defeated New Trier in a nail-biter 7-4 win.
According to the Chicago North Hockey Club’s website, It is a “…combined high school program that fields JV & Varsity teams that participate in the IHSHL North Central Division… The program is composed of students from Amundsen, DePaul Prep, Lane Tech, and Taft.”
Within the first 10 seconds of the game, Lane Tech senior Ayden Gray scored the first goal of the game. By the end of the second period, Chicago North scored two more goals to begin the third period with a score of 3-0. During the third period, a total of eight goals were scored equally between the two teams.
The game was very heated between these two teams. Many hits and cheap shots were thrown at each other. One of these cheap shots was on Taft senior Rocco Esposito. After one of the faceoffs, once the referees had turned the other way, Esposito was cross-checked to the back of his head.
This hit knocked his helmet off and left him on the ground for around 10 seconds before he went to the bench. Esposito returned to the game a few minutes later. Esposito has played hockey for “14 years” and plays “defense” and as a “two-way defenseman.”
Esposito commented on his team’s performance, stating they, “Played exceptionally well,” and that it was definitely their “best offensive game of the year.” He wishes, “We could have not let up as many goals in the 3rd period.”
Esposito’s fellow defenseman and Taft senior Ryan Suing has been playing hockey for 5 years. Suing described his role, “To not let the opposing teams forward score on my goalie.”
When interviewed, Suing’s opinions on how his team played were very positive. “My teammates all play great because they are each good at their selective role that they have on the team.” Suing wishes, “We were more prepared.”
Taft senior Petr Malina scored two of the team’s seven goals. “I was really happy, it was a really good feeling being able to score in my senior night game and especially in front of the large crowd we had,” Malina said when asked about the goals.
Malina has been playing hockey for “11 years” and is a winger. He contributes to his team in this position as a “goal scorer.” When asked about what he would say to someone interested in playing for Chicago North, Malina said, “Make sure you have the time and dedication to become a successful player on the team.”
He had very positive feelings about how his teammates played during the game stating, “My teammates played great, it was a great team effort as we had goals from multiple different guys on the team.” Just like Malina, Senior Lucas Hurtado has very positive feelings about his team, “My teammates and I are very close and we enjoy playing together.”
During the game, Hurtado had 3 assists. Hurtado plays forward for the Chicago North Team. His purpose in this position is to make offensive plays for his team to score. “Hockey is fun and challenging… that creates great bonds between friends,” Hurtado said.
