Tough finish for BG/Wheeling

Buffalo Grove/Wheeling (BGW) seemed to be in prime position to advance to the Final Four of the Blackhawk Cup on Saturday.

BGW was ahead 3-1 with just over eight minutes left in the third period against Addison Trail/Willowbrook/Fenton (AWF). But late penalties squandered any hopes of advancing, as AWF scored 3e goals in the final eight minutes for a 4-3 victory.

"I've never seen a game turn so fast," said BGW coach Bob Wagner. "I couldn't believe it."

AWF started the scoring, by letting BGW do the work.

"Our defenseman made a mistake with the puck and put in into our net," Wagner said.

Trailing 1-0, BGW all-state defenseman Marius Berman found fellow all-state forward Kevin Pabst late in the first for a goal that tied the game.

Continuing his hot streak after coming back from injury, forward Anthony Ricciardi put BGW up 2-1 just under two minutes into the second period, scoring his fourth goal in two games.

BGW forward Jeff Tlutsy scored with 1:23 remaining in the second for a 3-1 lead.

"We were in control," Wagner said. "I didn't think there was any way we could lose that game."

But BGW committed 6 penalties in the third period, giving AWF a 5-on-3 advantage twice.

"Penalties killed us," Wagner said. "They put us at a major disadvantage."

AWF scored on both 5-on-3 power plays to tie 3-3 with 5:30 left in the game.

"I wasn't expecting anything less," Wagner said. "It's near impossible to stop a 5-on-3 once, let alone twice."

After the penalties had expired, BGW had skaters on the ice that had been out there for nearly six minutes.

"In hockey you should never be out on the ice for more than a minute shift," Wagner said. "Our guys were absolutely exhausted."

With 16 seconds left, BGW coughed up the puck in its own zone and AWF knocked it past goalie Brett Carey for a 4-3 lead.

"We had kids leaving the locker room in tears," Wagner said.

But Wagner said he couldn't have been more proud of his kids.

"Every single kid gave it his all," Wagner said. "I wasn't the least bit disappointed in them."

BGW finished with an 18-6-10 record, and Wagner said he is excited about next season.

"We are losing eight seniors," Wagner said. "But we are gaining a lot of talent, including a few freshmen who got some great experience this year."

Evanston 3, Maine 2: Maine's hopes of a Final Four appearance were dashed by Evanston in a 3-2 loss. Maine received goals from Vinny Difonzo and Kevin Paso and assists from Mark Huber and Michael Krecker.

Postseason awards

• Kevin Pabst (Buffalo Grove/Wheeling) was named co-outstanding forward of the year, along with Jared Ippolito (Rockford).

• Pat Fitton (Fremd) was named outstanding goalie.

• Cody Matchen (Hersey) was named co-outstanding sportsman, along with Kevin Lindenberg (Rockford)

• Anthony Barbera (Conant) won the Scholastic Achievement and Community Service award

• Vince Connena (Conant) was named junior varsity coach of the year.