BG-Hersey-Wheeling takes second place in Founders Cup

The Buffalo Grove-Hersey-Wheeling team was seeking to cap an impressive midseason turnaround by winning the Founders Cup Championship on Sunday.

But it wasn't in the cards.

BGHW went home with the second-place trophy after suffering a 3-1 loss to Marist.

Marist scored on a power play minutes into the game, but BGHW junior forward Brandon Kirchens scored just over a minute later.

The game stayed tied into the third period, but Marist scored with about 7:30 left. BGHW pulled its goalie late, but Marist scored an empty-net goal with 20 seconds left.

"The kids played hard," said coach Bob Wagner. "They played great and never quit."

Wagner and his players won't have much time to relax.

"We get a seven-day rest and then we're back on the ice," Wagner said.

BGHW won twice before Sunday's title game, a 3-2 victory over Lincoln-Way East in the quarterfinals and a 2-1 victory over Lake Forest in the semifinals.

PREP 6, Guerin 3: Prospect/Rolling Meadows/Elk Grove/Palatine (PREP) advanced to the Elite Eight of the Blackhawk Cup after a 6-3 win over Guerin last week.

PREP jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but Guerin scored 3 goals in the second period to tie the game heading into the final 20 minutes.

"After they tied it up, our defense really locked down," said PREP coach Dave Morgan.

PREP parlayed some solid defense with 3 goals in the third period to notch the win.

One bright spot for PREP was the return of goalie James Tuccori, who three weeks ago was taken to the hospital by ambulance after he suffered breathing problems. In his first game back, Tuccori made 30 saves.

"James played great," Morgan said. "It's great to have him back in the net."

PREP advanced to play Glenbard North on Saturday at 11:55 at the AHAI Center in Bensenville.

Lincoln-Way Central 3, CHS 1: Conant/Hoffman Estates/Schaumburg (CHS) was bounced from the Blackhawk Cup after a 3-1 loss to Lincoln-Way Central.

"It was a great game by both teams," said CHS coach John Conenna. "It was back and forth all game. We just couldn't put them away."

Central took a 1-0 lead late in the first period before CHS senior defenseman Mike Gannon tied the game late in the second with a goal. The Cougars had a scoring chance late in the third period, but senior forward Tim Shannon was stopped on a breakaway.

With 4:23 left in the third, Central took a 2-1 lead on a breakaway.

"After that we had a few chances but ended up pulling the goalie with about 1:30 left in the game," Conenna said. "They put one in on the empty net and sealed the game."

Conenna said his team fought hard and stayed in the game. The Cougars are still alive in the Illinois Suburban Hockey League, where they play Lake Park on Saturday trying to advance to the Final Four.

Glenbrook South 4, Fremd 0: It was one and done for the Vikings as they lost their Blackhawk Cup opener 4-0 to Glenbrook South.

Down 2-0 in the third period, a Fremd shot deflected wide off the post. Minutes later, Glenbrook South put the game away with a power-play goal.