Schwichtenberg gives his team a big assist
Tyler Schwichtenberg has been a scoring machine this season for the co-op Glenbard hockey team, which features players from North, South and West.
But it's the assists that he truly cherishes - and he's recorded plenty of them, too.
Schwichtenberg, 17, a junior center in his second varsity season, has 17 goals and 17 assists in 14 Illinois Suburban Hockey League (ISHL) games this season, including a league-leading 5 game-winning goals. Overall, he has 24 goals and a team-leading 23 assists in 20 games. He leads the team in short-handed goals (6).
And Schwichtenberg also plays for the Chicago Blues midget minor team.
"I like to set people up, so they can score. Sure, I like to score (goals), but I really like to (get assists)," said Schwichtenberg, who attends Glenbard North, lives in Carol Stream and skates five or six times per week, often multiple times in a day.
"Our season is going pretty well," he said. "We got off to a good start and want to keep going strong into the state tournament. We'd really like to get to the state championship, get a shot at Rockford."
Schwichtenberg, who shoots left-handed, was named to the All-State Team, along with teammate Joe Tomasek (defense), marking the first Glenbard players to ever be named All-State. Schwichtenberg is an assistant captain, driven to advance beyond last season's final four appearance in the Combined (teams) Division of the Blackhawk Cup.
"Tyler has one of the best hockey IQs I have seen," said Glenbard coach Jason Hawkins. "Whether it is power-play, penalty-killing, or even strength, he excels in all game situations. You don't see many natural goal-scorers and natural playmakers in the same player, but Tyler is one of those players."
Schwichtenberg scored 2 short-handed goals on the same shift in a January game against Wheaton Warrenville South.
Glenbard is battling in the tough North Division of the ISHL, where 7 points separate the top 6 teams in the seven-team division. Leyden, Benet and Conant also are in the North Division.
Glenbard received the No. 3 seed for the Blackhawk Cup and will face the winner of Maine-Joliet in the Combined Division. Rockford, the 13-time defending Combined champion, grabbed the No. 1 seed, naturally.
"Rockford is a really good team; they do things right," said Schwichtenberg, a baseball infielder who also enjoys golfing and is a summer-time caddie. "I'd love to play (against) Rockford; it'd be a great experience. I think we'd have a good chance; we have a strong team. I think we could give them a game."
Scholastic Cup update: Glenbrook North scored twice in a nine-second span Jan. 30, and that was about all the Spartans needed to defeat Warren 3-1 in a Scholastic Cup game played in Northbrook. Freshman forward Garrison Sanipass scored an unassisted goal in the second period. Junior forward Thomas Washburn then converted on an assist from junior Jack Day.
The Spartans have won eight consecutive Metro North games, and have mastered the Blue Devils all season, out-scoring Warren 15-1 in three games.
Inter-league Scholastic Cup action (for the top teams in each of the state-wide Metro Leagues) continues into mid-February, and then the real battle beings for the Scholastic Cup title. Meanwhile, the lower-ranked teams from each of the Metro Leagues battle in their own similar tournament for the Founders Cup.
Stevenson, St. Viator, Lake Forest and New Trier Blue also are battling for the Scholastic Cup from Metro North.
York's Angelo Desimone had a goal and an assist Jan. 29, while junior Mike Barabolak had 2 assists, leading the Dukes to a 6-3 win over Waubonsie Valley in Metro West Scholastic Cup action. Lincoln-Way East, Naperville Central, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley and Sandburg also are battling for the Scholastic Cup from Metro West.
York (16-3-5) grabbed the regular-season Metro West title, 1 point ahead of Naperville Central (17-5-2). York and Central battle at 8:35 p.m. Friday in Addison in a Scholastic Cup game.
Around The Rink: The annual Cougar Cup, presented to the champion of the Illinois Suburban Hockey League (ISHL), likely will be a battle between Lake Park, Lyons Township, Leyden and Glenbard. Benet is a darkhorse, along with Conant and Wheaton West - Crystal Lake South leads the Metro American regular-season race, boasting a 21-2 record, 7 points ahead of Barrington (17-0-1). However, the Broncos have 5 league games yet to play ... Mundelein (18-2-1) won Metro National, ahead of Libertyville (11-6-4) and Conant (10-6-5) - Stevenson's Sean Hammond, a senior forward, scored 3 goals Jan. 24, to earn MVP honors after leading the White Team to a 10-5 win over the Green Team in the annual Metro North All-Star Game in Northbrook ...Cody Barra, a junior for the co-op BGHW Renegades had quite a run in late-January: hat tricks in three consecutive games. In a 6-3 win over Conant on Jan. 13, Barra had 3 goals and an assist on Kirk Johnson's first period tally. Barra scored all three BGHW goals in its 5-3 loss to Fremd on Jan. 17. He then had a 3-goal performance Jan. 18 in a 5-0 win over the co-op PREP squad.
Outdoor Action: The University of Wisconsin will play host to the Camp Randall Hockey Classic on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium, the school's football stadium. The UW women will face the Bemidji State Beavers, and then the UW men will battle the University of Michigan in what will serve as the United States Hockey Hall of Fame Game. Carla Pentimone, a sophomore from Chicago (Loyola Academy), skates for Wisconsin.
The game will mark the second outdoor game in the modern era of Wisconsin men's hockey. For the first contest, 40,890 fans showed up at Lambeau Field to watch the Badgers skate to a 4-2 victory over Ohio State on Feb. 11, 2006.
The game will mark the third outdoor game played in Division I men's college hockey since 2001 when Michigan faced Michigan State at Spartan Stadium on Oct. 6, 2001 in a game dubbed The Cold War. That contest finished in a 3-3 tie in front of 74,544 fans, the current world record for an outdoor hockey contest.
The rink will be set up at the 50-yard line at Camp Randall Stadium, with the rink reaching the 17-yard lines, approximately, on both ends. Camp Randall Stadium holds 80,321 fans for football games.
Prep Hockey: Lake Forest Academy, the defending Midwest Prep Hockey League (MPHL) champion, finished the regular-season Jan. 31 with a near-perfect slate, anchored by a convincing 10-2 home win over Loyola Gold. The Caxys (12-0-1) won the West Division - and the team's 77 goals-for and 30 goals-against were league-leading statistics.
LFA build a 4-0 first period lead and was ahead 7-0 mid-way into the second period before the Ramblers struck for their first of two within a 42-second span. Kyle Akers and Nate Boychuck scored for the Ramblers, who were without six players due to injuries. The Ramblers (0-11-1) had the worst record in the 10-team league.
Darcy Greenaway had 2 goals and 3 assists for the Caxys, while Connor Berto and Harry Matheson each had 2 goals and 1 assist. Jay Gervens also tallied 2 goals as LFA peppered Loyola goalie Mack Skarynski with 45 shots.
The MPHL playoffs begin Feb. 22, and the league championship will be decided Feb. 27 in Cleveland.
LFA has the top 4 scorers in the West Division, and 7 of the top 9. Greenaway leads the West with 19 goals and 8 assists. Matheson is second (9 goals, 13 assists), followed by Charlie O'Connor (8, 13) and Berto (6, 11). LFA's Robert Levin is the leading goalie in the West, boasting a 10-0-1 record and has only allowed 27 goals in 11 games played.
The Caxys are coached by Darrin Madeley, who had a 4-23-5 record in his 37 career games as an NHL goalie. Madeley signed with the Ottawa Senators as a free agent in 1992 after a standout career with Lake Superior State University, where he was a two-time All-American.
Two 'tenders: Jacobs boasts two talented, steady goalies in Nick "Buzz" Amann and Alex Crescenti.
"It's been a tough decision-making process for me (on who to start), yet that's a good thing," said Jacobs coach Edward 'Chip' Anderson. "I feel comfortable playing either, regardless of who we're playing against. Both have played consistently well, and the boys have confidence, regardless of who I start in goal."
Amann is a varsity returner; Crescenti played for the Jacobs JV last season.
"We both have been playing pretty well," Amann said. "(Anderson) can throw either of us in the net; I'm sure he doesn't have a doubt or hesitation to put either of us in goal. I know he has confidence in both of us."
All-Star Action: Junior forward Kenny Hall (Crystal Lake South) was voted Most Outstanding Player for Metro Central in a 7-6 All-Star Game over Metro North on Jan. 31. Hall scored 2 goals and had 1 assist. Metro North's last-minute offensive flurry was thwarted by Metro Central goalie Matt Rowe (Cary-Grove).