Hockey roots run deep for Libertyville’s Miller
Bob Miller stood behind the glass at the Twin Rinks Ice Pavilion in Buffalo Grove, watching his son, Scott, a center for the co-op Libertyville Icecats, a team comprised of students from Libertyville and Vernon Hills.
To Miller’s left, as he watched play in the seventh annual Stevenson Thanksgiving Invitational, were members of the Glenbrook North team, which was in action next.
None of the Spartans had a clue that the gray-haired, 52-year-old Miller also no doubt bleeds Spartans green and gold.
Bob Miller played forward for three seasons for the Spartans before graduating in 1976, and he was a GBN coach from 1982-1993 including the last eight years as the varsity coach.
Scott Miller is a sophomore from Libertyville, in his first season on the varsity with some large family skates to fill.
In addition to his dad, Scott’s uncles have strong local slapshots.
Mike Miller, 49, played two years for the Spartans and graduated in 1979.
Tom Miller, 47, played three seasons for Glenbrook North before graduating in 1981. He then coached in the Spartans’ program from 1984-95, and is now the hockey director for the Falcons Hockey Association in Deerfield.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Scott, 16. “It seems like every team I’ve been on people know my dad or my uncle. It’s pretty cool seeing all of the people who I’m connected to through them.”
Including coaches from two of the state’s top programs: New Trier Green (Bob Melton) and Loyola Gold (D.J. LaVarre).
Melton and LaVarre each skated for the Spartans. LaVarre even teamed with Tom Miller. LaVarre also coached GBN alongside the Millers.
“I know everyone really loves (my dad and Uncle Tom) from a coaching standpoint,” Scott said. “I don’t know many people who have been disappointed with those two as coaches. It’s pretty cool that I have a family history in (local) hockey.
“Someday, I’d like to be a hockey coach like them, too.”
Scott Miller, who lives in Libertyville, centers the Icecats’ line with Garrett Gratz, a Libertyville senior who plays left wing, and Patrick Quinn, a Vernon Hills sophomore who plays on the right. The Icecats are 3-3-3 in Metro Central play, and Miller has a goal and 3 assists in six league games.
Anthony Rossetti leads the Icecats with a goal and 5 assists in nine games.
“I’m a grinder,” Miller said. “I work the corners, get the puck to the front (of the net). I go all out every shift. I leave it all on the ice. I work particularly hard in our defensive end of the ice because I hate when goals are scored (against us) when I’m on the ice.
“There isn’t much separation between players, based on (which) school (the player attends). We all know each other pretty well because we’re all on the same team, so you don’t think about which school someone goes to. Everyone meshes together well.”
Bob Miller coached Scott for years, highlighted by a fourth-place state finish in a youth league.
“(My dad and uncles) have really helped me in hockey,” Scott Miller said. “They definitely are one of the main reasons I’m playing at this level. After every game, my dad always has something to tell me, something I can work on.”
Good as gold: Stevenson’s motivation this season is goalie Michael Goldfine, a sophomore on the school’s junior varsity team who in July was diagnosed with leukemia.
He has endured weekly chemotherapy sessions and lost most of his hair, but he still manages to stop slapshots. Goldfine recorded a shutout in his first game of the season against Lake Forest.
“Michael has shown the rest of the boys a strong life lesson that, when things get tough, you have to buckle down and try harder,” said Stevenson varsity assistant coach Tom Wood, a 1998 Stevenson alum. “It amazes me that this kid has been playing hockey and at the same time he is going through the physically draining battle against leukemia.
“What a lot of people don’t know is that he has been doing extra clinics and taking extra goaltending sessions to get better while all this is going on. Top all that off with the fact that he is playing at a very high level as well and it is literally astonishing. I don’t know where he gets the energy.
“Michael is a great kid and this experience will only make him stronger in the future and more successful in other areas of his life. Every person in the Stevenson hockey family is inspired by his determination.”
And others, too.
During the annual three-day Stevenson Thanksgiving Invitational, organizers held a fundraiser, selling orange bracelets with Goldfine’s initials and the phrase “GOOD AS GOLD,” and asked for donations. About $5,200 was raised for Children’s Memorial Hospital.
Goldfine, 16, who lives in Long Grove, will have weekly chemo sessions through mid-January, then hopefully monthly thereafter. He’s in a three-year treatment plan.
“It’s been kind of rough because I don’t really have the stamina to stay in the whole game,” Goldfine said. “It’s been pretty emotional. Whenever I have to come out of a game, I’m pretty mad that I don’t have the physical capabilities to stay in the whole game. It is a little frustrating and, sure, I sometimes wonder, ‘Why did this have to happen to me?’ Still, I want to help us in the playoffs and hopefully win state.”
No turkeys: Glenbrook North swept the titles in the Stevenson Thanksgiving Invitational, winning at both the varsity and JV divisions.
The varsity Spartans defeated the host Patriots in the semifinals, then stopped the co-op Rockford Icemen. Both games were 4-2.
Fenwick captured the title in the 39th annual Loyola Thanksgiving Tournament, held in Wilmette. The Friars skated past Catholic League rival St. Rita 5-1 in the championship game.
They rank: Here are Top 10 rankings for Illinois high school teams through Dec. 1, as compiled by Ross Forman:
1. Fenwick
2. Glenbrook North
3. New Trier Green
4. Rockford
5. St. Rita
6. Loyola Gold
7. Prairie Ridge
8. Stevenson
9. York
10. St. Viator
Honorable mention: Barrington, Waubonsie Valley, Providence Catholic, Marist, Hinsdale Central.