Sharp gives Stevenson a big spark

Jonathan Sharp, Stevenson’s senior left wing, had the Patriots’ first goal and then an assist on the game-winner last Saturday, when Stevenson came from behind to defeat York 3-2, advancing to the Elite Eight of the Blackhawk Cup.

His linemates, center Grady Suerth and right wing Zach Spieler, also each had a goal and an assist in the thrilling, end-to-end game played at The Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville.

But Sharp had the most nerve-racking way to celebrate.

The next day, he went to Wisconsin to go snowboarding at Alpine Valley, his favorite hobby of the past six years.

“(Snowboarding) is really a big part of my life. I love it so much. I had a lot of fun,” Sharp said, laughing. “I’m aware that it’s the playoffs right now, so I’m not going to be doing anything too crazy. I was just getting away from things, having some fun. And I did.”

Sharp and his Stevenson teammates were back on the ice Saturday at The Edge, but it turned out to be their final game of the season, the final game of his prep career. The Patriots lost 3-2 to New Trier Green.

Stevenson trailed 3-0 before Sharp scored, tipping in a shot from defenseman Mike Varshavsky. Tommy Schroeder scored Stevenson’s second goal.

We didn’t get good breaks, but we played them hard and although it’s sad seeing the end of my high school hockey career, I am very proud of my team for putting up a really great fight and it was a really fun season.”

The Trevians advanced to Monday’s semifinals, where they will face defending state champion St. Rita, 6-1 winners Saturday over St. Viator. The Lions surrendered five power play goals in the loss.

Fenwick skated past Barrington on Saturday, 8-3, so the Friars will face Glenbrook North, which edged Loyola Gold 5-4 in triple overtime Saturday on a powerplay goal by senior Jack Day.

The state championship will be played Sunday, March 13, at the United Center, starting at 6 p.m.

Stevenson certainly improved over its last game against the Trevians — a 6-1 loss last November. Sharp saw action Saturday on defense, too, due to injuries.

“I’m definitely going to be sad when the season is over,” Sharp, 17, a Buffalo Grove resident, said last week. “I wouldn’t consider myself the star scorer. I just try to work as hard as I can in the corners, winning the battles and passing it out to my teammates.

“We each play a different role on the line, and it all works perfectly. Zach and Grady have each scored a lot of big goals for us this season. Grady and I work a lot in the corners to feed Zach, and hope he can bang it in.”

Suerth, a junior, led Stevenson with 20 goals and 42 assists in 55 games played. Spieler, also a junior, has 29 goals and 19 assists. Sharp had 23 goals and 16 assists in 50 games. He missed several December games, including the annual Blackhawk Charities Holiday Hockey Tournament, due to mono.

Sharp had 5 power-play and 3 game-winning goals.

“Coach (Jim Wood) put us together at the beginning of the season, and though he’s shuffled other lines, we’ve stayed together,” said Sharp, whose most memorable goal this season came Feb. 19, when the Patriots defeated York 2-1 in a thrilling Metro quarterfinal playoff game.

Sharp tallied with 20 seconds remaining in the second period, and defenseman Brendan Sheehan scored the game-winner in the third.

“I think that goal (Feb. 19 against York) really brought the team up. It really got us pumped up, gave us a lot of energy for the third period,” Sharp said. “I’ve been playing better than ever in the playoffs. Coach Wood has trusted me to play in the big situations, and I’m happy to perform to the best I can.”

Sharp has seven multi-point games this season, including a 2-goal, 1-assist showing last October against Loyola Maroon.

“Grady and Zach are really a big part of my success,” said the left-handed shooting Sharp, in his first varsity season.

Suerth also is in his first varsity season, yet the two were linemates last year, and have been teammates for four years.

“He’s always been one of the hardest working kids on the team,” Suerth said of Sharp. “We always seem to know where each other will be on the ice. I’m really going to miss him next year.”

Sharp is undecided on his college plans, though he wants to pursue a career in architecture. Yet getting admitted to schools won’t be a problem for Sharp.

He boasts a 3.75 GPA.

“Sharpie has done everything you can ask of a senior,” said Stevenson assistant coach Tom Wood. “He is currently our second-leading goal-scorer and is a great leader by example. Sharpie, along with Suerth and Spieler, all work great together. Sharpie’s line gives us a huge advantage because we really have two first lines. It allows us to match either of our top two forward lines against the opponent’s top line and they can both typically shut them down. Our depth typically allows us to score our goals against (the) other team’s second or third lines. The same thing applies to power plays and penalty kills. We have two units that are equally capable of doing the job and Sharpie is a huge part of that, playing on both the power-play and penalty kill.

“Off the ice he is even better. He is a great kid who gets along with everyone and in the classroom he (has close to) a 4.0 GPA. He is everything you want in a player.”

Blackhawk Cup: The elite eight is set for the second-tiered White Division, including No. 1 seed Wheaton Warrenville South battling Oak Park River Forest. Also, Deerfield faces Carmel, while Loyola Maroon battles No. 2 Fenwick #2, and Highland Park meets Lake Park.

No. 1-ranked Rockford faces Joliet Catholic in the Combined Division Sweet 16, while the co-op PREP (Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Elk Grove and Prospect) meets Cary-Grove.

Conant meets Buffalo Grove, among other action.