New Trier and host York both went into Friday’s SHL showdown on winning streaks; York had won seven consecutive league games and New Trier had won five straight.

Only one winning streak could survive.

When the dust settled, top-ranked and league-leading New Trier had a  5-3 win over York in posting its sixth consecutive SHL victory.

“They just have four lines that all play good hockey, and they play it with a lot of effort,” York coach Matt Boeing said of New Trier. “It's always a good learning opportunity anytime anyone plays against them. But our boys are looking forward to seeing them again.”

New Trier’s win in Addison featured a hat-trick from Tyler Smith and goals from Henry Miller and Charlie Andrews, while York got goals from Nico Ptak, Frank Nicosia, and Eli Maurer.

York had been the hottest team in the SHL over its previous ten games, having gone 9-1 including two wins apiece over both Glenbrook South and Loyola.

The Trevians knew what they were in for against the Dukes.

“They weren't that hot in the beginning of the season but now they're buzzing. They're one of the top three teams in the league right now,” Smith said. “None of those kids give up. They work so hard and it's impressive.”

New Trier (47-6-2, 22-4 in SHL play) is ranked No. 1 by myhockeyrankings.com and sit atop the SHL, having clinched home ice throughout the looming SHL playoffs.

York (29-19-0, 16-9) is currently ranked No. 7 in Illinois and sits in fourth place in the SHL with 33 points, but are only a single point behind Glenbrook South and Stevenson, which are both tied for second.

Saint Viator and Loyola also only sit a single point behind fifth-place Glenbrook North, so the final few regular-season SHL games will go a long way towards setting the seeds for the SHL postseason tournament.

York struck first at the 6:41 mark of the first period Friday, when Ptak buried a second rebound after New Trier goaltender Drew Durdov first turned shots away from both Maurer and Nicosia. York ultimately finished with a 16-15 edge in fist-period shots.

“The first period was all about weathering the storm and seeing who was going to match and set the tempo,” Boeing said. “Nico got a goal for us and when we’re winning in the first period our record is something like 12-0. So we always want to start hot and keep that momentum going.

“Then we had a little bit of a ‘D’ zone breakdown and the puck ended up in the back of our net. But realistically, it was a pretty even first period.”

Miller tied the game 1-1 from the low slot with 4:44 left to play in the first period, on an assist from Smith.

The second period was New Trier’s best of the game, as the Trevians earned an 18-7 edge in shots and struck twice on goals from Smith and Andrews to take a 3-1 lead into intermission.

Smith skated up on the left side and stretched the back netting at 10:23 and Andrews made it 3-1 with his goal at the 6:17 mark.

Miller assisted on Smith’s goal and Connor Hirschtritt and Aidan Nolan got the helper on Andrews’ goal.

New Trier was buzzing in the second period and had York on its heels.

“I thought we played a great second period,” New Trier coach Adam Cheris said. “The energy on the bench was huge, we had guys going to the net and understanding that they needed to get there; not only getting shots on net, but going for those rebounds. They turned it up a notch and it was a different energy level in the second for us.”

Cheris was also glad to see Andrews get rewarded.

“We called up Charlie Andrews (from New Trier Blue) and it was great to see him score that goal. He’s a senior and he’s a kid that just works his tail off,” Cheris said. “PJ Sibell also came up and he did a great job, too. He just goes out and makes smart plays.”

Chasing two goals at home, Boeing’s message to his team at intermission was simple.

“We've had multiple games this year where we were down a goal or two going into the third, pulled a goalie, scored 6-on-5 and won it in overtime,” Cheris said. “We just said ‘let's go out there, change the game, and win this. Then we went out there and scored the first goal, we were getting shots on net, and the rebounds were there.”

Nicosia’s goal in the first minute of the third period effectively slammed the brakes on the momentum New Trier had built in the third. Nicosia re-directed an Aaron Curry shot taken from the point on the right side to cut New Trier’s lead to 3-2, with 15:56 left to play in the game.

That’s the way it stood for roughly the next 14 minutes of play, until Smith netted his second goal with 1:49 left to play to make it 4-2, on an assist from Sam Shenton.

Maurer’s goal less than a minute later made it 4-3 on assists from Tyler Pfeiffle and Matt Soehn, before York goaltender Adam Kaczmarek sat down to give York a one-man advantage in the game’s final minute.

A faceoff in New Trier’s defensive end gave York a final chance to make something happen, but Kitchel Snow blocked a shot near the blue line and got the puck quickly ahead to Smith, who was off to the races for an empty-net goal with only 8 seconds remaining.

Smith currently leads New Trier in SHL points with 26, on 14 goals and 12 assists. Aleks Cheris, second with 23 points, sat out of Friday’s game due to injury; Landon Douthit is third on the team with 20 league points.

Sitting right behind the Trevians’ top three is Miller with 16 SHL points. All he’s done this season is absolutely whatever he’s been asked to do.

“He's been an unsung hero for us all year,” Cheris said. “He's been taking whatever role he's been given and just flourishing at it. He doesn't care if he's on a checking line one night, a scoring line the next, the power-play, the penalty kill — he’s an assistant captain and he wears it really well. (Butler) Chessen had three or four great chances tonight, and Douthit also had three or four great chances and hit the post.”

Smith also applauded the day’s work Miller put in, along with a few other teammates in Friday’s win.

“Miller played a hell of a game. He's always going as hard as he can,” Smith said. Landon Douthit only has one speed, he's always flying around the ice, and I think (goaltender) Drew Durdov definitely hung us in that game. York had a couple good opportunities in the slot but Drew was a brick wall.”

New Trier ultimately posted a 40-31 edge in shots for the game. The Trevians won 3-2 and 3-1 in their other two meetings against York this year.

New Trier plays its final regular-season SHL game Saturday at home against Glenbrook North, while York plays Lake Forest Sunday at Allstate Arena before finishing the regular season Feb. 3 when it hosts Glenbrook North.

The Dukes will look to continue playing high-level hockey with the postseason now knocking on the door. York has now won 15 of its last 18 games overall.

Boeing liked the 200-foot game Ptak played Friday and has enjoyed seeing his boys gel over their previous 20 games together.

“It's been fun to watch,” Boeing said. “We've had like fifteen new guys on our team this year A lot of them played jayvee last year so it's been a matter of getting them used to the speed of varsity, and that has just taken a while. 

“It starts from the post up and we've had some great goaltending from both of our goalies. Adam Kaczmarek is an all-state goalie for sure. 

“The kids talk about (Nicosia) as the heartbeat of the team and he has really grown as a leader over the last few years, so I'm really proud of him, and (Kaczmarek) is another great leader. We were maybe a higher skilled team last year, but this year's team has a little more grit, blocking shots, driving the blue paint and trying to put goals away. And there's no quit in these dogs.”