New Trier captain William Savino took his place on left defense to start the game Wednesday night, October 11, for the Trevians’ first SHL game against Glenbrook North. He was paired with New Trier newcomer Zachary Huebsch and, well, Savino was admittedly nervous, really nervous, which is not commonplace for the hockey star.

But it’s been quite a grind since last Feb. 24, when Green faced Hinsdale Central, which the Trevians ultimately won, 8-2, in the sweet-16 round of the Illinois High School Hockey State Tournament. Savino tore his left ACL in that state game, and the Spartans were Savino’s first game back.

That first shift “was unbelievable,” he said. “Playing with your best friends in the world, it was so much fun; there’s nothing better.”

Savino and his Trevian teammates were all smiles after the game at the Northbrook Sports Complex as Green built a 4-0 lead in an 8-minute stretch early in the second period en route to a 5-3 win.

New Trier moves to 4-0 in SHL play and now prepares for its second league game of the young season against York on Friday night, October 13, in Addison. The Spartans fall to 2-2 in SHL play and next face Saint Ignatius on the road on Thursday, October 12.

“It’s great to be back; I missed it a lot,” Savino said. “Recovery of a (torn) ACL is not easy, but I had all these guys helping me and the greatest coaches in the world who supported me every step of the way, along with my parents.

“It didn’t feel quick, but it was. I was cleared (to skate) six months and two weeks (after the injury), which is very quick. I was a little nervous. I knew I was good enough, healthy enough to go back out there, but I did have the first game (back) jitters.”

Savino was on the ice for all three GBN goals, “so my play could have been better,” he said. He also assisted Brendan Heneghan’s goal at 10:31, as did Huebsch, for his lone point of the night.

“I used to be more offensive, but was more defensive today,” said Savino, whose rehabilitation was three days a week for 90-minutes which, he said, “was not easy and was not fun.”

New Trier head coach Adam Cheris acknowledged after the game that “it was nice to have Savino back in the lineup.”

Especially since the Trevians were without five others, all recovering from injuries.

“We were a little nervous (before the game), wondering who was going to step up when you have (so many) injuries, especially when you may be playing on a line you’re not used to, you’re going to be on the powerplay and you’re not normally on the powerplay, or the penalty-kill and that’s not normal,” Cheris said.

The Trevians endured three penalties in the first period but silenced the Spartans on each.

“Early on, we had opportunities on the powerplay, but didn’t score. It’s hard to get (pucks) through, as we found out,” said GBN head coach Evan Poulakidas.

GBN captain Jacob Smith added: “We gotta put the puck in the net, and we’re struggling with that. Our power play needs to be better. We’ve been setting it up well but can’t score or get shots through. If we had scored on any of those powerplays, it would have been a whole different game.”

Instead, it was the Trevians who struck first. Spartan Jacob McDermott couldn’t convert a give away shot about a minute into the second period. New Trier answered at 15:54 when Ashton Freel scored, assisted by Huebsch’s first of three assists for the game.

The Trevians pushed their lead to 2-0 at 12:36 when Christian Randle scored his first of two, on the powerplay, assisted by Huebsch and Heneghan.

“Our powerplay stood out today,” Savino said.

“I thought the first period was very even. In the second period we got a little more confidence after talking about it (after the first period) that we weren’t playing with enough emotion against Glenbrook North,” Cheris said. “After scoring a couple, it was a different kind of flow.

“We have a very effective penalty-kill (system); it’s one that has been around here forever; (former Green head coach) Bob (Melton) had it here and it’s very effective. We stick with it because it’s probably the best one I’ve seen. If it ain’t broken, you don’t fix it.”

Randle tallied his second and what proved to be the game-winner at 8:13, assisted by Heneghan, when they went in on a 2-on-0 break.

“I thought everyone played a really good game, particularly Randle on defense who was fantastic; he stood out to me tonight,” Cheris said.

Heneghan added, “It was a solid game for the first two periods, but then we kind of let it slip away a bit in the third, which is something we must work on. But overall it was a good team win.” 

New Trier led 4-1 after two periods.

“I thought I played well. My line and I were working well together,” Heneghan said. “Our powerplay was on fire. We have a powerplay, called Big Foot, with all our biggest players (on the ice), so it’s pretty hard for them to control. That was a difference.”

Smith scored GBN’s first goal, assisted by Joshua Raub and Riston Siegel, at 7:22 of the second.

“Their size and their speed, it’s tough to handle,” Poulakidas said. “We have a breakaway and don’t score (early in the second), and they come down and pop one in the net. Now you’re chasing against a team you don’t want to chase. They are really good. Anyone who discounts who they are, what they have … their level of hockey is very good.

“You can’t be bad on the PK against New Trier. You can’t make mistakes against them; they’re too good. You have to play your A-game and they have to be a little off.”

About the only time the Trevians were off was in the third period. Daniel Rubin scored unassisted for the Spartans at 14:13 of the third, giving the Spartans hope.

“When it was 4-2, if we had gotten the third goal (at that point), we would have had a chance,” Poulakidas said. “I thought we had a really good third period.”

New Trier pushed its lead to 5-2 at 6:26 when Michael Pedraja tallied his third league goal of the season, assisted by Randle and John Curry.

“In the third, we kind of fell back into how we were playing in the first, more bystanders,” Cheris said.

Huebsch added: “I thought we played really well as a team, except the third period which wasn’t our best hockey (played). But we worked really hard in the first and second, got pucks on net, grinded down low and just outworked them.”

Huebsch, a junior, joins the Trevians from the Reapers Hockey Association. Cheris said he is “incredibly talented” and a “great pickup” for the Trevians. “I’ve known him since he was a kid and am thrilled to get him into the program,” Cheris added.

Ryan Sandler scored his third SHL goal of the season with 5:31 remaining in the third, cutting the score to 5-3. He was assisted by Ryan Rossi and Jake Semmelhack.

“I didn’t think we played horrible,” Smith said. “We showed fight; we didn’t get blown out; we came back. But we cannot let up four consecutive goals, especially against them.”

Drew Durdov only faced 12 shots on goal in net for the Trevians. 

Michael Reyderman played the first two periods in goal for the Spartans. Eli Rollins played the third. Combined, they faced 33 shots on goal from the Trevians.