Whatever happens moving forward, the game-winning goal that Saint Viator’s Sean Nutley scored in the third period of Saturday’s 4-3 win over visiting Glenbrook South will rank among the best goals scored on Nutley’s 2023-24 highlight reel.

Nutley got a pass from Colton Neuhaus near mid-ice and saw his chance.

“I saw both (defensemen) coming at me,” Nutley said. “I chipped it around them and just went in. Then I just faked the goalie to one side and got him on the other.”

The right-handed Nutley faked to his backhand before tucking a shot inside the post on the right side, with 6:30 remaining in the SHL battle on the Lions’ home ice in Mt. Prospect.

Two teams unbeaten in league play and ranked in the top three teams in Illinois did not disappoint a raucous crowd on the Lions’ breast cancer awareness night.

It was a well-played game both ways, from puck drop to final buzzer.

“I thought it was a great game,” South coach Jim Philbin said. “Not a lot of penalties, and there shouldn’t have been, just a good, hard-working skating game by both teams and that’s what you want to see in a game with two top teams going at it.”

Glenbrook South (2-1 in SHL play) went into Saturday’s game ranked second in Illinois behind defending state champion New Trier, with Saint Viator (6-0) ranked third. Rankings are provided by My Hockey Rankings, at myhockeyrankings.com.

Saint Viator stormed back twice to tie the game, and took a 3-2 lead only to see Glenbrook South come back to tie it 3-3 before Nutley’s outstanding goal effectively gave the Lion’s the win.

“We  figured it would b e a tight, one-goal game one way or the other,” Saint Viator coach Tim Benz said. “I liked our resiliency — we were down 1-0 and then 2-1 and came back and tied it.

“Our effort-level could have been increased and there were a couple keys that we missed that ended up in the back of our net so I’d like to see that cleaned up a little bit more. But overall I think resiliency was key and that was nice to see, especially this early in the season.”

Saint Viator went into Saturday’s game having scored 20 goals in four SHL wins. The Lions scored four more goals and finished with a 33-32 edge in shots against GBS.

Nutley sees a difference between last year’s team and this year’s version of the Lions.

“We’re taking more high-quality shots than last year,” Nutley said. “Last year we outshot every team but we weren’t taking those high-quality shots.”

Glenbrook South’s Nick Ventura opened the night’s scoring from close range, eight minutes in on an assist from Will Stevens.

Only five penalties were called all night and Saint Viator capitalized on the first of their three power plays, late in the first period. With 2:32 remaining, Jake Voris cleaned up a rebound on the right side after a shot taken from the left side by Nutley. Robert Hoffman also assisted on the play.

South took a 2-1 lead less than one minute into the second period. On a 2-on-1 rush from the neutral zone, Titans senior Zach Friemuth took a pass on the right side from Blake Hoffer and stretched the back netting at the 16:17 mark.

Friemuth finished with two goals and has scored seven in three SHL games. Philbin has watched Friemuth improve incrementally every season, and the senior has upped the octane in his game since last year.

“He picked up another step-and-a-half or two steps since last year," Philbin said. “Every year he has put in more and more time off the ice and that has just made him a better player. He does the extra work in the early mornings, and it shows. He’s a great leader and he has been for a long time.”

The Lions again answered the bell. Connor Sibigtroth cleaned up on a Voris shot with 5:49 left in the third, knotting the game at 2-2. Sibigtroth and Voris are part of Saint Viator’s ‘gray line’.

“Our young line of Connor Sibigtroth, Peppi Laboy, and Jake Voris — those guys have been stepping up big as underclassmen,” Benz said.

Saint Viator took a 3-2 lead early in the third period on a Ryan Loftus goal. Loftus buried a rebound on an Aidan O’Neill shot, with Vitali Strutynskyi also assisting, little more than one minute into the third period.

High school hockey trades in dirty goals and the Lions pounced on their opportunities in Saturday’s win. And while Glenbrook South goaltender Eli Kamins has been rock-solid in net all season, a goalie can only do so much…

“We need to clean up in front of our net,” Philbin said. “We had a lot of goals that were tap-ins, and that’s coverage. You can’t stand around. Eli played a good game. You can’t fault him for no coverage in front. He did his job and we just need to help him out more in our zone.”

Friemuth netted a tying goal roughly two minutes later, volleying a pass on the left side near the net, on a pass across from Wyatt Sherwood. Hoffer also assisted on the play.

The ice tilted back-and-forth for another eight minutes before Nutley rode up on his white horse and played the hero.

“Sean had a great goal and he’s a great senior leader,” Benz said. “We’ve had some really good goaltending, too, between Brock (Harer) and. Patrick Ogara, so that goes a long way.”

Harer had 29 saves and improved to 3-0 in league play with Saturday’s win. Harer moved to 4-0 with Sunday’s ensuing 5-3 win against York, in which Voris, Nutley, Loftus, Sibigtroth, and Sebastian Pachocha all netted goals.

Sunday’s win upped Saint Viator’s SHL record to 6-0 and thus far the Lions have posted a 29-16 scoring edge over league opponents.

“We’ve also been leaning heavily on our two senior defensemen, Jack Kuffel and Matthew Voris,” Benz said. “Those guys see a lot of minutes, especially (Saturday) against a kid like Friemuth, who is one of the better players in the league.”

Friemuth liked almost everything he saw from his boys against Saint Viator, despite the loss.

“It was a great atmosphere,” Friemuth said. “It was the first time we played in an atmosphere like this and we handled it all right and played our game. Speed is our game and I thought we used our speed well. We just had a few bad breaks and defensively we have to help out our goaltender a little bit.

“(Saint Viator) is a different team than we’ve seen in the past. They’re usually a run-around, heavy-hitting team but they know how to play hockey. Give them credit because they played a great game. They’ve got multiple lines that can skate really well and their first line is really tough.”

NOTES:

Ask Friemuth about the way he’s lighting the lamp with regularity this season and the humble senior goes into deflect mode.

“My linemates are playing great,” Friemuth said of Wyatt Sherwood Blake Hoffer. “They’re moving the puck well. (Blake) Hoffer played great at the jayvee level and more than other guys I’ve seen, he has picked up the varsity pace faster than other kids can. They’re both two big kids that can skate and it’s really fun playing with them. They hit me in open spots and make it really easy to play with. And Marty McAuley on the back end was a great pick-up for us. He finds my stick a lot. So I can’t take credit for the goals because everyone is making plays and it’s just my job to bury it when I get the chance.”

While it’s never ideal to be chasing a deficit, Nutley liked the way his boys responded to one-goal deficits Saturday. The Lions also came back from a 3-0 deficit to win 5-3 against York Sunday.

“That definitely brings out the best in us,” Nutley said. “I liked that everyone is putting their bodies on the line, working hard, and going hard into the corners fearlessly. And getting shots on goalies is what we needed and the rebounds were there.

“We knew it would be a tough task coming in (vs. GBS) and we had a rough first period, but we pushed through. We’re a lot more forward-minded and we have four lines that can put the puck in the net. All four lines are working hard, so that helps.”