New Trier’s 3-0 win over Colorado’s Valor Christian on Friday again showed the value of a hockey team bringing the thunder right at the start of a game.

“We came out really aggressive. We’ve been coming out strong but unfortunately, a lot of times, we’re giving up a (first) goal,” New Trier coach Adam Cheris said. “We can go out and dominate and they get one shot and it goes in.”

“But I really liked the pace that we set today. We were really aggressive and everybody was flying. Overall, we played a really good game.”

A scoreless first period saw New Trier post a 20-9 edge in shots. But a 17-4 edge in shots in the second period saw the Green team get goals from Brendan Heneghan, Harrison Miller, and Aidan Nolan, to take control of the opening game of the SHL Showcase for both teams.

“I was really impressed with New Trier,” Valor Christian coach George Gwozdecky said. “They played hard right from the beginning, made some really good plays, and we didn’t really do a whole lot to challenge them.

“It was how hard they competed and they did a nice job of bottling us up. They were in good positions to take pucks away, cut off passing lanes — I was impressed.”

Heneghan started New Trier’s scoring roughly seven minutes into the second period, going in alone on net and finishing. Nolan buried a wrist shot with four minutes remaining and Miller made it 3-0 with two minutes left in the period to keep up his high recent level of play.

“Miller has stepped up,” Cheris said. “We’ve been putting him on our top line and he scored last night (in a 5-1 win over Fenwick) and he scored again today. I’m happy to see that because we have to get scoring from other guys.

“We’re giving him an opportunity with (Brendan) Heneghan and (David) Wolff and so far he’s doing a really good job.”

New Trier ultimately posted a 44-19 edge in shots for the game, and Valor Christian goaltender Trudeaux Coffey played exceptionally well in keeping the Trevians to three goals.

“I thought (Coffey) competed his tail off,” Gwozdecky said. “He gave us a chance and that’s all you can ask for. He was terrific in goal and he was the guy that kept us in the game. If we would have gotten (a goal) on the power plays, especially in the third period, it might have given us a little momentum.”

The Screaming Eagles flew into Chicago from Colorado on Thursday and their coach was hoping to see them continue their recent strong play.

“We just came off a fall season on Saturday night when we won our league championship and I was expecting that we would come out more excited to play and more determined to compete. I thought we were far from that and we could have competed better. I don’t know if that would have been enough to win the game but I thought we could have at least given New Trier a better challenge.”

Valor Christian got stronger as the game wore on but Coffey agreed that his side needed more energy from the get-go.

“I’m kind of oblivious to that stuff most of the time but today, I could tell,” Coffey said. “(New Trier’s) puck movement was great. They moved it really, really well but we’re a better team than that, for sure.”

Coffey is also glad his program agreed to participate in the inaugural SHL Showcase. “I like Chicago. The teams here are really nice, and the kids have been awesome,” Coffey said.

Cheris liked the game defenseman Will Savino gave him, who “looked really in control tonight, dominant when he wanted the puck,” Cheris said. “It was a really good game from him.”

“And (goalie Wyatt Schmidt) didn’t get a lot of shots but he saw some tough chances,” Cheris said. “He had two or three point-blank shots and made a kick-save that was ridiculous.”

Schmidt is just happy to see his side back to its winning ways. Friday’s win was New Trier’s fourth straight after a pair of consecutive losses in SHL play.

Not that the Green team was about to hit any panic buttons.

 “There’s going to be ups and downs. There are eighty games,” Schmidt said. “It happened last year and the year before that. We just get together, we talk, and see what we have to improve on and so far I think we’re doing what we said for the most part.”