Glenbrook North found no shortage of scoring chances in either of its first two games of this year’s SHL Showcase. The Spartans had more than 30 shots against Norwich Free Academy from Colorado on Friday, and more than 50 in their first game Saturday against Notre Dame, from Scottsdale, Arizona.

But the difference between winning and losing is always finishing. North only scored twice Friday in a 5-2 loss to Norwich, but put seven goals on the board against Notre Dame  in a 7-1 win.

“Yesterday at times we were all over them and couldn’t get one in net, so that’s frustrating,” Spartans coach Evan Poulakidas said after Saturday’s win. “We needed a day like today.”

In the tournament opener for both teams, Norwich coach Wayne Sheehan liked the balance he got from his boys against Glenbrook North. Norwich went 2-1-1 in the tournament and also played New Trier, Loyola, and Saint Viator.

“It was a good, steady opening performance. We had to shake off a little bit of the travel and then we got going,” Sheehan said. “We were able to roll three lines and that’s important for us because when we’re playing well, everyone is contributing. And that’s what we got.”

Norwich showed throughout the tournament that it could stretch the ice with the best of them, led by one of the tournament’s most dynamic players in Felix-Antoine Laflamme.

Laflamme scored two goals and had an assist in the win over GBN, and Norwich also got goals from Jacob Martineau, Conor Dempsey, and Vincent Cregheur. Norwich assists on the day came from Laflamme, Martineau, Cregheur, Dempsey, Otii Nyfors, Owen Cartledge, Richard Aguilera, and Sheldon Maiorano.

“It was a pretty good game and a just little different from how we play (in Connecticut),” Laflamme said. “It was definitely more structured.”

Sheehan applauded his senior captain and was also pleased with what he got between the pipes against GBN.

“Felix is a force. He’s really good,” Sheehan said. “And we got a really great performance from our goalie, Noah Koscher. He stopped a 2-on-0 at the end of the game. He was composed and he stayed right with it tonight. A really good performance from him.”

Koscher kept the door shut tight all night against Glenbrook North. Kevin Burns scored unassisted in the first period for North, and Jacob Raub scored in the second on assists from Burns and Charlie Walker.

“We didn’t finish our chances and we had plenty of them, but I loved the way we played,” Poulakidas said. “We did give up too many odd-man breaks and they finished, but I had no problem with the way we played.”

North senior Anthony Rafalowski was happy with his side’s play in the loss, but saw a few adjustments that were needed.

“It was a pretty even game in shots and they just had the better bounces,” Rafalowski said. “Something we needed to work on was just being more physical. We were letting them get by us, we weren’t getting our men, and they were beating us 2-on-1s, odd-man breaks. They were a really good team in transition and we didn’t do a good enough job picking them up.”

North rebounded in its first game on Saturday against Notre Dame. The Spartans scored three goals in the first period, one in the second, and three more in the third, finishing with 52 shots in the game.

Rafalowski netted a hat-trick in Saturday’s 7-1 win. The Spartans also got goals from Charlie Rosen, Kyle Lomax, Jake McDermott, and Mark Masarsky. Walker led North with three assists while Lomax and Noah Masinter had two apiece. North’s Eli Rollins got the win in net.

Notre Dame got a goal from Cody Bjorndal on an assist from Adam Kaplan in the second period, and one from Reed Gramlich on assists from Maddon Hogenauer and Drew Jazwin.

“I liked Anthony’s game, he played super strong, and it was important that we get our secondary scoring going,” Poulakidas said. “We were solid defensively, didn’t give up too much, and we got a win.”

Rafalowski pointed to one of hockey’s great intangibles at work in the win.

“One of the things I really loved was our energy today. Everyone was so riled up on the bench,” Rafalowski said. “These are people you’ve been playing with your whole lives and for me, it’s my last year so being able to get these moments with your teammates is special. And having the bench cheer you on really brings that energy and passion. It keeps you in the game.

“Last game we had (Josh) Raun and (Kevin) Burns step up and get us a couple goals against a really good team. In this game we had seven goals, 52 shots — a lot of great offense.

“At the beginning of the season I knew we had a lot of firepower. Last year our struggles were mainly from a defensive standpoint. We had all those great scorers, so heading into this year we weren’t sure if we’d have enough goal-scorers. But a lot of the younger players have stepped up, in this showcase especially.”

Notre Dame finished 0-3-1 in tournament play, also losing to Loyola and Saint Viator before ending the weekend with a 2-2 tie against New Trier.

Glenbrook North finished 1-1-2 in tournament play, getting ties against two Colorado teams in Valor Christian and Regis Jesuit.