Saint Ignatius Maroon is truly the newcomer of the Academic Hockey League, a six-team league that features the second varsity teams under the Scholastic Hockey League banner. The Wolfpack opened the season 12-0, including a 7-0 start in AHL play. But then they lost four of their next five league games.

            Parity is certainly at center ice in the AHL.

            “It’s been a great, competitive, fast, hard-hitting (league),” said Ignatius Maroon head coach Mike Rigitano. “The competition has been turned up, with a lot of players who want to win a championship.”

            The AHL also features Glenbrook South (Blue), New Trier White, Loyola Maroon, Saint Viator 2 and Lake Forest (Blue). Teams play each other four times, which has helped heat up rivalries that will, no doubt, carry over for years.

“As the saying goes, on any given night, anyone can win, and that’s very true in the AHL,” Rigitano said.

Added New Trier White head coach Jeremy Ellis: “I wish there were more teams in this league because it is very competitive, and the parity is great in the league. With a 4-game series, it can get intense and is building stronger rivalries that will carry over into the SHL. The AHL has players with skill and the play has been physical.”

The goaltending in the AHL has been impressive through the first two months of league play, led by Ignatius netminder Nicholas Nocera who has a .913 save percentage. Calder Turpin (Viator) and Colter Scherb (New Trier White) also have been impressive. Plus, Lake Forest’s Anthony Urso has stood tall despite a flood of shots heading his way.

“The league is definitely helping to re-ignite some rivalries,” Rigitano said. “And it’s exciting getting to play against new, established teams (on a regular basis).”

The top two scorers in the AHL skater for the Wolfpack and Ignatius features three of the top five league scorers. Brady Vacek has 13 goals, 7 assists in his first 15 league games, followed by teammate Reid Pienta (8 goals, 9 assists). Lake Forest’s Ian Pogany is next with 8 goals, 6 assists, followed by teammate Yianni Koliatsis (6, 7) and Kristiano Dcunha from Ignatius (5, 7).

“Brady has been a workhorse, an absolute Clydesdale,” Rigitano said of his team captain. “He is a leader by action. He can take over a game, is very strong on the puck, can box out other players; plus, he’s very shifty from north to south and then east to west. It’s very hard to knock him off the puck and he’s a speedy player.”

Vacek has had a point in his last seven league games and already has four multi-point games. “He’s earning his points; they aren’t coming easily,” Rigitano said. “It’s nice to see his grittiness, his competitiveness.”

Rigitano said AHL play this season is at least on par with the IHSHL North-Central Champions League.

“All of the AHL teams are very competitive. There isn’t one really good or one really bad team,” said Viator forward Gio DiPinto (1 goal, 3 assists in his first 13 league games). “Last year, we played in the North-Central Champions League; we were losing a lot and didn’t develop that much. This year, we’ve developed more and it’s a more even playing field.”

Viator started slow with an 0-3 league record and losses in five of their first six AHL games. But the Lions now stand at 5-9 in the AHL, ready to host Glenbrook South in Mount Prospect on Saturday, December 16.

The Lions first win of the season was on the road against Loyola Maroon.

“We went into (the) Heartland (Ice Arena) ready for a win, and we were able to get it done, 1-0. That’s changed the momentum of our season,” DiPinto said. “(That Loyola win) told us that, yes, we can beat good teams and that we can be a competitive team in this league. (That Loyola win) helped our mindset to turn things around.”

One of the season highlights so far for Viator was a 4-0 road win over New Trier White. “I think that (score) surprised their whole team,” said DiPinto, who tagged Ignatius as the top rival for Viator.

The Ignatius/Viator games are “very tight, competitive,” DiPinto said.

Albert Przywara leads Viator in scoring to date: 6 goals, 5 assists, including 3 powerplay tallies.

“Overall, I think our team has developed a lot so far this season,” DiPinto said. “I know my skills have definitely improved this season.”

Loyola defenseman Dylan Libel is one of the most talented players in the AHL, meshing his speed with great puck-moving skills.

“I think Ignatius has a really good team; they play very disciplined and have good goaltending,” Ellis said.

Loyola may be the deepest AHL team, while GBS may be the most physical and the fastest.

The Trevians need to improve their consistency, but they absolutely will be a factor in deciding the league champion. After all, it was New Trier White that won the V2 portion of the Loyola O’Grady Thanksgiving Tournament.

“It was great,” winning that tournament, Ellis said. “That tournament is our catalyst for the stretch heading into the Christmas break. It was great for the guys to win a tournament, get a trophy, and all games in that tournament were hard-fought games, physical too.”

The four teams who could have skated in the finals of the annual Loyola tournament were all AHL teams: White defeated Ignatius to advance to the finals, while Loyola stopped Glenbrook South to advance and challenge the Trevians.

“I’m excited for the (AHL) playoffs. They are going to be gritty, competitive, intense,” Ellis said.

Added Loyola Maroon head coach Aidan Finegan: “The talent in the league is there. You get maximum effort from every team in every game, and consistent play in every game from every team makes the kids get better throughout the season.”

• Want more about the Academic Hockey League, check out this profile of Viator defenseman Zach Waltuck.