Zack Freimuth and Charlie Baine have been battling all season for bragging rights as the SHL leading scorer. Freimuth, a 4-year varsity center for Glenbrook South, ended the 2023 portion of the season with a 2-point lead. He has 18 goals and 19 assists in 17 games played. Baine, a senior forward for Loyola Gold, has 12 goals and 23 assists in 22 games.

            Before their scoring battle resumes, they will be teammates for the annual All-Star Game pitting the Scholastic Hockey League against the Chicago Catholic Hockey League (CCHL) on Friday, January 5, at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont before the Chicago Wolves game that evening against Tucson. The winning league stakes claim to the Old Wooden Skate Trophy.

            “I was super excited to find out that I made the SHL All-Star Team. I’m honored to play for that team for the second year in a row. I’m grateful,” said Freimuth. “It should be a great match up and I’m excited to play alongside some of the guys I get the chance to play against this year in the SHL. I think we’ll be pretty good.”

            Last year, the SHL won the All-Star Game, 6-2, and that’s when Freimuth talked with then-Glenbrook North star Aidan Siegel, who told his GBS counterpart, “If we lived a couple miles closer, we’d probably be best friends.”

Freimuth admits, “I think about that (statement) a lot.”

Freimuth has SHL foes this season that he is excited to skate alongside in the All-State Game, including another Spartan: forward Noah Masinter. “He’s a great player, driven and hard-working,” Freimuth said. “I’m excited to get to know him, play alongside him.”

Same for Baine.

“He is one of the best players in the state,” Freimuth said of Baine.

Ironically, Freimuth and Baine were teammates for two seasons in Winnetka.

“I’m really looking forward to playing with him again,” Freimuth said.

New Trier Green senior forward Aidan Nolan also will represent the SHL, and no doubt he too will reflect on his bantam years with Freimuth and Baine.

“I anticipate a lot of fun in the all-star game, but, at the end of the day, we want to win that game,” Freimuth said. “We have something to prove because everyone looks at us as the best league in the state, and we want to back that up.”

The SHL All-Star roster features 12 forwards, 6 defensemen and 3 goals. The coaches are Evan Poulakidas (Glenbrook North), Adam Cheris (New Trier Green), Matt Boeing (York) and Jim Philbin (Glenbrook South).

“This all-star game is a great event, a great opportunity to showcase the best in the league and their skills,” said Saint Vitor head coach Tim Benz. “It’s a fun event for the kids who are normally going head-to-head against the other SHL players.”

Players from Fenwick and Saint Ignatius will skate for the CCHL as both schools play in both leagues. The Wolfpack spotlight will, no doubt, shine on junior forward Tiernan Ryan, the third-leading scorer in the SHL (13 goals, 17 assists in 23 games) and the leading scorer in the CCHL (17 goals, 18 assists in 15 games).

All other SHL teams will be represented in the all-star game.

“If you look at all (the SHL) rosters, there are so many kids who could be on this (all-star) team and yet aren’t. That really speaks to the depth of the league,” Benz said. “Every player on the all-star team is a threat to put the puck in the net.”

The CCHL also is well-represented with Benet Academy forward Hudson Schlie, Brother Rice forward John Keaty and Providence Catholic forward Carson Burriss, among others.

“I hope we continue to do (this all-star game) as it’s a nice way to showcase our players for junior programs and ACHL club teams,” said Brother Rice head coach Paul Manning. “The SHL has some real depth and hopefully with our best players we can have a good match up against them. The SHL is a strong league and we need to show that we can compete against them, but I think it’s an uphill battle for the Catholic League.

“Still, it will be a great atmosphere for the kids to be able to compete at a high level.

“Plus, this all-star game is a great way for everyone to get to know everyone and, I think it will create better sportsmanship (in future games). So, it’s important to have these all-star games.”

Dan Wood, the head coach at Stevenson, is excited for his Patriot playing in the all-star game and also when he switches to his DePaul University hat as the Blue Demons head coach.

“This all-star game is a great way to showcase talented high school hockey players and, trust me, many ACHL players are looking at the top high school players in Illinois – and they know that (Illinois players) can have an immediate impact on (college club) teams.

“This all-star game will be a great showcase of the skill level in the SHL and the CCHL. You definitely will see some incredibly high level of play.”

Wood added: “The hardest team to make in Illinois is the SHL All-Conference First Team. You must have an outstanding year to make that team as it’s just six players. This all-star team is another version of that (all-conference team) and this team also is incredibly difficult to make. I look at some of the names not on the all-star team, wow, there are a lot of very skilled players who did not make the team. That speaks to the league.”

The SHL all-star goalies are Brock Harer (Saint Viator), Drew Durdov (New Trier Green) and Michael Reyderman (Glenbrook North).

The SHL defensemen represent six different schools: Marty McAuley (Glenbrook South), Shane Randle (New Trier Green), Frank Rosa (York), Jack Kuffel (Saint Viator), Riston Siegel (Glenbrook North) and Chris Sipe (Loyola Gold).

The SHL all-star forwards include Brendan Heneghan (New Trier), Anthony Rafalowski (Glenbrook North), Thomas Santaniello (Lake Forest), Liam Finegan (Loyola), Deacon Rose (Carmel), Nick Sanfilippo (York), Jacob Voris (Saint Viator) and Sean Yurkov (Stevenson).

PREDICTIONS

Dan Wood, Stevenson Head Coach:

SHL wins with Marty McAuley scoring the game-winning goal from the blue line, assisted by Freimuth. “McAuley is one of the most dynamic players in the state,” Wood said.

Paul Manning, Brother Rice Head Coach:

CCHL wins, 8-7, with Jack Keaty scoring the game-winning goal, assisted by Tiernan Ryan. “Jack is a very strong player and Tiernan is an extremely gifted player. He is a very, very, very good hockey player.”

Zack Freimuth, Glenbrook South center:

SHL wins by 3 or 4 goals and Liam Finnigan will tally the game-winning goal.

Ross Forman, Illinois High School Hockey Writer:

SHL wins 7-3 with Jacob Voris scoring twice, including the game-winner and Baine notching 3 assists.