Things looked bleak, at best, for Glenbrook North in the 2023 night-before-Thanksgiving game against arch-rival Glenbrook South in front of a raucous, overflow crowd in Wilmette.

The Titans built a 2-0 lead after the first period and were up 4-1 after two. GBS was coasting toward its third consecutive win over GBN that Wednesday night this past November in one of the state’s biggest rivalry games of the year, every year.

But the Spartans didn’t tap out. Anthony Rafalowski scored unassisted at 10:49 and Noah Masinter found the back of the Titans net less than three minutes later, assisted by Ryan Sandler and Logan Lyons. Cooper Shalin tied the game, 4-4, with just under 5 minutes remaining in regulation time, assisted by Ryan Rossi and Tristan Miller.

Overtime wasn’t enough to end the 2023 Battle of the Glenbrook’s as neither school scored.

GBS senior forward Zach Freimuth was first in the shootout, but he couldn’t crack GBN goalie Michael Reyderman.

GBN senior Ryan Sandler next skated to center ice with every eye in the arena focused on the third-year Spartan, a right-handed shooting center in uniform No. 86.

“I took it in a little bit left and then came in through the left hash mark and shot it low glove side,” beating GBS goalie Eli Kamins to secure the miraculous, come-from-behind GBN victory, 5-4, Sandler said.

The goal, he added, was “the highlight of my hockey career.”

“As a player for GBN and GBS, you are always told about the legacy and history behind the game, (so), to be permanently etched in history for scoring the game-winning goal against our biggest rivals in the year’s biggest game is a moment I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.”

 Sandler skated for the Northbrook Bluehawks and Highland Park Falcons before landing on the GBN JV as a freshman – and that Spartan season also was memorable. The JV Spartans won the state championship that season and Sandler was named the team MVP – honors he labeled as, “the highlight of my hockey career.”

He also won state as a bantam for the Falcons.

“Coming in as a freshman and immediately leading a team to a state championship has been the foundation of everything I have been able to accomplish in a GBN jersey,” said Sandler, who lives in Northbrook. “Throughout my career I have played every position, but throughout my GBN career I have primarily been used as a center/wing, depending on the gameplan for that given day. 

“My family, teammates and coaches are what motivate me every game. My teammates and coaches motivate me the most because every one of those guys are family to me and with it being my last season, I want to leave them with a year to remember. My family, specifically my parents, have been in my corner and my number one fans since day one of my hockey career and with it being my last rodeo as a senior, each and every time I step out onto that ice I try my absolute hardest to put on the best show I can for them.”

He has been shining all season. The Spartans sit in fourth-place in the SHL with a 16-5-2 record. Sandler is third on the Spartans in scoring with 9 goals, 11 assists in 22 SHL games.

GBN kicks off its 2024 SHL schedule on Saturday, January 13, against Stevenson in Buffalo Grove, then faces New Trier Green on Thursday, January 18, at North Shore Ice Arena in Northbrook, and Loyola Gold on Saturday, January 20, in Lincolnwood.

“I love our team this year. These guys are some of my best friends even away from hockey; I couldn’t ask for a better group,” Sandler said. “Our coaches place a great emphasis on team defense which we have the best of in the state. Not only this, but, we have the best goalie in the state, Michael Reyderman. When you combine all of that with the speed our team has, it’s dangerous.”

Sandler doesn’t hesitate on team goals for the next couple of months: win the SHL Championship and win state, period, nothing less.

“The only personal goal I hope to achieve is (to be named) all-state; that would be the greatest honor of my career.”

Sandler has been skating for two season primarily with fellow seniors Noah Masinter and Anthony Rafalowski. Sandler is a two-way player and is effective on both ends of the ice. “I take a ton of pride in my ability to find the open man and commit to the defensive side of the puck even as a forward. I have been known around the league to be a goal-scorer throughout my years at Glenbrook North, but, to be quite honest, I wouldn’t consider myself a goal-scorer, but rather, more of a playmaker, as well as a defensively- and positionally-sound forward.”

Sandler said his game has improved mentally and physically over the past year, leading to more confidence on every shift.

Sandler is a superstitious skater. Well, before he gets on the ice. “I always put on the left piece of equipment first,” he said, noting he ties his left skate before his right and grabs his left glove before his right.

“I’m sometimes taken for a guy with a loudmouth with the way I talk on the ice at times, but, once you get to know me off the ice, I’m generally a pretty simple, laid-back guy.”

Away from the rink, the noise he makes is music. He plays a Fender Acoustic and Gretsch Electric guitar and country music is his pop.

“At first, guitar for me was just learning some of my favorite country songs, but after listening and watching some old clips of Eddie Van Halen play, I really fell in love with it and honestly grew (into) an obsession,” Sandler said. “Music and playing the guitar is everything to me. I play and listen every day. To me, music is and has always been a means of escape.”

His favorite musician is Chris Stapleton, yet, for that one game, his one motivational song would be Enter Sandman by Metallica.

“I like to listen to a lot of the old rock stuff pre-game, like AC/DC, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Guns N' Roses, Van Halen, and so forth,” he said. “I’m not so sure playing the guitar helps me on the ice, but listening to music certainly helps. Pre-game to hype up, post-game to calm down. It helps in every aspect of life.”

Sandler will attend the University of Kentucky next fall, though he isn’t sure yet whether he’ll continue his hockey career. He will, though, continue his role as a premier PlayStation Madden player.

“Some may be surprised to know my love for dogs,” he said. “My family has had multiple dogs in the house at all times and right now we have four and one of them is my personal dog, Bailey, who I plan to bring with me to college after my freshman year.”