The wild and wooly SHL season got a little wilder and woolier Friday night.

The season series-deciding game between host York and Lake Forest saw two goals scored before the game was five minutes old, neither of which likely should have happened.

Seven goals, two hat-tricks, and an overtime period later, Lake Forest left with a 5-4 win. And in the Scouts’ second year in the league, the win also clinched the program’s first berth in the SHL playoffs.

“It’s a long season,” Lake Forest’s Jackson Drum said. “Last year we didn’t make the playoffs in our first year in the league. This year we realized we had to step it up and play more as a team.

“A lot more people are prepared for the games and we’ve gotten better at carrying momentum. Momentum is huge in high school hockey and we’ve been taking it and carrying on with it.”

Resilience has also been a key factor for Lake Forest.

York (12-14-0 in SHL play) took one-goal leads four times against Lake Forest (13-13-0) and four times, Lake Forest found a tying goal.

“These kids are finally playing with a chip on their shoulder,” Lake Forest coach Steve Sarauer said. “It’s about time to stop being mister nice guy, and they’re finally playing tough. They’re playing with grit and intensity. I think they’re realizing that they can play.”

After Saturday’s games, Lake Forest sits in the No. 8 spot in the SHL standings with 27 points, one point behind No. 7 St. Ignatius. With 30 league points, No. 6 York sits three points behind No. 5 Glenbrook South.

For York, Friday’s OT loss marked its sixth overtime loss in SHL play.

“(Overtime) is part of the game and it’s exciting,” York coach Matt Boeing said. “In our six overtime losses, two of them have been in over nine-man shootouts that can go either way. I think we’ve been in twelve overtime games overall this year. It’s been crazy.

“We’re tightening our defense up, we’re blocking shots and doing the right things at the right time. Now we just have to end up on the other side of some of these overtime games.”

Friday’s first goal came off the stick of York’s John Sanfillipo, less than one minute into the game. Sanfilippo lofted a high shot towards net from behind the blue line, on a Dukes line change, and the puck took a funny bounce in front of Lake Forest goaltender Andrew Sommers .

The puck found its way home and York had a 1-0 lead.

“(Sanfilippo) has worked hard all four years at York,” Boeing said. “I put him on the first line, and he scores in his first shift in the game.”

York went on the power play less than four minutes later, only to give up a breakaway chance to Lake Forest’s Andrew Marsch. Marsch took a feed from Thomas Santaniello and charged in alone on net, beating York goaltender Oscar Pysz to tie the game with 12:36 remaining in the first period.

It was the first of Marsch’s three goals in the game.

“We moved Marsch to center today because we have a defenseman who’s injured,”Sarauer said. “We moved (forward Thomas Santaniello) back to ‘D’ and it’s been working.”

Marsch has acclimated quickly to his new role.

“I haven’t really played center in a while but I like it a lot, and my linemates have really helped me,” Marsch said. “I got fed on pretty much all the goals tonight.”

With 2:33 remaining in the first period, York’s Jack Paschen netted the first of his three goals, punching a shot from close quarters on the left side at the net that caromed in off a skate to give York a 2-1 lead. Noah Hughes and John Sanfilippo assisted on the goal.

“Jack is a great defensive player that we usually have lined up against other teams’ top lines,” Boeing said. “But he’s a threat on the power play and a threat out there five-on-five. He’s a goal-scorer and he’s nasty to play against.”

The game’s next four goals came with Marsch and Paschen slugging it out for their respective teams. Marsch tied the game 2-2 early in the second period, taking a pass from Thomas Swift on the left side and skating across the slot before stretching the back netting, roughly three minutes into the period.

The game’s next three goals came on the power play. Paschen made it 3-2 when Frank Rosa fired wide from the point and the puck took a wild bounce off the boards to the goalmouth, where Paschen buried it.

Swift and Marsch teamed up again, with Marsch tying the game 3-3 on the power play on a feed from Swift, with 2:04 remaining in the second period.

After being outshot by York 29-21 through two periods, Lake Forest came out flying in the third, ultimately posting a 17-6 edge in shots in the period.

At the 11:50 mark of the third, Paschen scored unassisted to make it 4-3, but that’s when Lake Forest’s leading points-scorer put his name in the box score.

Drum (17 goals, 14 assists) tied the game 4-4 on a takeaway in York’s defensive zone, less than a minute after Paschen’s goal. A penalty whistled on York in the final minute of the third period gave Lake Forest a one-man advantage that extended into overtime.

Two minutes into overtime, Drum netted the game-winning goal.

“My center, Zach Shoemaker, had a breakaway,” Drum said. “He missed it, I took it and skated around the top of the circle, and just tried to get a shot on goal.”

Drum’s finish put an exclamation point on a crazy game in Addison.

For Lake Forest, a team that wasn’t scoring enough to start the season has seemingly turned a corner. The Scouts are 5-1 in their last six game, including two wins over York and Fenwick, and one over Saint Viator.

“We’re scoring a lot lately. In the last three games we’ve got fourteen goals, which is kind of unheard of for us,” Sarauer said. “We’re going to the hard spots and getting gritty, and we’re shooting the puck. We weren’t shooting the puck a lot and now, even if we know we’re not going to score, we’re still shooting. We want to get pucks on net. That’s what we want and it’s working.”

Sarauer applauded the way goaltender Sommers played in the win, and Marsch agreed that the Lake Forest offense has evolved since the season’s start.

“At the beginning of the year we had a little bit of trouble scoring, but now we’ve been in some higher-scoring games,” Marsch said. “We were passing too much before.”

York returned recently after winning a tournament in Minnesota. Boeing applauded the effort given by a flu-ridden Rosa on Friday, and the York skipper was pleased with what he got up and down his lineup.

“Ben Dizillo took on a top-line center role and he was buzzing up and down the ice, two hundred feet, his quick-release shot has been great, no over-handling, and his forecheck has been great,” Boeing said. “Johnny Sanfilippo’s forecheck has been great and has earned everything he’s gotten. He’s had no Happy Meals handed to him. He’s a great player. Drew Gami played a great game, flying up and down the ice defensively.”

York got hot at nearly this exact point last season, en route to earning a place in the Illinois state title game at the United Center. The Dukes lost an army of seniors to graduation and are hoping an army of last year’s jayvee players continue to shine and grow with another post-season looming.

“(Goalie) Jack Brown has really, really stepped up his game and won us a championship in Minnesota,” Boeing said. “So our goaltending has really gotten better, along with not being so careless with the puck. So we’re swinging in the right direction.”

York closes out its SHL regular season play with two games against Loyola and one apiece against Carmel and Glenbrook South; Lake Forest will take on Glenbrook South, Loyola, Glenbrook North, and Carmel to end regular-season play in the SHL.