New Trier Green won the 3-game season series over Loyola Gold, including wins in the last two games.

Loyola Gold, on the other hand, had the biggest win of the Green/Gold series this season, winning 5-0 with a forced running clock.

The final two teams left standing in the SHL playoffs are the top two finishers in the SHL regular season, not to mention bitter rivals and long the two premier high school hockey teams in Illinois. It’s now a one-game, winner-takes-all battle for bragging rights and the Scholastic Cup.

The No. 1-seeded Trevians (25-5 in the regular season) face the No. 2 Ramblers (22-8) on Tuesday, February 27, at Winnetka Ice Arena. The puck drops at 8:10 p.m.

“We’re excited; this should be a good game, a battle. And it’s personal for everyone since (the players) know each other so well,” said Loyola Gold head coach Scott Ciraulo.

New Trier Green head coach Adam Cheris tagged the finals, “a classic matchup.”

“We’ve felt, if we got (to the Finals), that’s probably who we’d be playing against,” Cheris said.

The first Green/Gold game of the season, played last Oct. 29 in Lincolnwood, turned into a rout for the host Ramblers. Charlie Baine showed why he was one of the best forwards in the state: he had 2 goals and 2 assists in the Ramblers’ 5-0 win. Liam Finegan also had a goal and an assist, and William Steele had 2 assists.

“Our boys played well. Some of our leaders really stepped up,” Ciraulo said of the shutout.

The next two New Trier/Loyola battles brought cheers from the Trevian faithful. Green won 2-1 in December and 4-2 in January.

Last December, the rivals had their battle settled in a shootout, as both Brendan Heneghan and Harrison Miller scored to secure the 2-1 victory. Aidan Nolan scored for the Trevians in regulation time.

The Trevians had to come-from-behind to grab the “W” back on January 10. Gold led 2-1after the first period, but the Trevians scored three unanswered to win, 4-2. Shane Randle was the key for the Trevians as he scored two – a short-handed tally in the second and an empty-net goal to ice the victory with :58 remaining.

“Randle has given us a tough time. We have to limit his opportunities to join the offense,” Ciraulo said.

The Trevians, meanwhile, must stop Baine, who was the second-leading scorer in the league this season: 23 goals and 36 assists in 34 games played.

Finegan and Thomas Macina also are skilled forwards for the Ramblers.

Loyola’s defense anchors on Chris Sipe and Mack Klein.

“If we can break the puck out with possession, that gives us a good chance. We want to make them defend. We know they like to play offense; we know their defense likes to join the rush,” Ciraulo said. “We feel like we’ve had good success when we get the puck in their (defensive) end, force them to break it out and go 200 feet.

“They tend to have their best games against us. They really get motivated to play us, so we know they will bring their absolute best. And we will, too.”

Ciraulo said the Ramblers are confident and focused on stopping Green’s push for back-to-back Scholastic Cup championships. “We know we can beat them; it’s just a matter of cleaning up some things, some mistakes we made previously,” he said. “They come out with a lot of fire; we must match or exceed their intensity. We know they start fast, and that’s been a focal point for us over the past month or so.”

Both teams swept their first two rounds of the SHL playoffs. New Trier skated past York and Saint Ignatius. Loyola defeated Lake Forest and Glenbrook North.

“I think we’ve looked good in our last few games,” Ciraulo said.

New Trier has been dominant in its last six games, including the four SHL playoff games, outscoring those foes, including two wins over York and Saint Ignatius, by a combined 37-6.

“Our last six games have been, I feel, the best six games of our season,” Cheris said. “The team has really come together nicely. It’s taken a long time to get there with a lot of moving parts and pieces, plus a lot of injuries (to endure), but we’re finally healthy and we’re all bought in on the team. We’re playing well.”

In four of the Trevians’ five regular season losses, they have surrendered 5 goals. But against Gold, the Trevians will be the home team, thus holding the last lineup change.

Goaltending will be a key, without question.

The Trevians have a pair of netminders who have excelled: Drew Durdov and Wyatt Schmidt. Both had victories over Saint Ignatius in the semifinals. Cheris said he is “leaning toward Schmidt” starting in the SHL Final, just as he did last season, with Durdov set to play at the United Center for the state championship, if the Trevians advance.

The Ramblers counter with Charley Trapp, who had a 1.74 goals-against average in the regular season.

“They have two really good goalies; both are very solid,” Ciraulo said. “But we had to get goals against two really good goalies,” in the first two rounds of the SHL playoffs: Teddy Huddlestun from Lake Forest and Michael Reyderman of Glenbrook North.

“We’re prepared to play and beat good goalies. Generating goals has been a focal point for us all year – dirty, greasy goals.”

Ciraulo is more than confident with Trapp in net. “I don’t think he’ll be overwhelmed by the moment. He’s very mature, especially for a freshman,” Ciraulo said. “He’s very even keeled; he doesn’t get too excited, too high or too low. I think he will be prepared and ready for the game.”

Special teams play will be the difference, said York head coach Matt Boeing. “You gotta stay out of the (penalty) box and capitalize on all of the (powerplay) chances that you have,” he said.

Boeing said the Ramblers will need to get behind the Trevians’ talented defensive crew and the Ramblers do a wonderful job working below the goal line, moving the Trevians’ goalie from post to post.

“New Trier has an outstanding ability to move the puck in the neutral zone, get pucks in deep and just be dogs out there and hound pucks down,” Boeing said. “Loyola’s gotta do a good job of getting possession first, moving the puck quickly and grinding it back out (of their defensive zone).”

Boeing added: It’s exciting for high school hockey when both of those teams are in there, with their rivalry, their history. It’s going to be a fun game to watch.”