If it’s March, it must be York’s time to shine.

For the second consecutive season, coach Matt Boeing’s Dukes have put themselves in position to grab the brass ring of an Illinois state title. On Friday, York’s 2-1 win over Saint Ignatius on a Matthew Soehn goal in overtime sent the program to Wednesday’s state final at the United Center, for a rematch of last year’s final against defending state champion New Trier Green. 

Packed with fans of both programs, the atmosphere inside The Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville was electric, just as it was last year when York clinched a state final berth on the same sheet of ice.

This year’s feat by York carried the highest possible drama. York trailed 1-0 with less than two minutes to play when a Tyler Peiffle goal forced overtime, and Soehn’s goal with 1:23 left in OT tore the roof off the place.

“Honestly, I’m at a loss for words,” York senior defenseman Frank Rosa said. “This year was even a little bit cooler than last year, just because of how it happened. And big props to the whole Elmhurst community for coming out for us. It was a great environment.

“Last year’s semifinal game was big and this year was even bigger — it’s just great for Elmhurst, and great for the York hockey program.”

Rosa is one of only a handful of seniors remaining from last year’s team, and along with Soehn, Peiffle, John Sanfilippo, Nicholas Sanfilippo, and Asaiah Vasilopoulos, they’ve led a young team to upsets of Loyola Gold and Saint Ignatius in state tournament play.

Nothing in sports is quite like the improbable becoming reality, and York’s run to a second straight state final was certainly not on anyone’s betting card, considering how many young Dukes had to find varsity seasoning.

But York (28-27-2) bet on itself, and that’s all that mattered.

“The seniors that have been to the United Center before know what it takes to win when everything’s on the line,” Boeing said. “When the chips are on the table, they’re going all-in and betting the pot, and that has paid off for us the last two games.”

Rosa and Drew Gami have keyed rock-solid play at both ends, goaltender Jack Brown has shined, and Soehn, Peiffle, and Gami have scored big goals in a 5-2 state semifinal win over Loyola and in Friday’s win over Saint Ignatius.

One of the first things Boeing wanted to do afterwards was tip his hat to a Saint Ignatius program that was seeking its first trip to the state finals.

The Wolfpack (52-21-1) followed Friday’s loss by winning their third straight Chicago Catholic Hockey League Kennedy Cup title on Sunday for coach Spencer Montgomery, with a 4-1 win over Fenwick.

Saint Ignatius also reached this year’s SHL semifinals in its first year in the league. The Wolfpack will bid farewell to a bevy of key seniors in Eghan Ryan, Ethan Laughlin, Charley Reif, Colum Chinlund, John Eber, and Moses Rodgers, but figure to return a ton of talent next season.

“It was their first time in the final four and I know they’ve got many more amazing seasons ahead of them,” Boeing said of the Wolfpack. “They’ve done an incredible job developing that program, so a huge shout-out to (Montgomery) and his Wolfpack, for sure.

“Spencer Montgomery is not just good for hockey, he’s good for the world. He’s an unbelievable person and an all-class act in every interaction.”

The first period saw Saint Ignatius earn an 8-7 edge in shots, and get its lone goal at the 4:57 mark of the period. Tiernan Ryan has been one of the top forwards anywhere all year, and he took a cross-ice pass from James Doherty, skated over the blue line on the right side, and fired a laser from the top of the circle on that gave the Wolfpack its 1-0 lead. Ryan had another good look late in the first period on a two-on-one, but Brown made the stop.

Wolfpack goaltender Laughlin gloved a Soehn backhand late in the period, and gloved a Nicholas Sanfilippo shot soon thereafter. Brown’s save on Ryan’s odd-man shot ended the period’s scoring chances.

Saint Ignatius posted a 10-9 edge in shots in the second period as both sides saw action at the net. Saint Ignatius goalie Ethan Laughlin has been one of Illinois’ best all season, and he stoned a pair of point-blank York shots to start the second.

A York power play saw Laughlin shine on consecutive scoring chances with under 10 minutes to play in the period. Brown gut-saved a shot near the five-minute mark, and gloved a shot on an Ignatius rush 30 seconds later.

A Saint Ignatius power play down the stretch saw Brown make a nice save at the post on a Saint Ignatius one-timer with less than two minutes remaining.

The Wolfpack picked up steam in the third period, ultimately out-shooting York 10-5 to the end of regulation. Brown saved a point-blank shot on a York turnover early in the period, and made a sprawling stop on a two-on-one with roughly 12 minutes left to play. The Wolfpack’s Colum Chinlund broke behind the York defense with the puck near the nine-minute mark, but Brown came up big with yet another pivotal save.

Brown shined in the win over Loyola, and kept his squad to within a goal of Saint Ignatius with another fine performance.

“Brownie has been incredible,” Boeing said. “He missed last year with an injury, he kind of took over this year and he’s been playing great. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

A York power play helped key the final three minutes of play. It was Luke Composono who set up the game-tying goal from the right side near the corner, when he slid a puck out and Peiffle stepped onto it and buried it from the slot, with 1:24 left to play.

Boeing had just pulled Brown to give York a 6-on-4 advantage, and it paid off.

“What’s crazy is that’s happened to us probably four times this year,” Boeing said. “It goes to show that when the game’s on the line, our kids are ready. Our goalie coach says ‘pressure makes diamonds,’ and that’s kind of what’s going on. We’ve turned pressure into some diamond opportunities. It’s been crazy.”

The stadium erupted, as Rosa and his teammates rushed to the glass at the north end of the ice, where a huge contingent of York fans were fairly losing their minds.

“Ignatius is a great, well-rounded team,” Rosa said. “Our first thing was just to get the puck in the zone, and luckily enough we found Peiffle and he buried it. They weren’t giving us much and they pressured a lot with their forecheck. We knew we had to come ready to play tonight against them.”

The overtime period saw Rosa and company withstand increased pressure from Saint Ignatius, but the Dukes kept the Wolfpack out of net. Then, with 1:24 remaining in overtime, it happened.

Soehn, who scored twice in York’s 5-2 quarterfinal win against Loyola, pressured a final defenseman and came away with the puck. The senior then etched his name in York hockey history, going in alone on net, cutting to his left, and burying a shot from the slot to send York to the United Center.

The decibel level in the building flew off the charts.

“It was electric. We couldn’t even hear ourselves on the bench,” Boeing said. “We had our time as players going through that and as coaches it’s our job to have the kids manage their emotions, soak it all in, don’t take it for granted, and accept that they’re earned a shot to be in this position.”

Boeing was quick to credit senior leadership along with assistant coaches Scott Metz and Nick Albergo for their roles in helping to groom a painfully young team all the way to another state title game.

And Rosa was clear on the value of his program’s head coach.

“He brings energy and he always does,” Rosa said of Boeing. “He and our coaches give us the best chance to win, he puts guys in the right positions, and I like how he knows how to lean on certain guys. Last year with 16 seniors we could kind of lean on everybody but this year it’s hard to lean on younger guys, and he figured out who he can and can’t put that pressure on, and who to lean on to give us a spark.”

Rosa likes the way his young teammates are playing, and tipped his hat to a core of his fellow seniors.

“Our senior line played unbelievable — Nicky Sanfilippo, Tyler Peiffle, and Matthew Soehn,” Rosa said. “They really stepped up when it mattered, and led by example when it mattered. Another guy I thought played amazing was Drew Gami. He’s been our backbone, and Noah Hughes is a great leader. He does all the little things right. He might not score a goal but he does everything else for you.”

Boeing has gotten those kinds of contributions from up and down his lineup.

“Protecting the house and sacrificing the body to make tough plays,” Boeing said. “In the Loyola game, Caden Buenz took a shot off the head, (Noah) Hughes took one off the ear — we had guys battling. It’s a team-first mentality and everyone is part of the process.

“You have to mention Soehn getting hot offensively, getting three goals in the last two games, Tyler Peiffle getting hot and scoring that game-tying goal in the third period, and Gami has been logging so many minutes and he’s playing great hockey. Nicky Sanfilippo has been gritty, up and down the ice, great energy, and the same goes for Johnny Sanfilippo. And Noah Hughes blocks everything in sight and he’s going to be the first man in the corner no matter who’s there. He’s trying to win every single battle.

“And Frank Rosa is absolute nails. He’s so calm and collected. I can’t say enough good things about that kid as a two hundred-foot player. He does it all with poise and finesse and I’m so proud of him.”

A state finals rematch against top-ranked New Trier will be played at 8 p.m. at the United Center on Wednesday. New Trier swept the regular-season and playoff series against York, and Boeing has said that a team has to play practically a perfect game against the Trevians to beat them.

Rosa agrees and knows that his Dukes can’t repeat mistakes that were made against New Trier during the SHL tournament.

“We gave up too many breakaways in that series, a lot of two-on-ones and three-on-twos,” Rosa said. “We have to play a defensive game the way we did against Loyola and we’ll have a much better shot against them.”

Boeing knows what needs doing if York has hopes of hoisting its first state championship trophy.

“We’ve been underdogs all year,” Boeing said. “We’ve got to protect our house, get pucks behind their giant D, block some shots, and be opportunistic. In those two SHL final games, we had chances, and we have to make sure to bury them. Because every chance New Trier gets, they seem to find the back of the net. We have to be on, and our boys will be ready.”