For New Trier Green, the 2024 state championship run truly started in the first Scholastic Hockey League (SHL) game of the season. The Trevians played host to Lake Forest on Sunday, September 17, at North Shore Ice Arena in Northbrook.

            The Trevians built a 1-0 first period lead against the Scouts on the first of two goals that night from Brendan Heneghan, and it was 4-0 after two periods. Green ultimately won 5-0 and Wyatt Schmidt snagged the shutout in goal.

            Aidan Nolan was among the New Trier fans, cheering for his classmates and former teammates. Nolan, you see, is a standout center fielder for New Trier’s baseball team and he wasn’t planning to play hockey this season, to focus on baseball.

            “I saw him banging on the glass (during that Lake Forest game) and I could see in his eyes that he wanted it,” New Trier head coach Adam Cheris said.

            Days later, Nolan contacted Cheris, said he wanted to return and resume his hockey career.

            “He wasn’t going to play this year,” Cheris said of the star forward who tallied a goal in the 2023 Illinois High School Hockey State Championship Game as the Trevians stopped York, 2-0.

            “Aidan is really focused on baseball and I encourage the kids to be multi-sport athletes. I was hoping (he’d return) … he’s a stud. If he had played the whole season, he would have been All-Everything. He can finish, is a natural goal-scorer, is just a great kid.

“Yeah, I was happy when he made the call (to return).”

Flash forward to Wednesday night, March 13, at the United Center in Chicago. The No. 1-ranked Trevians were in familiar territory, battling the No. 7 York Dukes for the 2024 Illinois High School Hockey State Championship.

Green triumphed, 6-1 … and Nolan earned Game MVP honors after scoring a hat trick. Cheris wasn’t surprised: “He’s a catalyst for the team. He was the missing piece of the puzzle (for the team).”

New Trier’s David Wolff, also a two-sport athlete (volleyball), added: “It was awesome seeing him get a hat trick.” Wolff also debated last summer whether to resume his hockey career last fall.

“Aidan found his stride quickly when he joined the team and has been one of our top performers. Watching him get a hat trick was unbelievable,” Wolff said. “I wasn’t sure I was going to play this season … now, I think I made the right decision. It’s been a lot of fun and I’ve made friends for the rest of my life.”

Especially after a 3-assist performance against York on the home ice of the Chicago Blackhawks, in his last game before heading to Stanford University to continue his volleyball career.

“It was an awesome game.” Wolff said. “A lot of people doubted us at the start of the season when we got off to a slow start. But as the season went on, we kind of found ourselves as a team. We found different roles for different players and by the end of the season, we were able to role four lines with ease against everyone.”

The Trevians struck early, as Nolan re-directed a shot in front, off the goalpost into the net. Green led 1-0 after the first period.

“Overall, I thought we played well, but they scored early on us as we came out flat. After that (early New Trier) goal, I thought our whole team was dead,” said York forward Ben Smith, who scored the Dukes lone goal of the game: a third period tally, assisted by Ben Dizillo and Luke Composono, cutting the score to 4-1.

“It feels good that we made it here, but there’s no reason we shouldn’t have played better, especially having been here last year.”

Smith, a junior, has now skated twice, in losing efforts, at the United Center. But he was able to celebrate a goal. “Luke (was) working hard to get the puck to the front of the net; it was just a nice tap in.”

Nolan iced the win with his third goal seconds before the final buzzer.

“It was a great game, a lot less stressful than last year,” Nolan said. “Everyone was working, everyone knew their role and knew what they had to do, and everyone executed.

“After the first period, we knew we had to bury them and that’s what we did in the second. By the end of the second period, we felt the momentum was fully in our favor.”

The Trevians led 4-0 during the ice resurfacing after two periods, anchored around solid netminding from Drew Durdov, playing at the UC for the second consecutive season.

“I was focusing on baseball (last fall), which is my main sport, so I wasn’t going to play (hockey),” Nolan said. “After I saw that (Lake Forest) game, I just missed it.

“I thought about (returning), then reached out (to Cheris) a couple of days later.

“It was a long road back. When I returned, I hadn’t skated since the 2023 state championship (game), so it took me a while to get my legs back, get back into my form.

“I’m just happy I could help the team tonight.”