Trojan Hockey: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Good

The Trojans took on Joliet Catholic on their home ice in Darien on Dec. 11. In this game, we outshot them and they outpenalized us. But, most importantly, we outscored them.

Our defense had a fantastic game. They held JCA to 22 shots on net while we pounded 37 shots on their goalie. Danny Dirst scored the first goal (assisted by Kyle Millinowicz) — a classic case of “just because the goalie has it covered doesn’t mean he has control.” You keep poking at the puck until the ref blows the whistle because once in a while you’ll get one to sneak in under the goalie. 

JCA came back to tie it up but the Trojans went ahead at the end of the first period with a goal from David Ulanski (assisted by T.J. Laper and Joe Sambucci). Joe Sambucci increased the lead in the second period with a goal assisted by Bryan Roy and Byron Graf.  Another JCA goal and a fourth Trojan goal scored by Bryan Roy (assisted by Byron Graf and Joe Sambucci) brought the second period to an end with the Trojans leading 4-2. 

In a last-ditch effort by JCA, they pulled their goalie in the hopes of converting with the extra man in the zone. They scored one with only 35 seconds left on the clock to bring them to within one goal. A few seconds later, Bryan Roy was able to gain possession of the puck and send it down into an open net to finish the game with a 5-3 win.

The Bad    

In another home game in Darien on Dec. 17, the Trojans took a hit when they lost, in a close game, to Lincolnway/Lockport.

With the Rage up 2-0 after the first period, the Trojans forged a comeback. A power play goal by Kyle Millinowicz (assisted by Danny Desmond and Joe Sambucci) and another goal by Danny Desmond (assisted by Joe Sambucci and David Ulanski) ended the second period tied at two apiece.

Early in the third, Danny Desmond scored another goal (assisted by Joe Sambucci and Kyle Millinowicz) to take the lead. The Rage came back and scored on a power play to tie it back up. A final goal by the Rage finished a very exciting game with the Trojans losing 4-3.

The Ugly

This game seemed destined to be dirty before the puck even dropped. Words were exchanged before the game even started regarding a hit one of their players put on one of our boys last year.

The penalty count was high — nine for Plainfield and five for the Trojans. One of the Plainfield players even got thrown out of the game by his own coach for his “unsportsmanlike” behavior. A misconduct penalty was also given to one of Plainfield’s players at the end of the game for starting a fight. They were definitely a class act. 

Anyway, back to hockey. Plainfield scored first at the beginning of the second period. The Trojans came back and scored on a power play. T.J. Laper got the goal on a nice shot  from the point (assisted by Brian Botwinski and Bryan Roy). Plainfield took the lead at the beginning of the third period but the Trojans came back on a short-handed goal by Bryan Dirst. The game ended in a 2-2 tie.

On a good note, our boys took part in a charitable event prior to the start of this game. Plainfield’s junior varsity and varsity squads hosted a Toys for Tots drive and invited the opposing teams to participate. Our boys each brought an unwrapped toy and presented it to representatives from the Marine Corps. 

For more Trojan goodwill, follow this link to see the Patch’s article about our own team’s charitable event that took place on Monday, Dec. 12: 

The Trojan High School Hockey Club is a combined team consisting of players from five high schools: Lemont, Downers Grove North, Bolingbrook, Romeoville, and Lisle.  If you have any questions about our team, please email us at trojanhockey@hotmail.com.