Glenbard Center Talon Sorce ‘Had A Bigger Impact On Our Team Than She Thought’ Last Season

By Ross Forman
Glenbard JV head coach Carmen Pesce once told Glenbard varsity head coach Jason Hawkins that he must take Talon Sorce on the varsity, that she is such a good hockey player.

But Hawkins was nervous.

“I knew she was a good hockey player and had the talent for varsity, but there was some concern about her size versus ‘the big boys,’” Hawkins said. 

After her first spring league at the varsity level, Hawkins was certain: “She will be just fine.”

Hawkins added: “She plays with no fear, is willing to throw her body around, and go into corners to battle for pucks. Opponents underestimate her toughness, but it doesn’t take long for them to figure it out.

“Talon plays a great two-way game and her hockey IQ is off the charts.”

Sorce, 17, who lives in Lombard and attends Glenbard East High School, is a center for co-op Glenbard. She had a goal and seven assists in 19 IHSHL West regular season games last season.

“She had only one goal and felt like she wasn’t having an impact on the game that she would have liked. But she was having a great season as a center that we trusted in our defensive zone and to make the right plays. She even came up to us coaches and wanted to make sure she was relevant.

“She had a bigger impact on our team than she thought.”

In Glenbard’s state tournament game against the D155 Predators, Sorce got the scoring started with a great assist. After D155 tied it up, “she scored a huge goal to give us the lead, 2-1 late in the first period,” Hawkins said. “She scored her second (goal) of the game with the score 3-2 in the last minute of the second, which ended up being the game-winning goal in a 4-3 victory. 

“I would say that was pretty relevant.”

Sorce is the second female to play varsity for perennial power Glenbard and the first to play varsity as a junior.

“I really love Glenbard hockey; it is one of the most fun and exciting times I’ve ever had,” Sorce said. “It’s a whole different world playing boys hockey as a girl. When I’m playing boys’ hockey, it’s a completely different feeling, speed, level of physicality and some games are just so electric. I haven’t played in front of a bigger crowd anywhere else. I’ve met a lot of these guys when I started playing Glenbard and now, (as a) senior, I talk to them every day and am close friends with a lot of them.”

Sorce admitted she was nervous playing with and against boys in high school, but those nerves are disappearing. “I was nervous about the speed of the game and the physicality of the other teams. I was also nervous I wouldn’t be as close with the team because I am not always in the same locker room as them or at the same school,” she said.

“(Boys high school hockey) is fast and physical, and it took me some time to adjust, but I got the hang of it. We worked hard on the ice – at practice and games. Then off the ice we talk and laugh; we are close on and off the ice.”

Her teammates, she said, are “all like my older brothers.”

Sorce – wearing jersey No. 18, as her dad did when he played at York – is stoked for her senior season. “I hope our team can go all the way and with all the hard workers we have, it’s possible. I want to make the most of every practice and game. 

“We have a really solid team with a lot of talent and hard-working players.”

Glenbard finished second in the IHSHL West regular season last year, only three points behind Maine among the 13 varsity teams.

“I am looking forward to her being a big part of our team with her play and her leadership,” Hawkins said. “Being the only girl on a boys team can be a tough situation, but she is embraced by our team and hopefully feels like ‘one of the boys.’”

Sorce said being the lone girl on the team is “super fun.”

“Even though I’m in a different locker room, I always hear all the random stories since we all go to different schools and I would always tell them my random stories,” she said. “It’s interesting getting to hear their conversations and just listening to them talk is so funny. Getting to see them every day eventually led me to being close with a lot of them and we’ve made a lot of memories together as a team.

“By the end of (last) season, it didn’t feel like I was just ‘the girl’ on the team; I just was playing hockey on a team with my friends. We are alike because of our sport and we all do a lot of the same things. We like the same music; we watch film at school before Friday night games, and a lot of us go to Pure Hockey before the Friday night games.”

But yes, she does feel the pressure.

“At the beginning of (last) season, it got to me more, but I have never been a person who can’t deal with pressure,” Sorce said. “My club coach would say this quote, ‘Pressure is privilege.’ I really liked (that quote) because I would rather be noticed by everyone than not be seen at all. Being the only girl on the team, it felt like if I made a mistake, it was 10-times more noticed, but when I did something good it was also 10-times more noticed. That motivated me to constantly give my all and make good plays on the ice.”

Sorce also skated for Team Illinois and last year won a state championship with her girls’ team for the Chicago Hawks.

“When I met her mom, Carrie, for first time at her Hawks state championship (game), she said she has never seen her play for Glenbard because it makes her nervous,” Hawkins said.

Her dad, Joe, has always been her biggest fan, yet he too was not too keen on his daughter playing high school hockey with the boys. She had to convince him it was right for her.

He now loves Glenbard as much as his daughter does. “He always tells me what I do good and what I need to do better and I am always more motivated to make him proud,” Sorce said.

“I overcome setbacks by just working harder every day. When I have a bad practice or game, I always feel bad about myself and I don’t want that feeling again; that is my motivation to do better in the next practice or game.”

As a sophomore, Sorce skated on a “really toxic girls’ team,” she said. “But when I would go play Glenbard, everything would be better. Glenbard, my sophomore year, I can confidently say kept me playing hockey leading into to my junior year.”

Sorce is a fearless, two-way player. “I’ve always been a really physical player; there definitely were times where I get hit pretty hard, but none of the guys we play against expect me to hit them either so it’s super cool when I hit them and they fall or when they try to hit me and I don’t. It’s fun going hard to the net and just trying to hit the puck until the whistle because the guys get so mad and then I draw penalties. 

“I am very offensive and defensive minded. I get very low on breakouts to help the defense, but also back check hard, and back check to the middle and pick up a stick. I also love being on the penalty kill; blocking shots is the best feeling ever. I also love rushing the puck and moving the puck quickly up the ice.”

Slapshots With … Glenbard Center Talon Sorce

Playing Center: “My favorite thing to do is win faceoffs.”
Celebrating: She has won three state championships “and I was one of the top three players in nation at the national tournament while playing for the Hawks.”
Wow Factor: Last season for the Hawks, she was the team’s leader in goals (51) and assists (49)
Style of Play: “I can play both sides of the ice really well; I am very aggressive and I have a very good hockey IQ.” 
Memories: “Playing against the No. 1 team in the nation this (past season) at nationals and scoring on a breakaway where we ended up winning, 1-0.”
More Memories: “Beating DuPage at home after (trailing) by three goals or scoring twice in our first playoff game.”
Motivation: “My hockey motivation is my teammates. I always want to push to make my teammates better and I always want my teammates to push me past my limits to make me better.”
Senior Season: “I want to be more of a playmaker. I passed the puck a lot last season, but I want to score more goals this year and capitalize on the opportunities that I get. Also, as a senior, I want to be a leader for all the kids coming up from JV who are as nervous as I was.”
One Moment: “I will never forget scoring two goals in a playoff game to help my team move on to the next round. It was at the end of our season and I felt like I closed out our season on the best note. There were times throughout the season I felt like I wasn’t playing to my full potential and it was so refreshing to see for myself and have other people see what I am capable of.”
Off Ice: “I love watching hockey or hanging out with my friends. In the winter, I don’t really do anything besides school and hockey because I play for two teams, but in the summer, I go to the beach with my friends and we do random fun things together.”
It Helps: “I go to the gym in the summer and go to stick and puck all the time. Then I have off ice (training). Throughout the year, before every game I watch film from past games because I really enjoy it and love to watch the game.”
Superstitions: “I have a lot. One thing that all my teammates find super weird is that I don’t use tape on my stick. I also always (tie) my left skate (first) and I tie my skates last. Then once I get on the ice, I do two laps – one forward and one backwards before I touch a puck.”
Favorite NHL Team: Chicago Blackhawks
Favorite NHL Player: Connor McDavid
Favorite Sports-themed Movie: Miracle 
Favorite TV Show: The Walking Dead 
Motivational Song: Booyah by Showtek 
Favorite Pre-game Meal: Pasta and Starbucks 
Favorite app: Snapchat 
Favorite High School Uniform: Saint Viator or York