Lavalle In The Family

The Lavalle legacy in Illinois girls high school hockey just continues to skate.

Let’s start on the bench for co-op Maine Township, a mix of players from Maine District 207, Taft, Resurrection and Willows Academy. The head coach is Nick Lavalle, who has 20 years of coaching experience and is in his seventh season with Maine girls.

Tiana Lavalle is the team’s assistant coach, and she is Nick’s daughter.

“Tianna was an excellent goalie. She wasn’t the tallest at her position, but leveraged her angles, quickness and excellent communication to be very successful, (winning) two state championships and a national championship over the course of her career.

“She is someone who the girls all gravitate to (as an assistant coach). She can call them out when need be, but she coaches and relates to them well. She has a great hockey mind and the girls really trust her.”

Tianna graduated in 2018 from Maine West and currently lives in Des Plaines. She played three years for Loyola Academy. “When she was entering high school, Maine did not have a girls’ team and Loyola Girls did not have a goalie. Loyola asked Tianna to play. Shortly thereafter, Maine Girls formed a team, but Tianna had committed to Loyola and wound up playing there for three years.”

Next up: Natalie Lavalle, who graduated from Maine West in 2023 and now attends Michigan State University, where she plays on the Spartans’ ACHA D2 team.

“Natalia has great hockey IQ and excellent vision. She’s a defenseman who loves to help push the offense and loves to drive that transition. She also has always been a great teammate,” Nick said.

Natalie played in three state championship games and is now an MSU junior.

Then there’s Lucia Lavalle, 18, a senior forward for Maine who attends Maine West.

“It’s been a great having Lucia playing for Maine, following in her sister Natalia's footsteps. It was really special having them play together during the 2023-24 season,” Nick said.

“We have one at each position. Tianna, as a goalie, is the best skater, Natalia is the smartest player, and Lucia is the most tenacious.

“Having our daughters, and our son whom also played for Maine (2019 graduate), have this great game as part of their lives is something we’re grateful for. Hockey is the greatest game in the world, and with each passing year, it brings us newer and greater life lessons than in the past.”

Nick added: “Playing hockey has taught our family about structure, the importance of a team and being a good teammate, how to prioritize, and ultimately has helped prepare our children for real life. We are so blessed to have hockey and more importantly, great hockey people as part of our lives.”

Nick, 56, a Des Plaines resident, said it has been, “amazing and humbling” to have had all three daughters play hockey thru the high school level in Illinois.”

Lucia is a left-handed shooting left wing who also this season skates for the Glenview Stars (girls). She is a 4-time state champion, 3-time regional champion, 5-time national qualifier, 2-time national second-place finisher, a 2025 NIHL all-star player and 3-time All-State honoree.

“My style of play revolves around the dirty work of hockey, disrupting plays, pressure, board battles, and getting knocked around in front of the net,” said Lucia, whose personal hockey highlight was scoring a slapshot goal from the point during a playoff game as a freshman.

“I love that I had siblings and my dad all play hockey … I was destined to play. Hockey is a blessing in my life and I love how it brings my family together.”

Lucia said there are more pros than cons of having her dad and sister as coaches. She treasures the fact she can “share every moment of my hockey career with them,” she said. “I am so lucky to have them both as coaches and I will always rather them be on the bench than in the stands.”

Lucia treasures the time playing alongside Natalia – a freshman and senior, respectively.

“Getting to represent my school on Maine has been a fun experience,” Lucia said. “It is a place where the pressure of club hockey goes away and you can just play and have fun, but still push to win.”