On a Saturday night last September at Nicholas Sportsplex in Mount Prospect, the host Saint Viator Lions skated to history, defeating Académie Ste Cecil (of Windsor, Ontario) in the first-ever game of the new Great Lakes Prep Hockey League, a six-team league of private schools from across the Great Lakes, three from Canada and three from the U.S.

The Lions beat Académie Ste Cecil that night, 2-1.

Five months later, it was Académie Ste Cecil celebrating as the Canadian school was the league champion. Viator was eliminated from the GLPHL playoffs in the semifinals by …. you guessed it, Académie Ste Cecil.

Saint Viator head coach Tim Benz said the GLPHL was simply, “phenomenal.”

“The level of play, the camraderie of the schools to make things work, the structure … everything about the league was positive,” Benz said. “The level of play was top-notch, like playing a top five Scholastic Hockey League (SHL) team (in every GLPHL game). Many of these (GLPHL) schools are true prep schools so they allow students to repeat a year or play a PG (postgraduate) year. So, we often had to play against bigger, stronger, older teams. Being as young as we are, this was a good challenge for us.”

The league’s founding members were Shady Side Academy (Pittsburgh), St. Francis School (Buffalo), Académie Ste-Cécile (Windsor, Ontario), Appleby College (Oakville, Ontario), Blyth Academy (Burlington, Ontario) and Saint Viator.

Viator finished 10-6-1 in GLPHL play and defeated Appleby College 6-5 in overtime for third-place.

“Our kids played hard all weekend (during the league playoffs in mid-February) and posted a 3-1 record during the playoff weekend,” Benz said. “Finishing third in a prep league in year one … that’s not too shabby for a group that was underaged and undersized.”

Another GLPHL highlight for the Lions was defeating Shady Side Academy, “historically, a nationally recognized prep powerhouse,” Benz said.

Connor Sibigtroth was the lone Lion to tally 10 or more points in GLPHL play, finishing with 6 goals and 4 assists in 6 games played. The Lions had three overtime wins.

“This (league is) a tremendous help. This will help us recruit top-level talent for years to come,” Benz said. “We ended up playing what would be considered 19 U18 AAA games this season being in the GLHPL league – 18 of these were through the GLPHL, another was a game we played at home in our SHL Showcase we hosted (in November). This also put our program on a national and international level. Many people around the league had never heard of Saint Viator High School, and now they do. Opponents and other leagues now know about us.”

Benz said the GLPHL truly helped the team, particularly for player exposure.

“People not familiar with the SHL do not know how talented the league really is. Being part of the GLPHL got our kids exposure they normally would not get,” Benz said. “We have players now on the radar and in conversations with teams in the NAHL, NCDC, USPHL, NOJHL, EHL, OJHL and CCHL (Central Canada Jr Hockey League).”

The solid level of play in GLPHL games certainly helped in SHL action when the Lions skated against New Trier Green, Glenbrook North and other local powerhouse programs.

“Playing at the speed and physicality of the older players helped us,” Benz said. “We would not be in the position we are today without playing in this league.”

Benz confirmed that, in March, the GLPHL will meet to discuss expansion in both the top division and potentially adding a second division for V2 or U16/U17 teams. Benz said the league is considering growing to at least 10 teams.

Not all teams played the same number of games or played against the same opponent the same number of times. Final league standings were posted by win percentage instead of points. Next season, “we would like all teams playing the same amount of games against each opponent, if possible,” Benz said. For example, Saint Viator played 18 GLHPL games, however, one was against a guest team, the Pittsburgh Vengeance U18 AAA. Viator only played 17 league games for its 10-6-1 record.

When asked if the GLPHL will add any Illinois teams, Benz said, “I am not sure.”

Viator is looking to host a GLPHL weekend next season, Benz confirmed.