Ethan Baker scored a tip-in goal less than five minutes into the game Sunday, March 16 – and it ultimately was the game-winner. New Trier Green survived, beating Benet Academy 1-0 for the AHAI High School Hockey State Championship, played at the United Center, giving the Trevians their third consecutive title and their 20th since 1981.
“I saw Connor (Hirschtritt) backdoor and thought he’d put it in but saw (the puck) in the air and just tapped it mid-air; that was awesome,” said Baker, who re-directed the waist-high puck during a Trevians’ powerplay. “This was my favorite game and to get the game-winner, that’s unreal. (That was) the biggest (goal) of my career.”
New Trier head coach Adam Cheris said Baker’s brilliance included “being in the right place at the right time.” Cheris added, “Baker has done so much for us this season. He’s a great kid who stepped up at the right time.”
Benet Academy head coach Andrew Schlie wasn’t too impressed with the goal, specifically, being short-handed at the time. And the abundance of penalties that were whistled throughout the game.
“It was a garbage goal, a flukey goal on a questionable call that changed the game,” Schlie said. “I think it’s real hard to play (against) two opponents at the same time. There were a lot of penalties against Benet in that game. It wasn’t well officiated, confirmed by the referee-in-chief after the game and it really made a difference in the game. I don’t mind losing to a better team, but I didn’t lose to a better team.
“I still think Benet is the best team in the state; I think they showed that tonight and will prove that again on Tuesday night,” in the deciding game of the best-of-three Kennedy Cup series for the Chicago Catholic Hockey League title against Saint Ignatius.
Said Cheris: “The flow of the game was tough; there were a lot of penalties both ways, so we couldn’t really get into our flow. When we got the first goal, I thought we might get a few more. That never came, but things worked out.”
The Trevians bombed Benet goalie Ben Ciesla with 32 shots, including 13 in the first period, but nothing else found the netting. New Trier goalie Wyatt Schmidt stopped all 17 Benet shots for his third state championship with the Trevians.
Schmidt and Hirschtritt and the lone three-time state champions on New Trier.
“This is unbelievable; I’m at a loss for words. It’s surreal,” said Schmidt, who was on the bench, in a backup role, each of the past two seasons.
“There’s nothing better than going out with a win, with these boys at the United Center. It’s the best. We were prepared; we knew what we had to do and did it.
“This is every kid’s dream.”
Schmidt, for instance, watched former Green goalie Preston Watt win state in 2019 at the United Center. “He’s the reason I’m here. I saw him play at the UC when I was a kid. He was incredible and I said I wanted to do the same.”
Benet forward Hudson Schlie said the Red Wings “played really well,” particularly Ciesla who “played great.” He added, “We were right there with them; I was proud of our guys.
“No one expected it to be close. To make it so close with one powerplay goal being the difference; that’s awesome for us.”
The Benet game plan was simple and clear: take bodies, just like Glenbrook North did against New Trier Green in the SHL Championship Game on March 12, said Schlie, one of the top forwards in the state this season. “We saw they don’t really like the contact, so that was our gameplan.
“It was very frustrating to come that close (and lose). We don’t get shutout very often, so that sucks. We will be ready for game three of Kennedy Cup. We want to end the season with a win; that’s been a goal of ours all season. We will use this as fire, as (motivation) to take it to Saint Ignatius.”