Loyola Academy Gold took second place while hosting the third annual Jesuit Cup Hockey tournament. The team finished the tournament with three wins and one loss, which increases their overall record to 36-11 for the season.

The Jesuit Cup, which consists of six Jesuit high school teams from all over nation, boasts some of the toughest competition in high school hockey. Gold, or LAG, had a very strong tournament despite losing in the championship to St. Ignatius Prep from Cleveland. St. Ignatius Prep finished the tournament 4-0 with twenty-five goals for and only five against.

Gold started off the tournament by playing Marquette University high school from Wisconsin, who finished the tournament 3-1. Gold came out ready to play early and shut the door on Marquette. They never looked back and were able to claim a 4-1 victory to open tournament play.

The following day the Ramblers had a tough task ahead of them in playing St. Joe’s Prep, the defending Pennsylvania state champions. Last year, they beat Gold 5-2 to win the 2018 Jesuit Cup. LAG has twelve returning players from last year’s team and it is safe to say they were hungry for revenge. By a final score of 6-2 the Ramblers pounced all over St. Joe’s.

It was a very fast and physical game. There was obvious tension in the air between the two teams, but Loyola was able to keep a cooler head and take advantage of a few penalties.

Senior forward Drew Buck said, “It was one of the biggest wins this year.” Considering how many games they have played, that is a huge momentum booster heading into playoffs.

Gold capped off the round robin by playing Loyola high school from Montreal. Loyola Montreal snuck out to an early 2-1 lead, but the Ramblers were able to battle back to tie it up at the end of the first period. A lone goal by the Ramblers in the second period gave them momentum for the third in which they closed out Loyola Montreal 5-2.

In the championship game between Loyola Gold and St. Ignatius Prep, Ignatius defeated Gold by a score of 5-3. The first period was one the Ramblers would like to forget all about. Two minutes after the Ramblers scored their first goal of the game, Ignatius pushed it into overdrive to claim a 4-1 lead heading into the second period.

The second period was a big one for the Ramblers as they were able to strike twice, narrowing the lead to 4-3. Unfortunately, it was not enough. St. Ignatius held Gold scoreless throughout the entire third period and sealed the 2019 Jesuit Cup on an empty net goal with thirteen seconds remaining.

Overall, Gold had a very strong tournament. This will give them a lot of momentum heading into the 2019 SHL playoffs. The team will likely play with a chip on the shoulder the rest of the season because they were recently ranked #2, behind New Trier Green, in Illinois for the 2019 state championship.

Andrew Shearson, goalie for LAG,  said that they will use the disappointing ranking as fuel for the rest of their games and that they are ready to repeat as Illinois high school hockey state champions.