Although a comeback seemed inevitable, and the crowd was rowdy, Loyola boys hockey fell hard Thursday night to a strong New Trier side.

The Trevians came out fast, going up 2-0 against the Ramblers with 5:35 still remaining in the first period. Both goals came from aggressively crashing the net, a tactic the Trevians would repeat throughout the night. From there the boys in green built off their momentum, taking absolute control of not only the game, but the entire stadium’s atmosphere.

Tommy Albrighton, a senior, two year varsity defenseman noted this, saying “the one thing that really went wrong was the way we started, by the time we got into the game, we were already down 2-0.”

Wave after wave of Trevians inundated the Ramblers’ already broken levee. Sure enough, after just 21 minutes of play, New Trier scored their third goal of the night after a twelve yard slap shot from Will Kroeger rattled the back of the net. Loyola fans were silent, and the sounds of New Trier substitutes smacking the wall with their sticks filled the air.

Each goal seemed to humble the famously excitable fans more than the last. Yet, soon after that third goal, the energy in the Loyola team started to change as Ciaran O’Brien made stop after stop for LAG. One most notably being a minute after New Trier’s third goal in which the Loyola keeper stood his ground in a one v one, making a fantastic foot save to his left side.

“He’s super hot right now,” said Mac Carrol, a Loyola senior and avid hockey fan. “It’s like nothing can get past him.”

For the rest of the night, nothing did. Building off the defensive prowess came a goal for the gold and maroon. With 6:06 left in the second period, Albrighton found Jack Gustafson skating up the left side, who fired but had it promptly batted away by New Triers Dean Lawrence. However, the Trevian goalie knocked it directly into the path of Garret Grady, who finished the rebound with ease.

Loyola gold was back in it and so were the fans as they erupted into an absolute frenzy.

The second period saw a crack form in New Trier’s wall for the first time that night, yet the Trevian defense still proved difficult to beat. Gustafson, who was eager to score all night, was able to find himself around Lawrence with a near open net. That was, until New Trier defenseman Will Cuskick slid to the ice, blocking the shot, and keeping the score line at 3-1.

Grady then put in his second of the night and ninth of the Scholastic Hockey League with 6:24 remaining in the game, but it wasn’t enough. New Trier held on strong until the very end, and leads 2-1 in the Wilmette rivalry this season.

Loyola, now preparing for playoffs, is looking to forget and move on with Albrighton assuring that “We are definitely going to use this loss as motivation.”