December 2, 2018 is one of largest nights in Illinois high school hockey. An annual tradition, the “Quad Header” is supposed to feature four back to back hockey games between Loyola Academy and New Trier.This year however, the girl’s varsity game has been moved. Although this is unfortunate, their is still plenty of action to look forward to.

The first game will start at 2:40 between Loyola JV and New Trier JV at Centennial Ice Rink. Both teams are off to abnormally slow starts in the Scholastic Hockey League’s JV division. Loyola currently sits at third place with a record of 6-5. New Trier is in fifth with a 5-5 record. The teams will kickoff the day with a great game and a lot of energy.

After the JV game, Loyola Maroon will take on New Trier Blue at 4:00. Maroon, or LAM, is Loyola’s second varsity team and it competes in the Illinois High School Hockey League (IHSHL). Maroon currently has an overall record of (18-4-2 ) and is ranked (15) in all of Illinois according to myhockeyrankings.com.

New Trier Blue competes in the much tougher Scholastic Hockey league, but currently has an overall record of (5-12-3) and is ranked (31), according to Myhockey. The two teams already squared off in the Gator Cup preseason tournament where Maroon prevailed 4-1.

Robert Langill, a senior defenseman on Maroon, said he would much prefer to play New Trier White rather than Blue because of their ranking. New Trier White competes in the same league as Maroon and has a similar overall record (13-7-1) and state ranking (21). Nevertheless, the two teams are fired up about the game.

Maroon is led by an exiting trio of goaltenders and a very strong defense. Blue relies on their veteran leadership and excellent physicality. The two teams will look to snatch the unclaimed bragging rights of the 2017 Quad that ended in a 1-1 tie.

Then the main event will take place between the top two teams in Illinois, Loyola Academy Gold (2) and New Trier Green (1). Gold has an overall record of (18-6-0) including two losses to Green, who boats an unbeaten (27-0). Green defeated Gold 3-2 in a regular season contest and 3-1 in the championship of Loyola’s Thanksgiving tournament. Gold will look to avenge the losses and continue the defense of their 2017 state championship title.

Key players for Gold include seniors Eamon Obrien and Nick Liebers. Aidan Finegan is also someone to watch for as he has piled up an obnoxious 13 points in 6 games since returning to the lineup.

New Trier Green will look to Robert Soudan and Brian Dolby to continue this year’s dominance.

The game is always very exiting and filled with energy from the fans. Students from both schools will pack the stands at Centennial for one of high school hockey’s finest traditions.

Tickets for entry are $5 with all proceeds going to a joint fundraising effort for Misericordia between the schools. Attendance is encouraged since all proceeds are donated to a great cause in Misericordia.