York Varsity Hockey Defeats Sandburg 6 to 2

The York Hockey Club will make a donation of more than $650 to the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness Fund after another successful Breast Cancer Night run Oct. 14 at Addison Ice Arena. The donation was made possible by Carol Van Dyke and the help of many hockey moms, families and friends, whose bake sale and split-the-pot raffle were well-executed by much behind the scenes work.

Varsity took the ice wearing white jerseys with Shoot for a Cure in pink lettering, honoring those who battled or are battling breast cancer. Many of the players' jerseys were imprinted with names of someone close to them who has dealt with the disease. Pink laces and tape finished off the look. Pink roses were presented to members of Josh Gabrielsen, Joe Messerschmidt and Logan Feley's relatives by their boys. The special night was led by Carol Van Dyke and her son, Andrew. Feley got the action started on the ice by escorting his mom, Jackie, for the ceremonial puck drop.

The offense displayed an intensity to match the emotions of the evening. The stands were packed with York students and families showing support for the cause and their Dukes.

York expected this to be a battle. Sandburg historically challenges them to a physical, hard-fought game. The first period reflected that expectation: Great attempts by Mike LeDonne from the blue line were stopped, Gabrielsen's moves somehow were denied and Tyler Winker had an incredible drive down, but their goalie kept that door shut.

After York's fired-up offense was just about to end the first, Tyler Reichl passed the puck to Mike Ross, whose pass up the middle to Gabrielsen for the breakaway finally broke through. Gabrielsen lifted the puck over the goalie's blocker for a 1-0 lead. The rink erupted with excitement as York ended the hard fought period. 

"DJ Jim" O'Halloran finally got to display his musical talents, rockin the rink and adding to the excitement. 

Dan Kastholm showed his talents, but just missed the goal as the fans heard it hit the crossbar and bounce out. It didn't take long to get another in, though, as Reichl beat two defenders and got his own breakaway. He skillfully back-handed it in, giving York a 2-goal lead. 

York goalie Slav Stephanyshyn had quite a game. He was thrilled to watch as the offense kept the pressure on Sandburg. With an assist from Ross and Reichl, Gabes turned, looked for the opportunity to pass, but stunned the goalie with the shot from the top of the circle instead.

Stephanyshyn was on fire stopping everything, but Sandburg managed to take advantage of a power play, eliminating his shut-out late in the second. LeDonne could not have done more as he knocked the bouncing puck out, but after the third rebound and the one-man Sandburg advantage, they managed to put one up.  

The third period continued to be a battle. Stephanyshyn was called upon again, and again and did not let his team down. One play gave Jake Losurdo's skills the spotlight as he denied a goal for Stephanyshyn. Losurdo might be one of the smaller defensemen, but he's fast and relentless. Justin Schwarz continued proving his value, noticeably so as he stole the puck, taking it out of the zone on what had been too much pressure for a bit too long.

Stephanyshyn soon made the save of the game, but fans held their breath not seeing the puck. As everyone looked around, Stephanyshyn jumped up and down releasing the saved puck, stuck in his hockey pants. One of the younger fans yelled "just like the Chicago Blackhawks' Niemi that time!" 

York was on fire with Thomas Gnadt, LeDonne and Andrew Garcia getting more and more comfortable with those hard varsity checks, helping Stephanyshyn preserve that lead.

But it was John Harrell who capitalized after one of Gnadt's hard checks. Harrell's unassisted snipe from the hash marks gave the opposing goalie no chance. To the surprise of fans, Sandburg pulled the goalie with over 3 minutes left. They didn't anticipate the talents of Ross, as he easily outskated and moved around three Sandburg skaters to record an empty netter for his team. 

Sandburg managed to score one more, with just over 2 minutes left, but Gabrielsen quickly answered back with another empty netter. Between Dakota Lamb, Brian Gleason and Gabrielsen, it was hard to tell whose goal it was, but it was Gabrielsen and that gave him a hat trick.

The win capped off a great night for a terrific club that continues to do its share of charity work, while providing some great excitement for Elmhurst/York hockey fans.

"It was a great win for the kids, this was a team win," head varsity coach Phil Gabrielsen said. "We did a lot of good things out there. They are starting to understand some of the points we have been teaching. It was nice to see the scoring too. We have not been scoring a lot. Now we just need to bring it to every game."

York takes on Hinsdale South/Downers Grove South at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, at Darien Sportsplex, 451 Plainfield Road.