South tops Fremd in Cup opener

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CRYSTAL LAKE – Crystal Lake South was not about to be fazed by a slow start.

“We stayed positive and stayed with our team,” Gators right wing Brian Lichterman said. “We know with our talent that we can score multiple goals.”

It took South a while, but when it finally took the lead, it also grabbed total control of the game. The Gators scored late in the second period, the first of three goals in 4:06, and defeated Fremd, 4-1, in their Metro Central Division Scholastic Cup playoff hockey game Wednesday at the Crystal Ice House.

Left wing Scottie Stalo scored the second goal for a 2-1 lead. Center Tyler Bigos added another 35 seconds later, then center Kenny Hall further deflated the Vikings with an unassisted goal in the first minute of the third.

“After I got my goal we gained some momentum,” Stalo said. “Kenny’s in the third really shut them down. That was huge.”

South (28-9-6 overall, 1-0 Scholastic Cup) finished second in the Metro Central to Barrington and wants to grab one of the top two spots to move on in the Scholastic Cup playoffs. The top six Metro Central teams will play for those two spots.

“Once we went ahead [in the second period], we had momentum,” Gators coach Rich Perillo said. “This is huge [winning the opener]. It’s extremely important to get this one.”

Fremd (25-25-3, 0-1) scored first on Brendan Joyce’s goal 2:58 into the first period. South answered 1:52 later when Hall flipped a pass in front to Lichterman, who tapped it in.

“We had some nerves early,” Lichterman said. “Once we got our feet underneath us, we played physical and kept our heads and let them make the mistakes.”

Stalo scored with 3:11 left in the second period off an assist from Lichterman. Hall’s capper came when Fremd turned the puck over at the blue line. Hall faked goalie Gavin Carlson and beat him high to his stick side.

“We let them get the first goal, but I thought we played well after that,” Perillo said. “The guys settled down and played position and played the puck more. We weren’t doing the little things right at first.”

Perillo also thought his defense played well in front of goalie Ben Allison. Fremd lost two one-goal games to the Gators in the regular season.

“They capitalized on some opportunities they had in the second period,” Vikings coach Gary Mitchell said. “I didn’t like that the refs made themselves the focal point, and that went both ways. They handled that better than us. You have to let the players dictate the game.”