The LTHS Hockey Club is performing above expectations, with their teamwork fueling the drive to win.

“I’m really fortunate this year that the boys really get along well on and off the ice,” first year head varsity coach Benjamin Engle said. “[There is] a unique bond they have that I haven’t seen in the past couple years with LT.”

With 18 players on both the JV and varsity teams, practicing three times a week and playing approximately two games each week, hockey is a full time commitment. The season begins mid-August with bootcamp and then tryouts, going all the way through the end of February or early March, depending on how the team performs in state playoffs, defender Aidan Sheehan ’20 said.

Along with the necessary dedication to the sport, this season the team has had to adapt to other obstacles as well, alternate team captain Matthew Korallus ‘19 said

“Our head coach from last year quit, so we had to adjust to a new head coach,” Korallus said. “However, he [also left] early in the season and our assistant coach from last year became the new [varsity] head coach. This has put our team in a tough spot because we had a slow start to the season.”

The team’s current record is 14-17-3, not exactly where they would like to be, but still impressive given the special circumstances, Korallus said.

With the addition of eight freshmen, the JV team has had to guide the younger players in becoming accustomed to high school hockey, JV head coach Brent Davi said. As a result, the team faces some interruption in perfecting their skills.

“Our biggest challenge throughout the season has been consistency, which has been hard to find due to several injuries that we have dealt with throughout the first half of the season,” Davi said.

Within LT’s conference, teams such as Glenbard, Hinsdale Central and Oak Park River Forest, pose potential challenges for the team, Engle said.

“It’s not so much that [these teams] intimidate us, it’s just every year they have a good program,” Engle said.

In order to better prepare to play teams such as these, the team has been reinforcing the “game by game” philosophy, taking it one step at a time and focusing in on one opponent before jumping to the next, Engle said.

“Each day, each practice, each game, you can see the kids gelling a little bit more to become a better hockey team,” Engle said.

On Dec. 14, LT played against the Hinsdale Devils taking home a win for the JV team, but not for varsity. At this Winter Classic game at the Bobby Hull Ice Arena in Cicero, all of the proceeds were donated to a charity of choice, the American Heart Association.

“On the LT side, I was actually diagnosed last January with Heart Failure, and I have been managing this condition for the last year with doctors’ visits and daily medications,” Davi said. “My prognosis is not bad, and we are hoping to continue to see improvement. Given the uniqueness of the situation, the American Heart Association was chosen.”

The players were very supportive of the charity selected because their coach’s condition is quite important to them as well, Sheehan said.

“Last year [Davi] announced he was battling heart disease and the team and club as a whole really rallied behind him,” Sheehan said. “[Davi] is one of the nicest people I have met and has taught me so much.”

The varsity team plays next at the Seven Bridges Olympic Rink against Benet High School on Jan. 26 at 7 p.m.