VERNON HILLS – Last Wednesday, the IceCats (1-7) took on the Lake Forest Scouts in an early season North Central division battle at the Glacier Ice Arena which ended in a 4-1 victory for Lake Forest.

LHS/VHHS and Lake Forest came out of the gates in the first period skating fast, backchecking and forechecking really well. The IceCats had the lone power play of the period after Lake Forest’s Ryan Gattari was called for slashing.

Not many opportunities came out of the five-on-four advantage, but they cycled the puck around and then created some chances in the slot. Both defenses also played exceptionally well, limiting the amount of shots their respective goalies had to face. Shots on goal were in favor of the IceCats, 13-9, at the end of the period.

The second period got off to a start similar to that of the first, with the IceCats looking slightly better than their opponents, but that quickly changed.

IceCats LHS forward Jack Glenn was called for a slash and a five-on-four advantage for the visitors ensued. Twelve seconds into the penalty kill, the puck found its way onto Lake Forest’s Thomas Hayes’ stick and into the net. Fans and parents were furious because of a controversial icing no-call that would have negated the goal, but the Scouts nonetheless took a 1-0 lead.

The Scouts’ advantage did not last long, though, as forward Kyle Wooten came down the right wing with LHS’ Skylar Blacker crashing to the net. Both the defenseman and goalie committed to Blacker thinking a pass was imminent but Wooten kept it and buried one over the glove of Lake Forest’s netminder to tie it all up.

It looked like IceCats Coach Shawn Brown had his team back on track, but it was short- lived. Sloppy passing and a lack of hustle by defensemen led to many opportunities for Lake Forest forwards to score. Gattari added a tally to the scoreboard and Hayes scored his second goal of the game, which increased their team’s lead to 3-1. At the end of the period, shots were still in favor of the IceCats, 23-18.

Third-period play began how the second period ended for both teams. The same mistakes were being made and odd-man rushes were happening for Lake Forest. VHHS’ Charlie Newberg, starting goalie for the IceCats, prevented the team from falling further behind by making some quality saves, only allowing one more goal, a hat trick for LF’s Hayes.

On an injury note from the game, LHS forward David Mattson was tripped up by Peter Lincoln of the Scouts and landed hard on his ankle; Mattson was helped by his teammates off the ice, not being able to apply any pressure on his left leg. The final score ended in a 4-1 victory for the visitors.

The next home game for the IceCats is against Prep High School Hockey Club (Comprised of players from Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Elk Grove, and Prospect areas) next Wednesday at Glacier Ice Arena at 8:30 p.m. and will be broadcast online on the high school cube.