Loyola Academy plays host to a major, national High School Tournament this weekend in the Chicago area.

The 2017 Jesuit Cup features Loyola Gold and seven other teams, with games being played at Heartland Ice Arena in Lincolnwood and Johnny IceHouse West in Chicago.  Eight games will be played Saturday and four on Sunday.  The championship game is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 16, at Heartland.

St. Ignatius is the only other team from Illinois, and the Wolfpack will play in the Maroon Division, along with Gonzaga College High School (Washington D.C.), Marquette University High School (Milwaukee) and St. Ignatius of Ohio.

St. Ignatius (11-5-0-2) is in fourth-place in the Chicago Catholic Hockey League with 24 points, behind Benet Academy (25), St. Rita (26) and Providence Catholic (32).  The Wolfpack are led by forward Patrick Doyle (12 goals, 8 assists in league play) and defenseman John Connelly (8, 10).  Goalie Charles Doherty has an 11-6 record in league play, with one shutout and a .902 save percentage.

The Ramblers will compete in the Gold Division, along with Cheverus High School (Portland, Maine), Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colorado) and Rockhurst Jesuit (Kansas City, Missouri).

Gold stands at 17-3 in the Scholastic Hockey League with 34 points, only trailing New Trier Green (41 points).  The Ramblers are led by Dan Sullivan, Jack Purcell and Austin Eng.

“Loyola Academy is extremely proud to be hosting this event along with Saint Ignatius,” said Gold head coach D.J. LaVarre. “This tournament has been two years in the making. We are looking forward to having six out of state Jesuit schools join us in Chicago for the Jesuit Cup. This is the first year of the tournament in which we hope will be the beginning of many more. A big thank you goes out to Kevin Olde for organizing this tournament.”

 

Ross Forman has written about Illinois high school hockey for more than 15 years, and is the only sportswriter to have covered Illinois High School hockey every year during that stretch. He played locally and then at Indiana University before becoming a referee. Ross was a referee for the State Championship game several years ago at the United Center. Contact Ross by email at Rossco814@aol.com.