The most exciting, adrenaline-packed moment in the athletic lives of Spiro Maglaris and Will Busby — and likely the vast majority of the players on the Buffalo Grove/Hersey/Wheeling hockey team — followed an almost unrelenting wave of pressure by the Stampede.
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Maglaris scored with 1:03 remaining in regulation to tie the Blackhawk Cup combined varsity state championship game on Friday, March 18. BG/H/W began overtime on a power play. It ramped up its pressure with a man advantage. Senior center Tanner Holfeld nearly ended the game with a close-range shot, only to be denied by a diving save by Glenbard goalie Jim Bertane.
The power play ended. It was past 11:45 p.m., but the Stampede kept pushing against the defending state champions. They peppered Bertane with shot after shot.
Finally, with 3:57 remaining in overtime, junior forward Nick Iliescu found Busby with a perfect pass from behind the net at the United Center. The senior winger fired. Bertane was able to get a piece of Busby’s wrist shot with his left arm, but not enough of it.
BG/H/W’s ninth shot in overtime went in. The Stampede won 3-2.
“It was unreal,” Busby said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever experience that again.”
Pandemonium ensued. The Stampede’s large student section celebrated uproariously as BG/H/W’s players did the same on the ice.
“I don’t think I even touched the boards (after Busby scored),” Maglaris said. “I just jumped straight over (them). I was just so excited. I threw all of my equipment. I didn’t even know where it went. It took me five minutes to find it all.”
The junior forward, who attends Wheeling, added: “There is no (comparable) feeling. … (I) have never felt anything like it before. Just having that many fans, all of your teammates, your brothers, it’s just a feeling like no other.”
BG/H/W (33-17-5) continued to celebrate on the ice, then gathered its equipment and headed to its locker room.
Carly Rae Jepsen’s mega-hit “Call Me Maybe” was the first song the Stampede blasted inside the locker room as they celebrated. Outside of the locker room, BG/H/W assistant coach and longtime hockey director Bob Wagner provided insight into how the Stampede were able to summon the energy to tie Glenbard (27-22-0) at the end of regulation after Glenbard went ahead with 3:25 left.
“We did have about $100 worth of healthy snacks and Gatorades because we knew it was going to be late,” Wagner said. “I actually sent out an itinerary saying, ‘Take a nap during the day. We’ll feed you on the bus. We’ll have snacks after you walk around.’ … As soon as the second period ended in the Red game (that took place before BG/H/W’s), we had them down here to relax, to eat, to drink.”
Busby was asked the same question as Wagner. How did BG/H/W find so much energy so late in the night?
“Last game of the season, I think everyone knew it was the end and nobody wanted to go home with a loss,” said Busby, who attends Hersey. “(Others) thought it was a rebuilding year, but I think we showed people that we’re better than they thought. Since it is a young team, we have a lot of energy and we brought that energy to the ice. That’s how we won games, got ourselves here and won a state championship.”
Eric Van Dril is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @VanDrilSports