With 30 seconds left in the game, Summit scrambled to tie up the score and keep their hopes alive for the Union County Tournament finals. As the time continued to run out, trailing 3-2, Summit felt panic set in. To increase their chances of scoring, Summit added an extra player on the ice and removed their goalie, to outnumber the Westfield defense. Taking every shot possible and pressing high Summit still fell short. Despite Summit’s best efforts, Westfield stayed strong on defense led by senior goalie Andrew Raber, ruining Summit’s strategy to comeback. To secure their win, in the last nine seconds, junior Jack Conrod broke away from the Summit defense, finding the back of the net to give the Blue Devils a 4-2 victory.
Although Westfield exited the game victorious, the Blue Devils did not give their best performance. Earlier in the regular season, Westfield defeated Summit 7-2, whereas in the Union County Tournament, when they need to be playing at their best, the Blue Devils only won by a small margin.
“I think just playing as one cohesive unit is going to be important for us,” said senior captain Alex Ebel. “We have a lot of talent on our team and when that talent gets individualistic, we’re not the same type of team that we are when we’re working as one.”
Senior captain Alex Ebel kicked off the game with a goal late into the first period assisted by junior Jackson Chicola. The celebration was short-lived. Within a minute the Summit offense responded back with a sneaky goal past Raber.
“I think we came out slow, but at the end of the day, a win is a win,” said Chicola. “We got the job done and we are looking forward to Saturday.”
Junior Austen Halleran, quickly put the Blue Devils back on top 2-1 scoring a goal off an assist from senior captain Michael Wilson. Westfield’s lead was yet again brief, as Summit tied up the game towards the middle of the second period.
The two teams were tied until mid-way through the third period until Chicola put the Blue Devils ahead of Summit 3-2. Chicola’s goal kept the lead solid through the rest of the game, with a little extra security from Conrod’s goal in the final moments.
Even though the third period was stressful for Summit, it was even more stressful for the Blue Devils. This season, Westfield has a persistent pattern of allowing teams to make a comeback late in the third period after leading for the entirety of the game. “I think today we got lucky I really do think we got lucky winning today,” said head coach Joseph Bertucci.
Now, as the Blue Devils are playing tournament games, it makes the third period pattern all the more serious. “Hopefully we have learned from our third period collapses,” Bertucci.
However, this semi-final victory demonstrated the Blue Devils ability to maintain their lead throughout the third period when the stakes are at their highest.
“Finishing with a victory is huge for us. It is a step in the right direction,” said Bertucci. “I still think there is another level we have to get to in order to win any championships.”
The boys hope to become the Union County Champions on Saturday at 6 pm against Governor Livingston at Warinanco Park.
