Halfway through the second period, junior Liam Reed netted his third goal of the night giving the Blue Devils a vital lead over Northern Highlands. After entering the second period tied 2-2, Westfield dominated the rest of the game, scoring 3 more goals to defeat the Highlanders 5-2.
The game was a physical battle throughout the entirety of the matchup. While only a few penalties were handed out, both sides battled hard and played a clean game. There were numerous standout defensive efforts from the seniors on the back line.
Assistant captain and goalkeeper Troy Conover tallied 28 saves, coming in clutch for the blue devils. Another major contributor to the lockdown defense, especially present in the third period was senior defenseman Luke Fitzgerald, who came up big for Westfield.
The game went back and forth, remaining neck and neck the majority of the time. An early goal for the blue devils set an assertive tone at the start of the game. But a quick answer by the Highlanders proved that this game was no walk in the park.
Fitzgerald attributed the defensive dominance the Blue Devils found in the latter half of the game to their compact formation. He said, “The puck started to bounce our way, and we had more urgency. We started to collapse in the back and locked down their offensive opportunities.”
These timely defensive efforts left the Highlanders off the board for the last two periods of the game. “We’ve fallen through a lot of adversity this year, and we just continue to show that. We know that the later periods are better periods, and, you know, we’re gonna dominate the familiar games,” Reed said.
Head coach Joe Bartucci credited his team’s composure throughout a game fueled by aggression. “We talked about playing physical teams like that. Their championship-calibre teams. They’ve been there before. They know how to win,” Bartucci said.
Westfield is back in action this Friday at 6:15 against St. Peter’s Preparatory School at American Dream Mall for their final game of the regular season.
