A classic tale of overcoming adversity to become champions: Westfield girls ice hockey put their 2023-24 season into the books with a 9-8 record and a trophy in the case.
The girls season came off to a slow start. Opening with a game against Chatham, the girls took a loss, 3-0, at their home rink at Gumpert Park. Two more losses followed – Summit and Oak Knoll – lowering morale and dimming hope for the Blue Devils.
But, these first games were all out of conference matchups.
“We are a very young team,” said senior captain Emerson Wotanowski. “There are only about six upperclassmen and the rest are under[classmen], so having these big games first was difficult as our chemistry was still trying to form. Although, getting these matchups out of the way early prepared us for the games that we would play in our conference as we worked extra hard to fight.”
From a birdseye, it looked like the rest of the season would remain the same, but it was far from it. On Dec. 22, the Blue Devils dominated against Cranford, 6-0, proving that they were not a team to be pushed around.
From that point on, Westfield played more teams inside their own conference, and their potential began to shine. Senior co-captain Miriam Walsh said, “This year was especially important as this is the strongest the program has ever been, and we played some amazing hockey.”
The girls took a dominant win over East Side and Princeton, but also took a heart-breaking loss on Senior Night to Randolph who took the win in the last minute of play. With a regular season full of ups and downs, it came to question how the girls would perform in tournament play.
Westfield played in two major tournaments this season – the Annis Cup and the NJIHL tournament.
It was in the Annis Cup when Westfield came back with hardware. It was there where the girls ice hockey team made history. “It was a back and forth game. The two teams that were playing had identical records. We beat them once they beat us once…it was thrilling,” said assistant coach Robert Ebert.
After the tournament, Westfield took a tough 8-3 loss to Kent Place before making their way into the NJIHL tournament.
In the first round of the tournament, Westfield faced Pingry where their season would end in a 7-0 loss. Despite the bitterness brought by this final loss, this team has a lot to be proud of. “To set so many records for this program this year and make history was so important to me and my co-captain Emmy,” said Walsh. “We’ve been with this team through all the hardships and adversity.”
A winning season for the first time ever and an Annis cup to boot. This program as a whole has come a long way over the years, and Walsh has experienced it all. “When I started in the program, we only had a few developed players on the team, and I don’t think we won any games that year. Every year since I’ve been on the team, improvements are made,” she said. As a freshman during the 2020-21 season, Westfield girls ice hockey went 0-9. The next season, 1-11, and the next, 6-13-1. Finally, as a captain, Walsh was able to lead the team to their first winning record ever (the program was founded the 2016-17 season) and their first ever trophy in the Annis cup.
“This year was the best season the program has ever seen and I couldn’t be prouder to have been a captain for these girls,” said Wotanowski. “The success we’ve had will just keep growing as more and more girls who play hockey will join the team, and I know the returning players will make it a priority to carry on this legacy for many years to come. We’ve fought hard for years to prove our worth as a team, and we have finally set a tone for the future.”
Ebert looks forward to the future of not just Westfield girls ice hockey but the whole sport. He said, “I mean super excited for the young ladies. We’re adding more and more girls. We added a couple more teams…girls hockey is growing and growing.”
