The Summit goalie retrieved the puck and tried to push it up the ice quickly while Summit was still on the power play. Aidan Wilson, however, came out of nowhere, like a cornerback, and intercepted the puck. Wilson dished the puck to Alex Ebel, tape to tape, and Ebel buried it. Westfield led 3-1 thanks to the young duo’s shorthanded goal nearing the end of the second period.
With just 24 seconds left in the second period, Summit responded. As if they had watched the World Cup and saw how Argentina moved the ball, Summit moved swiftly down the ice, with beautiful passing, and squeezed one by Andrew Raber. The goal narrowed the Westfield lead, making the score 3-2 at the end of the period.
The late-period goal resurrected the Summit offense and student section. Using this newfound life, Summit scored again, just four minutes into the third period. This time, though, all fans were impressed. This was because the Summit player got the puck just inside the blue line and ripped a shot, sniping the top-right corner of the goal while Summit was on the power play. The oohs and ahhs could be heard from miles away, as all fans were itching to see a replay of that goal.
The game would end in a 3-3 tie, to the dismay of the Westfield players and coaching staff.
“Overall it was a disappointing game,” said captain Joey Tortorella. “We were ranked high, and we let that get to our heads. Nobody that we play all year can be taken lightly. We have a very tough schedule ahead of us.”
After the score became tied at 3-3, the third period consisted of penalties from both sides, which excited both crowds. Like last game, head coach Joe Bertucci was very frustrated with the penalties that the Blue Devils conceded.
“We had a 5-minute power-play, we ended up taking 2 penalties to make it a 4-on-3 for them and we lost the momentum that way,” explained Bertucci.
Momentum can change in an instant, be it a simple hit, a missed opportunity, or a goal. In the first period, the Blue Devils took control of the momentum, after Summit drove down the ice with ease and missed a point-blank shot. Raber stayed big in the cage and denied the shots.
Less than a minute later, while on the power play, Kristopher Richards went coast-to-coast, dangling through the Hilltoppers and finishing off the play with a lovely snap-shot finish. Richards’s goal with just about two minutes to go in the first period left the Blue Devils feeling comfortable and confident heading into the 15-minute intermission.
The confidence seemed to show, as Tortorella found the back of the net, extending the lead to 2-0 with just over 12 minutes to play in the second period.
“We were wheeling and having a bunch of really good shifts in a row,” Tortorella said. “I knew Kris would be able to get it there, and I just buried it.”
Just about a minute later, Summit answered its fans’ prayers and put one in the back of the net. With the help of some good pressure in the Blue Devil zone, Summit took advantage of Westfield mistakes to bring itself back within one goal.
Raber did everything in his power to give his team a chance to win this game, as he came up huge when Westfield needed him most. Four minutes after Summit’s first goal, Westfield was playing down two men. Raber and the defense would kill the penalty, doing their part to keep the team’s chances alive.
Later in the third period, junior defenseman Michael Wilson was crushed into the boards, causing play to stop and trainers to rush onto the ice to give Wilson medical attention. He hobbled off the ice clutching his wrist to his chest. Wilson would return later in the period, with his wrist wrapped.
Westfield’s next game will be against Governor Livingston on Wednesday night on senior night. The boys will look to bounce back from this tie and will look to continue their recent success against GL, as the two teams faced off on Monday, where Westfield won 5-3.
