Fans piled into Richard J. Codey Arena awaiting the McInnis Cup final between rivals Summit and Westfield. As the fans inched closer to the ice rink doors, half the fans began to celebrate, and the others groaned in agony. This was because, just 24 seconds into the game, Summit won the puck off the Blue Devils and drove down the ice furiously. After weaving past Westfield defenders and getting right in front of the net, the Hilltopper forward fired a shot on target. The puck beat Andrew Raber, and the Blue Devils were already down 1-0. Thirty-six seconds later, the Hilltoppers found themselves again with a great goalscoring opportunity, as they looked to jump out to a 2-0 lead. The Summit forward took the puck down the right side and ripped a shot on cage. Before Westfield fans could settle into their seats, Summit fans were already chanting for the Westfield fans to “pack the buses” as the Summit lead was now two goals. This was only the start, as Summit would go on to win the game, 7-2.
Joe Bertucci, Westfield head coach, mentioned that Westfield’s plan every game is to start out fast, but this time, unfortunately for the Blue Devils, the inverse occurred. “It’s tough when you go down one, let alone two goals in the first minute,” Bertucci said. “Our key to our game is starting out fast, and when you go down two goals, it’s a tough hill to climb and it only becomes more difficult when we start taking penalties.”
On the topic of penalties, the Blue Devils came off a game where they went 4/7 on the power play and only found themselves playing down a man twice in the entire game. Against Summit, however, the Blue Devils lived in the box. Because of this, the Hilltoppers were able to extend their lead as they were constantly playing a man up.
On the third goal, the Hilltoppers took advantage of Michael Marshall being in the penalty box in a big way. After a huge momentum-swinging save by Raber, and a brutal hit by Marshall, the Blue Devils did trail after the first period, but hope was not lost. Then, just a minute into the second period, Summit buried the third goal. A power-play goal.
The sixth goal for Summit was much of the same, as Westfield was down two men, and the Hilltoppers worked the puck around, finding the open man, before celebrating in front of the Westfield ultras who still remained in attendance.
While it may seem that Summit dominated the entirety of the game, this was untrue. Westfield had its fair share of opportunities in every period. Starting in the first period, Jackson Chicola nearly replicated his spectacular goal from the other night, as he beat a defender and shot the puck. But he sailed the cage and put it over the bar. Also in the first period, the Blue Devils had a great passing sequence ruined by the stout Hilltopper defense.
In period number two, the Blue Devils were able to get on the board. While playing four on four, Aidan Wilson scored after Joey Tortorella’s initial shot was saved. The Blue Devils cut the lead to two goals, but as Bertucci alluded to, penalties and a lack of focus made it impossible for the Blue Devils to come out victorious.
After making two fantastic saves and covering the puck, Raber and Westfield were ready to head to the locker room down two goals with a period left to play. Instead, the Blue Devils lost focus and allowed a shot to squeak through and find the back of the net with just 1.6 seconds left in the period. Westfield now trailed by three goals going into the third period, and the game was all but over.
Summit made sure that Westfield fans felt every bit of pain while watching the game. This was because they played with no mercy. In the third period, Summit netted another three goals, simply exposing the Blue Devil defense as each time they carved through it with sleek, quick passing and gritty finishes.
Grady Calder netted a late goal for the Blue Devils, cutting the Summit lead to five goals and creating the final score of 7-2.
While the McInnis Cup final did not go the Blue Devils’ way, they still have more hockey to play. The Blue Devils are the No. 1 seed in the Public A state tournament, and hope to compete hard and win the tournament.
In order to do that, Bertucci had a bit of advice for the boys. “The mindset is we have to forget about this game and we need to learn from it,” he said. “We have 14 seniors on this team that are aware that their next game could be their last game, so we have to play every game with the right attitude.”
The state tournament will begin on Feb. 21, where the Blue Devils will take on No. 16 seed Central Regional at Warinanco Park. All the Blue Devils can do now is forget about this loss, as Bertucci said, and focus on the next game, because during the state tournament, every game could be your last.
