Silence filled the arena in the third period as senior captain Michael Wilson skated up the side of the ice, moving swiftly past Livingston’s players. The crowd held their breath in the tied matchup between the Blue Devils and Lancers. In a quick moment, easy to miss, Wilson hit a long wrist shot just before the red line, skidding past Livngston’s defense to the back of the net. The Westfield fans erupted in cheers as the Blue Devils secured the lead, 2-1.
The first period started off slow, neither team able to make a shot. Despite their previous 6-2 win against the Lancers, the Blue Devils were unable to put up the same shots as last time. “Livingston was on a hot streak, so we knew they were going to come in fast. We came in and tried to make too many good moves, and it didn’t work out so a lot of the first period was just sloppy,” said senior goalie Andrew Raber. The period ended in a 0-0 draw, disappointing Westfield fans.
However, this all changed in the second period. Livingston came out strong, scoring a goal about eight minutes in. The boys knew they needed to come back to counter Livingston’s first goal. They did just that seconds later when senior captain Alex Ebel made a slap shot into the back of Livingston’s net. Livingston continued to have great shots on goal, attempting to break the tie, but Raber wouldn’t allow it. The period concluded from a breakaway and shot on goal from Westfield, giving a glimpse of what would be in store for the final period. Despite the slow start of the game, Raber said, “What matters is that we picked it up after. We dominated the second period.”
With a tied 1-1 score going into the third period, both teams knew they had to step it up. A goal from Wilson started off the period, providing the energy and momentum the Blue Devils needed to finish out the game on top. There was a clear shift in the dynamic and energy of the team after the “sloppy” start of the game. “I think we all know what we can do. So, when we see ourselves have a slow start like that, we all look into ourselves and the guy next to us and realize we need to do better,” said Ebel.
In an attempt to answer back, the Lancers skated towards the goal. Livingston shot the puck, getting past Raber but not past senior Michael Marshall’s stick save. With many offensive attempts from both teams, tensions began to rise. In a heated shot, freshman Chris Smok drove to the net, making his first goal of the season. With a 3-1 score and less than three minutes left in the game, Livingston began to lose hope. In an effort for a comeback, Livingston pulled their goalie, so they could add a skater onto the ice. Although the Lancers strategy worked at first, in their initial attempt to get a goal, Ebel made his second shot of the game on the empty net.
Looking forward into the boys final months of their season, Wilson said, “Hopefully we get a good competition before McInnis starts, so we get our wheels going and go hard into McInnis. And then right after that, hard into states.” Similarly head coach Joe Bertucci said, “We’re looking to build momentum off of this. We’re on a seven game-winning streak, but now we are heading into playoffs and it’s do or die time.”
The boys plan to maintain success on Wednesday as they enter the first round of the McInnis Cup.
