As the players lined up to do the iconic state championship player intros, the hundreds of Westfield students who flooded the Prudential Center roared with cheers, applause and laughter. The support from the crowd proved useful as the Blue Devils earned their first public state championship in team history, with a dominating 5-2 fashion.
Coming off of a commanding 9-3 win over Monroe in the NJSIAA Sectional Tournament, the Blue Devils clearly carried the momentum and high powered offense into this intense game.
Head coach Joe Bertucci said, “We were relentless with our offensive zone pressure and kept putting quality shots on net.” This was abundantly clear with the shot differential, 49 for Westfield to Ridgewood’s 28.
For a large majority of the first period Westfield stayed on offense and defended key breakaways from the Ridgewood attack. Ridgewood’s goalie was playing his A game and was saving every shot with ease. Only until over a minute left in the first period, senior captain Jack Conrod took a wrist shot and slotted it in the top left corner to bring the Blue Devils in the lead early.
Scoring first was big for the Blue Devils, senior assistant-captain Jackson Chicola said, “It was a huge boost of confidence to get that goal and a relief.”
Early in the second period the Maroons picked up a penalty and the Blue Devils aimed to take advantage of the power play. However, Westfield’s aggression took over and Ridgewood’s offensive fire set off with a breakaway that tied the game, 1-1.
Following Ridgewood’s goal, the two teams’ energy was commanding as the game became more physical and the want to lead skyrocketed.
The constant back-and-forth came to an end when senior assistant-captain Aidan Wilson received the rebound from his own shot, and gave the puck just enough lift above the goalie’s glove, stealing the lead for Westfield.
Just as the crowd was settling down from Wilson’s goal, senior Daniel McDevitt took a shot from just inside their attack zone, past all of the Maroon’s defense and through the Westfield screen, for a beautifully placed goal not even a minute later.
In a blink of an eye the Blue Devils took a commanding 3-1 lead.
To start off the third and final period the Blue Devils’ main focus was on defense. McDevitt said, “As we held a lead we began playing more passive and high to eliminate any odd man rushes our way. We didn’t need a goal so as a team we played more defensively.”
This plan translated into the game as they kept their composure and stayed back in the attack zone. Westfield passed the puck back-and-forth waiting to strike, which worked to their advantage. In the third period they once again outscored Ridgewood 2-1 off of two excellent goals from Chicola and senior Brody Esler.
Looking back on the season Bertucci said, “I am very proud of this team and the bond they have created. It was a true team effort that everyone contributed to.”
