The Summit forward picked up the puck in his own half and skated ferociously toward the goal. The Hilltopper would have to go through a fierce Blue Devil first before he could go off and celebrate with his teammates. He faked one way and went the other way, and squeezed the puck near side, extending the Summit lead to 2-0 with just under 11 minutes to go in the second period. With the momentum surging toward Summit, Westfield fans’ heads immediately shot down, as they began to wonder if their team would be able to switch gears, and turn it on, making a stellar comeback. The proceeding faceoff would become salt in an already large wound, as the Hilltoppers won the faceoff and shoved the puck down Westfield’s throat, as they scored. The Hilltoppers now led 3-0 with 10 minutes left in the second period.
Summit would go on to win this Union County Tournament semifinal, 4-0, knocking second-seeded Westfield out of the tournament.
But even after the third goal, the hope was not totally lost yet for the Blue Devils as they were playing good hockey and taking lots of shots. Senior Donovan Hickey would put on an exquisite display of skills, however, when it came time to finish the puck, he would put it just wide. Minutes later, Daniel Duffy would have a good look on goal foiled by excellent goaltending. The goalie was unable to hold onto the puck, but moments later he made yet another incredible save on Alex Ebel.
Coach Joe Bertucci commented on the team’s struggles of late, saying, “It’s the same game over and over again. We’re playing really well. We’re not putting the puck in the back of the net and then we’re falling behind in the game, down one or two goals, and we are now having trouble getting out of holes.”
Falling behind was exactly what would happen in this game as well. Late in the first period, Aidan Wilson headed to the penalty box, leaving Westfield a man down, a position that Westfield has been forced to get used to, and they have had a hard time killing these power plays. The Hilltoppers got into their umbrella offense on the power play and passed the puck around attempting to move Westfield defenders. The point man on the right got the puck and fired it into the top left corner. This put the Blue Devils behind, 1-0, a deficit that would only increase as the game progressed.
The second period became even more disappointing for Westfield fans in attendance as star junior defenseman Michael Wilson was hit hard and was forced to leave the game in the second period. Wilson clutched his knee on the way back to his teammates, signaling for someone to step onto the ice for him. Despite the scary moment, he was able to come off under his own power, limping into the locker room with medical personnel behind him.
In the third period, the Blue Devils played with a new rage that had not been seen all year. This rage would turn the game into a bitter affair, as after the fourth and most frustrating goal, goalie Andrew Raber began yelling at both his teammates and the ref, and both teams had numerous players enter the penalty box. After a shot attempt and save by Raber, a Hilltopper got too close and a scuffle, conducted by Jonathan Gorski, began. Gorski and a Summit player made their way to the penalty box. Fans could hear the ref say that both players would be stuck in the box for the last five minutes of the game. Michael Marshall would give Gorski company, as he would get two penalties keeping himself in the box for the remainder of the game. And, just for good measure, to make sure things were even on both sides, a Summit player would retaliate at Marshall, sending him to the box as well for the remainder of the game.
While Westfield was unable to achieve one of its preseason goals, making it to the county championship, the Blue Devils will attempt to learn from this game. “Hopefully we can learn from it. Fortunately, we do have two other opportunities and hopefully we can learn from this and step up in the next set of big games,” said Bertucci.
Looking ahead, the Blue Devils will start gearing up for the McInnis Cup, which they won last year. Westfield will next take the ice against Verona on Monday at Codey Arena in a tune-up for the big cup ahead.
