Summit Defeats Westfield for County Hockey Championship

One thing you can say about Westfield and Summit when it comes to hockey. They sure know how to put on a show.

This was the fourth time the two rivals faced each other this winter, winning once each and tying the other time. So it only seemed appropriate that the game would be tied heading into the final period of the Union County Cup championship game.

In a contest that could have gone either way, the Hilltoppers Jon Santina scored less than three minutes into the period off an assist by Bobby Lawrence, and Summit held off a furious charge by the Blue Devils before an empty-net goal iced the 4-2 victory.

When the final buzzer sounded, there was reason to celebrate.

"It's been a long time coming," said Summit coach Keith Nixon. "It's been 27 years of Summit hockey, and this is the first time we've won the cup in any of the leagues we've been in. I'm really proud of the team. They came in focused. As the season went along, they improved, set goals for themselves. The second half of the season we saw this as one of our goals, something that we could achieve after seeing everybody once. They did a great job tonight."

Both teams came out with intensity, and it didn't take long for Summit to get on the scoreboard. Timmy Yager scored unassisted with 9:14 left in the first period, but Westfield answered right back just :26 later when C.J. Meyer tallied off an assist by Nick Attanasio which evened the game at 1-1.

The score remained tied until the second stanza when Westfield's Liam Devin struck gold at the 12:25 mark to put the Blue Devils on top 2-1. Summit later returned the favor when Mike Nyitray found right wing Eric Stabler for the tying goal with 4:46 left in the period.

The back and forth affair is what everyone expected, especially Westfield coach Dennis Doherty.

"It's a championship game," Doherty said. "Two evenly matched teams, 2-2 going into the third period. They got a bounce there off a rebound to make it 3-2. We fought the rest of the way. We just couldn't get anything by him."

Indeed, it was a stellar job in goal by Jackson Stuckey, who came up with a number of big saves to frustrate the Devils.

Doherty could have been understandably frustrated with the outcome, and while his team took the loss hard, the Westfield mentor tried to keep everything in perspective.

"I'm happy. I wish we would have won, but I'm proud of my kids just getting here. This is only the second championship game Westfield has ever played in, so I told the kids, hold your head up high, because we have to play our state tournament game on Monday."

The win gave top-seeded Summit the Union County double, capturing the regular-season title, also against Westfield just last week, before copping the cup tonight.

"We just wanted to play hard," Nixon noted. "We didn't think that we had a great first period, the second period was a little bit give and take. There was a lot of momentum shifts in the game. They were possessing the puck well in our defensive zone, shelling us at points. We'd turn around and hold the puck in their zone. We'd do a great job and get good opportunities in their zone. Third period, it basically came down to who was going to blink, who was going to give up a bad goal, who was going to get a good goal, who was going to make the difference here."

Martino did make the difference and finished off a night he had been dreaming of for a long time.

"I can't describe it, but we all grew up together, we're all friends," Martino said. "Just to be able to celebrate with them is something else."

Bobby Lawrence always wanted to play a big role in a game like this. Besides his important assist on the game-winner, his empty-netter with 1:09 remaining all but put the game away.

"I saw Timmy (Yager) hit the puck up to me. I knew they were putting a lot of pressure on. Westfield's a very good third period team. I was fortunate enough to get the puck past the red line and it went in. I think that was huge for us because it deflated all their momentum."

And what does this mean for Summit's program?

"I think it means everything for us," said Lawrence. "We worked so hard this season. It was one of our goals at the beginning of the season. I think we're really starting to come together at the end of the season. I'm speechless."

Summit will gear up for Tuesday's state playoff opener at 6:00 p.m. at Warinanco Ice Skating Center when they face West Morris.

Westfield, an impressive # 9 seed in the Public A section, will host # 24 Hackensack on Monday at 6:00 p.m. at Warinanco. The Blue Devils who are 16-6-4, have already broken the school-record for victories in a season and look forward to redemption in the new tournament.

"The state tournament is what it's all about," said Doherty. "Now we can make a name for ourselves in the state tournament. We have a great seed. We're a top ten team in public A. We can't overlook Hackensack. You start with one. It's a five-step ladder and hopefully you get there."

And maybe what's even more impressive is the camaraderie between the coaches. Doherty had nothing but praise for his opponent.

"I coached against Keith since I started coaching," Doherty noted. "For 13 years, we have a good relationship. All the coaches in Union County have a good relationship with each other. I've been coaching against Keith for the entire time I've been coaching, even when I was at Bridgewater. He's always treated me nice, it's been great from the beginning, we have a good relationship."

Maybe that says more than the hockey ever could.