The Passaic County Tournament, according to Jared Calise, consists of “one winner, and six losers.” West Milford had very high expectations for the first game against Clifton, and were very prepared to win.

Many players were asked what their predictions were for the County tournament. First, stat-girls Ally Mantione and Juliane Calabria admitted, “We have high hopes and even higher expectations.” Kristen Dressler was also enthusiastic, “I expect that the team will play their best. I hope they will have the motivation and perseverance to win.” Many of the players were very general and positive, saying the Highlanders would win everything. Junior Nik Latronica expected the team would “beat Clifton and play WayneHills again.” Kyle Little had a similar response, but provided a more specific answer. According to Little, the team would “beat Clifton with confidence, and WayneHills will be a one-goal game.”

Entering the tournament, West Milford had a 4-7-2 record. Clifton, the first round opponent, had a 2-6-2 record. Chris Dressler scored the first goal three minutes into the game, with an assist from Joe Fenui. Clifton’s defense just could not keep up with the Highlanders, despite their effort. West Milford gained control of this period very quickly. The first period concluded with a goal from Fenui with 54 seconds left.

The second period included both teams being very aggressive. West Milford wanted to secure a win, while Clifton just wanted to get a goal to attempt to make a comeback. As it started to look like the score wouldn’t change, Dressler gained another point with 3:43 left. As West Milford celebrated, Clifton was preparing to try to take the game back.

As usual, the third period was what it all came down to. Would West Milford remain in the lead, or would Clifton catch up? For most of the period, neither team scored. The intensity and aggression increased, and the tension rose. At 2:44, Clifton scored their first and sole goal of the game. About ten seconds later, Brandon Little scored the only goal of the third period for the Highlanders. Fenui assisted this, and it was a power play goal.

Until Jan. 18, WayneHills was the number one seed for the tournament. West Milford changed this when the second county game went into overtime.

The action started quickly during the first period. The Patriots thought they had an advantage, since they had recently beat West Milford. The Highlander defense was able to hold them off until 8:35, when the first goal was scored. Even though this was a mostly defensive period for the Highlanders, Fenui managed to score at 5:06 with an assist from Andrew Ajello. That concluded the goal scoring for the period, but Mantione deflected the final WayneHills shot with his shoulder, yet again protecting the goal.

Wayne Hills scored the next goal five minutes into the second period. This was a very offensive period, leading to Fenui scoring a power play goal six minutes later, with an assist from Dressler. Towards the end of the period, the Highlanders became even more aggressive. There were many shots, but no more would successfully make it in.

It was expected that the third period would end the game. One more goal by either team was all that was needed to settle the score. Both West Milford and Wayne Hills fought fiercely to gain the separating point, but neither team could. There was only one solution left – overtime. Even though all players were exhausted, they still had the desire for another goal. Wayne Hills came very close to scoring, but Mantione swiftly pushed the puck away. It started to seem like the game would result with a shootout, but thankfully Dressler scored the winning goal with five and a half minutes left in the entire game. West Milford successfully beat the number one seed, s

o this empowered the team.

All of the wins led up to this. The championship game consisted of West Milford and

DePaul battling for the title of Passaic County Champion. There was a very supportive crowd, filled with students

The second period was a very peppy one, since the Highlanders were ahead by two points. Fenui scored his second goal of the night, which was a shorthanded goal, at 9:37. At this point, DePaul was angry and out for revenge. Less than a minute later, DePaul scored a power play goal. This is when the real competition started, since Dressler scored another goal a minute after that., parents, even Mr. Gorski and Dr. McLaughlin. The Highlanders had a very defensive start, because DePaul kept challenging the West Milford defenders. As the period went on, the puck was in the DePaul zone more. At 9:50, Dressler scored the first goal, with an assist from Jared Calise. The crowd started cheering and was very enthusiastic, and the players celebrated. After the goal, West Milford continued to overpower DePaul by scoring a power play goal at 4:19. Fenui scored this time, with an assist from Dressler. At the end of the period, the tables turned, making this a very offensive period for the Highlanders.

The third period was by far the best part of the game. The West Milford crowd was excited, but the DePaul audience wanted nothing else but to win. The DePaul players also wanted to win. The team became more aggressive and powerful. Three minutes into the period, DePaul scored their second goal of the night. West Milford was still ahead, so there was no reason to worry. However, at 9:55, DePaul scored a power play goal. The West Milford side started to worry a little bit. The end of the game was when the audience started to panic, because the puck just kept circling the West Milford goal. The defense successfully guarded the goal, and gained the title of Passaic County Ice Hockey Champions 2014.