MONUSKY LED TEAM IN SCORING, L. DELANEY SECOND
The Westfield High School girls ice hockey team fared quite well within its division but struggled against teams from other divisions to finish with a 9-10 overall record. The Blue Devil girls finished 7-1 in the NJIIHL Annis Division and went on to capture the title with a 3-2 victory over the Madison Dodgers.
The season featured numerous lopsided wins and losses but the Blue Devils opened with a more competitive 3-0 setback to the Chatham Cougars. Next came a 9-0 loss to the Oak Knoll Royals and another huge loss to the Summit Hilltoppers, 7-1. The Blue Devils did turn the tables with a 6-0 shutout of the Cranford Cougars.
The Blue Devils lost to Madison, 7-1, crushed Newark East Side, 8-1, then got even with the Dodgers, 3-2, before falling to Pingry, 10-2. Four straight wins – Cranford (8-1), Princeton (10-3), Princeton (12-0), Newark East Side (10-0) – jumped the Blue Devil girls’ record to 7-5, but a 3-2 loss to the Randolph Rams came just before the Annis Cup.
The Blue Devils stopped Cranford, 5-3, then seized the title with the 3-2 win over Madison. Toward the end of the season, the Blue Devils dropped an 8-3 decision to the Kent Place Dragons then lost to Pingry, 7-0, in the NJSIAA first round. Their season ended with a 5-0 loss to Summit and a 7-4 setback to Trinity Hall.
With only two seniors who got on the scoring columns, the Blue Devils went with a large number of underclassmen and the most productive offensively was freshman Payton Monusky, who led the team with 16 goals and added five assists for 21 points. Sophomore Lauren Delaney was second on the team with nine goals and six assists for 15 points and sophomore Ella Delaney was next with seven goals and six assists for 13 points.
Sophomore Sarina Sherman netted six goals and five assists for 11 points and freshman Avery McMeekan had four goals and six assists for 10 points. Junior Ava Benson flicked in seven goals and added a pair of assists. Senior Miriam Walsh finished with three goals and five assists. Junior Shoshanna Handwerker and senior Emerson Wotanowski each finished with five goals and two assists, while junior Sienna Murray finished with two goals and five assists.
Freshman Juliette Lerner netted three goals and three assists. Sophomore Ella Sumas contributed a goal and five assists. Freshman Sofia Kane had five assists. Sophomore Hannah Gold had a goal and three assists, sophomore Lindsey Coleman had a goal and two assists, and junior Macy Curran scored once.
Junior goalkeeper Jolie Bruder made 256 saves, while yielding 65 goals for a .789 percentage. Senior goalkeeper Ava Berman recorded 20 saves.
In the second game against Cranford, Monusky recorded a hat trick (3 goals) and an assist. Lauren Delaney had two goals and an assist. In the Annis Cup victory over Cranford, Monusky netted a pair of goals, while Lauren Delaney and Sherman each added a goal and an assist. In the title game with Madison, Lauren Delaney had a goal and an assist, and Ella Delaney dished out a pair of assists.
In the first meeting with Princeton, McMeekan went wild with a hat trick. Ella Delaney had two goals and an assist. Sumas had a goal and two assists. In the second Princeton game, Monusky notched a hat trick and a pair of assists. Benson had two goals and an assist. Walsh had a goal and two assists. In the 10-0 wipeout of Newark East Side, Monusky netted another hat trick and Handwerker had two goals, while Benson had two goals and an assist.
With nearly an entire team returning, the Blue Devil girls look to have an exciting and successful season.
