Six years…

After half a decade of making it to the sectional final and falling just short, FINALLY the Westfield Blue Devils took Jim Morrison’s advice and broke on through to the other side. The upstart Monroe Falcons put up a valiant effort, but ultimately fell short in their efforts to be the latest to thwart Westfields’s Prudential dreams, falling 9-3 at Codey Arena.

Westfield made in instant impact, scoring under 100 seconds into the contest. Monroe answered quickly, tying things up on a power play just a few moments later, and that’s as close as they’d get the rest of the way.

Any ghosts of sectional finals past were immediately dispelled in period number two, which saw the Blue Devils cash in four times in the first four and a half minutes, including a pair from NAHL alumni Aiden Wilson. From that point on, their destiny was sealed.

Monroe senior Matt DePalma put together a valiant effort, pitching in his second career hat trick to provide the Falcons’ offense.

Junior Andrew Lisnock provided a game to remember, chipping in a game-high five points to lead his team to the promised land.

He and the rest of the Blue Devils are well aware that the job’s not done. There’s one more demon to slay, and we’ll see if this golden generation can finally bring a state title home.