As the final horn sounded, gloves and helmets came flying off, cheers erupted, and fans pounded the glass panels surrounding the rink. With a triumphant 2-1 win in the finals, Ridge Boys’ Varsity Hockey secured its first state championship since 2008 in a heated and physical contest against Watchung Hills.

After having made deep runs in the state playoffs only to falter in the semifinals in previous years, Ridge shook the proverbial monkey off its back by finally cashing in on a championship. In the NJSIAA tournament that the Red Devils eventually won, Ridge was initially seeded second out of thirty two teams, a seeding they earned with an excellent record of 18-6-1 going into the tourney.

Two of Ridge’s players were named to the All-State teams, with Brett Carey ‘17 receiving All-State second team honors, and Alex Konovalov ‘19 receiving All-State third team honors. Ridge, in the playoff tournament, cruised past Marlboro (10-3) and Manalapan (9-3) before winning two closely contested games against River Dell (3-2) and Randolph (4-2) in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.

The final, against thirteenth-seeded Watchung Hills, would begin as a defensive stalemate, as the first period ended with the game still scoreless. Ridge could not capitalize on an early scoring opportunity, and would have to wait until the second period for the offense to truly catch fire. In the second period, after Watchung Hills very nearly scored, Brett Carey made a great defensive play followed by a pass to help Connor Villa ‘18 net the Devils’ first goal of the evening. Ridge’s final goal, which would prove to be the winning goal, came off of an assist by Jack Mandala ‘17 to team captain John Vilade ‘17, who finished off the scoring strike.

With a 2-0 lead going into the final period, it looked as if Ridge would perhaps run away with the game. Watchung Hills, however, had other ideas, and netted a responding goal to cut into the two-goal deficit with about seven minutes remaining. The rest of the game was tense, with the Ridge defense managing to stymy a furious flurry of offensive attacks from Watchung Hills.

As the clock went to zeros, a raucous celebration started for both Ridge players and fans alike. Some players leapt up onto the boards of the rink and reached out for the outstretched hands of hoards of white-clad Ridge supporters. Vishaal Kasinath ‘18, who was at the game, describes the scene: “Everyone went absolutely crazy. It was honestly utter chaos in the stands. There were chants going on, people slamming on the glass surrounding the rink, and people hugging each other. That kind of response to the victory really showed how emotionally invested all us Ridge fans were.”

Team captain John Vilade ‘17 spoke about the meaning of this win, stating, “This past season was the perfect ending to my high school career. It is just amazing to think about what kind of impact the team and I could have on such a huge school. All the hard work this group of seniors had put in for the past four years was finally rewarded, and that’s really gratifying!”

Vilade, when asked if this championship win was expected, responded that the team had high expectations for themselves from the very beginning of the season: “I knew that we had a special team this year, with a great group of seniors to help lead the team. We came in with high expectations for ourselves, and from others. We all worked every day, even before the season started, to make sure these expectations were met. Winning the state championship was previously something I could’ve never even dreamed of, but with our dedication, it became a reality.”

In graduating, the senior class of John Vilade, Jack Mandala, Dan Knightly, Ted Kapp, Brett Carey, Brian Breslow, and Will Allen will pass the torch to future generations of Ridge Varsity Ice Hockey. John Vilade ‘17 sees reasons for optimism with regards to the future of hockey at Ridge. He states, “I really do see a bright future for this program. Many key contributions this season came from guys who will be leading the team next year, and I don’t think they expect to achieve anything less than what we accomplished this year. I have a lot of faith that next year’s captain, Liam Tormey, will definitely step up and keep the winning tradition alive.”

Hopefully John is right, and Ridge Hockey will hit the ice next year determined to accomplish more in defense of their state title. Another tournament run, like the one the Red Devils put together this year, would be truly astounding.