The Woodbridge Township School District Ice Hockey team faced a painful loss in their state championship against Hunterdon Central. The match took place on March 5th at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

The WTSD team is a combination of students from the three district high schools: Colonia, JFK, and Woodbridge. The team skated through to the finals as the #9 seed and came to face Hunterdon, the #2 seed. Woodbridge Township fell with a 5-1 loss.

Walking into the Prudential Center on championship day was a memorable moment for both players and coaches. “I was ecstatic for the team. I knew, win or lose, it was going to be a great memory for all the players,” said head coach Mr. Monticollo, a physical education teacher at Colonia High.

The team spent time prepping in the locker room before getting on the ice. Senior captain Jarrett Dulemba said, “Before the game, I told everybody in the locker room that we are the underdogs in this tournament. Everybody said we shouldn’t be there and I said let’s prove them wrong.”

When the game started, it had a rough beginning. Hunterdon scored two goals in just the first few minutes. Eventually, senior Travis Beni responded with a goal to raise the match to 2-1. “I thought we were gonna get some momentum there,” he said.

Unfortunately, that momentum did not carry through. That would be the only goal scored by the WTSD team that night. Senior Amber Spearnock took the loss to heart saying, “Losing in the state finals was one of the worst feelings I’ve ever had.”

It was a hard loss for the team to take, but many players are proud of their winter season. Senior goalie Adam Godfrey was happy to say, “I am proud of our team. I know not many people will remember how we got to the finals, but it was an amazing road there.”

Although the WTSD fell to Hunterdon, they still had an amazing performance this year. In the semi-finals, Thomas Evan, WHS senior, scored two goals in the last few seconds to push to overtime. From there, Travis Beni scored the winning goal that beat #5 seed Marlboro and sent Woodbridge to the championship.

The WTSD team finished their year with a record of 21-5-1. It was an outstanding season for the district, and as current seniors Travis Beni, Jarrett Dulemba, Thomas Evans, Adam Godfrey, and Amber Spearnock finish off their high school hockey career, Woodbridge wishes them the best.