The WHS boys ice hockey team is continuing to dominate as the season progresses, and now they have some hardware to show for it. The team brought home their first Union County championship since 2018, defeating Governor Livingston 5-2 in the final game of the tournament on Jan. 22.

“It was amazing,” said senior captain Matt Beke.

“Last year there was no county tournament and the two years prior we had fallen short, so to finally be able to win a county chip was unreal.”

Senior Greg Oliveri said, “There’s nothing like winning a championship at your home rink in front of your student section.”

The boys have also won two of their last three games since then against a tough opponent in West Essex as well as giving Governor Livingston a beatdown, this time with a score of 7-2. They are continuing their impressive run from last year when the team was 9-2-1.

After two seasons of losing to Summit in the county final, the boys are clearly back on top of Union County and look to continue their success in the upcoming McInnis Cup, which they last won in a 6-5 thriller against Summit in 2019.

Led by captains Beke and Thomas Conrod, the team’s record as of Hi’s Eye deadline is 15-4, and are currently the second seed in the McInnis standings. The McInnis cup matches started this week and the boys defeated Montclair in the quarterfinals on Thursday night. The team is determined to bring home the trophy for the second time in four years, and will then continue on to the state tournament.

Despite losing 3-0 to Livingston on Saturday night, the team still has a lot of momentum going into the cup matches. It is looking to be an all-time great year for the Blue Devil hockey program.