The second period had been a problem for the Westfield Ice Rocks Hockey Club team all season.
That changed in Westfield’s 3-0 victory over Brebeuf Jesuit March 4 in the Indiana High School Hockey Association’s Class 1A state championship game at Evansville’s Swonder Ice Arena.
“We played our best second period of the season, scoring all three goals in the middle frame,” said Mike Farrier, in his second year as head coach. “Second period has given us heartburn all year, and we finally figured it out when it counted.”
It was the first state high school title for Westfield, which lost 3-2 in double overtime to Culver in the Class 1A state championship game last season.
The Ice Rocks, whose home rink is the Arctic Center in Westfield, finished the season 15-23-2 with a 3-1 record in the postseason. Eight of the losses came in in the first six weeks when the team had seven players out with injuries.
Farrier said the team was successful because of “100 percent buy-in from all of our players, incredible effort, and a desire to win as a team, not be the individual hero of the game.”
Westfield High School senior Andrew Nicholson scored the first and third goals, and Mt. Vernon High School sophomore Keegan Houck tallied the second goal.
“Nicholson and Caleb Coates were our offensive stalwarts, and Noah McCoy was our goaltender, who got a shutout in the state championship game and was our defensive anchor all season,” Farrier said.
Coates and McCoy also are WHS seniors as is Lyla Bozoian, who will play for the women’s hockey team at Trine University. Two seniors, Caleb Ridener and Cam Burgess, attend Lawrence North.
Brendan Keen, a senior who attends Scecina High School and plans to play hockey at Trine University, is also on the team, along with teammate Noah Rush, who attends Noblesville High School and is Farrier’s stepson.
