The Westside Warriors hockey team faced off at 4:00 p.m. at the Baxter Arena against the Millard South Patriots on Sunday, March 3, 2019. Cameron Kully and the forward Rundquist scored two early goals, so Westside led two for the first and most of the second period. Then, the Patriots scored their first goal with 1:03 to go in the second. Millard South would go on to score three more in the third. The results of the third period left Millard South on top by a 4-2 score, ending the 2019 Westside hockey season as the state runners-up.

Westside senior Adam Fletcher said that it was tough for him as a senior.

“Not gonna lie, I teared up in the bench and teared up in the locker room. All the seniors are sad, I’m sad. I’ve been playing hockey ever since I was six. This is a big part of my life that’s over now. I’m happy for the next chapter,” Fletcher said. “The way I’m looking at this loss is everyone thought that Westside was gonna be a pushover this year [but] we played out our hearts out and we had a fantastic year.”

Margie Shaffer, parent of player Thomas Shaffer, said that the seniors were a big part of this team.

“That’s half our team that’s leaving. My heart goes out to them,” Shaffer said.

Coach Tom Shaffer shared his thoughts on the loss of the  seniors.

“The seniors are the heart and soul of this team. 6 skaters and a goalie so we lose seven seniors on a fifteen person roster. I pulled each senior aside and had a one-on-one with them. We wish them the best. These are great young men [and] they’re gonna do great things in the community. They represented Westside well.” said Shaffer

Coach Shaffer said that he feels this loss shows what the Warriors can reflect on for next year and what Westside can expect out of them.

“We didn’t score as much I’d like. We focused so much on the defensive side. Next year, we’re gonna put the same emphasis on the offensive side and try to score a few more goals. This was a class act of a team that played hockey the right way and for the kids coming back just come ready to work you got a big tradition to fill. The expectation is that Westside is gonna compete so when they wear that sweater [we] gotta go and hold up our end of the bargain. They’ll be ready to work next year,” Shaffer said.

Coach Shaffer has plans for next year, but, for now, he wants to give a big thanks to Westside’s student and fan support.

“One thing I would say to the students and the fans that came out the last two championship games. It was great, a lot of energy. Sorry we didn’t get the job done but the school spirit was awesome and these kids noticed it. It would be great to get that energy for some of our regular season games next year.”