Westminster’s First Hockey teams reach finals in MA Holiday Tournaments

 

Westminster’s First Girls’ Hockey squad had a strong showing in the 34th Annual Harrington Invitational Holiday Tournament at Nobles and Greenough and Milton Academy over the weekend. The girls showed up ready to play despite an 8:30 a.m. game time on Friday morning, defeating the host team, Milton Academy, 2-0. Ashlee White '18 scored first for the Martlets, assisted by Catherine Crawley '16 and Eliza Mell '16, to put the team up 1-0 early. The game remained tight through the second and most of the third period, as Westminster continued to press forward but could not convert a few choice opportunities. Fortunately, Leah Klassen '17 continued her strong play between the pipes to hold the team's narrow 1-0 margin. Late in the third, Crawley iced the game with a goal assisted by Katie Savage '15 and Erin Ozturk '15.

 

The Martlets took to the ice for a second time on Friday to face off against Lawrence Academy in an afternoon game. If the team was tired, they certainly didn't show it, as they posted another shutout and came away with a 3-0 victory. Ozturk put Westminster on the board at the tail end of the first period with assists from Crawley and Sarah Melanson '16. Late in the second period, Crawley scored an amazing, unassisted goal with a laser shot into the net, and then scored again less than a minute later with an assist from Sarah Migliori '16. Klassen notched yet another shutout, with an impressive 22 saves, to clinch another Martlet win.

 

Having tied St. Mark's earlier in the season, the girls knew they needed to elevate their play to earn their third win in the Harrington Tournament. Westminster took a 1-0 lead at the end of the first when Crawley scored a goal, assisted by Ozturk and Lillian Holmes '18, with just 23 seconds remaining in the period. Mell extended the lead to 2-0 with a goal in the second, assisted by Katie Savage '15 and Migliori. It was now up to the defense to hold on, and Klassen was once again up to the task, posting her third shutout in as many games in the tournament. With this win, the girls earned a spot in the Harrington Tournament Championship game.

 

The Martlets ultimately fell by a score of 2-0 to Williston Northampton in the tournament final, but the young team had an impressive weekend of play, with breakout performances from Klassen, who was golden in front of the net with only two goals let up in four games, and Crawley, who scored four goals and had two assists.

 

 

 

Westminster’s First Boys’ Hockey team got off to a great start in the 50th Annual Flood-Marr Tournament with a 2-1 win over Hotchkiss on Friday morning. Taggart Corriveau '16 scored the first goal off of assists from Connor Lloyd '16 and Jack Fitzgerald '15 to put the boys up 1-0 near the end of the first period. They took a 2-0 lead in the second after Fitzgerald took a nice combo pass from Corriveau and Lloyd and put it in the back of the net. The Bearcats' goalie played an impressive game, making many odd man rush saves that kept the score close, including some highlight saves during the third period. On the other end of the ice, Westminster's Stephen Gasior '16 was just 40 seconds away from recording a shutout until Hotchkiss pulled their goalie to score a 6 on 4 power play goal.

 

The Martlets carried the momentum from their opening game win into their next game on Saturday, playing a fast-paced game and securing a 5-2 victory against Milton Academy. The boys played aggressively in the first and had to kill a few penalties, but they were able to open up the scoring at the end of the period, with Corriveau scoring off of an assist from Will Brophy '15 and Fitzgerald, and then Anthony Di Placido '15 netting one just over a minute later with an assist from Jack Flanagan '17. Later in the second, Johnny McDermott '16 scored an unassisted goal to put the boys up 3-0 heading into the final period. Milton started to claw back with an early goal in the third, but the boys iced the game with goals from Flanagan (assisted by J.P. Schuhlen '16 and Peter Horsfall '17) and Rylan Williams '16 (assisted by Patrick Dawson '18). A late goal from Milton wasn't enough to knock the Martlets off, and the boys clinched another Tournament win. Nick Sanford '16 had a strong outing in goal, with 25 saves on the day, and the team had a very balanced effort, as all four lines scored a goal.

 

Up next, the Black and Gold took on Andover on Saturday evening. Play was tight in the first period, as both teams pushed the puck back and forth across the blue lines but could not find many scoring opportunities. The game was blown open halfway through the second period, when Corriveau took a pass from Dawson and found the back of the net. Later in the period, Schuhlen put the boys up 2-0 after a goal assisted by Tim Sanford '16. The Martlet defense clamped down in the final period to secure the win, and Gasior finished the game with 14 saves in net. With their third win in a row at the Flood-Marr Holiday Classic Tournament secured, Westminster punched their ticket to the championship game on Sunday afternoon.

 

In the Flood-Marr Tournament final, Westminster faced off against a big and fast Salisbury squad. Salisbury took a 1-0 lead in the first with a tip-in goal, but the Martlets roared back to tie it up in the second with a goal from Kevin O’Leary ’16. After a testy remainder of the second and beginning of the third, the Knights were able to find the back of the net when the puck hit the post twice and tumbled into the goal with just over 6 minutes left in the game. Gasior made some great saves in the third, and the Martlets gave a late push, but in the end they couldn’t find the equalizer and lost 2-1. With their strong tournament play, the boys boast a solid 6-2 record on the young season.