Martlets Roll on the Road

The Martlets traveled to the far north through the unseasonable fog-enshrouded gloaming to take on the Hoggers of Northfield Mount Hermon late on a Saturday. Skating well and playing with good structure and discipline for three full periods, the Black and Gold came away with a convincing 7-2 victory. NMH played hard to the end, but the Martlets' deeper bench was the difference. Firing a total of 41 shots at the Hogger keeper, the JVs consistently kept the pressure on. NMH opened the scoring a quick 11 seconds into the contest, winning the opening faceoff and working the puck down the near boards before a quick, low shot beat a screened Alec Rosenbaum ‘23 between the Martlet pipes. But Westminster rallied, replying with two strong shifts that kept the puck in the NMH end. The strong response paid off when Newt Culter ‘22 found the red-hot Jack Adams ‘23 breaking into the Hogger end; Adams made no mistake and got the game back to even less then a minute after NMH took the early lead. The Martlets took a 2-1 advantage midway through the 1st when James Frangos ‘24 grabbed a loose puck and found Peter Diorio ‘23 down low on the near post; Diorio cooly slid the puck across the goal mouth to wideopen linemate Jack DeGulis ‘23 on the far post for the goal. This line showed some real chemistry today, working hard every shift and combining for several productive plays; congratulations to Frangos for his first Westminster point. NMH evened the game on the power play without about five minutes to go in the first – again Rosenbaum was screened and the seeing-eye puck slipped through the crowd and into the net. From then on, however, Rosenbaum was rock-solid, finishing the game with 22 saves and clearly in control of his net. Playing in front of him, the rest of the game was an all-Martlet affair. Again responding well to conceding a goal, Westminster scored twice in the waning minutes of the 1st period: Jaden Goodsell ‘23 completed a good forechecking shift slamming home a rebound (linemate Easton Masse ‘25 and Jack Carter ‘23 assisting) and Diorio added a goal of his own going hard to the net and pouncing on a rebound of a Luke Reiter ‘23 shot. The 1st period ended with Westminster up 4-2 and in control of the game. The 2nd and 3rd periods offered some exciting, up-tempo Martlet hockey and the Hogger keeper deserves a nod for keeping his team in the game. Effectively matching lines against NMH’s strong first line – and it must be noted the coaches were very pleased with the team’s focus and commitment on this point – Westminster was able to play good team defense while continuing a very effective offensive push. Two goals were added in the 2nd period: Masse scored a power play goal assisted by Goodsell and Diorio (who had a strong 3-point night) and Adams added a power play goal of his own with Cutler and Sawyer von Jess ‘23 working the puck around the zone to him waiting on the far faceoff dot. The final Marlet tally came in the 3rd when Adams and Cutler (both also had 3-point nights) sprung centerman Cole Raycraft on a mini-breakaway from the neutral zone for a nifty five-hole shot. A full scoresheet, to be sure, but the coaches recognize that everyone who hopped on the bus contributed: Nick Orenstein ‘23 played well in both ends between Masse and Goodsell, the line of Jackson Alpaugh ‘24, Stuart Dorman ‘23, and Jake Timone ‘25 had some of their best shifts of the season, and the defensive corps (von Jess, Reiter, Carter, Jack Rockefeller ‘23, and Keegan Bankoff ‘22) was once again outstanding. Also contributing to this terrific team win were the supporting cast of Miles Kim ‘24 and Jack Peterson ‘25, both on the IR for the day, goalie Max Hausman ‘25, who does a difficult job well and always with enthusiasm, and ace manager Charlie Raymond ‘24 – all deserve a nod for doing their part. A shoutout, too, to Jennifer our bus driver for getting the lads safely home with plenty of time to spare to prep for the Winter Formal. The coaches were very pleased with the overall focus and determination of the team, who are embracing the systems and structure in all three zones necessary to succeed at this level. Overall, a great game to end the first part of the season on. As the Martlets head into the winter break, they post a strong 4-1 record. A very good foundation to build on for when the team returns in January – and one that we’ll need as we take on the heart of our Founders League schedule against some always tough opponents and traditional rivals. The ever-watchful Emeritus Coach Peter Briggs ‘71 would be very happy with this evening’s effort.