Martlets Fall on the Road

The Martlets took the western Connecticut “independent school highway” over the Litchfield Hills to Lakeville to face a tough 5-1 Bearcat team who have allowed very few goals against on the season – a sure indicator of a top goaltender. That proved to be the case, as the Black and Gold fired a total of 27 shots, many in the opening period, at the Hotchkiss net but simply could not light the lamp and were shutout for the first time this season by the home side. Ultimately, though the Marlets played well for stretches, the team looked a little as if it hadn’t quite returned from the midwinter weekend and could not consistently match Hotchkiss’s intensity. “Hockey is a tough game” (said none other than one Robert Gordon Orr of Perry Sound, Ontario), and one of the things the coaches have been working on with the team all season is the fundamental truth of that statement. This dictum was proven true in the first five minutes of the 2nd period, when Westminster played a little too loose and a little too flat – and Hotchkiss seized the initiative and scored 3 times in a 4-minute span. Down 0-3, the Martlets worked hard to battle their way back into the game, but the Hotchkiss stonewalling keeper and a few untimely, and undisciplined, penalties (including a 10-minute misconduct that simply should not have occurred) derailed the effort of those Martlets who tried to meet the challenge. The coaches recognize Jack DeGulis ‘23, Easton Masse ‘25, Cole Raycraft ‘23, Jack Adams ‘23, Nick Orenstein ‘23, Peter Diorio ‘23, Jake Timone ‘25, Stuart Dorman ‘23, the just-returned-to-action Jack Peterson ‘25 and the defensive corps (Captain Sawyer von Jess ‘22, Assistant Captain Keegan Bankoff ‘ 22, Jack Carter ‘23, Miles Kim ‘24, Luke Reiter ‘23 [who had his usual skilled, terrific game], and Jack Rockefeller ‘23 [who played another, stereotypical, hardnosed game]) for their efforts. Goalie Alec Rosenbaum ‘23, with 21 saves, played hard as well and deserved more support from his team in front of him. Overall, however, the team needs to meet the challenges of playing at this level: commitment to the team as a whole, commitment to winning the many small battles that make up a hockey game, and overall a commitment to the demands of playing at this level. With five games remaining, this team can achieve more. That will be the focus tomorrow and Friday in practice as the team prepares for a re-match against the Wild Boars for Choate at home at Jackson Rink.