Martlets Defeat Knights

 

On a snowy Saturday afternoon at Jackson Rink, the Martlets took on the Scarlet Knights of Salisbury in the marquee event on Williams Hill. Salisbury is always a talented, hard-playing, and well-coached side, and this year’s edition fit that bill. The game was a spirited one from the puck drop, with both teams playing with good pace and generating scoring chances. The coaches were pleased with the overall tenor of the game: after the previous evening’s unpleasantness against Hillside, the Black and Gold responded well. This was generally a cleanly played game with good energy and enthusiasm for the full 48 minutes. Both goalies played exceptionally well, with the Martlet’s Lucas Steniger posting 40 saves this afternoon and the Salisbury netminder responding in kind with 32 of his own. That shot total is reflective of the game; in the 2nd and 3rd periods, when Salisbury had shaken off their bus legs, they produced some quality, sustained play that gave the JVs all they could handle. But each time, Steniger was there to turn aside a Knight shot or hold the line during a scrum in front. The Martlets opened the scoring in the 1st, about 10 minutes in, when Dylan Zapata ‘27 coolly deked the Knight netminder to the outside on a 2-on-1 rush before reaching around him to the inside and sliding the puck into the net. Paul Coccaro ‘28 assisted on the play, having collected a loose puck in center ice and sending Zapata into the Salisbury end with linemate Xavier Kahn ‘27. Salisbury evened the score at 1-1 in the final minute of the frame when pressure in the Martlet end led to a loose puck and too many chances for the Knights. The teams headed into the locker room tied at 1-1, and this old coach knew well that this game was far from over. Sure enough, it was the surging Knights who earned the next goal, scoring two-thirds of the way through the 2nd period when a couple of quick passes and a hard shot beat Steniger over his blocker. That put Salisbury up 1-2, and the Martlets needed to gather themselves. For this game, owing to injuries and other absences (including suspensions from the last game), the Martlets were reduced to 9 forwards and 5 defensemen—a thin bench to be sure against a quality opponent like Salisbury. The 2nd period ended with the visitors up 1-2 and the Martlets clearly showing some fatigue. The short intermission before the 3rd was a welcome one, and it gave the team a chance to take stock and refocus. The 3rd began with the Black and Gold having to kill off a 3-minute double minor (the second one of the day). A subsequent minor penalty put Salisbury up 5-on-3, still holding that 1-2 lead, and this was clearly a pivotal moment in the game. The Knights pressed hard, but it was the Martlets who cashed in: Dylan Ness ‘26 won the puck near the Martlet blue line and streaked down the ice to beat the Salisbury keeper on a breakaway—a shorthanded tally that took the wind out of the Knights’ sails more than a little bit. Ness’s goal made it 2-2 and energized the Martlets. Less than two minutes later, Drew Doering ‘29 received a pass from Tyler Ungerman ‘26 and went in against two Salisbury defensemen; working to the outside, Doering fired a wrist shot from 15 feet that beat the keeper cleanly over his right shoulder. The rattled Knights, having yielded two quick goals against and given up the lead, called a timeout, which, as it happened, was exactly what the tired Martlets needed to catch their collective breaths. The game resumed with the hometown favorites now up 3-2 with 12 minutes on the clock, and the rest of the game was an exciting, back-and-forth affair, with both teams pressing their attack and both goalies playing well. After a flurry of saves from Steniger, Westminster made it 4-2 with 4 minutes to go when Coccaro won a faceoff in front of the Martlet bench and found Kahn, who, with Zapata, went into the offensive zone 2-on-2. With Zapata driving to the net hard, Khan beat his man and fired a low, hard shot 5-hole and into the goal. Salisbury threw everything they had at Steniger in the waning minutes, and benefited from two back-to-back Westminster penalties—putting them up 6-on-3 with their keeper on the bench. They were able to beat Steniger once during that frantic few minutes to make it 4-3, but Ness iced the game with his second goal of the afternoon, racing down the ice and placing the puck in the empty net. Connor Quinn ‘29 assisted on Ness’s goal, winning the puck just inside the Martlet blueline and chipping it forward for Ness to grab on the fly. This was a satisfying game and victory for the team. After last night, the team wanted to play a hard, complete game, and the coaches knew Salisbury would be a top-flight challenge. Today’s win was a true team victory. The defensive corps of Benji Hanson ‘27, Mikey Wang ‘28, Matt Polastry ‘29, Carsten Matthews ‘28, and Grayson Augsberger ‘29 all played very well under difficult circumstances—playing hard in the Westminster end and effectively getting the puck up the ice for the forwards. Everyone played well: Captain Reed Ghriskey ‘27 had his usual gritty game, and Declan Davies ‘29, playing alongside Ungerman and Doering, gets better and better. The team will soak this victory up, and rest up, after back-to-back games this weekend. Fans should know that our next game isn’t until Saturday, January 24th, when the Martlets will be on the road to take on the Loomis Chaffee Pelicans. That game is subject to local broadcast blackouts, so if fans want to catch the game—and who wouldn’t?—they’ll have to join the fan bus caravan for the short trip to Windsor. See you at the rink!