Martlets Battle Hill

Westminster came out with a jump on Saturday afternoon for the first home game of the season at Jackson Rink. The Martlets set the tone early against The Hill School, coming out with energy and purpose. The Martlets capitalized just five minutes into the opening period when Senior Captain Izzy Hurkala buried a power-play marker. Hurkala walked in below the faceoff dot and picked the top corner to give Westminster the 1-0 lead. Junior Captain Bella Zapata earned the assist on the play. That wouldn’t be the first tally for the Martlets this period. With five minutes left in the first, Junior Mya Polastry doubled the Westminster lead in highlight-reel fashion. Polastry carried the puck the length of the ice, driving by multiple defenders before cutting to the middle and beating the goaltender to make it 2-0. Hill responded late in the period, cutting the deficit and sending Westminster into the intermission up 2-1. Hill built on that momentum with a strong second period, taking a 3-2 lead after two. Despite consistent pressure from Westminster in the third and several quality opportunities, Hill added one more to secure a 4-2 final. While the result was a tough one for the Martlets, the team showed clear progress and resiliency throughout the game. Goaltender Liesel Kocourek ‘27 delivered a strong performance between the pipes, making several key stops for the Martlets. The Martlets look to continue their improvement into next week as they take on Kent at home on Wednesday.

Our Grit & Grace player of the game is Senior Captain, Izzy Hurkala. Izzy set the tone for the Martlets with her early power play goal and played with grit defensively to lead the Martlet back end.