Martlets Defeat Hoggers

The Martlets were back in action today following Friday night’s home tie. The team boarded the bus and headed north to face off against the Hoggers of Northfield Mount Hermon. With a fresh dusting of snow in Simsbury this morning, Mother Nature kindly reminded the coaching staff to bundle up for the icebox that is McCollum Rink. The three coaches ended up looking suspiciously like the younger brother from A Christmas Story—so over-layered that turning their torsos or lowering their arms became optional. Nonetheless, they were fully prepared for the tilt.

The Martlets came out with good jump, pushing NMH back on their heels early. The pace drew a penalty and sent the Black and Gold to the power play, where Owen Burke ’26 found himself alone in the left faceoff circle. He one-timed a perfect pass from Matteo Di Marzo ’26 past the goalie to give Westminster the 1–0 lead. Matty Hanrahan ’26 added a second off a strong individual effort down the half wall, beating a defenseman wide and sliding one five-hole. The Martlets carried a 2–0 lead into the first intermission.

NMH elevated their game in the second and capitalized on a few careless mistakes through the middle, but Ryan Galaski ’26 stood tall in net, turning away 23 of the 24 shots he faced. Midway through the period, Westminster struck again: Brenden Gilooly ’26 threaded a beauty of a pass to Massimo Guarnieri ’26, who buried it to extend the lead to 3–0 heading into the final frame.

The Martlets controlled the third from start to finish, tacking on three more goals from Gilooly ’26 and a pair from Will Derbyshire ’26. The defensive corps—John Donohue ’26, Carson Craig ’26, Matteo Di Marzo ’26, Michael Rossi ’26, Gavin Smith ’28, and Jack Zelenka ’27—were excellent all night, helping lock down the defensive end.

The Martlets head to Choate this Wednesday for their first Founders League game.