Martlets Crush Choate

The Martlets took the ice this afternoon for the home leg of the team’s annual series with Founders League rival Choate Rosemary Hall. The Wild Boars are a game, hard-working side and the JVs knew they’d be ready to play. The Black & Gold were playing with a short bench—only nine forwards and five defensemen (including Mason Moritz ‘28, a last-minute call-up from our minor league affiliate). Between the pipes was the team’s old man: gray eminence goalkeeper Danny Maher ‘26. Led by Maher, the JVs skated to a convincing 10-2 victory over the visitors, controlling the play and generating shift after shift of solid offensive zone possession. Part of the story today is undoubtedly the pair of Wild Boar netminders, who combined for 42 saves; for his part Maher turned aside 20 Choate shots including an outstanding, highlight reel kick save (one could almost hear long-time New York Ranger legend Marv Albert on the wireless: “kick save and a beauty!”—at least this old coach could). It was Choate who jumped out to an early 0-1 lead 4 minutes into the game when a Wild Boar defensemen collected a puck along the near boards and fired a strong shot through traffic that beat Maher. Westminster, unfazed, equalized a few minutes later when Sam McGarvey ‘28 scored on a scramble in front of the Choate net; Reed Ghriskey ‘26 assisted on McGarvey’s goal. But Choate came right back and made it 1-2 less than a minute later, when another scramble, this time in front of Maher, led to a few too many swipes at loose pucks. That goal seemed to energize and focus the Martlets: from then on the game was all Black and Gold, with the steady Maher making saves when called upon. Xavier Kahn ‘27 made it 2-2 on the powerplay only 30 seconds after Choate’s goal, ripping a shot from the top of the slot low and past the Choate goalie. Mikey Wang ‘28 assisted on that goal, having moved the puck from the far wall to Kahn. Drew Doering ‘29 gave the home side the lead a minute later, converting a 2-on-1 break with Moritz. And then Moritz made it 4-2 on that line’s next shift, collecting a puck in neutral ice and skating in on the left side of the keeper before wristing the puck over the goalie’s outstretched glove. The 1st period ended with that 4-2 score intact, and both teams went to their respective locker rooms to regroup. The Martlets’ aim was to keep the pressure on Choate, and play “below the dots” and work the puck low-to-high. This the team successfully did through the balance of the game, upping the pace and moving the puck with intention and purpose. The 2nd period saw 5 Westminster goals: Matthew Polastry ‘29 in the high slot on a nice feed from Paul Coccaro ‘28, Soren Techet ‘28 on a rebound of a Ghriskey shot, Wang on a one-timer off a feed from Kahn and Dylan Zapata ‘28 on the power play, Zapata on a wheeling skate across the front of the Choate net and five-hole shot, assisted by Benji Hanson ‘27, and Declan Davies ‘29 on a solo effort, grabbing a loose puck near the Martlet blueline and skating past a trio of Choate defenders before tucking the puck in the net. The final Westminster goal came in the 3rd period, when McGarvey notched his second of the day from the high slot. Not on the scoresheet but certainly contributing to the win were blueliners Grayson Augsberger ‘29 and Carsten Matthews ‘28, both of whom had strong games. Two stats in particular the coaches were pleased with: with 10 goals today, there were 9 different goal scorers; and the JVs had only one penalty for the game. That shows impressive balance among the 14 skaters donning the sweater this afternoon, and also strong discipline and solid play in all three zones. All-in-all, a pretty good afternoon for the team. Many thanks to Coach Chris White, stepping into the vacancy on the bench owing to Coach van Dolah’s absence (supporting his son Cayden’s debut on the diamond for Holy Cross . . . go Crusaders!). The team is happy to put this one in the win column, and the boys can enjoy their Valentine’s weekend. The JVs will be back to work on Monday to prepare for Yale Hockey’s U15 team—a team that absolutely pasted the JVs last year. That tilt is on Thursday this week, and it's a late game: 6:15 pm at Jackson Rink. So enjoy your Valentine, go easy on the chocolate, and look ahead to Thursday for the Martlets to take the ice in what promises to be a spirited and tightly-fought contest. See you at the rink!