Details
Martlets Bag Rhinos to Open 2019
Alec Paro '19 scored midway through the first period to give the Martlets a 1-0 advantage and then assisted on Carson Roth’s '19 power play goal in the third period to lead Westminster to a 2-1 win over Founders League rival Taft. Paro himself started the play that led to the first goal by winning the puck in the far corner on an aggressive forecheck and making a quick move around the net to feed linemate Hunter Johnson '21 crashing the Taft net; the Rhino keeper turned aside that effort but Paro won the puck again below the goal line before circling up to the face-off circle and firing it near post to get the Martlets on the board.
Real credit is due Black & Gold goalie Jack Schroeder '22 in the first period (and throughout the game), who again turned in a stellar performance and turned aside all 13 Taft shots in the opening frame as the Martlets, on the road, got off to a somewhat slow start. Taft evened the score on a shorthanded breakaway goal in the second period when an unfortunately mishandled puck trickled in to center ice to send the game knotted at 1-1 into the third.
That period was tightly contested, as the physical play escalated and both teams took their turn in the penalty box. It was on a Westminster power play that Roth pounced on the rebound of a Ben Michaud '22 bullet from the point (who took a nifty cross ice saucer pass from Paro) and banged home the game winner. The Martlets held fast for the final five wild minutes, with Schroeder often seemingly the only cool head on the ice. For the game, Schroeder posted 26 saves; the Martlets generated 24 of their own.
Additional credit goes to the hard-working blueliners Alex Tonioni '22, Nate Stevens '21, Wes Oltsch '20 and Rex Flinn '21 who had to hold down the fort — and did so with aplomb — after Michaud left the game with an injury. Flinn, in particular, played a solid game. Also making very solid “thinking man’s hockey” contributions was the line of Will Rizzo '21, David Harris '21 and Newt Cutler '22, who did a great job of winning both bluelines and turning back the Rhinos. The same should be said of the line of Will Mazzaro '21, Wick Carter '19 and Walker Jones '20 (Jones deserves mention for one really smart play late in the first period that blunted a real threat from the home side).
All told, a solid team effort in difficult circumstances: after a long layoff, playing a road game at 5 p.m. against a tough opponent is not an easy task. The Martlets will look to build on this success against Hillside School on Friday at home, and then on the road against perennial powerhouse Salisbury on Saturday.
Two additional notes: first, many thanks to the Rizzo and Paro families for providing dinner for the team after the game — a real treat. Also, congratulations to Roth and workhorse Jack Murdock '19, who were elected captains, and also to Paro, who was chosen assistant captain, by their teammates. The coaches are looking forward to working with this very steady crew of Sixth Formers this season.
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