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Westminster Hogties NMH, Wins Tight Game
The Martlets hosted the Hoggers of Northfield Mount Hermon on Feb. 15, and a pitched, physical battle ensued. Anchored by the ever-steady goaltending of Jack Schroeder '22, the shorthanded Seconds – who started the game with 14 skaters and ended with 14 tired but triumphant legionnaires in Black and Gold, some of whom needed the expert attentions of the trainer – weathered the aggressive play of the Hoggers. Schroeder, who posted 34 saves on the evening and yielded only a single goal, and that one only after two ping-pong deflections and an odd bounce or two, calmly turned aside shot after shot. The Martlet defensemen played a tough-nosed, smart game, winning battles in the corners and in front of the net and pushing the pace for 45 minutes. Rarely did the Hoggers get a second or third crack at a loose puck in front of the Martlet net. These five have figured prominently in our write-ups this season, but their names bear mentioning again: Rex Flinn '21, Ben Michaud '22, Wes Oltsch '20, Nate Stevens '21 and Alex Tonioni '22. It goes without saying that the Martlet squad from the blue line back gives this team a chance against any opponent. The Seconds opened the scoring at the 13:40 mark of the first period when Aidan Petrie '20, who played a terrific two-way game tonight, collected a pass from Stevens just over the defensive blue line and streaked down the far boards before cutting in and around an NMH defensemen and roofing the puck past the Hogger keeper. Flinn doubled the Westminster lead roughly ten minutes later when he fired the puck from the high slot on the NMH net. With plenty of traffic provided by the yeoman wingers of Newt Cutler '22 and David Harris '21 in front, the keeper clearly did not get a good look at the shot and it slipped through his pads. Cutler had started that play when he collected the puck behind the net, reversed directions and found Petrie, who fed the puck expertly to Flinn. The first period ended with that 2-0 lead intact, but it did not last long: NMH continued to battle and two minutes into the second period a Hogger defensemen picked up a puck on the near boards in front of the Westminster bench. The shot from the point hit two (or three or four) players – both Hoggers and Martlets – before bouncing into the Westminster net by the far post. A crazy goal, but that's what it takes to beat Schroeder most games. The 2-1 score lasted for the remainder of the second and deep into the third, as both sides continued to play hard and fast. The NMH side had their chances, but there's no question Westminster got better as the game wore on. Most of Westminster's 27 shots came in the second and third periods, with the final stanza the most productive of all. After several solid shifts in a row and the home side holding a precarious 2-1 lead, the pressure paid off. While the line of Ryan Huntley '21, Jack Murdock '19 (playing with a new twig arriving special delivery with an asset from dad), and Alec Paro '19 does not appear on the scoresheet this game could not have been won without them; it's clear that their consistent hard work set up the final tally. That key goal came on the power play when Will Rizzo '21 pounced on a loose puck in front of the Hogger net and made the lead 3-1. Petrie earned his third point of the night assisting on that goal; line mate Hunter Johnson '21 also assisted on this hard-working, scrappy goal that required several knocks before Rizzo buried it. The goal iced the game; NHM perhaps lost their focus a bit and took several penalties down the stretch. Westminster, for its part, played good defensive hockey, winning the blue lines and forcing the Hoggers to play in their end. When the final horn sounded, the Seconds knew they had secured a really good win against a tough opponent. The coaches were very pleased with the effort and execution of the game plan, but most of all with the increasing grittiness of the team as the game progressed. The win puts the team at 9-4-4 with three games remaining. There'll be no time to enjoy it, however: the Martlets are right back at it against perennial rival Berkshire tomorrow afternoon at Jackson Rink.
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