Martlets Tie Pride in Pitched Battle

The Seconds hosted always-tough Trinity-Pawling for an afternoon game at Jackson Rink. In a see-saw contest that included end-to-end play and strong goaltending on both sides, the Martlets took a 2-0 lead into the middle of the second period before yielding goals late in the second and early in the third to the hard-working Pride. Westminster got on the board early in the first when Jack Adams '23 dug a puck off the near wall and fed Sawyer von Jess '22 on the left point. Von Jess made a quick move to evade the T-P winger before firing a low hard shot that beat the keeper on the near post. Credit to Adams' linemates Willie Noble '20 and David Harris '21 for setting up the forecheck and battling for position in front of the net to screen the goalie. The game was back-and-forth all game, with long stretches of offensive zone play from the Martlets matched by gritty defense in their own end in front of tender Rich Mugler '22. Mugler had 26 saves on the afternoon, some of which were worthy of a highlight reel (including one off his melon that required a brief pause in play). Nate Stevens '21 extended the Martlet lead to 2-0 in the second on the power play when Oscar Ball '22 collected a loose puck in the high slot and fed Stevens just inside the blueline — again, traffic in front of the net from Ball, Will Mazzaro '21, and Newt Cutler '22 obscured the goalie's view as Stevens' blast ripped through the crowd to the back of the net. But the Pride would not concede, and the Martlets had their hands full for the rest of the game. Pressing hard, T-P earned its first goal with five minutes to go in the second when a low hard shot on an odd-man break beat Mugler. The tying score came early in the third when the Black & Gold failed to get the puck out over the defensive blue line and an opportunistic T-P forward fired a hard shot into the top left corner of the net. The shots were ultimately 26-28 in favor of T-P, with most of its shots coming in the second and third periods. Westminster had chances of its own: Peter Diorio '23, Will Rizzo '21 and Ryan Huntley '21 all hit the post or crossbar with resounding clangs. The five minute OT stanza was more of the same: both sides had good chances but the 2-2 score held up. Overall, the coaches were pleased with the players' effort and the result — T-P came into the game with some impressive scores against historically very good teams. The Seconds will get back to work Monday to prepare for the Taft Rhinos Wednesday.