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Martlets Survive Wildcats

The Seconds traveled up the old College Highway (as readers of a certain age will remember it) to Williston on a cold and sunny Wednesday in January. Williston is always a tough place to play: a smaller rink, where game changes are quick and punishing, and a Wildcat team that is always ready to play. This Wildcat team, though missing players because of illness and injury, was no exception. The Martlets limped in to town a bit as well. On the Westminster side, the story of the game was Will Rizzo’s '21 two goals, one in the first off a quick in-tight play assisted by Ryan Huntley '21, who gathered the puck behind the net and found Rizzo in front. Huntley later left the game with a lower body injury, and his skill and speed were certainly missed. Rizzo's second goal of the game came midway through the second period when he gathered a puck along the near wall — chipped out of the Martlet zone by Nate Stevens '21 — and broke through neutral ice and in on the Wildcat keeper alone before deftly tucking the puck into the net. Many kudos to the Williston goalie on the afternoon, who posted 45 saves for the game and in particularly flashed a terrific glove hand. The Martlets dominated the game for long stretches, with sustained play in the Wildcat end, but the Williston goalie kept his team in the game. That hard work paid off in the third period, when some sloppy play and penalty trouble led to a Williston powerplay goal at the 12-minute mark. Westminster keeper Rich Mugler '22 played well between the pipes, turning aside 18 Wildcat shots, but this seeing-eye shot found its way through a crowded slot to halve the Westminster lead. That goal energized the hosts, and they pressed hard for the equalizer which came with 2:45 minutes remaining in the game. A Williston timeout that followed that goal gave the Seconds a chance to gather themselves and regain their focus for the final minutes. The timeout worked, though not as the Wildcats intended: Oscar Ball '22 won the face-off, and a quick play by the Martlets worked the puck into the Martlet end. Good forechecking by Ball and linemates Newt Cutler '22 and Will Mazzaro '21 generated several shots, and then Mazzaro won the puck behind the Wildcat net and found Ball, who slid the puck across the high slot to Cutler, who beat the keeper cleanly under the crossbar for the game-winning goal with 1:43 on the clock. The Wildcats pulled their keeper for the final stretch, but the Black and Gold were equal to the task, playing good defense and clearing the puck when possible. With only seconds on the clock, David Harris '21 made a really smart play along the near boards before feeding a streaking Xander Cardia '21 who took the puck wide and beat the Williston defensemen before calmly passing the puck into the open net. Thus, having outshot the home team by a comfortable margin, the Martlets earned a 4-2 victory on the road. Again, good play by the defensive corps of Stevens, Jack Rockefeller '23, Keegan Bankoff '22, Rex Flinn '21 and Sawyer von Jess '22 made a big difference in controlling the game and launching the attack. Overall, a win's a win, especially on the road at Williston: the play was good at times, not as good at others; the team will look for greater consistency this coming Saturday against always-tough Founders League rival Kent.
 
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