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Winter Sports Highlights 2.10.20

Basketball - First Boys'
Feb. 5: Basketball - First Boys' 40 vs. Millbrook School 76
After a solid first half against Millbrook on the road, the second half was much different. Millbrook caught fire midway through the second half and the team ran with the lead. Guard Wylie Clarke ‘21 played great defense the entire game. The Martlets look to bounce back against Pomfret after winter long weekend.
 
Basketball - Second Boys'
Feb. 5: Basketball - Second Boys' 38 vs. Millbrook School 31
Westminster had strong rebounding, good ball movement, and Zach Burelle '20. Besides a short baseline jumper from Josh Mason '23, Burelle sealed the victory with two lethal three-pointers from the wing. He scored eight points in total, all coming with a few minutes left in the game. Millbrook came out of the gates strong, scoring five quick points after the tip. But the Martlets stayed within striking distance, putting constant pressure on the ball and often keeping Millbrook to just one scoring opportunity per possession. The Black and Gold trailed by four at the half. Early in the second half, the Martlets evened the game with quick feet and hands on defense, and clean, patient sets on offense. Burelle's first three-pointer energized the squad, and the momentum completely swung in Westminster's favor. Excellent defensive efforts and the ability on offense to keep the ball out of Millbrook's hands would close out the win. Burelle and Max Brownback '21 chipped in eight points apiece; Ben Mihailovich '22 scored seven; at the point, Jack Darnowski '23 controlled the offense very well; and Matt Greggains '23 put together a nice all-around game. The Martlets saw eight players enter the scoring column.
 
Hockey - First Boys'
Feb. 3: Hockey - First Boys' 2 vs. Williston Northampton School 5
Westminster traveled to Williston to play a Monday game that is traditionally a wild card in terms of effort. With four games in eight days, it took a lot to get going in this contest. Williston played hard, used their small rink well, and kept the Martlets on their heels. Bouncing pucks, dropped coverage, and overhandles sealed the day for Westminster. Williston scored its fifth goal in the open net, capping off a 5-3 win.
 
Feb. 5: Hockey - First Boys’ 3 vs. Avon Old Farms School 4 (OT)
The 2020 battle of the valley goes to Avon Old Farms. Westminster battled hard through all three periods but came up just short in overtime. Bennett Ostern ‘21 played in net for Westminster, holding back Avon’s charge, and giving his team a chance to win. Despite a slow start to this one, the Martlets scored first, and held on to the momentum through much of the game, which worked in their favor. With the exception of a window of time where Avon struck twice to make the game 3-2, the game was back and forth and played very tight. Avon moves quickly up the sheet, and the team capitalized on some odd man rushes and a power play. The Martlets didn’t quit, and scored the tying goal with around five minutes remaining in the third period. Avon scored late in OT to seal the win.
 
Hockey - First Girls'
Feb. 5: Hockey - First Girls' 7 vs. Pomfret School 1
Westminster was on the road to face-off against Pomfret. It took a bit for the Martlets to find their footing, but in time they earned power play. Emma Gurnell '21 cleanly won the face off to her winger Hailey Tullo '22. Tullo protected the puck and sent a perfect pass across the zone to Amelia Molin '23 who one-timed the puck into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead. Then at the three-minute mark, defenseman Betsy Winslow '21 regrouped the puck by sending a pass to Callie Dermody '23 on the boards. Dermody collected the puck and sent it to a breaking Megan Rittenhouse '20 who beat her defender wide and shot the puck top corner for the 2-0 lead. Rittenhouse struck again just two minutes later off a play by Jenny Guider '20 and Taylor Adams '20. The second period went back and forth as each team took their fair share of penalties. Then at the halfway mark, Molin struck again by putting away the rebound on a shot from Casey Winslow '21. The rest of the period remained scoreless as Westminster goalie Tatum Courtmanche '21 had to come up big on a one-on-one save. The Martlets took the ice for the third period ready to maintain focus and discipline for the final 16 minutes. Molin lead the way just 45 seconds in as she caught a pass from Dermody and then beat her defender to score her third goal of the day. The Martlets hit some adversity midway through the period as they found themselves having to kill a few penalties in a row. They played the PK aggressively as Casey Winslow stepped up on a pass high in the zone and took off pressing the Pomfret defense wide. Tullo saw an opening and cut right down the middle. Winslow sent her the perfect pass and Tullo finished the play with a beautiful move on the goalie for the short-handed goal. Pomfret rallied back in the final minutes, sending a shot from the point that got deflected beating Westminster defenders. The Martlets answered back as Rittenhouse buried her third of the day off a play from Tullo and Margaret Sadak '22.
 
Hockey - Second Boys'
Feb. 5: Hockey - Second Boys’ 0 vs. Avon Old Farms School 3
The Martlets welcomed rival Avon Old Farms for an afternoon game at Jackson rink. The talented visitors brought with them a 13-1 record and some impressive scores against Founders League teams. The Seconds spent the last two days of practice working to implement some new systems and formations in hopes of blunting the Avon attack. The good news is those efforts paid off, as the Seconds played strong defense against Avon, forced turnovers in neutral ice, and generated some sustained pressure in the Avon end. The bad news is the Winged Beavers were able to keep the home side off the scoreboard. The team matched Avon's intensity for 45 minutes, battling hard on both sides of the puck. Goaltender Will Scott '20 played a terrific game, ultimately turning aside 29 Avon shots (for their part, Westminster produced 21, all of which the capable Avon keeper saved in earning the shutout). The game was an even affair throughout, and all three of Avon's goals game on scrambles in front of the net that the Martlets were unable to clear. Avon got on the board late in the first period when a Westminster defenseman failed to clear the puck deep in the near corner, hitting an oncoming Avon forechecker. The ensuing bounce found its way to the front of the Martlet net where, after several swipes by both teams and a general scrum, Avon was able to force the puck past Scott. The score remained 0-1 for most of the rest of the game. The contest was back-and-forth, and the Seconds managed several good plays that created offensive chances — but all went begging. With five minutes to play in the game, a battle for the puck behind the Martlet net led to a crazy bounce off several players that settled right next to Scott's right post; an opportunistic Avon forward was able to jam it home to make the score 0-2. But the Martlets battled on, again producing a string of good shifts in the Avon end. The pressure produced a Westminster power play, which the Martlets pressed, but Avon was able to deflect the puck into neutral ice. That play led to a 2-on-1 shorthanded break against the Martlets. Scott made the first save, with the rebound popping straight up in the air. In a crazy bit of bad puck-luck, a backchecking Westminster defenseman attempted to kick the puck to the corner, but instead deflected the puck directly into the Martlet net giving Avon a 0-3 lead with about two minutes to go. Westminster pulled Scott, and with another Avon penalty had a 6-on-4 advantage for the final minutes of the game. Several shots found their way to the Avon net, but the Martlets were stymied repeatedly. The final buzzer sounded with the home side still working hard, but to no avail. Overall, the coaches were pleased with the entire team's efforts, particularly given the introduction of a new system. Despite coming out on the losing end, the team should be proud of holding arguably the best team in the league to task. A puck bounce here or there could have led to an entirely different result. Credit to the line of Will Rizzo '21, Ryan Huntley '21 and Xander Cardia '21 who all played a strong game and were often matched against Avon's top line. But they weren't the only Martlets playing with real grit: Jack Adams '23 had a very good game, as did his linemates Peter Diorio '23 and David Harris '21. The same could be said for the line of Oscar Ball '22, Newt Cutler '22 and Will Mazzaro '21. Kudos to the Seconds' defensive corps for their hard-nosed play against the speedy and skilled Avon forwards: Nate Stevens '21, Jack Rockefeller '23, Rex Flinn '21, Sawyer von Jess '22 and Ben Michaud '22 anchored the blueline throughout the game. The coaches appreciate, too, the willingness of Keegan Bankoff '22 and Beck Winsor '21 to play out of position in order for the team to draw up a lineup that gave the Martlets the best chance to win. Together with linemate Nick Mascolo '21 (who had to leave the game early with an injury), that trio played strong defense and killed off a pair of critical Westminster penalties early in the third period. In sum, a tough loss against a strong local rival — but lots to feel good about in terms of the team's play and hard work.
 
Hockey - Second Girls'
Feb. 5: Hockey - Second Girls' 8 vs. Deerfield Academy 2
Second Girls’ Hockey traveled down to Deerfield with only 11 skaters due to a myriad of factors. Buoyed by a first-time goalie in Claire Taylor '21, who graciously stepped up to play in place of typical starter Ava Lynch '23, the Martlets started off strong, scoring before the fans could even get settled in the bleachers after a wrist shot from Sixth Form leader, Caroline McDermott '20, squirted through the Deerfield keeper's pads. For much of the first period after that, the teams played a close, conservative game before Mckenzie Bloom ’23 and Dylan Bloom '23 each broke through with two quick back-to-back goals to end the first up 3-0. The gritty team from Deerfield, however, would not give up, tying the second period 2-2, as Martlets Susie Mahoney '20 and Ellie Cramer '22 both finished off feeds from McDermott. Despite taking a penalty that in the words of perpetrator Morgan Pineault '21 was "accidental," Dylan Bloom was able to take a loose puck to the net with a beautiful deke and backhand finish. Mahoney and Bloom put in another each in the waning minutes to seal the win. Taylor gets the proverbial "game puck" for not only giving goalie a try but also stymying a number of high-leverage Deerfield chances to keep the game out of reach.
  
Hockey - Third Boys'
Feb. 5: Hockey - Third Boys' 2 vs. Avon Old Farms School 0
With the Winged Beavers from AOF in town, Westminster looked to regain the momentum it had built up leading into All-Star weekend and the midseason bye week. Early on, stellar play in net by Rich Mugler '22 allowed the Martlets time to shake off the rust. Niclas Swahn '22 opened the scoring in the second period with an unassisted goal. Swahn struck again in the third period with another unassisted goal and narrowly missed a natural hat trick as time wound down. The Martlets' 2-0 win was also the third shutout of the season for Mugler. Up next, the Crimson Knights from Salisbury School.
 
Squash - First Boys'
Feb. 5: Squash - First Boys' 0 vs. Hotchkiss School 7
 
Squash - First Girls'
Feb. 5: Squash - First Girls' 0 vs. Hotchkiss School 7
The Martlets traveled to Lakeville before heading home for a long weekend break, and they came home empty-handed after being blanked by the Bearcats. The girls enjoyed some bright spots, led by Kaylee Hunt '20 at No. 2, who was the only Martlet to take a game. With a few more good bounces she might have taken it to five, but she had to be satisfied with a close four set loss (3, 10, (7), 8). Nicole Smith '23 nearly took her second game, dropping it 12-10 at No. 3, and captain Rebecca Sargent '20 played numerous long rallies in her 6, 2, 7 loss at No. 4. At the bottom of the ladder, Gemma Green '21 (8, 9, 6) and Shelby Oken '22 (7, 6, 5) used their budding short games to gain some, but not quite enough, traction. In the end, experience won out.
 
Squash - Second Boys'
Feb. 5: Squash - Second Boys’ 0 vs. Hotchkiss School 9
The Martlets fell to 6-4 on the season with a 0-9 loss to a very strong and deep Hotchkiss team. Zach Eckerson '21 at No. 2 and Jay Henry '23 at No. 9 were the only Martlets to win a game. But Charlie Pappas '22 and Sung Min Cho '22 also both played well in close matches.
  
Squash - Second Girls'
Feb. 5: Squash - Second Girls’ 0 vs. Hotchkiss School 7
Westminster limped its way to Lakeville to face a fired-up Hotchkiss squad on its senior day. With six of the top players missing from a combined first and second girls squad, many were forced to play four to five spots up on the ladder. It was a tall order against any opponent, but against perennial powerhouse Hotchkiss, it was too much to overcome. While the inevitable took place, gritty individual performances were turned in by Daniela Mays-Sanchez '20 at No. 9 and by Sasha van Vredenburch '21 at No. 10. Both extended their opponents to five games and played hard-nosed competitive squash.
 
Squash - Third Boys'
Feb. 5: Squash - Third Boys’ 8 vs. Canterbury School 5
On the brink of Winter Long Weekend, Westminster snapped a three-game losing streak with a satisfying win over Canterbury. As a testament to the team’s perseverance, the Martlets won all four of the five-game matches. Those victories belonged to Cooper Organ '21, John Clofine '21, Grand Tantichot '22 and Will Warner '22. Warner played perhaps his best squash of the season, battling back from a two-game deficit and dominating the final three games. Organ and Clofine see-sawed back and forth through their respective matches, alternating wins and losses but ultimately coming out on top in the fifth and decisive game. Meanwhile, Tantichot staved off defeat by winning the final two games, including a clutch 12-10 victory in the fifth. Also securing wins for Westminster were Jerry Wang '22, Matthew Westlake '22, Oliver Olson '23 and Tyler Donegan '22. Kudos to Donegan for his steady play in his finest win of the season.
 
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