Martlets Fall to Cardigan Mountain

The Martlets played their second game in 24 hours at Jackson Rink, hosting the visiting Cougars from Cardigan Mountain School. Cardigan, always a tough opponent, was no different this year, pressing the Black and Gold from the opening face-off. It should be noted that the visitors have several games under their belts and have been playing together for a few weeks. The Cougars came roaring out of the locker room, firing 14 shots on Westminster netminder Alex Martinez ‘26. Martinez was equal to the task, making several top-notch saves and keeping Westminster in the game – the first period could easily have ended with the Martlets in a significant hole. As it was, Cardigan was able to manage only a single goal, and the opening frame came to a close with the home side fortunately trailing by only 1 after managing only 3 shots of their own. The second period began much like the first, with Cardigan carrying the play and generating several opportunities. A succession of defensive lapses left Martinez exposed, and the Cougars made no mistake, scoring 2 quick goals in the first several minutes of the period. There were brief moments of solid play; in particular Ben Norten ‘25, Augie Barrett ‘24, and the defensive corps led by Jack Rockefeller ‘23 and Jack Carter ‘23 offered some gritty shifts. The Martlets finally got on the board late in the second when Stuart Dorman ‘23 made a heads-up pass to James Frangos ‘24 in the high slot – for once the Black and Gold had worked the puck up high in the zone and stretched out the Cardigan defense –  and Frangos fired home a wrist shot inside the far post to get Westminster on the board. That goal energized the home side quite a bit, and the game was much more even from that point on. While the third period was ultimately scoreless for both teams, the Martlets were able to generate a few scoring chances and the defensive zone coverage improved. Sebastien Blanc ‘23, who assumed goaltending responsibilities for the second half of the game, was able to keep the Cougars off the board, and in the end combined with Martinez to post 29 saves for the game (the Martlets were solidly outshot for the game, 32-15 – a pretty accurate measure of the overall performance . . . most of the Martlet shots came in the third period). Overall, though the ice was a bit slanted this afternoon, the coaches were pleased with the effort, particularly in the third, and note again that the team has had very little practice together. The boys will get back to work on Monday and Tuesday to prepare for Choate at home on Wednesday. The puck drops at 5 pm, and there are plenty of seats available. Thanks, again, to the Kim family for providing the post-game snacks – always much appreciated.