Martlets Defeat Taft

On this January afternoon, the Taft Rhinos came charging into Jackson Rink for a late afternoon tilt with Martlets. With the Varsity game on the undercard, the near-capacity crowd was primed for an exciting hockey game and these two evenly-matched opponents did not disappoint. Led by goaltender Jake Holland ‘24, the Black and Gold skated to a hard-fought 6-3 victory. Holland posted 33 saves for the game – too many for this old coach as once again miscues in the defensive end and careless turnovers handed Taft chance after chance. Fortunately for the JVs, Holland was equal to the challenge, flashing his leg pads on low, hard shots through traffic and wielding his glove like a butterfly net. Holland’s stellar play in the crease was matched by the leadership of centerman Anthony DiBartolomeo ‘25, who played a complete, 200-foot hockey game. Alongside linemates Jackson Alpaugh ‘24 and Jack Grahling ‘25, DiBartolomeo scored twice and added an assist to Grahling to lead the scoring for the Martlets. Reid Bulger ‘24 opened the scoring barely three minutes into the contest when he intercepted a Rhino pass just outside the Taft blueline, entered the zone, and fired the puck low and hard to the goalie’s stick side. The game settled in after that, and Taft evened the score with five minutes to go in the period when the Martlets failed to clear the puck out of the defensive end. But the home team rallied, and Xavier Kahn ‘27 put Westminster back on top only two minutes later, when Daniel Venture ‘24 – who had a strong two-way game as well – collected the puck off the far wall and found Kahn in the high slot. Kahn waited a half second before ripping a wrist shot through traffic into the upper left corner of the net. The last few minutes of the first featured plenty of offensive zone time for the Martlets and that led to DiBartolomeo’s first goal. DiBartolomeo received a pass from Grahling from behind the Taft net, skated a tight loop towards the far post, holding off two Rhinos, and scored off the far post. That goal made it 3-1 Westminster at the end of the first. DiBartolomeo got his team to 4-1 early in the second frame on the power play when quick passing from Alpaugh and Grahling found DiBartolomeo tight on the near post; the sure-handed centerman deftly edged himself into position and lifted the puck up and over the Rhino keeper’s glove into the top corner. But the scrappy Taft team would not be denied, and less than 30 seconds later the score was 4-2 when a risky play on the Westminster blue line led to a turnover. Holland made the first save, but a Rhino got to the rebound first. Westminster made it 5-2 about five minutes later when this time Grahling was the recipient of a DiBartolomeo pass right off the face-off. Grahling was able to slip behind the Taft defenders and collect his own rebound before sliding it into the net. At the break, the coaches – cognizant of the Rhinos’ work ethic and their keepers’ netminding prowess – reminded the players of the absolute necessity of making simple plays, winning the blue lines, and doubling down on our commitment to defense. A strong defensive effort on the very first shift of the third period followed, and a forced turnover was collected by Venture, who streaked from just inside the Martlet blue line and passed two Rhinos before cutting to the front of the Taft net and lifting it under the crossbar on his backhand. Taft would add a third goal of their own late in the period – once again, Holland was left exposed by his teammates when a turnover on the offensive blueline led to a 2-on-1 break for Taft. Holland made the first save, but the puck trickled behind him and the trailing Rhino banged it home. That goal made it 6-3 Westminster, and that’s how the game ended. Overall, a good win for the home side. Certainly some things to work on, particularly on the defensive side of the puck and in our end – slick handles and highlight-reel offense may get you on NHL Tonight, but defense wins games. The hard hat went to the hard-working DiBartolomeo, who quietly has become an on-ice leader for the Black and Gold. The victory raises the JVs record to 3-3-1, and the Martlets will be up at the practice facility tomorrow afternoon to continue the process of getting better every day. We’ll also prepare for two home games this weekend: competitive Hillside School on Friday evening (4:45 pm) and the always-tough Scarlet Knights of Salisbury on Saturday (2:30 pm). Combo ticket packages are available at the box office. See you at the rink!