Martlets Fall to Hillside

The Martlets welcomed the Bulldogs of Hillside School for a Friday evening tilt at Jackson Rink. Despite outshooting the visitors 41-34, the Black & Gold found themselves chasing the lead all night long after spotting Hillside three goals in the first period. Though the team produced two hardworking periods after that slow start, the JVs ultimately came out on the short end of a 4-7 score. That first frame was certainly a little frustrating for this old coach – once again, too many defensive lapses, missed coverages, and probably too much 440-grit sandpaper when 40-grit (or even an old rusty rasp from the bottom of the toolbox) was called for gifted the Bulldogs several excellent chances and left netminder Jake Holland ‘24 unfairly exposed. Down by that 0-3 score, the Martlets regrouped during the intermission and played much better in the 2nd and 3rd periods. The coaches were both pleased with the response of the boys when challenged – particularly Dylan Ness ‘26, Xavier Kahn ‘27, Richard Kim ‘25, and Dillon Seals ‘25, all of whom stepped up after a desultory first. Also earning mention in this regard is the line of Jack Peterson ‘25, Auggie Barrett ‘24, and James Frangos ‘24. After conceding a fourth unanswered goal early in the second and now down 0-4, it was Barrett who finally got the Martlets on the board seven minutes into the middle stanza when he banged home a rebound off of a Reid Bulger ‘24 shot from the righthand faceoff circle. Seals started that play when he moved the puck along the blue line to Bulger, who sidestepped a Bulldog defenseman before sending the puck on net. Daniel Venture ‘24 made it 2-4 when he deftly poke-checked the puck off of a defensemen’s stick on the Martlet blueline before racing down the far wall alone and beating the keeper on his backhand. Venture’s goal was shorthanded and electrified the near-capacity crowd and the Martlet bench. The team kept working and pounding the Hillside goalie, who made several frankly unbelievable saves to thwart the JV’s bid to change the momentum of the game: one with the butt end of his stick, several with his toes, and more than a few during mad scrambles in front when the home side had three or four shots in quick succession. Unfortunately for the Black and Gold, one such flurry led to an odd-man break for Hillside the other way to make it 2-5 to end the second. That was a little deflating, but the boys hung tough and the Martlets got the next one early in the third when Jack Grahling ‘25, crashing the net, took a nifty pass from Anthony DiBartolomeo ‘25 that left Grahling facing an open goal. Jackson Alpaugh ‘24 also assisted on that play, carrying the puck over the blue line and finding DiBartolomeo in the left faceoff circle. With the Martlets making the push at 3-5 for the final six minutes, taking chances and throwing everything at the Hillside net, the Bulldogs met the challenge and took advantage of Westminster’s aggressiveness, scoring twice to blunt what could have been an impressive comeback. The Black and Gold did get the last goal of the evening on the powerplay when Barrett collected the puck off the faceoff on the right side, found Bulger at the point and the Captain rifled home a long shot through traffic. And that’s how the game ended: 4-7. In the aggregate, the team should be pleased with their response to being down 0-4 early in the game and their play throughout the final two periods (counting much of the second and the third, the Black and Gold were on top 4-3). The Martlets will have to recover and regroup for another game tomorrow: the always-tough Salisbury Scarlet Knights are coming to town. Puck drop is at 2:30 pm, so get your errands and chores squared away, grab the kids and a snack, and get your seats early – word on the street is standing room only. See you at the rink!