Martlets Fall to Salisbury

Westminster hosted Salisbury this afternoon in the marquee Saturday matchup at Jackson Rink. The Scarlet Knights came in full steam ahead and skated to a physical, high-paced victory over the Martlets, 2-8. Salisbury plays a hard, aggressive game, and this old coach from long experience knew the JVs would have their hands full – particularly as they were playing their second tough opponent in two days. The Knights outshot the Martlets 46-28, and stalwart netminder Jake Holland ‘24 had his gloves – both catcher and blocker – full as the Westminster defensive corps worked hard all game but struggled to win control of the puck down low or take control of the area in front of Holland’s net. The blueline sextet of Ben Norten ‘25, Miles Kim ‘24, Dillon Seals ‘25, Richard Kim ‘25, Max Simpson ‘24, and iron man Reid Bulger ‘24 will have more than their share of ice bags applied after this tilt. Significantly, the Martlets scored first and held a 1-0 lead after the first frame, but the relentless pressure from Salisbury simply wore the team down. Perhaps the team simply ran out of gas playing their second game in two days. Jackson Alpaugh ‘24 netted that first goal, a highlight reel effort. Alpaugh intercepted the puck just outside the Salisbury zone and with his trademark silky mitts deked his way through three Knights before roofing the puck under the crossbar. Look for the clip on your favorite social media site and NHL Tonight. Salisbury came flying out in the second, however, and evened the game at 1-1 less than 30 seconds into the period – a result of perhaps too casual defense down low in our own zone (dedicated readers of this space will no doubt see a trend here . . .). Salisbury scored two more in the ensuing ten minutes to pad their lead to 1-3, but the Martlets were in the game and battling hard. Dylan Ness ‘26 made it 2-3 when the always reliable Daniel Venture ‘24 won a puck battle below the Salisbury goal line and put a perfect pass on Ness's stick in front; Ness finished with aplomb. But that was as close as the Martlets would get. Salisbury came roaring back and scored a minute later to make it 2-4, and then added four goals against a clearly tired Martlet side in the third to ice the game. In truth, the coaches, while certainly frustrated with the result, cannot be critical of the team’s play. The boys did everything they could and competed to the final horn. Two main stories here: Salisbury’s a good team, and the Martlets played a gritty second game on less than 24 hours rest – a tall order. The team will get back to work on mini-game Monday and, with no game on Wednesday (to the consternation of the JV faithful), look ahead to making the short toaster ride to Farmington Valley rival Loomis on Saturday. See you at the rink!