Martlets Shutout NMH

In a gritty performance on home ice at Jackson Rink, the Martlets came out on top with a commanding 5-0 victory over Northfield Mount Hermon on Saturday. The game, which started slowly for the Martlets, saw both teams struggling to find the back of the net in the opening period, with neither side able to capitalize on early chances. The Martlets picked up the pace in the second period and maintained solid zone time to start the period. The breakthrough for Westminster came in the second period at the 7:13 mark when freshman Rose Robertson scored her first goal as a Martlet! A well-timed defensive play by Mana Shida ’25 broke up an NMH breakout, sending the puck right onto Robertson’s stick in front of the net. The relentlessness and quick thinking by Robertson allowed her to bury the puck and give Westminster the lead. From that point onward, the Martlets controlled the tempo, continuing to build momentum as the second period wore on. Although the Martlets controlled the play, the strong play of NMH’s goaltender kept the score at 1-0 going into the final period of play. As the third period unfolded, Westminster would add four more goals, each one coming from the stick of a different Martlet. At 12:54 in the period, senior captain Adrienne Hall would increase the Martlets lead to 2-0! Hall gained possession of the puck on the blue line and made a nice break down the wall to eventually hit Mya Polastry ‘27 in the high slot. Polastry shot the puck on net and Hall, who continued her pursuit to the netfront, would tip it in for the goal! Polastry would then get a goal of her own only a few minutes later assisted by Hall! The senior captain won the faceoff back to Polastry who passed it low to Hall who drove the net. Hall’s grittiness to get to the front of the net resulted in a rebound that Polastry buried in the back of the net for Martlet's third goal! The Martlet’s continued their strong play and would add two more to the scoreboard at 7:57 and 4:00 to go in the period. Both Izzy Hurkala ‘26 and Ellie Larrabee ‘27 got their first goals as Martlets! Hurkala’s goal started when Polastry entered the zone wide and made a beautiful pass to the defenseman  who found herself in the high slot. Hurkala one timed the puck low left side to give the Martlets the four nothing lead! The final goal came from the stick of Ellie Larrabee ‘27. Defenseman Mana Shida ‘25 escaped strong pressure from the NMH forwards and got a nice shot on net. Larrabee tipped the puck in to bring the final score to 5-0 Martlets! It was a solid team performance all around, with Robertson, Hurkala, and Larrabee all scoring their first career goals and goaltender Kate Epke ‘27 getting her first shutout of the year! The Martlets hope to carry on their momentum as they head to Millbrook School on Wednesday for an afternoon matchup on the road!