Martlets Defeat Choate

After a tough start to the season against the always-strong junior boarding schools, the Martlets found their offensive game this afternoon against the visiting Wild Boars in the opening game of the Founders League season. Unfortunately, owing to a game sheet snafu, the team statistician is missing the precise order of the goals scored and who assisted on which goal – and this old coach’s memory isn’t what it used to be. However, the game was a fast-paced, up-tempo affair with few penalties and exciting end-to-end action. The Martlets got on the board first and never looked back, peppering the Choate netminder with 62 shots and pressing the play with solid forechecking, smart neutral ice play, and pretty good defense in the Black and Gold end. Martlet goalie Danny Maher ‘26 faced 15 shots, and while a few breakdowns left him exposed more than a couple of times – and the Wild Boars capitalized – generally played well between the pipes. Dylan Zapata ‘27 had a terrific game, leading the scoring with three goals and two assists and maintaining possession down low in the offensive zone throughout the game. Both of those assists came on terrific plays in the Choate end when he put tape-to-tape passes on the stick of linemate Dexter Gu ‘27 in the high slot. Gu contributed three goals of his own to the effort and also tallied an assist. Rounding out that high-scoring, wheeling line today was centerman Reed Ghriskey ‘26, who had a goal of his own and two assists. That’s a 12-point night for that line, a pretty good outing in any league. Ghriskey gets credit for the game-winner, tipping in a shot from the point from defenseman Dillon Seals ‘25. Five other Martlets found the back of the net today: Richard Kim ‘25 from the blue line (Kim also had an assist), Captain Ben Norten ‘25 on a rebound, Zac Jainchill ‘25 on a neat combination play in front of the net, and Jack Pickett ‘26 from the slot following a Tyler Ungerman ‘26 stand-up hit on the blue line that forced a turnover. That was Ungerman’s second assist in the game. Also on the scoresheet this evening were Benji Hanson ‘27, fresh off the IR, with two assists, and Mikey Wang ‘28 (assist). Though not showing up in the box score, Captain Jack Peterson ‘25, Xavier Kahn ‘27, Auggie Jiranek ‘27, Chace Maurice ‘27, and Paul Coccaro ‘28 all contributed to the strong offensive effort, and Lane Gallagher ‘25 and Thomas Merrill ‘28 helped out on the blue line. Maurice and Merrill, in particular, put in strong, physical games on the defensive side of the puck. Overall, a good effort in this important Founders League contest. Gu earned the hard hat for his work ethic and great support of his teammates. The team will get back to work tomorrow to prepare for Saturday’s game against local rival Northwest Catholic – always a talented, gritty, well-coached opponent. The Martlets will work on defensive zone coverage; a few miscues today were exploited by Choate, and we’ll work to eliminate those. Saturday’s puck drop is at 4 pm, and it’s family night as we head into the holiday season – so bring the whole gang. See you at the rink!