Holding the puck on a power play in Governor’s defensive zone, Collin Nugent ’16 skated onto open ice and rocketed the puck past the goalie for the first of his three goals in the Friday game that gave Andover Boys Hockey a 4-0 lead.
“I passed the puck to [Assistant Captain] Kyle Moss [’15] who passed to John Festa [’15] who passed back up to me on the dot,” said Nugent after the game. “I took a few steps in and shot top right corner.”
Andover came out of the locker room with a purpose, dominating the game from the first drop of the puck. Forward Tyler Levine ’16 scored his first of two goals after just 13 seconds of play, and Festa tallied a goal of his own ten minutes later.
After claiming a 2-0 lead in the first period against Governor’s, the team did not let up in the second period. Levine and Nugent both found the net within the first minute, and Nugent would later tally two more goals to end the period.
Going into the third with a comfortable 6-0 lead, Andover maintained a strong presence in the offensive zone. Festa slotted Andover’s final goal with five minutes left in the game.
The first line’s chemistry shined throughout the entire game, as the three forwards contributed all seven of Andover’s goals on Friday. Moss, Michael McGreal ’17 and Tora Liu ’16 tallied assists in the game as well.
Nugent said, “Everything was really clicking for me in the game, which helped me produce for the team. My linemates [Levine] and [Festa] came to work against Governor’s. I owe a lot of my success in that game to both of them.”
Goalies Erik Wurman ’15, Tripp Hutchinson ’17 and Alex Daccord ’18 all contributed to the win, finishing with a combined shutout.
Andover’s crisp offense coupled with its staunch defense resulted in a relatively stress-free night for the team’s goalies. The team finished with 30 shots on goal and held Governor’s to only 13.
Head Coach Dean Boylan said, “Our ability to get pucks to the net was key against Governor’s.”
Although a fast-paced offensive strategy prevailed on Friday, Andover focused on shifting to a more defensive approach for their next game against Cushing. Boylan said, “We [needed] to be very aggressive in our [defensive] zone against a very good Cushing team.”
Despite the team’s impressive performance against Governor’s, Andover was unable to produce another victory, and fell to Cushing 6-3 on Wednesday. Although it went into the third period locked at 3-3, Andover couldn’t finish with intensity as the team was outscored 3-0 in the final period. Nugent, Levine and Joey Harrington ’15 tallied goals for Andover.
Andover will look to bounce back in its next game against Tabor on Friday.
