Andover Boys Hockey beat Phillips Exeter Academy in a thrilling overtime 5-4 overtime win during Andover/Exeter Weekend as Christian Powers ’19 stole the puck from an Exeter defenseman, making a streaking pass to Kevin Ouellette ’18, who slammed the puck into the net to give Andover the win at home on February 24.
Powers said in an email to The Phillipian, “The Exeter defenseman was breaking out of their zone and I saw he was fumbling the puck so I took it from him and went to the net and was lucky enough to have Kevin in a shooting position in front of the net. I passed it to him and he made a great play to score.”
Andover also saw goals from Thomas Manty ’19, Quinn Doyle ’18, and Dante Maribito ’18.
One of Andover’s strengths was its execution during power plays. Andover scored on both of its two power plays, whereas Exeter did not score on any of its five power play opportunities.
In the first period, Andover regrouped from a deficit and brought the game to a tie by the end of the second period. In the third period, Andover went up by two only to have Exeter tie the game up before the final buzzer, taking the teams into overtime.
According to Powers, the coaches emphasized the importance of remaining calm and still having fun during these intense games.
Powers said, “When we get down, especially in a high-pressure situation like overtime, it’s important to not let emotion get the better of you. That’s what our coaches stressed. Just to have fun and play with heart. We kept a level head and fed off the energy from the crowd and it paid off with our overtime win.”
Looking forward to next season, forward Matt Veneri ’21 wrote in an email to The Phillipian, “All of us have our eyes set on a playoff run. We will be working on balancing a strong defensive core with a powerful offense. Teams to beat, we are definitely looking forward to possible rematches with Milton, Nobles, Cushing, and Pomfret. We will also obviously be looking to beat Exeter in the Andover/Exeter 2019 game as well.”
Andover’s victory improved its final record to 13 wins, 12 losses, and one draw.
