With a win over Loomis, the Andover Boys’ Hockey team ended their slump and skated back into the zone, only to suffer a tough loss to Deerfield. After dropping their first two games of the season in the span of only a few days last week the Boys’ Hockey team bounced back to win two in a row. However, this past Wednesday, they dropped a heartbreaker to the Big Green of Deerfield. After beating Brewster Academy last week and brutally trouncing Loomis-Chaffee 8-3 last Saturday afternoon the Andover Blue went on to take on the number one ranked Deerfield Academy team at Deerfield on Wednesday. Although the PA skaters took a 5-2 beating, it must be remembered that the Big Green is among the nation’s best. In this glorious week for the boys’ hockey team Andover outscored their opponents eleven to eight and have bettered their record to an exceptional 11-3-3. The game against Loomis last Saturday was nothing short of a blowout. Andover began their scoring frenzy very early. A mere fifty-eight seconds into the period, Kyle Kucharski ’05, taking a pass from Junior sensation Chris Cahill ’06, snuck one by the Loomis net minder. Minutes later, with UNH-bound John Doherty ’03 in the box, Kuchiarski came back on a breakaway where he deked out the goalie and scored a shorthanded goal that gave him his second goal of the game and put Andover up 2-0. Finally with 7:08 gone, Loomis was finally able to score, squeaking one past star goalie Cory Schneider ’04. Thirty-three seconds later, as if in retaliation, Alaskan native Nick Mazzolini ’03 received a pass from Captain Drew Ward ’03 at center ice and on a one on one breakaway deked out the goalie and scored the last goal of the period. After a productive first period the Boys in Blue came out ready to score in the second period and did just that. It was in the second period that the PA squad were able to net the majority of their goals and secure a victory of the Big Blue. The first goal of the period was tallied by scoring sensation Cahill who netted four points (one goal, three assists). After Cahill’s goal Mazzolini scored on a one timer from Cahill again that increased Andover’s lead to four. After Mazz’s goal Doherty presented one of the most fan pleasing performances of the game when he took the puck “coast to coast” while dekeing out every Loomis defender on the ice and scoring his eight goal of the season. Two minutes after, Doherty skated the entire length of the ice and Pete Smith ’03 scored an insurance goal on a pass from Nick Mazzolini. Finally, when the second period ended, Andover was in the lead by a score of 7-1. In the third period Coaches Boylan and Gooden decided to give freshman goalie Matt Ward ’06 some time between the pipes. The young Ward had a brilliant start and was able to hold back the Loomis offensive barrage until the fifth and sixth minutes when he let two shots get by him and made the score 7-3. Finally, with only a 1:50 left to play, fourth line leading goal scorer Ben Hoerner ’05 finished things off with an unassisted goal through the five hole. Hoerner’s previous Varsity experience at Andover High School has indeed prepared him well for his role on the Boys Hockey team. Andover arose from the match up victorious with a huge score of 8-3. The Big Blue sent Loomis home crying. The Pelicans never knew what hit them. On Wednesday the Boys’ Hockey team made the long bus trip west to Deerfield Massachusetts. Despite their best effort, the Boys in Blue could not stand up to the top ranked Big Green of Deerfield Academy.
