In his return to the ice for the first time in six weeks, Bobby Farnham ’08 scored two goals as Andover handled NMH easily 4-1 Wednesday. Despite a flurry of offensive pressure in the third period, Andover could not answer Tabor Friday night, dropping the nightcap to the Seawolves by a 4-2 score, while on Saturday, PA buried cross-town rival Brooks 6-0. In the Friday night match-up, the Seawolves were quick to jump to the early lead when a slapshot from the blue line found space past the blocker of Glenn Stowell ’09 at the 1:28 mark. With play edging back and forth, neither team could capitalize in the remainder of the first. However, PA was first to strike back when the next period resumed. An initial shot from the right side by Steve Bury ’08 snuck between the goalie’s legs and J.J. McGregor ’08 banged it in to tie the game at one apiece. Midway through the period, however, Tabor responded with two quick goals, one on the power play, to pull out to a two-goal lead. Andover pulled back to within one point before the end of the stanza, and then looked to carry some momentum into the third. The frenzy of energy on offense would never make anything of itself, however, as PA unsuccessfully fired shots on the Tabor net that would not find their way in. With one minute left, a point shot from Sean Aaron ’07 appeared to snap under the top crossbar, but play resumed as the refs signaled no goal. With an empty-netter 30 seconds later, Tabor walked off with the very deceiving 4-2 score, with the shots basically even at 35-33. The next afternoon, with a welcome change of pace in playing Division-II Brooks, Andover relaxed and played a potent game right off the bat. In the first period alone, PA tacked on 4 goals, with two special teams strikes, to pull away from its opponent. Captain Joe Smith ’07 picked the top left corner of the net for the second goal before adding his second goal of the game in the third period. The goals racked up to Smith’s 25th and 26th goals of the year, good for 2nd most in all of New England Prep. In his return to game play, Farnham opened the scoring against NMH with a goal seven minutes in. Although NMH would tie the game three minutes later, PA rose and refocused in the second period after repeatedly knocking on the door during the first. Captain Smith scored on the power play at 0:40, in what turned out to be the game-winning goal, while Andrew Cox ’08 also found the back of the net in the middle stanza. Farnham’s second goal, a one-timer on the power play from McGregor and Bennett Carroccio ’10 – who added his 5th assist in two games – cemented the lead before the rest of the third period’s breezy play. Andover will travel to 17-8 Exeter tomorrow for the 4:00 p.m. rematch of Andover’s 4-2 win earlier this season. “We’re all really excited about the game. For the seniors it’ll be our last game, and it’s a huge deal to us,” said Reilly O’Brien ’07. The class of 2007 looks to raise its four-year record against the Red to 7-1 with a win.
