In front of its biggest crowd of the season, Girls Varsity Hockey ran Exeter out of “its house” by a whopping score of 9-1 last Saturday. Andover had toppled Exeter 3-1 in its early season match-up, and Exeter’s hope for an upset win in the final game of the season was quickly dashed by the powerful Big Blue. Co-Captain Olivia Coffey ’07 said, “We knew that there would be a huge crowd, but we continuously reminded ourselves of the importance of playing our game and sticking to the game plan.” Megan Shea ’07 stole the show early, as she beat the helpless Big Red goalie off a nice shot from the top of the slot. Andover continued to dominate for the remainder of the game. A little over a minute after Shea’s goal, Stephanie Clegg ’08 rushed the puck in from the blue line and ripped a shot to put Andover up 2-0, with ten minutes left to play in the first period. Andover continued its streak in the second period. After a long period of sustained offensive pressure, Exeter took a penalty. Andover did not waste much time to capitalize on its woman-up opportunity. Co-Captain Coffey carried the puck towards the blue line and made a spectacular pass to Kaitlyn McInnis ’09, who finished off the beautiful goal. Coffey would continue to dominate offensively the entire game, recording an impressive six assists in the last game of her Andover career. With 4:51 left in the period, the Lower winger McInnis managed to beat an Exeter defender, creating a two-on-one opportunity. McInnis slid the puck over to the streaking Shea, who slammed the goal past the Exeter goalie in her second goal of the night. Assistant Coach Caroline Odden said, “It was a textbook two-on-one with a perfect assist from Kaitlyn and an equally impressive finish from Shea.” With four minutes left in the second, Exeter scored its first and only goal of the day. The puck squeaked by a screened goaltender, Co-Captain Joy Joung ’07. Co-Captain Joung would go on to make 25 saves on the day, a spectacular end to the season. Andover quickly retaliated, and with just 22 seconds remaining in the period, the dynamic trio of McInnis, Co-Captain Coffey, and Shea scored a highlight reel goal. McInnis skated into the Exeter zone, committing two Exeter defenders. She slid a great pass to Coffey in the center who made a diving behind-the-back pass to Shea. Once she had the puck, Shea blasted the goal into the top right corner. Andover came out with equal intensity in the third period. Shea opened up the scoring in Andover’s final period with a laser slap shot that easily beat the Exeter goalie. McInnis put in her second goal of the game, aided by a perfect assist by Shea. McInnis would go on to finish the game with two goals and three assists, showing the team’s depth as a younger player on the team. In the last 30 seconds, Emily Weedon ’07 put an exclamation point on the game, scoring two goals as time ran out. After a nice backhand shot sailed past the Exeter goalie, Weedon did it again, poking a loose puck in with one second left. Andover says goodbye to six stellar seniors who led by example both on and off the ice. Said Co-Captain Coffey, “There’s no other way that I would’ve wanted Andover Hockey careers to end.”
