Struggling to capitalize on offense, Andover girls hockey suffered a tough 5-2 loss to Governor’s Academy on Friday and failed to net a goal in a 5-0 shutout loss to Noble and Greenborough on Wednesday. In the Governor’s game, Andover struggled adjusting to the fast style of play. Andover expected a tough matchup from Governor’s, who is the current three-time defending Class B champion. After rattling the Andover players with an early goal, Governor’s added netted another, leaving the first period with a 2-0 advantage. Governor’s carried their offensive energy into the second period, scoring three more goals to raise their lead to 5-0. Andover responded soon after when Ann Doherty ’11 sent a pass to Greer McBeth ’12, who placed the puck in the back of the net. McBeth commented on the play, saying, “It literally happened so fast. I got a beautiful pass from Ann because that is what she does best: skates up the ice and drops it off for a goal.” Mari Walsh ’11 then netted another goal for Andover, keeping the team competitive. In the third period, Andover’s defensive gears clicked, and held Governor’s at its five points. “We played the third period the best we had the whole game, continuing to play as the play got chippy,” said Cara Daly ’13. However, the offense failed to score, and the game ended in a 5-2 Andover loss. Said Captain Kellie Walsh ’11, “Governor’s is always a good game for us, and if we played the way that we played in the third period throughout the whole game, the results would have been a lot different.” In the Nobles game, Andover struggled to defend against a quick Nobles lineup. Equipped with a core of long-time teammates, Nobles skated three solid lines and cycled well in the zone. Goalie Sarah Schuchardt ’11 played well in goal, keeping Andover in the running for the majority of the game. However, Nobles continued to chip away in each period, eventually building a five-point lead. “Sarah played really well in net and kept us in the game throughout the first period; we just had trouble scoring to help out on the offensive end,” said Kellie Walsh. Andover failed to capitalize on scoring opportunities, finishing the game in a 5-0 loss. “It was a tough game because Nobles had a lot of small speedy girls to get around, but we really hung with them and came out especially strong in the third period,” said Daly. In practice this week, Andover is focusing on back-checking, looking to defensive pressure in the upcoming games. The team continues to develop chemistry, which should improve the its offensive play. Andover will work hard this week to prepare for its upcoming game against Milton Academy this Saturday.
