Goaltender Tyler Kirsch ’12 led Andover Boys Hockey to an impressive 4-2 win against Thayer this past Friday; Kirsch saved 33 out of 35 shots on net over three periods.
Early in the game, Andover missed a few quality scoring chances but capitalized halfway through the period. On a power play, Jason Nawrocki ’13 put Andover on the board when he tipped a shot from Tommy Shannon ’12 at the point into the back of the net. Michael Lata ’14 scored with less than a minute left in the period on another power play, when he sniped a shot in front of the net to put Andover up 2-0.
The second period ended in a deadlock as neither Andover nor Thayer scored. Kirsch kept Andover in the game, saving 18 Thayer shots.
Andover continued to lead by two early in the third period when Michael Kim ’14 tapped the puck in after a rebound from a shot taken by Patrick Daly ’15.
Thayer, continuing to play aggressively, scored once to make it 3-1 and closed the gap just enough so it could safely pull its goalie. Thayer later scored again on a power play. Fortunately, Andover was able to pull away in the last 30 seconds when Shannon scored an empty-netter goal from Andover’s own defensive zone to secure the win.
Coach Dean Boylan said, “We played well against Thayer, but had some breakdowns late in the game which caused it to be closer than it should have been. At the end of the day, we did a nice job recovering from our mistakes and took home a good win. We hope to build on it.”
With high hopes for the second half of its season, Andover hosted a tough Winchendon team on Wednesday. “We’re looking to play a strong and consistent 54 minutes for every game for the rest of the season,” said Ross Bendetson ’13.
Only nine seconds into the game, Timmy Driscoll ’12 tapped the puck in on a two-on-one with Co-Captain Eddie Ellis ’13. Winchendon put itself on the board after a scrum in front of the net, ending the period in a 1-1 tie.
Andover added another goal to its count after Connor Light ’13 made a play to push the puck up the ice, which Driscoll grabbed and tapped into the net. Both teams had more opportunities in the second period, but neither could find the back of the net.
Despite creating numerous opportunities in the third period, Andover couldn’t capitalize and Winchendon took over. Winchendon scored off a rebound to tie the game, and quickly tallied two more goals on two on one opportunities. Winchendon scored again on an empty netter, ending the game in a 5- 2 loss for Andover.
Andover looks to improve its record at Loomis this Saturday at 4:15 p.m.
