Led by Michael Lata ’14 who tallied four goals, Andover Boys Hockey finally found its scoring touch and defeated Tabor Academy 7-2 last Friday. Andover came out hot, scoring the game’s first two goals in the first period. David Belluche ’14 intercepted a Tabor pass and sniped the puck into the top right corner, giving Andover a 1-0 lead. Two minutes later, Patrick Daly ’15 fed Michael Kim ’14 in front of the net, and Kim tapped in a goal giving Andover a 2-0 lead. “We did a really good job of keeping the pressure on them. They got a late goal, but instead of letting them get momentum, we took it to them in the second [period] right off the bat and dominated from there on out,” said Belluche. Andover had three unanswered goals in the second period from Lata, Jake Secatore ’13 and Daly. Andover added two more goals in the third to increase its goal total to seven. “Scoring has been an issue all year, and we finally proved that we can score some goals and are the offensive threat that we are,” said Daly. The team continued its excellent play, shutting out cross-town rival Brooks 4-0. With Andover’s defense establishing the transition game early against Brooks, Andover’s offense came out firing on all cylinders, scoring two goals in the first period. For the first goal of the second period, Seamus O’ Neill ’13 drove wide, setting up Austin Heffner ’13 for a clear shot. Later, Larken Kemp ’13 fired a goal into the net off a pass from Eddie Ellis ’13, who battled along the wall, drew his man and found Kemp with an open lane to the net. “I felt our team grew stronger as the game progressed. Overall, our defense really limited their scoring chances, and our offense wore them out as the game went along,” said Ross Bendetson ’13. Brooks failed to score in the third period, and Bendetson saved all 18 shots he faced, resulting in Andover’s first shutout of the season. “I thought we came out strong against Brooks, jumping all over them from the drop of the puck. We were able to sustain in zone pressure, which led to quality scoring chances all night. I think it is fitting that we were able to get our first meaningful shutout of the year in a rivalry game,” said Kemp. Andover added its third consecutive win on Wednesday as Andover won 5-1 against Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH). Against NMH, Jake Pelton ’14 was in net for Andover and stopped all but one of the 18 shots he faced. “It felt good to get the win. I think I battled hard, but the defense really helped me out in there. The whole team played well today,” said Pelton. Andover scored first as Daly tapped in a rebound off of a Belluche point shot, giving Andover a 1-0 going into the second period. NMH’s lone goal came in the second period, just three minutes after Andover increased its lead to 2-0. Andover added three unanswered goals. and the game ended in a 5-1 victory for Andover. “Our powerplay was the best it’s been in awhile. Both units did a great job of moving the puck around and getting quality scoring chances,” said Kim. Andover hopes to use their newfound success on Wednesday when the team travels to archrival Exeter.
