Off of a pass from Co-Captain Jack Cusack ’18, Post-Graduate (PG) Alec Robitaille ’17 took a low, hard shot, scoring his first of three goals in Andover Boys Hockey’s 5-1 victory over Governor’s. Combined with a 3-2 loss against Cushing, the team’s record now stands at 11-9-2.
Against Governor’s, Andover controlled the puck for most of the first period, but Governor’s capitalized late in the period off a shot taken from the slot. Andover immediately answered with Robitaille’s first goal, to tie the game entering the second period.
Andover dominated in the second period, scoring three unanswered goals. The first of the period came from Robitaille, who scored off an assist from Kevin Kastholm ’17. The connection between Robitaille and Kastholm came within the first two minutes of the period and gave Andover its first lead of the game.
Shortly after, Quinn Doyle ’18 and PG Brendan Ryan ’17 forced a turnover at the blue line. Ryan was able to pick up the puck and score a breakaway goal to take a 3-1 lead.
Robitaille completed his hat trick late in the second period, scoring off a quick shot right in front of the net.
Robitaille said, “My teammates were all there to support me. I had Jack Cusack centering my line and making a bunch of nice passes, all leading to my goals. Kevin Kastholm on the wing was out-muscling the other players all game and winning battles along the boards.”
Cusack said, “Playing with Kevin and Alec has been great. They are both big strong guys who always seem to find the back of the net. That really showed on Friday night as Alec put home a hat trick. Whenever I had the puck, Alec was always in the right spot, he was always available for a quick feed. It really made the game a lot easier because I knew whenever I was in trouble my linemates were there to back me up.”
Andover was able to maintain its lead going into the third period due to strong goaltending from both Alex Daccord ’18 and Charlie Archer ’20.
Andover proceeded to add one more goal with five minutes left in the game to extend its lead. Christian Powers ’19 found Bryce Murphy ’18 open on the back post, and Murphy tapped the puck into the back of the net to secure Andover’s 5-1 victory.
On Wednesday, the team traveled to Cushing, but ultimately left with a narrow 3-2 loss.
In the first period, Powers scored the first goal of the game to give Andover an early 1-0 lead.
Cushing fought back in the second period, scoring three unanswered goals to send Andover into the third period facing a 3-1 deficit.
The third period remained scoreless until the final moments of the game, when Ryan passed the puck from the corner to Robitaille, who took a one timer shot and scored.
Ultimately, Andover was unable to net another goal, and the team was handed a 3-2 loss.
Andover looks to bounce back and strengthen its chances to make playoffs by earning a win against Tabor on Friday night.
