In the game against St. Paul’s on Friday, goaltender Charlie Archer ’20 made 52 saves, helping Andover maintain its 1-0 lead until six minutes left in the game. St. Paul’s then scored and defeated Andover 2-1 off of a power play in overtime. Andover went on to defeat Nobles 6-3 on Saturday and Winchendon 6-5 on Wednesday, bringing the team’s record to 11-5-1.
According to Matt Veneri ’21, the crowd at the St. Paul’s rink created a charged atmosphere.
Veneri said, “The [St. Paul’s] Pelicans had a very large attendance at the rink, which made for a great atmosphere. It was a tight game the whole time with physical and skilled play. Many shots on net made for a nail biter.”
Against Nobles, Co-Captain Carter Giampietro ’19 returned to play after sitting out the previous four games due to injury. William Hughes ’22 scored twice and Sean O´Connell PG’19 and Patrick McDonald PG’19 scored, followed by a final goal by Co-Captain Christian Powers ’19.
On Wednesday against Winchendon, each of the team’s six goals was scored by a different player. According to Giampietro, the team really accelerated its scoring and the offense exploded in the latter two games of the week.
“We have been not playing well with the lead, so we need to get better at staying on the gas. Will Hughes has had a very good last two games. He has contributed on offense, as well as Johnny Assayag [’19],” said Giampietro.
According to Chris Hocevar ’21, Mike Gallagher ’20, and Veneri, the many injuries on the team posed a challenge. The team, however, was able to stick together through these challenges despite the difficulty winning games it faced. The collective injuries on team left the team with only three defensemen on the lineup.
Gallagher said, “The most challenging thing that we overcame was the recent injuries that affected the team. Lots of guys such as Jacob Lapp [’21] stepped up to fill the roles of those who were hurt. Charlie stepped up and played well facing many shots in each game.… To prepare for these games we worked on our special teams and integrating the new defenseman into the lineup.”
Veneri added, “I think everyone played well these games. But in particular, Charlie Archer played every second of every game which helped us win. Johnny Assayag has been making an effort with his powerful and dominating style of play and Mark Meinecke [’19] and Mike Gallagher has been leading the defense core during a time where three of our defenseman were out with injuries.”
On Saturday, the team will face Loomis Chaffee at home, followed by an away game against Deerfield on Wednesday.
