David O’Neill ’26 works the puck around the rink, making his way toward the goal.
Andover 3-4 Choate
Andover 4-3 Tilton
On Saturday and Wednesday, Boys Hockey played two overtime games, against Choate and Tilton, respectively. Andover fell short in the last nine seconds of overtime where Choate scored from the backdoor zone to clinch the game. However, in the last minutes against Tilton with a goal from Assistant Captain Charles Sabre ’25, Andover recovered with a win heading into the second half of the season.
Having lost to St. George’s School in its first game back from the Flood Marr Championship, Boys Hockey had hoped to reignite the momentum with a win over Choate. Tyler Miocevich ’26 elaborated on the aftermath of the team’s loss to Choate, describing the locker room as quiet and somber. Despite the devastation, the team shifted its focus to the upcoming game against Tilton.
“[The game] was over with and we weren’t going to change anything from it. Now, we had to focus on what was coming next, which was Tilton. So for a little bit, it was heartbreaking, everyone was a little down, but then we got refocused and understood that we had another task at hand,” said Miocevich.
Struggling to bring its more physical and fast-paced presence into its game, Miocevich noted how Choate was able to capitalize on the team’s deficits.
“All around, our team’s competitiveness and focus comes from just playing super hard and tough. I think that was definitely lacking in the game against Choate. We took them a little easier. Let them off the hook a little bit, and didn’t finish our checks or make tough plays,” said Miocevich.
Rui Han ’25 emphasized the importance of being composed under heavy pressure. Han noted how handling such difficult games can better prepare the team for later matches where the stakes could be much higher.
“Playing overtime games like this in the middle of the season definitely helps us get used to the feeling of being in high-stakes situations. I think an experience like this will help us stay calm and focus on the little details which can make a huge difference later on in the season,” said Han.
Miocevich described the team’s game plan for the season, which includes a more offensive-driven strategy that generates lots of turnover and forces its opponents to fall under pressure.
“If we start down in the offensive zone, our forecheck is a 2-1. So the forwards are pressing hard on their defense trying to get pucks turned over. We go in the neutral zone, we have a specific center-ice play that we like to run on those draws,” said Miocevich.
Miocevich continued, “The defensemen get the puck and turn it up fast, just always pushing offense and trying to get it out of our zone fast on the transition to the D-zone, which is again hard on pucks, pinning guys, getting loose pucks, and getting out of our zone as fast as possible.”
Following its loss against Choate, Andover regrouped over a team dinner to reflect on its loss and rekindle its motivation. Edouard Lord ’26 shared the team’s determination to win against Tilton to regain the momentum from its championship win in the Flood Marr Tournament.
“We knew we had a favorable matchup — We think we had the most talent and we just needed to prove once again that we were a good team after the two losses, so I guess just proving that what happened before break was not a fluke,” said Lord.
On Wednesday, Andover fell into an early deficit against Tiltok, mirroring Choate’s game. However, Andover battled back to a 2-1 lead before halftime. Miocevich detailed Andover’s first goal, by Matthew Petroski ’27, which was a reviving moment for the team.
“It was either 1-0 or 2-0, and we knew we had to get something. We needed some momentum back. The puck went into a bit of a scrum in front of the net and ended up on Matt’s stick and he was just able to force it in,” said Miocevich.
In the third period, Tilton tied the game to 3-3 with two minutes remaining forcing the game into overtime where Han assisted Sabre to break the team’s two-game losing streak.
Lord said, “He got the puck on the point and he just shot it through traffic. It might have tipped off a skate, I’m not sure, but it ended up just going through everything and going in between the goalie’s legs.”
Miocevich outlined how the captains’ and coaches’ support during the games kept Andover united and focused throughout the most stressful points of the game.
“They were outlining it for us, showing us, reminding us to stick to our team values, like our core, all of that kind of thing. Also, subtle reminders throughout the games, like little pump-up shouts on the bench, just keeping the team morale high and keeping us pushing,” said Miocevich.
Boys Hockey will play away at St. Paul’s this upcoming Friday.