1/25 – Andover: 1, Nobles: 7
1/29 – Andover: 4 Winchendon: 1
Although Boys Hockey (10-5-3) lost severely against Noble & Greenough (Nobles) on Saturday, the game served as a wake-up call. As a result, the team responded with a dominant 4-1 win over Winchendon, matching their largest margin of victory this season. After a challenging stretch since Christmas Break, previously possessing a 2-4-1 record, the team has shown growth and recorded its best win of the new year.
Max Krasovsky ’27 noted that during the Nobles game, the team was out of sync. However, during the game against Winchendon, it played as a cohesive unit. He emphasized that the team’s change in attitude made a significant difference in the team’s performance.
“In the Nobles game, our passes weren’t connecting, and guys were out of sync. We weren’t playing as a team. Even though we’ve beaten Nobles before, that game showed we weren’t working together. This game, though, brought a different attitude. We were more focused, played more cohesively, and connected better as a team. The guys were more willing to work with each other, not worried about individual mistakes, and that helped us perform better as a team,” said Krasovsky.
After Saturday’s loss, the team silently reflected on its mistakes prior to Monday’s practice. Krasovsky said the discussions in practice were more important than the game itself as it helped the team improve significantly.
“After Saturday’s game, it was pretty quiet. We didn’t talk much, but we acknowledged what happened. When we got back to practice on Monday, we focused on what we weren’t doing right, and that carried over into the game. It wasn’t necessarily about Saturday’s game, but more about addressing the issues in the days that followed,” said Krasovsky.
Edouard Lord ’26 added onto Krasovsky’s point and attributed the team’s mental reset as the key to their improvement against Winchendon. He pointed to the players’ meeting as a turning point, where the team collectively reflected about its struggles.
“I think it was more mental. The players’ meeting helped, and it’s tough mentally when you drop a few games in heartbreaking fashion. Just communicating with each other helped a lot with the mentality, and I think that was the main factor in why we were able to bounce back,” said Lord.
On top of the players’ meetings, Head Coach Paul Tortorella ’80 made key adjustments to the lineup, with Alex Theodore ’27 switching to the first line before the Winchendon game. Nate Kreppner ’27 highlighted how this change, along with an improved practice plan, helped the team succeed.
“Coach also put together a great practice plan. The last two practices focused on conditioning because we may have fallen behind a little since the Christmas break. It was noticeable in our previous games, but today we were back in top shape and flying all game. Coach reminded us to just keep playing our game and doing what we do. If we do that, the pucks will go our way, and we’ll win these big games,” said Kreppner.
Kreppner also described how the game unfolded, explaining that while the first period was evenly matched, the team took control in the second and third periods. Its strong play in the later periods allowed Andover to secure the win.
“In the first period, it was pretty back-and-forth. Their team played a lot of chip-and-chase hockey. There were a lot of icings and stoppages. They took advantage of some defensive mistakes on the walls. But in the second and third periods, we came out, showed our skill, and proved we were the better team. They weren’t able to claw their way back, and we took control of the game,” said Kreppner.
Lord praised the team for maintaining defensive discipline late in the game, which had been an issue in previous matchups. He emphasized that the team finally learned to play until the final buzzer, preventing opponents from making late-game comebacks.
“I think the key was that we played a very good defensive game towards the end. We’ve had issues before where we’ve led teams, and they’ve come back into games. Today, we were able to prevent that. Chase [Anderson ’25] made some great saves, and we didn’t stop playing until the game was over. We’ve learned not to assume the game is over until the final buzzer,” said Lord.
Looking ahead, Lord reiterated the team’s goal of making the Elite Eight Tournament but stressed the importance of focusing on one game at a time. He believes staying in the moment is crucial to the team’s success.
“Obviously, we need to win most of our remaining games to stay in the elite eight and compete for the playoffs. But we don’t want to look too far ahead. We want to take it game by game and not lose focus,” said Lord.
Boys Hockey plays Loomis on Saturday at Andover.
