Andover Girls Hockey struggled to end its six-game losing streak against Deerfield last Saturday and against Exeter last Wednesday, as it suffered 3-0 and 3-1 losses, respectively. Despite a promising first period, Andover ultimately could not capitalize offensively against Deerfield. Andover received a great opportunity to put a goal on the scoreboard in the first period when Deerfield took a penalty. All things were going according to plan as Andover set up in Deerfield’s offensive zone; however, Deerfield caught a lucky break, as an Andover defender couldn’t reach a pass from the boards. The Deerfield winger picked up the loose puck behind the defensemen and took off on a breakaway to score. The period ended 1-0 in Deerfield’s favor. The teams went back and forth again in the second period, but Andover couldn’t clear the zone for a chunk of time in the middle of the second period. Andover goalkeeper and Co-Captain Corinne Rivard ’12 managed to stop the majority of the shots she faced, but Deerfield eventually capitalized, and scored their second goal of the game. Deerfield never looked back, scoring its third and final goal at the end of the second period. Hannah Sorkin ’14 said, “Overall, our playing really improved from our last couple of games, but we still need to generate more offense.” The game marked Andover’s seventh straight loss and its third straight game without a goal. “We just need to generate offense. We get badly out-shot in our games and that’s just too lopsided. We’re not scoring because no one is shooting, so we need to gain some confidence and start getting shots off,” said Jordan Johnson ’13. Andover next faced its biggest rival Exeter last Wednesday. The team suffered a 3-1 loss as Exeter came out flying and scored early in the first period. Andover answered right back with a goal of its own, as Greer McBeth ’12 intercepted an Exeter pass and put the puck top shelf, tying the game up 1-1. Exeter was not done though. With only minutes remaining in the first period, Exeter scored again, taking momentum and a 2-1 lead into the second. Exeter didn’t let up in the second. Exeter scored once again and took a 3-1 lead into the third period. Despite a couple of really good chances, Andover failed to put one into the net, and Exeter handed Andover its 8th straight loss. Sarah Merker ’15 said, “At the ends of our games, our team always tends to light a spark and finish the game on an incredibly high note, but this is something we must do for the duration of the game. We need to play a three period game, not just the last 10 minutes in a last-ditch effort to even the score,” said Sarah Merker ’15. Johnson added, “Although we’ve been on a losing streak, I have a lot of faith in our team because there’s a lot of positive energy in our locker room, and if we can just bring it to the ice, we will be seeing many more wins than losses.” Andover looks to end its drought on Saturday against the New Hampton School.
