Andover Boys Hockey fell to Belmont Hill 3-2 on Saturday but bounced back to draw Dexter 4-4 on Monday thanks to yet another hat trick from Tim Driscoll ’12.
Against Dexter on Monday, Driscoll put Andover on the board directly after the face-off with a pass from Captain Eddie Ellis ’13. Dexter answered shortly after to tie the game 1-1.
Andover scored again four minutes into the period when Connor Light ’13 found Driscoll behind Dexter’s defense for a breakaway goal.
Driscoll scored his third goal of the game later in the period after a great defensive play on a penalty kill, in which he stripped a Dexter player of the puck, broke away from the pack and slid the puck through the goalie’s legs.
Dexter rebounded with 10 minutes left in the period, which ended 3-2 in Andover’s favor.
Six minutes into the third period, Austin Heffner ’13 one-timed the puck into the top corner of the net and put Andover up 4-2. Dexter claimed the next goal, and with just seconds left, Dexter gain was able to find the back of the net once more to send the game into overtime.
Andover possessed the puck throughout overtime but couldn’t capitalize, and the game ended in a 4-4 tie.
Coach Dean Boylan said, “I was proud of our effort against Dexter but ….we need to determine our own fate and find the back of the net.”
Andover struggled earlier in the week against Belmont Hill and lost a tight game 3-2.
Andover couldn’t get the puck out of its zone in the first 10 minutes of the game and gave Belmont Hill the chance to slot a goal early on. Six minutes later, Zach Weinger ’15 received a crisp pass from Heffner . Weinger then proceeded to notch the puck in the top corner of Dexter’s goal and tie the game at 1-1 at the end of the first period.
Andover picked up its play in the second period and consistently pressured the opposition. Andover only allowed Belmont Hill three shots on goalkeeper Tyler Kirsch ’12 during the period, but neither team could capitalize on its shooting opportunities and the period ended 1-1.
In the third period, Belmont Hill scored first when a Belmont player tapped the puck in from the front of Andover’s net. Andover stormed back when Jason Nawrocki ’13 slapped a hard shot from the right wing that found its way to the back of the net and tied the game 2-2.
But Belmont gained the lead by seizing a opportunity and notching another goal to give itself a 3-2 lead. Andover pulled Kirsch but couldn’t find the net and the game ended 3-2.
Despite the loss, Boylan thought positively about the game. He said, “We played well against Belmont Hill. We played hard but didn’t find a way to win.”
On Wednesday, Andover faced top ranked Kimball Union Academy (KUA) and dropped the game 4-2, a good performance against such a strong team. KUA went up early in the first period, but Michael Lata ’14 was able to answer with a goal off of a scrum in front of the net to tie it 1-1 at the end of the period. KUA scored once more in the second and twice more in the third to tally four in total. Larken Kemp ’13 was able to cut Kimball Union’s lead to two goals when he scored again for Andover on another scrum in front of the net.
Andover will take on Governor’s at home on Friday at 6:45 pm.
