Kent McLaughlin ’15 brought the puck into the corner of Exeter’s zone and passed to tailing Tora Liu ’16, who netted Andover Boys JV Hockey’s second goal of the night in its 3-2 loss against Exeter on Saturday. With the score tied at two apiece, Andover’s chance of an upset win seemed within reach, but Andover gave up a goal to Exeter in overtime. Following a score from McLaughlin that put Andover on top early in the first period, Exeter came back firing in the third. After tying the score with a goal on a power play, Exeter continued its success, carrying the puck to score another goal less than a minute later. “We had chances to stop the player, but nobody bothered to hit him, and as a result he essentially had a one-on-one with Rolando [Bonachea ‘13]. It was something our coach had yelled at us all season about, for not stepping up, taking the body and slowing down attackers,” said Derek Yau ’15. Liu came through for Andover, scoring to even the game at two apiece. With the score an even 2-2, the game continued into overtime, and Andover was unable to come out on top. After a skirmish in front of Andover’s net, Exeter scored on a shot in the slot against Bonachea, the goalie. “Although it may have not ended the way he had hoped, [Bonachea] stood on his head out there. Numerous times he stopped the rubber when our last line of defense was beat. If Bonachea did not stand on his head the way he did, the game could have ended well before overtime,” said Billy Hubschman ’15. Yau added, “Like us, [Exeter wasn’t] particularly big physically, but they were fast and mobile. Unlike our team, however, they weren’t especially talented with the puck. They just worked hard. They weren’t the toughest team we’d played by any stretch of the imagination, but the same issues that lost us games before cost us the win.” With Andover’s season coming to a close, the team will sorely miss Seniors Rolando Bonachea ’13, David Crane ’13 and Dan Martucci ’13 in the coming year. “They represent JV Hockey and all we stand for: style, skill and swagger. It’s hard to find three dudes on campus who look classier on game day than these three men. Their skills both on and off the ice are extremely commendable,” said Hubschman. Mark Sullivan ’14 and Stephen Moreland ’14 will become Co-Captains for JV Hockey next year, and the team to improve on its 3-9 record from this year.
