The Andover Girls Hockey team has had an inconsistent season plagued by difficulty in scoring, but with the leadership of Co-Captains Liv Coffey ’07 and Joy Joung ’07, it has played to an admirable 11-6 record. Andover hopes to finish the season strong in hopes of making the playoffs. Andover started the season off with four impressive wins over BB&N, Governor’s Academy, Andover High School and NEWHL Pre Prep. In these first four games, it outscored its opponents by a dominating 18-2. During this stretch, Kaitlyn McInnis ’09 admitted that the talent on the team was definitely there, but the team camaraderie was not. She said, “Most importantly, we needed to develop team chemistry and start understanding each other’s strengths and weaknesses.” However, after a loss against Loomis, the girls soon started to slip in the standings, as it lost four of its next five games. The team fell to Choate, Hotchkiss, St. Paul’s, Lawrence Academy, while only defeating a weak New Hampton squad. Andover could not seem to find the back of the net in these games, as they only scored two times during a three game span. Unfortunately, Andover could not get the job done on the other end of the ice either, allowing fifteen goals in just five games. During this tough time, the girls really stuck together thanks to great leadership by the Seniors and Coaches. Head Coach Martha Fenton repeatedly told her team, “We have to keep our heads up. It’s a long season.” Several weeks ago, when Lindsey Weiner ’08 was asked about the team’s scoring drought and lack of wins, she replied with a smile, “Yeah, we’re done with that.” Weiner and the rest of the squad certainly turned the season around quickly, as they went on to win their next five games before dropping their most recent two. These five wins put Andover directly into the playoff hunt, as they toppled worthy opponents in Thayer, Cushing, Deerfield, Brooks and arch rival Exeter. The key to success during this span was great team defense and stellar goal tending from both Alissa Fromkin ’09 and Joung. These two only allowed four goals in five games. Although the entire team has played great hockey for most of the season, there certainly are some key players who have led Andover to this 11-6 season. As mentioned earlier, both goaltenders came up huge for Andover throughout much of the season. Also, Co-Captain Coffey was a dominating force the whole year, scoring timely goals and playing consistently on both offense and defense. Fellow Senior Megan Shea ’07 has also helped Andover to its success. Shea proves to be a natural playmaker, making many unbelievable passes that lead to goals, while netting many spectacular shots herself. On line with Coffey, Weiner has been a consistent contributor offensively, while standing out for her non-stop energy and speed. These few people have been important assets to the team success, but the solid team as a whole is what has put the girls in a position for the playoffs. Andover will have a tough time with its last four games of the regular season, because they play four successful teams in the span of just nine days. If Andover is going to make the post-season, it will need to win most of these games. After playing Nobles, Milton and Westminster, Andover will head up north to play Exeter.
