Robert Corkey ’23 fends off BB&N player.
Andover looks for a scoring opportunity.
Coming off of two strong wins against BB&N and Brooks, Andover fell short to Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH) 8-3. Despite its late surge in the 3rd period, Andover was unable to close the gap to NMH. Its record now stands at 15-11.
According to defenseman Danny Rekoske ’23, the two wins prior to NMH were confidence boosters. As the team heads into the final games of the season, they will be prepared to play their best.
Rekoske said, “Both games were won pretty easily, but I think the biggest challenge was the 3 games we lost in a row before Brooks. We did not want to continue that losing streak and it put a lot of pressure on that Brooks game. I thought we rose to the challenge and getting the win was huge heading into the final week of games and A/E. I think we have great team chemistry, and everyone is always pretty positive, and even as we face some challenges and the stress builds up on guys, we try to be supportive of one another. Like I said earlier, the losses were tough and started to take a toll on the team, but getting those 2 wins was great for the team.”
According to Coach Patrick Pothel, and Instructor in French, Co-Captain Patrick Last ’22 was a significant factor in the team’s success in their two wins this week. His leadership on and off the ice helped propel the team to victory.
Pothel said, “I would say Patrick Last [’22] was instrumental, as he led the team with 5 points, and his continued leadership on the team.”
“After the first period [against BB&N] we were only up by 1 goal, and it felt like we weren’t playing very well, we weren’t playing to our potential. Thankfully the boys responded in the 2nd and 3rd period and really opened up an insurmountable lead by maximizing their skills and ability,” added Pothel.
The team’s consistent hard work in practice is really starting to translate in games, especially against Brooks and BB&N, according to Rekoske. He stressed the importance of teammates pushing each other in practice in order to get better.
Rekoske said, “I think it’s just the consistency that we practice with. Everyday we show up trying to get better, and to see that finally culminate in a good game against Brooks and a big win over BB&N sort of puts that hard work into perspective.”
“In preparation for our upcoming games we have been continuing to work on our systems, whether it’s forchecking, defensive zone, or special teams. We continue to work on them in the hopes that it will translate in the games.” added Coach Pothel
Against NMH, the team came out of the gates flat and got down early in the game, ultimately unable to come back from a big deficit, according to Nolan Roche ’23.
Roche said, “NMH was definitely a challenge for us. We came out flat and we were down a lot going into the third period. It was all about playing tough and keeping the game close and we kept it even with them in the third period.”
Andover Boys Hockey looks to finish the regular season strong this Saturday against Exeter followed by the New England Playoffs.
