Andover High School at Saint John’s Prep
12/19/2018
Essex Sports Center- Middleton, MA
Middleton, MA- An MIAA match-up between Andover HS and Saint John’s Prep. AHS heads into the contest 2-1 with wins over Acton-Boxboro and North Andover. SJP was 0-1 with a loss to Hingham in their opening night game.
In between the pipes for Saint John’s is JR Jake Essensa (Danvers, MA) and for Andover is Sophomore Jake Brezner.
The first period consisted a lot of back and forth play between both teams but nothing got on the scoreboard and it ended up in 0-0 first period.
About mid-way through the second period, junior defensemen Jack Gilligan (Salem, MA) got the scoring started with a heavy shot from the point that got through traffic and found the back of the net to put SJP up 1-0 going into the second intermission.
The third period consisted of a lot of chances for both clubs but the Eagles were able to increase the lead to 2-0 with Gilligan’s second of the night on the powerplay. JR Captain Pat Moran (N. Andover, MA) found junior forward Ryan Bradley (Peabody, MA) who slid it up top to Gilligan for a slap shot that ended up in the net. The Golden Warriors had the chance to cut the lead in half going on the power play with two minutes to play but were not able to capitalize. Final Score, 2-0 SJP.
The Eagles of Saint John’s Prep move up to .500 with a 1-1 record and get ready to host Framingham on Saturday night. Andover drops to 2-1 with their first loss of the season and prepare for Waltham on 12/29.
Three Stars
- Jack Gilligan (SJP)
- Pat Moran (SJP)
- Jake Essensa (SJP)
NZ Notes: Junior Forward Pat Moran showed some flash for St. John’s tonight, he was constantly around the puck making things happen. Junior defensman Will Perry (N. Andover, MA) showed some promise, he is a big lengthy left shot D man with good size, listed at 6’4”.
Andover had a fairly young team with over 50% of the team being underclassmen. Sophomore Shane Lachance saw lots of time up front. Senior forward Matthew Schuhwerk was able to create some offense for the Golden Warriors.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images