Tewksbury, MA – Twas the Monday before Christmas and all through the rink, the stands were all filled before you could blink. But enough with the children’s stories: there was serious business at hand: the Andover Golden Hawks were hosting the Bishop Feehan Shamrocks at Breakaway Ice Center and we took the time to drop by and get a close look at both teams. Neither of these teams made our Top 10 ranking this morning, but the way in is to win and we were curious who would emerge victorious here.
In the first period, it was a series of fits and starts as both teams were a tad overeager. They were throwing pucks up the ice but passes were not connecting. The action was wide open up and down the sheet as both teams traded chances. The real winners in this frame were the goalies as sophomore Boden Wood for Andover and sophomore Carter Theberge for Bishop Feehan kicked out every shot they saw. It appeared to us that Wood had to make more saves in the period, but he was clearly up to the task. As the frame wore on, the game got a bit more physical and that gave Andover an edge as they finished with a flurry of activity around the Feehan net. Still, we would end the frame scoreless after 1.
In the second period, the early minutes were dominated by Andover who established possession early and often. They were working the walls well and throwing pucks to open ice in hopes of creating a weak side look. It would not take them long to cash in. Just 2:32 into the frame, senior David Dunham found a loose puck in the slot and fired it home through the 5 hole to make it 1-0 Andover. The goal gave the Golden Warriors life and they were zipping around the sheet and moving the puck with quickness. However, the momentum began to shift as they were called for an infraction and Bishop Feehan began to find their groove. They were active down low and worked from high to low with great efficiency, but Wood had every answer. He made some stellar stops in this frame including a back door beauty to keep his team ahead. As we moved on, Bishop Feehan began to chip away at the possession advantage and by the end of the period they were pressuring again. In the final minute they worked the cycle and with just 5.7 seconds to go it was junior Thomas Calvino who found senior captain Cam Moura on the weak side and he fired a bad angle shot that banked in off the goalie’s back and in to tie things up at 1-1. The Shamrocks headed to the locker room with the momentum on their side.
In the third period, Andover came out early looking to restore order and they were aggressive charging after puck carriers and moving the puck north with speed. They created a couple of quality looks and none better than at 2:11 as junior Luke Conley slipped through a couple defenders and put a quick shot on net. The puck found it’s way to junior Eli Williams behind the net and he recognized the netminder was leaning to his right so he snuck around the left side and tucked the puck inside the post to give his team the lead 2-1. As the period wore on, Andover continued to pressure puck carriers and move the puck north with quick outlets, but Bishop Feehan began to step up their attack and establish more zone time. They had a couple of strong power plays that generated several quality looks and in the process rang the crossbar twice. But, Wood had an answer for all of those shots on net. Feehan continued to push and applied more pressure but were still unable to solve Wood. With 1:32 remaining, the Shamrocks called their timeout and just 10 seconds later they pulled their goalie. They threw the kitchen sink at Wood and there was a huge scrum at the net with no whistle for what felt like 20 seconds and somehow the Golden Warriors were able to keep the puck out of the net. Andover called their timeout with 34.1 seconds left to give their players a breather. After a couple of key clears they secured their first victory. They will play Duxbury next and Bishop Feehan will take on Fairfield Prep as part of the William Hanson Tournament hosted by CM.
Three Stars:
- G Boden Wood, Andover
- F Eli Williams, Andover
- F Cam Moura, Bishop Feehan