North Andover, MA – As part of our weekend doubleheader, MassNZ made the trip to Brooks School to watch the hometown North Andover Scarlet Knights take on the visiting Waltham Hawks. The Hawks enter today’s game undefeated at 6-0, whereas the Scarlet Knights enter the game with a 2-3-1 record, looking to play the role of spoiler. The prep school barn was packed, far more than we saw for the typical home team during a prep tournament a few weeks ago. The mood pregame was excitement, especially from the traveling Hawks faithful. We were ready for hockey after a brief 7-minute warmup.
In the first period, puck possession was dominated by Waltham who blitzed North Andover any time the puck was in their general area. The Hawks were quick and scrappy early – a hallmark of many of their most successful teams in the past. It did not take them long to get on the scoreboard as senior Timmy O’Toole sent a shot into a sea of bodies and it found fellow senior Hunter Fucci in a crowd who tipped it home to make it 1-0 Hawks 1:31 in. Following the goal, the Hawks continued to push the pace and outwork their opponents who were struggling to get the puck over the red line. The momentum stayed with the Hawks as they would add another goal five minutes later on the power play. It was a tic-tac-goal as senior Max Polipas dished to junior Billy Champion at the top of the zone and he found O’Toole who wired it home bar down from the half wall. Following the second goal it was same song, second verse as Waltham took away obvious passing lanes, lifted sticks and put in hard work along the walls. The first 15 would end 2-0 Hawks on the prowl.
In the second period, once again Waltham set the tone with their speed and physicality. They won the majority of the battles along the walls, in front of the net and they kept North Andover pinned in their own end for long stretches. It was a struggle for the Scarlet Knights to generate any offense and Waltham was firing plenty of shots on goal but credit to senior Ben Woodford who made several key saves to keep Waltham off the scoreboard. That gave way to a lucky break for North Andover. Twelve minutes in, junior forward James Schutzbank threw a puck on net from beyond the blue line and it took a weird carom on the way in and slipped past the goalie to cut the lead in half: 2-1 was our score. Waltham was quick to respond two minutes later as Champion carried the puck from end-to-end and drove hard to the net. He roofed it on the back for a slick finish to give his team the two-goal cushion back. That is how the period would end and it was clear that North Andover would need to make a big push to climb back into this game.
In the third period, North Andover looked like an entirely different team as they were flying after the opening puck drop. They caught Waltham on their heels for the first few shifts and they were far more aggressive, looking to take the puck away when they didn’t have possession. In the first five minutes, it was advantage Scarlet Knights, which is why the air went out of the balloon when Waltham added to their lead. The Hawks would capitalize on the power play as Champion fed Polipas at the faceoff dot and he ripped one home to make it 4-1 Hawks. After that goal, to the Scarlet Knights credit, they continued to work hard and they made life tough on the Hawks, limiting second chances and challenging all over the ice. The Hawks created several Grade A looks but Woodford was able to keep the rest of them out. As we got deeper into the frame, North Andover would add another tally at the 13-minute mark. It took a great individual effort by senior captain Zachary Steely, who carried hard behind the net and held off a couple of defenders in the process. He wrapped the puck around the opposite side of the net and stuffed it home to make it 4-2. The final two minutes were largely academic and the Hawks would secure their 7th win to stay perfect: 4-2 was the final.
Three Stars:
- D Billy Champion, Waltham
- F Max Polipas, Waltham
- F Zachary Steely, North Andover