North Billerica, MA – MassNZ made the drive out to the Chelmsford Forum for an evening matchup featuring two MVC rivals: the Golden Warriors of Andover and the Lions of Chelmsford. The energy pregame was a bit subdued but the table for the 50/50 raffle was buzzing. There was plenty of reason to believe both teams could provide their own juice based on the ferocity of pregame warmups.
In the first period, the turnover-to-transition game of the Golden Warriors was a handful for the Lions to defend and it led to a lopsided shot advantage after the first 15. Ultimately Andover was able to stay strong on their sticks and create turnovers in the neutral zone and create scoring chances by attacking with speed. Chelmsford was able to create a couple of quality looks with the dump and chase and by rallying to the front of the net but Andover would be first to get on the board. Just under seven minutes in, freshman Evan Ashton slipped a pass below the dots to senior Anthony DeLuca who crept in and fired a shot clean past the netminder: 1-0 Golden Warriors. Andover would maintain the momentum with quick zone entries and shots from all angles and it powered them to a 1-0 lead after 1.
In the second period, the play was a bit more even as Chelmsford was able to make some adjustments and tighten up their defensive coverage. Andover could attack in space but ran into trouble as Chelmsford made it tough to gain the middle of the ice. We saw a power play for Andover midway through the period but it passed by with no goals scored. There were nervous moments at both ends as each goalie saw chances where the puck was sitting in the blue paint, only to be swept away…and on we went. With only two minutes to go the Lions would capitalize and tie this thing up. They had been building momentum all period and saw a shot by junior Nicky Lafreniere create a rebound that led to a back door one-timer by junior Michael Spitz to tie it up. There were a few extracurriculars in front of the net just before the end of the frame, leading to time in the sin bin, but time would tell if the penalty minutes would become impactful.
In the third stanza, the penalties would all expire with no additional scoring on the big board. Chelmsford continued to make a push but Andover was tough to beat. Sophomore Andover goalie Vinnie D’Urso was able to shut the door and kicked out a couple of quality looks and ultimately the Golden Warriors would grab the lead once more. Just under six minutes in, freshman Evan Ashton grabbed a puck off a turnover in the attacking zone and wired a shot from the dot bar down to give Andover the 2-1 lead. Andover would use this boost to own most of the possession for the balance of the period. Chelmsford made singular rushes and put shots on net, but were unable to cycle the puck or get rebound shots off. The score remained 2-1 until the final minute when junior goalie Mark Bierwirth was pulled and they added the sixth skater into the mix. The game’s final score would ultimately be sealed by Andover’s DeLuca who would chip the puck off glass in his defensive zone with a minute to go and the puck would roll on edge all the way into the empty net: 3-1 was our final score.
Three Stars:
- F Anthony DeLuca, Andover
- F Evan Ashton, Andover
- G Mark Bierwirth, Chelmsford
