Central Catholic doubles up Andover 4-2

Lawrence, MA – This game was the season opener for two longtime MVC/Dual County rivals: Andover HS Golden Warriors and Central Catholic Raiders who locked horns on Wednesday night at the Lawrence Valley Forum. The two teams provided an exciting back and forth tilt that saw Central Catholic winning 4-2. With no fans in attendance, we were able to catch this game with the help of our sponsor LiveBarn.

The first period set the pace for the entire game. Andover came out fired up and it translated to a very physical start. Bodies were colliding all over the ice, much to the delight of the Andover bench. Central Catholic had some good chances early on but the game pace worked mostly in Andover’s favor. The Golden Warriors capitalized on their early momentum leading to an goal from Anthony Previte around five minutes in. Soon after, Andover continued to outwork their opposition. However the tides turned when Central Catholic upped their physical game with five minutes to go. That, coupled with a dominant penalty kill got momentum swinging back in their favor.

The second period was a much different story. Central Catholic came out flying. There was a stretch of ninety seconds to start the period where they maintained dominant possession in the offensive zone. Much credit goes to Andover goaltender Jake Brezner who was standing on his head to keep his team in the game. However, Central Catholic eventually broke through to tie the game on a 2-on-1 when Sean Gray fired home a one-timer. Central Catholic’s dominance would continue up until they scored another goal halfway through the period to take the lead. This must have woken Andover up because they came out attacking on the next possession. Their energy carried them through a successful penalty kill, and an eventual even strength goal by Steve Ingram who pulled off a nasty deke to go bar down. It would not take long for Central Catholic’s Aidan O’Connell to respond with a tally of his own, bringing the game to 3-2. Andover killed off another penalty to close the period down by a goal.

The third period saw a decline in action from a lively second period. Andover had an early 5-on-3 opportunity to even the score but unfortunately they came up short. However, they continued their suppressive play for the remainder of the first half of the period. As the period wore on, Central Catholic regained control of the game, threatening with several high quality chances. Andover’s Brezner deserves high praise for stopping an arsenal of shots. He was the reason Andover was able to stay competitive in this game. Despite his stellar play in net, Central Catholic’s Mike Collett ripped a shot from the left faceoff dot bar down to give his team the 4-2 lead with 1:30 remaining. This would end up being the final score as Central Catholic earned themselves the dub.

Three Stars