LOWELL — When your opponent nets the equalizer with 97 seconds left in a tense, playoff hockey team, a team is supposed to melt.
Andover High coach Chris Kuchar simply got his grease board and all the duct tape he could muster, calling an immediate time out and finding a way to hold his Warriors together.
Seventy-six seconds later, the coach — and the gritty Golden Warriors — reaped the rewards of that mental toughness when Caedon Dillman stole the puck on the forecheck behind the net, then fired a behind-the-back, backhand pass that Mike Reilly rifled home for the game-winner in a classic 2-1 Division 1 North semifinal over Austin Prep.
“He called for it, I didn’t really look for him, I just know where he always is,” said Dillman. “We have that chemistry, and we’ve worked at it. I just put it out front, hoped for something good.”
How stunning was the game-winner? Only the goal-judge and Reilly, leaping for joy into the boards, seemed to notice.
“I didn’t have to do much. I was ready for it, no thinking, just react,” said Reilly. “Caedon made an unbelievable pass, backhand behind his back, and he found me out front. Unbelievable pass. He’s been doing it all year.”
Reality hit and Andover went bonkers.
“We just said we were going to unload on them in the aggressive fore-check,” said Kuchar. “Caedon Dillman went in hard, Matthew Schuhwerk went in hard, and our third guy high, Michael Reilly went to the net where he’s supposed to. He got a feed out front, and the goalie never saw it. He buried it.”
The Golden Warriors, with a handful of guys in the room struggling with pneumonia, will get four days of much-needed rest before facing St. Mary’s of Lynn, Monday night back here at the Tsongas Center, for the North title.
“We’ve got a chip on our shoulder because we’re a public school,” said Reilly. “We just stuck together, worked hard and got it done.”
Andover struck first, midway through the second on a Mike Biddle goal that was 99.9 percent effort. Biddle just muscled his way from the left wing to the cage and slid the puck past Austin’s Dylan Regan.
That lead looked like it might hold.
Andover fended off every Austin challenge, and senior goalie Zach Laramie was on his game, turning away shot after shot.
But Austin’s desperation finally paid dividends in the final two minutes. The puck trickled loose around the cage, and in a scrum, Laramie lost his stick. When the rubber rolled out onto the stick of Nick Cafarelli, he buried it, knotting things at 1-1.
That’s when Kuchar used the timeout and told his Warriors to scrap their passive trap defense and get into the heavy forecheck.
Laramie finished with 26 saves. The senior with seven shutouts in the regular season has only allowed two total goals in the two postseason wins.
“This is the love of my life, hockey, it’s what I live and breathe,” said Laramie. “The regular season prepared us for this. I just tried to stay calm and be collected.”
“The saves he made at the end of the game were 10-bell saves. We’re not here without him,” said Kuchar. “He’s one of the best goalies in Massachusetts. We’re lucky to have him.
“To get scored on like that, our kids could have folded, they showed a lot of character and heart.”
Andover 2, Austin Prep 1
Division 1 North semifinal
at Tsongas Center
Andover (15-5-2): 0-1-1 — 2
Austin (17-5-2): 0-0-1 — 1
Second Period: And — Michael Biddle 12:22
Third Period: AP — Nick Cafarelli (Louis Finocchiaro, Jake Thain) 13:23; And — Michael Reilly (Caedon Dillman) 14:39
Read More »
Boys Ice Hockey, 03/08/17 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Central Catholic's boys hockey team recorded its second straight tie and third in 12 days with a 5-5 deadlock against Austin Prep.
Read More »
Boys Ice Hockey, 01/16/17 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
