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Andover topples No. 6 Melrose

MEDFORD — No. 22 Andover knocked off No. 6 Melrose, 4-3, in the first round of the state girls Division 1 hockey tourney.

The Golden Warriors (12-5-5) scored once in the first period then three goals in a six-minute span midway through second period. The game-winner was a short-handed tally from Emily Wagner.
Melrose (17-4-1) scored a goal in each frame but Sean D'Urso (22 saves) and the Andover defense were up to the challenge.

With the Melrose goalie pulled, Emma Gilmartin blocked a dangerous Red Raider shot late to seal the deal. Ally Wright had two goals and Callie Wiley had the other.

Kevin Drew, Andover's fourth-year coach, said of Wright, "Ally's our captain. She knows this is it. We're calling her Claude Lemieux. She's scoring all the big goals like he did (in the NHL). She's keeping the team loose and leading by example."

Andover takes on unbeaten No. 3 seed Austin Prep (20-0-2) Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Woburn in the Division 1 state quarterfinals. This is Andover's most wins since going 12-7-2 three years ago. The last AHS team with more wins was the 16-5-1 team in 2008-09. They are in the state quarters for the first time since 2008.