RallyNorth.net

Tewksbury Redmen Boys Ice Hockey '19-'20

Fri, Feb 28, 2020 07:00 PM @ Tewksbury
Team 1 2 3 Final
North Andover 1 1 1 3
Tewksbury 0 1 1 2

Late goal gives North Andover dramatic win, sends Knights to North semis

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Friday, February, 28 By David Willis
Staff writer

BILLERICA — As the pass from behind the net found his stick, Jimmy Boyle struggled for a split second to control the puck.


Then, the North Andover senior took care of business.

“I went to shoot it, then realized the puck wasn’t there,” said Boyle with a laugh. “But I got it back, and put it between the goalie’s legs. Then, it was just pure excitement.”


 Jack Roe fired a perfect pass in front of the net to Boyle, who hammered it home for the go-ahead goal with 4:42 left in the game. North Andover’s defense locked down from there, and the No. 6 Scarlet Knights beat No. 3 Tewksbury 3-2 in the Division 2 North quarterfinals Friday at the Chelmsford Forum.
“We’re so excited,” said goalie Patrick Green. “We made our chances count, and that’s all the matters. It was awesome. The energy was amazing. The fans were so pumped. Coming into the season, people didn’t think we would be that strong a team. But we love to prove everyone wrong.”
North Andover (14-3-6) advances to the Division 2 North semifinals, where it will face No. 2 Lincoln-Sudbury (16-3-2) at the Chelmsford Forum (7:10 p.m.).
“We battled so hard for this!” said senior forward Michael Harty. “Our goal from the beginning of the season was to make a deep playoff run. This is just another step in that direction. We are so pumped. That was the loudest I’ve ever heard our locker room.”
North Andover grabbed the lead with 8:51 left in the first on a Roe goal off a Boyle rebound.
Andrew Perry made it 2-0 Scarlet Knights with 3:30 left in the second, when he buried a rebound. But Tewksbury responded just 2:05 later, making it 2-1 after two quarters. The Redmen then tied it up 5:23 into the third.
“We just had to stay up,” said Harty. “If you let up a goal, you can’t make it a big deal. You have to keep fighting to get that goal back.”
That’s exactly what Boyle did. Perry picked up the puck in the corner, and passed it behind the net to Roe, who held it for a moment before serving the pass in front of the net.
“Roe said he didn’t know I was there, but I saw him look up right before,” said Boyle. “I had two penalties in the third period, and I knew I was hurting my team. Sitting in the box, I knew I had to do something to help my team.”
From there, North Andover was firmly in control, thanks to the play of goalie Patrick Green, who shut the door. The sophomore was stellar throughout, making 34 saves. His best may have been going into a split to kick away a breakaway attempt with his left pad, and a butterfly stop on a 2-on-1 in the third.
“My job is to stop the puck,” said Green. “So that’s all I was focused on. We were only up by one goal, so every shift could change the game.”
Scarlet Knights coach Peter Marfione was thrilled with the play of his goalie after the win.
“Patrick was awesome,” said Marfione. “That’s where everything starts. He kept us in the game early, he made some great saves, and the kids really fed off that. He was great.”
The Knights now set their focus on Lincoln-Sudbury, who they are 0-1-1 against this winter.
“There is no feeling like this,” said Boyle. “Seeing that clock tick down to 0:00, it was unbelievable. Everyone had a great game today. I can’t wait for the next round.”

Game Statistics:

Division 2 North quarterfinals

Goals: NA — Jack Roe, Andrew Perry, Jimmy Boyle; T — Campbell Pierce, Kyle Morris

Assists: NA — Boyle, Brendan Donnelly, Keegan Hughes, Liam McAdam, Roe, Perry; T — Tom Barbati, Will O'Keefe, Cole Stone

Saves: NA — Patrick Green 32; T — Patrick Letourneau 16

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