RallyNorth.net

Wed, Dec 26, 2007 07:00 PM @ Haverhill

Team	1	2	3	Final
North Andover	2	2	1	5
Haverhill	0	0	1	1

Sifferlen's scoring barrage lifts North Andover over Haverhill

Thursday, December, 27 By Chuck Frye
Staff writer

And this is still only the beginning.

After a sophomore campaign where he scored a team-high 40 points and earned Cape Ann League All-Star honors, North Andover's Ryan Sifferlen continues to improve his game without specializing in it.

His four-goal effort in the Scarlet Knights' 5-1 victory over Haverhill in the opening round of the Haverhill Christmas Tournament is just another example of Sifferlen's prowess on the ice. The junior co-captain now has 11 goals and five assists in only five games, helping North Andover jump out to a 4-1 start despite having only three seniors on the roster.

The lithe 6-2, 171-pounder garnered last night's bounty in four different ways, skills aided by playing soccer and baseball and secured by a foundation of awareness.

"Baseball really helps the hand-eye coordination you need for hockey, and soccer, sometimes you've got to kick the puck up to your stick from your skates," he explained. "You've got to be aware, be smart. It'll help you." With 5 1/2 minutes left in the first period and with a 1-0 lead, junior defenseman Chris Webber dumped the puck down the right wing, Sifferlen turned on the after-burners and "got some good luck. It bounced by the defenseman one-on-one, I got a breakaway and put it in" low past Hillie goalie Frank DeVito's skate.

Six minutes into second period action, Sifferlen nearly broke a defenseman's ankles with a pinpoint right-to-left cut and he scored to DeVito's right side.

Goal number three came off a powerful slap shot. With less than a minute left in the middle period, Sifferlen stole a sloppy crossing pass at the Hillie blue line and scored on a one-time laser.

After Haverhill junior John Orsillo broke the scoring ice in the third period, the winger strode in following Webber's left point slapper looking for a rebound.

"I just tried to find an open spot in front of the net and, hopefully, the puck would come to me. The rebound was right there."

The junior easily tucked it home with 5:38 left to play. After two hours of domination, Haverhill head coach Spike Sprague simply said, "Not to take anything away from North Andover, but No. 13 (Sifferlen) was definitely the difference."