RallyNorth.net

North Andover Scarlet Knights Boys Ice Hockey '11-'12

Fri, Mar 02, 2012 08:00 PM @ Danvers
Team 1 2 3 Final
North Andover 0 0 1 1
Danvers 0 0 0 0

Hunter goal sends North Andover into North semis

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Friday, March, 02 By Phil Stacey
Staff writer

STONEHAM — Normally, in the third period of a tight game, Peter Marfione follows the unofficial high school hockey coaching manual, by shortening his bench and going primarily with his top two lines.

But the North Andover head coach watched how well his third line played in the second period last night, and when he conferred with his assistants they were all in agreement: give the checking line guys a chance to strut their stuff over the final 15 minutes of play.

The move paid off and produced the biggest goal of the Scarlet Knights’ season.

Sophomore winger Derek Hunter jabbed a third chance rebound over the right pad of Danvers goaltender Seth Kamens at the near post and into the cage for the game’s only goal with 3:20 to play, giving North Andover a thrilling 1-0 victory over Danvers in the Division 2 North quarterfinal last night.

Fifth-seeded North Andover (16-4-4), which has scored eight goals in two postseason games without surrendering one, moves on to Tuesday’s Division 2 North semifinals at the Chelmsford Forum, where they’ll skate against Wilmington (time TBA).

“That line played real well in the second and the other coaches said, ‘Let’s keep going with those guys (in the third),’” Marfione said of Hunter and his linemates. “So we did — and it paid off huge.”

Another sophomore, goalie Joel Daccord, stopped all 14 shots he saw as North Andover’s air-tight defense never let fourth-seeded Danvers (16-6) get going offensively. The Northeastern Conference Large champions put just two shots on net in the first period and a mere three over the final 15 minutes of play.

In 24 total games this winter, the Scarlet Knights have allowed a grand total of 39 goals.

“They really shut down the middle of the ice well on us, as they’ve done all year,” said Falcons head coach Kevin Brown. “They have ‘stick longness’ where they can poke it away and keep you to the outside. In particular, that No. 11 (senior defenseman Dan O’Connor) is a tremendous player.”

At the other end of the ice, North Andover often came in waves at Danvers, weaving in and out of the offensive zone with excellent skating and smooth passing

“We had seen Danvers play and were very impressed with them, especially how deep they were at forward. Not many teams at this level can roll three consistent lines the entire game,” said Marfione. “We weren’t going to be able to sneak anything by them.

“What I think really helped us was finally having some tournament experience. Every guy in our room but one played last year when we lost to Bishop Fenwick (2-1, in a first round game), and then the other night when we beat Somerville (7-0 in a first round game). Because of that, I think the few times we got caught in our zone out of position (last night), we didn’t run around and panic. We showed composure and experience.”

Junior defenseman Nick Pino and sophomore Tristan Stewart assisted on Hunter’s goal, his ninth of the season.

Marfione praised senior defenseman Ernest Guerrera for playing his “hands down best game of the year”, as well Daccord’s ability to make difficult saves look routine.

Game Statistics:

Goals: NA — Derek Hunter

Assists: NA — Nick Pino, Tristan Stewart

Saves: NA — Joey Daccord 14; D — Seth Kamens 26

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