Phillips Andover made waves when it won the Flood-Marr Tournament for the first time in school history in December. But after that win, the Big Blue were up-and-down through January and early February.
Then head coach Paul Tortorella's team stabilized at the perfect time, winning six of their final seven games.
That led Andover to trouncing Trinity-Pawling, 6-0, in the Large School quarterfinals. Then came a stunning, 7-0, win at Avon Old Farms in the semis before taking down Westminster, 4-1, in the championship.
The Large School field was the most stunning of the bunch, as the No. 3 and 5 seeds met in the title game.
Here is our All-tournament team and MVP.
MVP: Chase Anderson
This is a pretty easy one. Anderson was dynamite throughout the Large School Tournament. It took until the second to last minute of the championship game for the 6-foot-3, 200-pound netminder to allow a goal — and it was a shot that got tipped. Anderson put up a 38-save shutout to beat Trinity-Pawling, a 36-save shutout to take down Avon Old Farms and then 34 saves to beat Westminster. He finished the season with a 2.33 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage.
BOYS CHAMPS: Cushing wins the Elite 8 | Phillips Andover wins the Large School | Kimball Union wins the Small SchoolÂ
All-Large School team
Forward:Â Peyton Militiello, Andover
All Militiello did was produce over the last week. The Dallas native had a goal and two helpers against Trinity-Pawling, before scoring once and posting another assist against Avon Old Farms. In the championship, he assisted on Zachary Skowronek's first goal and then helped get the puck to Nate Kreppner on his empty-net tally to put the game away.
Forward:Â Grayden Robertson-Palmer, Andover
Robertson-Palmer was a force in Andover's quarterfinal and semifinal games. The Dartmouth commit scored twice and added an assist against Trinity-Pawling, while scoring another goal and posting two more assists against Avon. While he was held off the scoresheet against Westminster, he was still very effective with his speed and two-way abilities.
Forward:Â Blake Burke, Westminster
Sure, Burke didn't register any points in the final. But he was instrumental in pushing his team through multiple upsets and into the championship. He scored twice to beat Governor's, 6-4, in the quarterfinals. His big day, however, came against Belmont Hill in the semis. He assisted on Westminster's first two goals and then scored the shorthanded game-winning goal with 11 seconds left, getting the Martlets a 4-3 win.
Defenseman:Â Zachary Skowronek, Andover
The 6-foot-3 defender brought his best over the last week. After posting an assist to beat Trinity-Pawling, he exploded for a goal and two helpers against Trinity-Pawling. He scored the first goal of the game against Westminster on a 5-on-3 advantage. Skowronek got the puck in the slot and fired a shot that snuck through Westminster goalie Jack Fichthorn (Darien, Conn.). That goal propelled Andover to a win.
ELITE 8: Check out the All-tournament team and MVP
Defenseman:Â Evan Jones, Belmont Hill
Jones and his Belmont Hill squad were upset by Westminster in the semifinals. But Jones was still strong in both of his Large School games. The Dartmouth commit tallied two goals and two assists in a 5-3 win over Kent in the quarterfinals. He assisted David Bosco's (Winchester, Mass.) power play goal against Westminster on Saturday.
Goalie:Â Chase Anderson, Andover
Making 108 saves on 109 shots over three games will do that for you.
