In the NEPSAC Large School bracket, there was no stopping Phillips Andover.
The third-seeded Big Blue played its best down the stretch, ending on a seven-game win streak while taking only a single overtime loss — to eventual Elite 8 champion Cushing — over the last 10 contests.
It all led to a New England championship, the first in the hockey history of a storied school that has produced NHL talents including Chris Kreider and Cory Schneider.
“In previous seasons, there was an idea that some teams were untouchable, but we wanted to reinforce the idea that anyone can beat anyone on any given night and we’re good enough to compete with any single team,” said senior captain Grayden Robertson-Palmer, who cited winning the Flood-Marr Tournament as one catalyst for the team’s ultimate success. “We really showed this year that Andover is here to play.”
Especially when it came down to winning time, Andover reached an even greater level, outscoring opponents 17-1 over three playoff games. Coach Paul Tortorella’s team posted a 4-1 championship victory over No. 5 Westminster after shutting out Trinity-Pawling 6-0 and top-seeded Avon Old Farms 7-0 in the first two rounds.
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Behind those wins was senior Chase Anderson (Marblehead, Mass.), who finished the season with a .924 save percentage after making 108 stops on 109 shots over the three games.
“I think the way Anderson was playing gave everyone more confidence to make the plays necessary that led to goals,” Tortorella said.
The goaltender had a great view of all the pieces coming together this winter.
“We had really great team speed, and with our puck control, we were able to wear teams down both physically and mentally, not giving up a lot of zone time and really limiting chances,” Anderson said. “Those were huge strengths, especially down the stretch.”
While Robertson-Palmer and fellow senior Rui Han — committed to Dartmouth and Yale, respectively — were leading scorers with a combined 36 goals and 76 points, others stepped up when the games mattered the most.
In the final game, senior Danny Collins (Winchester, Mass.) scored two goals to lead the way. Tortorella pointed to assistant captain Peyton Militello’s playmaking and play along the walls, junior David O’Neill’s shot-blocking, and Han’s penalty killing as other title-winning keys.
When Anderson went through a rough patch earlier in the season, including a loss to Elite 8 finalist Dexter Southfield, junior Edouard Lord stepped up and played several strong games consecutively.
“(Anderson’s) work ethic never changed, no matter the situation or the game he was in,” Tortorella said. “He’s an extremely focused, hard-working player. … We were able to get (Lord) some experience and keep (Anderson) ready to go. His technique, his ability to handle the puck, we said, ‘Go take it’ come the playoffs, and he made me look like a good coach.”
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Through a standout run, it was still all about the details.
“I think we got so hyper-focused on trying to (qualify for) the Elite 8 and doing all the big things, especially after the Flood-Marr, that we kind of negated all the little things that we needed to win. We weren’t making crisp, clean passes,” Han said. “We knew we needed to buy in and clean up those little things. When it comes down to a goal or two, it’s just a matter of details.”
“(The seniors’) willingness to play gritty, positional hockey had an effect on the whole team,” Tortorella said.
Even for a 20-9-3 team, it came down to the slimmest margins along the way. Of Andover’s nine losses, seven were in one-goal games and four needed overtime. It also won twice in an extra session.
During the postseason, Andover broke open a 2-0 lead after two periods against Trinity-Pawling and then netted three first-period goals en route to the Avon shutout, but it never got complacent. Robertson-Palmer knew the team could take nothing for granted in the biggest games.
“Finishing games, playing all 54 minutes, was a big focus for us, and I think that really pushed us through the playoffs,” he said. “Even when we were up, we didn’t let off. We just played the whole game. We knew if we did that we’d see the results that we wanted.”
The Big Blue did that, putting a bow on a dominant week with the ultimate goal achieved on March 9.
Less than 24 hours after a celebration ensued on the Storrs, Conn., ice, there was a little time to reflect and soak in the magnitude of the accomplishment for a program that had never won a championship.
Both Schneider and Kreider were stars at Boston College during the Eagles’ run of four NCAA championships in 12 years and then reached great NHL success. But they never raised the big trophy at Andover.
It means a lot to these seniors that they were the ones to do it.
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“(Mike) Kuta, our athletic trainer who has worked with the hockey team for 40 years, shares stories about a lot of the amazing players who have come through, so it’s special that we were able to do this for the school,” Robertson-Palmer said. “We know there’s a pathway, right? They pushed to the Elite 8 a few times and were never able to win.
“This was awesome, helping to bring that winning culture back here.”
