Saturday evening, Tewksbury went over to Merrimack College to face off against the North Andover Scarlet Knights for their first road game of the year. Tewksbury seemed to struggle, and fell short to the Knights behind 2 goals from NA's Patrick Sweeney.
The first period was definitely fun to watch as a hockey fan. There were not too many scoring chances for each side, but the chances were very high quality, exciting plays. North Andover's Alex Martino shot a cross-crease pass just wide of the net within the first minute of play. Only a few minutes later, both Jack Cash and Ryan Petti, after a beautiful series of moves, were shut down by NA's Goaltender Ben Ryan.
To add to the fun factor, the number of hits in the first period, seemed to outnumber the shots. Some big hits on both sides, but Senior Ross Budryk had a huge hit that highlighted the first period for the boys from Tewksbury.
Overall, a very even first period, highlighted by physical play.
The second period, on the other hand, had a whole lot of drama. Within the first five minutes of the game, the momentum shifted North Andover's way. Only 0:39 into the period, Jack Cash lays a groundshaking hit on Knights' Captain Alex Martino. Martino was shaken up, but continued to play. Cash received a 4 minute penalty for the hit, and after the whistle both Ryan Petti and NA's Nick Diduca went to the box for matching unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.
Just 20 seconds into the Powerplay, Sweeney took a pass from Martino and ripped the puck top shelf past a screened Kyle Paquette, to put NA up 1-0. Shortly after that, Dana Rodrigues put another past Paquette on the Powerplay to make it 2-0 North Andover, and really took all the momentum away from Tewksbury.
While that penalty wound down, NA's Senior Forward Austin Brown took a penalty, giving Tewksbury 40 seconds on the PP. Tewksbury generated 2 great chances but the puck could not find it's way to the back of the net.
With about 6 minutes left in the second, Tewksbury took a rush down the ice and put the puck on net. There was a scramble in the crease and eventually, the puck was covered by North Andover... but not by the goalie. The illegal act of a skater covering the puck in the crease led to Ryan Petti having a chance to cut the lead in half with a penalty shot.
Petti took the puck down towards the goal, but missed the five-hole of NA's goaltender by inches. Surprisingly, the Redmen seemed to play much better after this penalty shot, and finished the 2nd period with a world of momentum behind them.
Tewksbury carried that momentum into the third period. For the first 5 minutes of the period, it seemed as if they were on the Powerplay. North Andover had to ice the puck twice while the Redmen controlled the offensive zone. Still, nothing would get into the back of the net.
There was one big negative to hit the Redmen in the third despite a rather all around good 3rd period, compared to the first two. Defenseman Jeff Giasullo attempted a hit, was knocked off balance, and landed awkwardly on his ankle. Giasullo didn't return to the game, and could be out for several weeks with this injury.
Besides that blow, Tewksbury didn't seem to slow down in the third. Ryan Meade took the puck from a North Andover defender and put home a wrist shot to finally put them on the board and made the score 2-1. The Redmen kept up the strong attack throughout the 3rd. Even with Dario Riparo taking a penalty with 5:13 left in the game, Tewksbury kept going with the strong play.
Finally, with about 2 minutes remaining, NA's Patrick Sweeney put home his 2nd goal of the game. Sweeney came in one on one with Defenseman Brett Morris and snapped a shot over Kyle Paquette's glove hand. That deemed to be the final blow to Tewksbury.
All in all, not the greatest game by Tewksbury. The 3rd period really showed a turn around for the Redmen, but with the sloppy play in the opening and middle frame, it wasn't enough to top the Scarlet Knights.
Tewksbury plays their next game Monday evening at 7:00 in Chelmsford.
