Grey Ghosts Come From Behind to Beat Andover

After last night’s game, sophomore forward Jay Drapeau smiled and said that fellow sophomore Cam McDonald was his favorite player.

A lot of his teammates would have echoed his sentiments.

McDonald scored two goals for the Grey Ghosts including the game-winner off a rebound with 18.2 second remaining to lift Westford over Andover in a thrilling 3-2 after last night at Skate 3.

McDonald’s second goal came on Westford’s 23^rd shot of the third period and finally solved Andover goalie Corey Gilbert who kept the Ghosts at bay for much of the night. Gilbert turned aside 41 Westford shots.

 “We were all over him, and we were bound to get one eventually,” McDonald said. “We were getting good chances and the rebound popped right out to me.”

Andover entered the game ranked 12^th in the most recent ESPNBoston poll and the 22^nd-ranked Ghosts traded blows with the Warriors early and often. Physical play dictated tempo for the entire 45 minutes.

Andover struck first midway through the second period, but Westford senior Matt Brett answered less than two minutes later when he wristed home a shot from the blue line.  

“It’s funny because we’ve been back and forth for three-and-a-half years about wrist shot vs. slap shot,” Westford coach Bob Carpenter said. “He took the wrist shot and it went it so that’s one for me.”

McDonald gave Westford their first lead with 85 seconds left in the second period when he swatted in a rebound on a power play.

Andover’s Scott Campbell ripped a puck past senior Zach Webert six minutes into the third before he and the defense shut down the Warriors and allowed McDonald and the offense to attack.

“Matt Brett and Pat Houghton are two of our leaders and they are fabulous players,” Carpenter said. “Good leaders and they love the clutch situations.”

Webert finished with 20 saves.

As the wins keep coming, the schedule gets harder. Seven of Westford’s next 10 games come against teams ranked in ESPNBoston’s top 30, and all but two are conference games.

Last night’s game was the Grey Ghosts’ first home game of the season after starting the year with six games away from Skate 3. Of the critical ten-game stretch upcoming, seven of those games will be at home.

Carpenter said that while it is tempting to look ahead to big conference games against the likes of Central Catholic, Billerica, and arch-rival Acton Boxboro, he needs his team to think short-term.

“Our ultimate goal is to beat Masconomet next Monday,” Carpenter said. “We try hard to make the guys play one at a time. Night and after night we play tough games, and if we don’t pay attention to the opponent we’re going to be in trouble.”

While Carpenter thinks short-term, players like McDonald are sneaking a glance slightly down the road towards March.

“We’re playing really good,” McDonald said. “It’s the best team we’ve had in a while. We’re feeling pretty good right now.