WOBURN – If there was fluky, break-the-other-team’s-back goal to be scored in this Div. 2 “Sweet 16” matchup of a scoreless tie, it needed to be for underdog North Andover High.
But instead it was No. 4 ranked Woburn High, which outplayed and outshot the Knights nearly 3-to-1 at that point, that broke the ice with just over 10 minutes remaining in game, eventually won by Woburn, 2-0.
From behind the net, Woburn captain Darby Ciavardone, hit Knights senior netminder Troy Takesian’s leg and trickled past the goal line.
Prior to the goal, Takesian did what he needed to do to keep the No. 13 ranked Knights alive and “stood on his head.”
“Against Milton, they hit the crossbar and we got the puck and scored on a breakaway,” said Takesian, who made 38 saves overall. “It’s hockey, state tournament hockey. Those things happen.”
That first goal sent the O’Brien Rink crowd, which Takesian had helped keep relatively quiet, into a frenzy.
Woburn essentially put the game away five minutes later with Ciavardone, again behind the net, feeding Jack McEleney who back-handed the puck past Takesian for what would be the final goal of the game.
“Troy had to play great for us to have a chance and he did,” said North Andover High coach Scott Greene. “He’s been doing what he did today since sophomore year. We needed to get that goal, and we almost did a few times, but never did.”
While the Knights were outshot 40 to 18, they had their chances despite Woburn’s dominance.
Senior Dylan Fitzpatrick and junior Nathan Carlson, both of whom had very good games, had two of those chances that hit the post or was knocked away by Tanners senior star goalie Logan Roderick.
Ironically, the night before Woburn coach Jim Duran was at Merrimack College watching his son Riley’s Providence team lose to Merrimack, 2-1, despite being outshot 47-16.
“You have to give North Andover credit. Not only their goalie, but their defense,” said Coach Duran. “They cleared a lot of trouble in front. These games can be scary when a goalie is playing like that. But we got that first goal, just throwing it on the net, and we’re advancing.”
The Knights, which finish 12-9-1, pulled Takesian with just under three minutes remaining, also getting a late power play, to put pressure on the Tanners net, to no avail.
“It’s hard to put into words the pride that this team had, even in this game, never giving up,” said Coach Greene. “I knew this group of seniors was special when they were freshmen. I was with most of them as the JV coach and we all transitioned together to varsity.”
You can email Bill Burt at bburt@eagletribune.com.
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Woburn 2, North Andover 0
O’Brien Rink, Woburn
Score by periods:
NA 0-0-0–0
W 0-0-2–2
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: No scoring
3rd period: W Darby Cavardone (unassisted), 10:17, W Jack McEleney (Ciavardone), 5:50
Saves: NA — Troy Takesian 38; W — Logan Roderick 18
Records: NA 13-9-1; W 14-5-1