MVC hockey: Laramie, Belluche heroics give Andover upset of Central Catholic
- David Willis dwillis@eagletribune.com
- Feb 14, 2016
- LAWRENCE — As the final moment ticked off the clock, Zach Laramie was relying on instincts.
Slide to his right for a spectacular pad save with 34 seconds left in the game.
Aggressively move up in the crease for a glove save with 24 seconds left.
Settle in and calmly cradle a slap shot from the point with his body with just 0:19 left. Then, as the horn sounded, Laramie found himself flat on his back as the Andover High hockey team mobbed him.
”It was like a massive weight was lifted off of my shoulders,” said the junior goalie. “Just awesome. We felt prepared, we were ready and we believed and got this huge victory.”
Matt Belluche’s blast from just inside the blue line found the back of the net to give Andover the lead with 11:15 to go in regulation, and Laramie was simply dominant making that stand up as the Golden Warriors upset archrival Central Catholic 1-0 on Saturday night.
Roughly 1,000 fans jammed into the Valley Forum despite negative-2 degree temperatures.
”It’s unbelievable,” said Belluche. “What an effort by this team. I’m speechless. It is just such an incredible feeling that I will never forget.”
The win marked the first for the Golden Warriors over Central since 2013, a 3-0 stunner.
”It means so much,” said senior Nate Abbott. “We haven’t beaten them in so long. The atmosphere was unbelievable. Since Day 1 of this season we had this Central game circled on our calendars, and to do it is just awesome.”
The Golden Warriors improve to 10-5-2, and can play for the Merrimack Valley Conference Division 1 title on Feb. 22 when they host Acton-Boxboro.
The Raiders fall to 13-6-1 and suffer a major hit to their Super 8 prospects.
”We are thrilled,” said Andover coach Chris Kuchar. “This was a terrific effort. We have played some very good teams, but we are a very good team, too, and it’s a thrill to beat our rival.”
For the better part of two periods the rivalry battle was a goaltender dual between Laramie (24 saves) and Central freshman Matt Pasquale (38 saves).
Laramie delivered huge saves like his blocker stop from point blank or when he dove to his left to cover up a loose puck.
Pasquale was there to match him, making saves like his huge glove save on a 2-on-none breakaway.
“Matt and I train together and he is a terrific goalie,” said Laramie. “He made some huge saves. But I had no idea we were going to be in that kind of battle.”
Andover, however, found a way to slip the winner in.
At 3:45 of the third, Belluche took a pass from Steven Schuhwerk and fired a slap shot into traffic. It bounced around and ended up in the net.
“The guys were screening the goalie,” sad Belluche. “I just threw it on net. I didn’t know if I scored or someone else, but it was a goal and that’s what counts.”
From there, Laramie continued to dominate, shutting down the Raiders, who are without sophomore sensation Jake Wise (Junior Olympics), until the final buzzer.
And he was treated to a dog pile in front of the net.
“Laramie played one of the best games I have ever seen,” said Belluche. “He kept us in this game, especially at the end. He really saved us. And once we saw the puck on (Michael) Reilly’s stick and he cleared it, it was the best feeling of my life.”
Andover 1, Central Catholic 0
