Okay, so I had a bit of free time last week, ended up drifting over to the local rink. Heard some chatter about the Andover girls’ hockey team, figured I’d see what was up. Wasn’t really planning anything, just killing time mostly.
At the Arena
Walked in, got hit by that cold air, you know the one. Smells like ice and hard work. Found a spot in the bleachers, wasn’t too crowded for a practice session. The team was already out there, skates cutting across the ice, pucks echoing off the boards. They were moving pretty quick.
What I saw? A lot of hustle. They started with some pretty intense skating drills, edge work, quick stops and starts. Coach was right in the middle of it, barking out instructions but also quick with a pointer when someone nailed it or messed up. It wasn’t just mindless skating; you could see they were focusing on technique.
Then they moved onto puck handling and passing. Lots of movement. Drills looked designed to get them comfortable moving the puck under pressure.
- Quick passes in tight spaces.
- Drills focused on getting shots through traffic.
- Breakout plays, seemed like they worked on that quite a bit.
There was this one sequence where they practiced cycling the puck down low in the offensive zone. Saw a couple of girls really battle along the boards to keep possession. Good, hard-nosed hockey. It’s not always flashy plays, sometimes it’s just about winning those small battles. Reminded me of some tough shifts back when I played, ages ago.
They finished up with a short scrimmage, blue versus white. That’s when the pace really picked up. You could see the competitive spirit kick in. Couple of nice rushes, a good save or two by the goalie. It wasn’t perfect, sure, couple of missed passes, a defensive breakdown here and there, but the effort was definitely there. They were communicating, backing each other up.
Final Thoughts
Hung around until they started packing up. Honestly, I went in with zero expectations. Just wanted to see some hockey. But watching them practice, seeing the work they put in, the focus… it was pretty cool. They looked like a tight group, working towards something together. It’s easy to forget how much effort goes in behind the scenes, away from the actual game nights. Good energy, solid coaching from what I could tell. Left the rink feeling kinda good, actually. Nice to see that level of dedication. Definitely a team worth keeping an eye on.
