The Tewksbury Redmen Hockey team has not gotten off to the start they had envisioned or hoped for on the season. The Redmen dropped their season opener at Haverhill by a score of 4 to 3 and then followed that with a home loss to North Andover by a final tally of 3 to 1.

The Haverhill game was a tough loss for the Redmen to take. They took nearly twice as many shots as the Hillies but just could not get over the hump and get themselves a win. The game started with the Redmen putting themselves in a hole.

They allowed the Hillies to strike for the first goal in the first period and a late penalty opened the gates for the Hillies to put up another goal on the power play to start the second. Midway through the second Tewksbury freshman Campbell Pierce responded with a goal to cut the deficit down to 2-1.

Unfortunately, the Redmen could not tie the game as Haverhill added another goal to gain a 3-1 advantage heading into the final period. An early goal from Richie Colarusso, who deflected a shot from Jonathan Fowler, making the score 3-2 gave the Redmen some life early on in the third period.

Haverhill had an answer once again, like they did for much of the game it seemed like, and scored to make it 4-2 with 11 minutes left. Billy Giasullo answered to bring the Redmen within one goal again but they could not find a way to get that game tying goal.

The Redmen got a full week off before their matchup with North Andover and were hoping to rebound from the season opening loss. The first period opened up with a lot of action and penalties. North Andover scored first before Jonathan Fowler tied the game with 4 and a half minutes remaining in the period. Richie Colarusso and Campbell Pierce assisted the Fowler goal.

North Andover responded with a goal late in the first period to regain a 2 to 1 advantage. North Andover scored one more time with 3:23 to go in the second period and comfortable 3 to 1 lead.

The third period featured a lot of puck control from the Scarlett Knights. The Redmen got a few good looks at the net when they put out six skaters around the 4 minute mark but could not put anything home. North Andover did not add on any more goals and went on to win the game 3 to 1.

The 0-2 start is not the end of the World for the Redmen. They will take their annual trip to Maine over the Holiday break and that will be a good opportunity for the team to build some continuity. They get back into league play on December 31st against Concord Carlisle at home at 4 o’clock.

It is a long season and their is still a lot of time for the Redmen to build and get themselves on track. Right now, a first win would certainly go a long way in getting the team in rhythm and confident moving forward.