Tourney Team Preview: Andover

Section 7AA

No. 3 Andover Huskies

25-3-0

Coach: Melissa Volk

Players to Watch: #15 F Ella Boerger, #12 F Isa Goettl, #11 F Maya Engler, #4 D Cailin Mumm, #1 G Courtney Stagman

8th Appearance

Last Appearance: 2022

2 State Championships

Andover is back at the state tournament for the sixth straight season and hopes to make it back to the state championship game for the fourth straight year after another strong performance in 2022-23.

Coming into the season as the No. 1-ranked team in Class AA after an exciting win over Minnetonka in the state title game, Andover put together a 25-3-0 record with all three losses coming against teams ranked in the top four of the Class AA rankings. They romped to the Section 7AA crown, outscoring opponents 29-3 in the process and crushing No. 18AA Grand Rapids/Greenway 11-1 in the section final.

The Huskies are led by senior forwards and Ms. Hockey semifinalists Ella Boerger and Isa Goettl, who have 139 combined points. Boerger, a St. Thomas commit, has 73 points (40 goals, 33 assists) and is a Ms. Hockey finalist.

“At Andover we pride ourselves on having good hockey players but even better people, and that is who [Boerger] is,” Andover Head Coach Melissa Volk told Let’s Play Hockey . “On the ice she is a mix between a power forward but with finesse and very good in our own end. She has been an instrumental part of our success these last four years in which she has won 2 state championships her freshman and junior seasons.

Goettl, who’s committed to play for the University of Minnesota, has 22 goals and 44 assists and was described by Volk as a “tenacious and crafty forward that is well known to her opponents and is a fan favorite due to her style of play.”

Not to be outdone, the Huskies also have six more players with at least 20 points this season and senior goalie Courtney Stagman playing phenomenally in goal. Stagman has played every minute for Andover this year and has a .934 save percentage and 1.11 goals-against average.

Both the power play (37.1%) and penalty killing (90.4%) units are chugging along for the Huskies and helping them score nearly five more goals per game than their opponents. Andover has outscored opposing teams 166-32 this season, including a 61-8 advantage in the first period.

Andover will face a scrappy Rosemount team in the quarterfinals before potential matchups with No. 5AA Edina and likely either No. 1AA Minnetonka or No. 4AA Gentry Academy – the two higher seeds on the other side of the bracket, and the two teams that have beaten the Huskies this season and qualified for the state tournament – in the championship game if they get that far.

They swept Edina in a pair of close games this year, split the season series with Minnetonka and lost to Gentry Academy in their only matchup this year. The Huskies and Hornets met in both the 2021 and 2020 state championship games, with each team winning a state title, and are the only two sides to win a Class AA girls title since 2017.

If Andover can get past Rosemount in the quarters and the rest of the bracket goes according to chalk, the Huskies are set up to play two – on paper, at least – thrilling games on their way to a potential championship. As proven last year, this group can beat absolutely anybody when they’re on their game.

Ranked Wins (Based on Feb. 7 Let's Play Hockey Rankings: No. 9AA Benilde-St. Margaret’s (7-0, Nov. 10), No. 5AA Edina (3-0, Nov. 12; 2-1, Dec. 28), No. 13AA Blake (4-1, Nov. 17; 6-1, Jan. 6), No. 1AA Minnetonka (4-3, Nov. 22), No. 10AA Moorhead (7-0, Dec. 26; 5-0, Jan. 28), No. 3AA Proctor/Hermantown (7-2, Jan. 7), No. 6AA Maple Grove (3-2, Jan. 10), No. 18AA Grand Rapids/Greenway (7-2, Jan. 20; 11-1, Feb. 16), No. 11 Centennial/Spring Lake Park (7-1, Jan. 24), No. 1AA Warroad (8-4, Jan. 27), No. 7AA Stillwater (8-0, Feb. 4),

Ranked Losses: No. 4AA Gentry Academy (4-3, Nov. 19), No. 1AA Minnetonka (4-2, Dec. 27), No. 2AA Hill-Murray (2-1, Jan. 14)

Ranked Ties: N/A