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Nick of time: Andover's Drew wows in only season as starter

Thursday, March, 06 By David Willis
Staff writer

WOBURN | Despite the result Sunday evening, Andover's players were still quick to skate onto the ice and congratulate their goalie, Nick Drew, on his outstanding performance.

"Nicky played incredible," said Andover captain John Hyslip. "He kept us in this game and kept us in this season. He was amazing."

Drew recorded 26 saves through regulation and overtime and stopped four out of five skaters in the shootout in the Golden Warriors' 2-1 loss to Austin Prep in the second round of the Division 1 North tourney.

But the result did not dampen what was a breakout season for the goaltender.

"You can't say enough about the job Nick did for us this season," said Andover coach Mario Martiniello. "He's been our backbone all year and he gave us everything we could ask of a goalie."

In his only year as a starter, Drew led the Golden Warriors to a 13-4-4 record and took home the Merrimack Valley Conference/Dual County League Division 1 Player of the Year honors.

"Coach Martiniello came to me before the Malden Catholic game and told me I had won the award," he said. "The guys definitely gave me a hard time about it, especially coach. It was all in fun though."

But Drew was almost never a Golden Warrior. He spent the first two years of his high school career as a goalie for Central Catholic.

"My grandfather (Bill DeLuca) does a lot with the Central Catholic community and it seemed like something new," he remembered, "I loved the program and coach (Mike) Jankowski was great. I don't regret it."

But before his junior year, his family came to him with an idea.

"They brought up the idea of going to Andover High," said Drew, who cited the strain of commuting as a major issue. "At first I was reluctant. But my brother was going to Andover High and the more I talked to my friends about it, the more I fell in love with the idea of going back to Andover. I grew up with all the guys on the (Andover) hockey team."

And the Golden Warriors have benefited in a big way from his return.

After a year as a backup, Drew started 20 of 21 games for Andover this year, recording a whopping 1.40 goals-against average and four shutouts. He allowed more than two goals in a game only twice, and held opponents to only one goal eight times.

"I definitely exceeded my expectations," said Drew. "All I wanted to do was go in and help win games. I didn't think I would win an (MVP) award in my first year as a starter."

Drew, who began playing hockey at age 2 and goaltending at age 8, plans to continue his playing career next season. He hopes to do a post-grad year at the Tilton School in Tilton, N.H.

"I just love playing goalie," he said. "It's a lot of pressure, but that's what makes the position even more fun. I like that I am the last line of defense."