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Barba lives in Haverhill, attends Georgetown, stars for Pentucket

Thursday, February, 14 By David Willis
Staff writer

If anyone was prepared to play for a team that represented the United States, it was Andrew Barba.

Over the summer, Barba played on a team that traveled to four different countries to play hockey against various teams.

"It was great," he said. "It was fun to play different countries and show what we could do." Barba also knows a little something about representing a region.

A resident of Haverhill, Barba is a student and standout baseball player for Georgetown, and this winter he has capped off a standout senior season with the Pentucket hockey team, which is a co-op team with Georgetown.

"It gets a little strange," he admitted. "Sometimes I do wish I just had one community that I did everything in. But I'm getting used to it."

While living in Quincy, Barba began playing hockey at age 4. He was inspired by his mother's cousin, who owned a local "Skate and Shoot" clinic.

"I just needed to try (hockey) once," he said. "I was hooked. I just loved it and stuck with it."

Barba first donned the Brown and Gold of Haverhill in 2000 after his family moved to the city to be closer to his stepfather's job. He enrolled in the Haverhill school system and played in the Hillies youth hockey program for the next four years | until his mother came to him with an idea. "My parents wanted me to go to Georgetown High School," he said. "At first, I didn't like the idea at all. But it is only about 10 minutes from my home and on the way to my mother's job (at Beverly Hospital)."

He quickly took to the school, but once hockey season came around, he found himself in the Green and White of Pentucket. "At the beginning of the season, it's weird because these kids have all played together," he said. "And I play for one team, go to another school and live in another town. But as you go along and play with them, it's not so bad.

"It's especially awkward since we practice at Haverhill (High). I see the kids that I played youth hockey with and fall hockey just a year ago. Last year we played them and I was playing against kids I played with for six years. It made me wonder if I could have made a difference on the (Haverhill) team."

Barba has been a shining star for the Sachems this season. He is the team leader in goals (11) and assists (9). He peaked on Saturday when he scored a hat trick to give Pentucket its third win of the season, a victory over Amesbury.

"It felt great," said Barba. "Especially when it gave my team the win."

Barba was second on the Sachems a season ago with six goals, one behind Joe DiSorbo.

"Andrew is an offensive force for us," said Pentucket head coach Bill Burns. "He has been big the last couple years. He has a great wrist shot and a very quick release. And he has become a very vocal player that has become a leader by example."

His game grew a great deal over the summer when, on the recommendation of a friend, he joined the Golden Eagles team out of Boston. They traveled to Scotland, Iceland, England and France to play.

"Most of the countries were all about speed and finesse," he said. "We had to try to play the body the best we could. It was fun just to see the cultures and see their styles of play."

Barba made the best of his trip, tallying six points including the game-winner against Iceland. That helped him take home MVP honors for the tourney.