There could be two primary reasons for Andover’s 11-0 record on home ice. 

One could be the aesthetic changes made to the Huskies’ locker room over the summer. 

The other could be the new addition to junior forward Charlie Schoen’s face, an impressive mustache that is taking shape as the season progresses. 

“The boys were telling me to grow it out, so I’m keeping it,” Schoen said with a grin on Saturday afternoon. 

“We’re on a pretty good home (winning) streak when I have the ‘stache, so I’m keeping it until something bad happens,” Schoen added. 

Schoen’s own heroics kept the Huskies home unbeaten streak alive on Saturday, scoring the eventual game-winner on a breakaway with just under four minutes to play in regulation, lifting the Huskies to a 3-2 win over Class 2A, Section 7 rival Duluth Marshall. 

“He’s actually been struggling on breakaways,” Huskies head coach Mark Manney said after the win. 

“It was good to see home get one finally.”

Schoen scooped up a loose puck in the neutral zone and slipped a backhand shot through the five-hole of Duluth Marshall’s Cam Brandt for the goal. 

The win assuaged the fact that the Huskies, ranked No. 10 in the latest YHH Class 2A Rankings, went 0-7 on the power play and were physically pushed around by a beefier Hilltopper lineup. 

“When you don’t have your feet (moving), a physical team is the last one you want to play, because they make you pay for everything,” Manney said, adding that his players’ vocalized frustrations on the bench were quickly rebuffed by the coaching staff. 

“It’s a man’s game, you know?”

Andover adapted to the physicality, with Manney citing the play of a pair of sophomores Luke as examples of the team’s tenacity. 

“We’ve never had a team so gritty like this,” Manney said. “Young guys like Luke Kron and Gunnar Thoreson, they’re (down) to battle whether the (opponent) is six-three of five-six,” Manney added.

Hunter Jones and Brandon McNamara scored the first two goals for the Huskies (15-4), while Willy Stauber and Levi Stauber netted goals for the Hilltoppers (13-7).  

As for the Huskies’ summertime interior decorating, Manney said that a good scrubbing may have helped wipe the slate clean for the program. 

“I think we washed all the demons away,” Manney said with a laugh. 

Andover coach Mark Manney was told a decade ago by Mike Brodzinski that the Andover Community Center would be too comfortable for opposing teams. 

"Mike Brodzinski told me ten years ago that we were going to have a tough time winning at home because everybody loves to play here," Manney said. "The locker rooms are big, the building is warm, it's well-lit," Manney continued. "He said we need to get some cold, dark locker rooms."