And so continues Tommy Aitken’s blistering start to the 2019-2020 postseason. 

After stopping 77 of 78 shots in three section playoff wins, Aitken turned in a 33-save performance to push his Cadets past No. 1 seed Andover 3-2 on Thursday night. 

“As far as best goalies we’ve seen, he’s right up there (with the best),” Andover coach Mark Manney said after the game. 

Aitken’s heroics allowed St. Thomas Academy (19-8-1) to guard its zone for the bulk of the second and third periods, nursing a 3-2 lead built on goals by Noah Rauschenberger, Will Soderling, and Jarod Wright. 

“We have a tendency against better teams to try and feel them out, and we play on the perimeter a lot,” Manney said. “If (Aitken) was going to be vulnerable, it would be early, but we didn’t do a good job getting to the net.”

Instead, the Cadets blocked shots and rode the Andover attackers to the outside of the offensive zone, a state of play St. Thomas Academy coach Trent Eigner said his team has become adept at executing. 

“We’re comfortable in that environment,” Eigner said. “I feel good about our kids understanding that in no way were we going to show up in this tournament and not play situationally like that.”

Gunnar Thoreson scored in the first period, and Hunter Jones added the second goal for the Huskies (24-4-1). 

The Cadets advance to the Class AA State Tournament semifinals with the win, a spot on the dance card that only a few weeks ago had felt more like a fantasy than an actual possibility. 

“When we were sitting at 5-7, we went over to one of the guys’ houses, and we just talked everything out,” Aitken said. “We all decided to buy in, and that’s what changed everything around.”

Eigner agreed with his goaltender. 

“It was off the tracks, and that’s okay,” Eigner said of his team’s sub-.500 start to the season. “I think our players agree that we’re not here tonight if it doesn’t go off the rails.”