THE MELROSE High girls’ hockey team has already secured a win in their early season following a 6-2 victory over Cambridge Rindge & Latin. (photo by Raj Das edphotos.com)
By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
MELROSE—The Melrose High girls hockey team has opened its 2024-5 season with a record of 1-1, which includes an impressive 6-2 win over Cambridge Rindge & Latin on Monday.
Melrose head coach Frank Sorrenti is back for his eighth-year as the skipper of the Melrose High girls’ hockey team this season. Last winter, Melrose finished 3-13-1 overall and 0-11-1 in the Middlesex League as they were one of the youngest teams in the league.
Melrose lost two seniors, center Lucy Clark and right winger Sam Lyons, to graduation. Clark was a ML Freedom Division All-Star last year.
The good news for Sorrenti is that he returned 13 veterans when camp opened up back on Dec. 1.
Four of those veterans back are this year’s captains and assistant captains. Juniors Ella Daniels (center) and Julia McNeely (left wing) are the two captains.
Senior Ella Bonacorsi (center) and Ruby Hansen (goalie) are the two assistant captains. The other senior returner is right winger Charlotte Demers.
Anna Scalfani (right wing), Nora Murray (right wing), Jessica Zulon (right wing), and Addie Savidge (defenseman) are the four returning juniors. The lone tenth-grader back is defenseman Martha Murray. There are also three freshmen who played as eighth graders last year, Zoe Blackburn (defenseman), Riley Bolduc (left wing) and Grace Daniels (center). Eight grade additions include Grace Doyle and Adriana Demsey and sophomore Anna Mathews also returns.
This season, Melrose will bump up their schedule and play 20 regular-season games. They will play the ML Liberty schools once and the Freedom teams twice. They will also have seven non-league games: Cambridge Rindge and Latin (twice), Gloucester, Medford, Beverly-Danvers, Concord-Carlisle, and Ursaline Academy.
On Monday evening, Melrose improved to 1-1 as they beat host Cambridge Rindge and Latin, 6-2, at Simoni Rink. With the game knotted at two heading into the third period, Melrose erupted for four goals. “We came out flying that period,” stated Sorrenti.
Grace Daniels had a memorable night recording her first-career hat trick. Her older sister scored the first goal in the opening period while Martha Murray and eighth-grader Adriana Demsey had the two other goals. Another eighth-grader, Grace Doyle, had the assist on the Demsey tally. Melrose out-shot the Falcons on goal, 23-17, as Hansen made 15 saves to go to 1-1 on the season.
All six goals were even strength for Melrose while the Falcons had one power play tally in the second period.
In the season opener on Dec. 7, Melrose lost, 4-1, to host Belmont at the Ryan Arena in Watertown. The Marauders scored twice in the first and second period to go up 4-0. Melrose was able to avoid the shutout when McNeely scored with 39 seconds left in the game assisted by Ella Daniels.
“We won the third period but had some breakdowns that led to goals in the first two periods,” admitted Sorrenti.
The next game for Melrose will be on Dec. 21 as they face host Winchester at the Joyce Rink in Woburn. Face-off is at 2 pm. They resume play after the holidays on Dec. 28 when they host Gloucester at noon at the Flynn Rink for the home opener.
