Melrose (2-1-2) battles back to a 3-3 draw
Published February 5, 2021
By JENNIFER GENTILE
WILMINGTON—The Melrose Red Raider hockey team settled for a 3-3 tie with Wilmington on Saturday, Jan. 28 at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington. It was the second straight meeting against the Wildcats, a very competitive team who beat Melrose in round one thanks in part to the skilled goaltending of Wildcat Alex Fitzler.
Melrose senior Will Pierce knocked in 2 goals for the Red Raiders (2-1-2) while junior TJ Sullivan scored in the second half to help launch Melrose’s comeback. The Red Raiders had faced a 3-0 deficit early in the game but battled back in the second half to steal victory from the Wildcats. Melrose goalie Joe Smith had several impressive saves over the day and Melrose defense helped the Red Raiders maintain puck possession for a majority of the game which helped secure the draw.
Wilmington (1-2-1) scored early on a goal by Andrew Gallucci just three minutes into the game. Melrose’s first line of Brendan Fennell, Will Pierce and Charlie Haggerty launched a flurry of shots against Fitzler, who seemed impenetrable. Adding to the offensive onslaught was TJ Sullivan, who moved the puck well and was aggressive on the ice. Fennell stole the puck at the 14:24 but his shot just missed. With ten minutes left in the half, Wilmington’s Rob Courtney slipped a goal past Melrose’s Smith and Wilmington had a comfortable 2-0 lead with plenty of time left. Melrose got some help from Jason Pino and Joey O’Keefe on the ice, but Fitzler was stingy at the net. Sullivan and Joey McNeely put a lot of pressure on the goalie but Wilmington took advantage of their next possession with a goal that made it 3-0 courtesy of Derek Gallucci and Robert Courtney.
Melrose head coach Vin Mirasolo made a line switch by bringing TJ Sullivan to the first line and that result in more scoring opportunities and puck movement. As Sullivan worked with Fennell and Haggerty, Will Pierce was able to evade Wildcats and scored Melrose’s first goal on an assist by Fennell with 36 seconds left in the first half. Melrose goalie Smith had a nice save at the buzzer and Melrose went into halftime down 3-1.
In the second half, Melrose came out hard and fast with Fennell and Sullivan taking shots on net, while Jason Pino and and Gavin Crowley added to the offensive onslaught, but Fitzler held tight. The Red Raiders broke through when Haggerty connected with Fennell on a pinpoint pass, and Fennell found TJ Sullivan in front of the net for his score. Sullivan’s goal put Melrose within striking distance, 3-2. Melrose saw some quality minutes by Joey Zarella, Jason Pino and Gavin Crowley and would score again thanks to Will Pierce’s goal with 3:00 left in the game. But an ensuing stalemate remained in the final minutes and the result was a 3-3 draw.
Melrose will next travel to the Burlington Ice Palace on Wednesday (post deadline) for a 4:00 p.m. game. Then they will host them on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. game at the Stoneham Arena.
League Standings
W/L/T Pts.
Wakefield 3-1-1 7
2 Melrose 2-1-2 6
3 Stoneham 2-1-1 5
4 Burlington 2-3-0 4
5 Wilmington 1-2-2 3
