Beat Stoneham/Melrose 6-0 on senior night
By DAN PAWLOWSKI
STONEHAM — It’s been quite a week for the Wakefield girls’ hockey team.
The Warriors celebrated their six seniors with a pregame ceremony and a resounding 6-0 win over Stoneham/Melrose on Saturday at the Stoneham Ice Arena.
In addition to honoring a great group, it was a great day because it gave Wakefield two more points toward a couple of different goals.
With that win, Wakefield earned their 18th and 19th points. The technical way to qualify for the state tournament is to get 20 points, but that’s not the only way. With that win, the Warriors clinched a share of the Freedom Division crown. Wilmington beat Stoneham/Melrose yesterday meaning Wakefield and Wilmington are co-champions of the Freedom Division this year. The Warriors went 1-0-1 against the Wildcats this year.
After a gutsy performance on the road against Belmont on Tuesday in which the Warriors came up just short 2-1, Wakefield bounced back with a 2-2 tie against Winthrop yesterday. That point gave Wakefield their 20th as they end the regular season with an 8-8-4 record.
On Saturday, captains Hope Melanson and Sarah Melanson, Erin Heffernan, Annabella Forziati, Sophia Rossicone and Carestin Stewart were honored for their dedication to a program that has vastly improved through their journey to senior year.
“They are leaving a huge mark on the program,” said head coach Chrissy Weeden. “Most of them have played for five years and have been contributing players each season. All six bring something different to our team and our players returning next year will have big shoes to fill.”
After two periods against Stoneham/Melrose, Wakefield was up 1-0. Kayli Porter scored the goal off a nice centering pass.
Abby Boudreau made some terrific saves in the first two periods to keep the Warriors ahead. It ended up being the sophomore’s fourth shutout of the season.
The flood gates opened up for Wakefield in the third. Forziati scored two in a row to make it 3-0 and the Warriors kept up the pressure. Heffernan made it 4-0, Charlotte Rossicone made it 5-0 and Grace Seabury weaved through the defense to close the scoring emphatically during Wakefield’s most impressive 3rd period of the season.
“That game for us proved that we can put pucks in the net and we really needed that boost of confidence,” said Weeden.
The game against Belmont might currently seem insignificant, but that was hardly the case against a terrific 13-3-4 team.
“It was one of the best games we played all season,” said Weeden. “We had an early morning faceoff but we really showed up. The play was in their zone for most of the game, but unfortunately, the puck didn’t bounce our way to get another goal.”
The Warriors evened things up at 1-1 early in the third on a goal from Hope Melanson.
“Hope has been so consistent this season for us,” said Weeden. “She has been a great leader for two seasons and in the past couple of games you can just see it in her eyes that she wants more.”
The Marauders scored to make it 2-1 and Wakefield couldn’t get that last one to tie it.
“It seems as though we are peaking at the right time and our level of play is really picking up,” said Weeden.
That effort certainly helped the Warriors against Winthrop last night, especially when they were staring down a 2-0 deficit going into the third period against a solid Div. 1 team.
“During the 3rd period, we came alive and really showed that we can play with some of the better teams we will face in the next couple of weeks,” said Weeden.
Grace Seabury scored on a hard-working rebound goal and Hope Melanson tied it.
“Our team played really well in that period which will send us into the state tournament in a good space,” said Weeden.
The Warriors learned a lot about themselves this year. Every team goes through slumps and Wakefield’s was a five-game losing streak against tough Middlesex League opponents from Jan. 17 to Feb. 4. They responded with five points in their final four games, closing the season strong, winning a league title and earning a spot in the state tournament, where the program hasn’t won a game since 2009. If they want to make some history, they can.
“I’m very proud of the way we finished,” said Weeden. “Every team is now 0-0 including us. Anything can happen in the next few weeks.”
The seedings for the Div. 2 state tournament will be announced on Friday. Check our sports Twitter account, @Wakeitemsports, for updates.
