Tops Cambridge Rindge, 6-1, to start 1-0
THE MELROSE HIGH girls hockey team picked up a season opening win over Cambridge Rindge and Latin to start 1-0 to the season.
By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
MELROSE—The Melrose High girls hockey team have opened their winter campaign with a win, after dominating Cambridge Rindge and Latin, 6-1, at Simoni Memorial rink on Saturday afternoon. They start their home campaign a solid 1-0, with their season opener slated for this past Wednesday, Dec. 13 (post deadline) against Belmont at their home rink of Flynn Rink in Medford.
Melrose head coach Frank Sorrenti is back for his sixth season as the head coach of the Melrose High girls hockey team, a young squad who went 2-16-1 overall last winter. Chances look good Melrose will improve up that this season.
Melrose graduated no players in 2022-23 but they did lose a couple of eight-graders who transferred to different schools this year.
Melrose is captained by senior Lucy Clark, a center who is serving in her second year as captain. Clark, who had 20 points with 12 goals and eight assists, was a Middlesex League Freedom Division All-Star last year. The other senior on the roster is right-winger Samantha Lyons
There are two juniors on the team are they are left winger Charlotte Demers and forward Ella Bonacorsi. The sophomore class is huge with several players who have been on the team since they were eighth-graders.
Leading the way is ML Freedom Division All-Star Julia McNeely who led the team in points with 22 as she had 11 goals to go with 11 assists. She plays left wing.
The other key tenth-graders back are Jessie Zulon (right wing), Nora Murray (forward), Ella Daniels (left wing), Teagan Altman (defenseman), Addie Savidge (defenseman) and goalie Ruby Hansen, who is a third-year player.
“We have had a couple of rebuilding years the last two but we are hoping that the big sophomore class will step up since most of them are three-year players now,” said Sorrenti, who also acknowledges that his squad is still very young with only four upperclassmen.
Melrose started practice on Nov. 27 and they played a pair of scrimmages against Wakefield as the schools split the two meetings. Melrose will play two less regular-season games than last year as they are slated to play 17.
They opened the 2023-2024 campaign on the right foot last Saturday afternoon as they beat host Cambridge Rindge and Latin, 6-1, at the Simoni Rink in a non-league game.
“That was huge,” stated Sorrenti. “We were able to carry the play most of the way.”
McNeely scored the game’s first goal with 2:58 remaining in the first period. Zoe Backburn and Zulon both assisted. The Falcons tied the game with 1:29 left and just a minute later Murray gave the locals the lead for good. McNeely and Clark both assisted.
McNeely made it 3-1 with 3:11 left in the second period assisted by Clark. Eighth-grader Kate Rynak then scored her first-career goal with 1:23 remaining to make it 4-1. Daniels and her eighth-grade sister, Grace, assisted.
McNeely then recorded her first-career hat trick with 13:21 left in the game for the fifth goal and that was unassisted.
Grace Daniels had the final tally with 7:03 remaining assisted by her sister and Rynak.
Hansen made nine stops in goal as Melrose out-shot the Falcons on net, 21-10. Melrose’s next game is on Dec. 16 as they visit Reading at Burbank Arena. That game will start at 6 pm. Melrose then host Winchester on Dec. 20 at Flynn Rink with that game starting at 6 pm as well.
