THE MHS girls hockey team will host Arlington on Saturday at noon at Flynn Rink. (photo by Raj Das edphotos.com)
By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
STONEHAM—It was a rough evening for the Melrose High girls’ hockey team last Saturday night as they were blown out, 9-1, to host Stoneham-Wilmington at the Stoneham Arena.
With the defeat, Melrose falls to 3-6 overall and 0-5 in the Middlesex League as their two-game winning streak was snapped.
Stoneham-Wilmington, meanwhile, improved to 4-2 in the league and 7-4-1 overall.
“It wasn’t a good game for us,” admitted Melrose head coach Frank Sorrenti. “They have a good team but they are not eight goals better than us.”
The host led 4-0 after the first period and, 7-1, after the second. Melrose had no answer for Lily Mackenzie as the senior forward scored six goals.
“She has good size, is fast and she can shoot the puck,” said Sorrenti. “Our forwards need to help back-check against players like her.”
The lone goal for Melrose came by Zoe Blackburn who went on a rush from her blue line and was able to tuck the puck up high in the corner of the net.
That made the score 5-1 at that point.
“It was our only highlight of the game,” said Sorrenti.
Stoneham-Wilmington out-shot Melrose on goal, 35-21, as goalie Ruby Hansen made 26 saves. With the defeat, her record dipped to 3-6 in net.
On Jan. 27, Melrose has a tough test at they host Arlington at Flynn Rick. Face-off is at noon.
Melrose then goes to the O’Brien Rink to face host Woburn on Jan. 31. That game will start at 5 pm.
At press time Melrose was within reach of playoff qualification via Power Rankings with a #36 ranking. Top 33 teams qualify at the end of the regular season. Should Melrose collect more wins in the last half of their schedule, they could return to playoffs for the first time in several years.
