Melrose earns a tie, victory over Burlington
Published February 12, 2021
By JENNIFER GENTILE
STONEHAM—The Melrose High Red Raider hockey team picked up three points over a tough Burlington team after a series of games last week that saw Melrose beat the Red Devils, 4-3, on Feb. 3 and skate a tie on Saturday, Feb. 6, 1-1.
Melrose remains 3-1-3 on the season with two games left on the docket: a pair of contests against Wakefield starting this Saturday and concluding Monday.
Overall, it’s been a quick but productive season for Melrose and their head coach Vin Mirasolo, who has nothing but respect for the opponent they just faced. “It’s always nice to beat Burlington. They were a Super 8 team last year. We have a nice rivalry there. Taking three points is a nice week’s worth.”
Melrose enjoyed a quality win over Burlington on Feb. 3 thanks to goals from Gavin Crowley, Charlie Haggerty, TJ Sullivan and Brendan Fennell. Fennell remains Melrose’s most productive scorer with 9 goals to the season and 12 assists. Of Melrose’s 23 goals this season, Fennell has had a hand in 21 of them.
On Saturday, Melrose hosted the Red Devils at the Stoneham Arena. It was an impressive game for Melrose freshman goalie Joe Smith, who was pitted against an equally impressive Red Devil goalie, Nolan Kelleher. The two fended off a flurry of shots from a super charged offense on both sides. Smith kept Burlington scoreless for the first two minutes of the game before Burlington’s Brian O’Neill scored ten minutes in. Melrose maintained possession most of the first half and lobbed numerous shots behind the work of Gavin Crowley, TJ Sullivan, Brendan Fennell and Charlie Haggerty. Melrose had two chances to score on power play, but Kelleher was stingy at the net. Melrose’s Smith was also stingy and fended off three shots as the first half drew to a close. Melrose went into the half down 1-0. Just five minutes into the second half, however, Brendan Fennell fed the puck to Charlie Haggerty who scored a beautiful backhand goal that tied it up 1-1. Credit goes to Melrose defense and Smith at the net for keeping the game at a draw 1-1. It’s a tie that Melrose coach Mirasolo can live with.
“The Middlesex League is competitive and can always go either way,” he says. “We’ve got a few ties behind us, but in each of those we battled back to earn them, which is sometime we can take pride in.”
While he strongly credits his top line of Brendan Fennell, Charlie Haggerty and TJ Sullivan, which he considers one of the strongest in the league, he also pointed to the recent work of senior Will Pierce. “He’s been playing tremendously,” he says. “Will is such a highly-skilled player who has stepped up this season and made a total difference for us.” He also notes the contributions of Gavin Crowley and Joe McNeely. “We have a lot of new faces on the ice this year but they sort of serve as our glue on defense.”
As goalie, Joe Smith has done his job well. Says Mirasolo, “Joe is making the saves we need of him. As a freshman he is doing good.”
Next up is Wakefield (4-2-1), a team that is surprising people this season with quality wins. Except a few barn burners as Melrose closes out their season.
Over their nine-game season, Melrose has done many things right. One of them? Staying healthy enough to not pause any competition. Says Mirasolo, “The boys are healthy and aware of protocols to keep this season going. They play with pride and represent their community so well.”
Remaining schedule:
Sat Feb 13 7:30 PM Wakefield @ Stoneham Arena
Mon Feb 15 7:30 PM Wakefield @ Stoneham Arena
