Published in the May 6, 2016 edition

THE MELROSE Pee Wee B team celebrates in the locker room with its championship trophy. Pictured kneeling, L to R, Gavin Donohue, Ronan Donohue, Matt Tarpey, Dom Lamentea, Tommy Keefe, and Brendan Zinck. Standing, L to R, Dom Drago, Zach Ingalls, Matt Viliott, Connor O'Leary, Max Brown, and Anthony White. (courtesy photo)

THE MELROSE Pee Wee B team celebrates in the locker room with its championship trophy. Pictured kneeling, L to R, Gavin Donohue, Ronan Donohue, Matt Tarpey, Dom Lamentea, Tommy Keefe, and Brendan Zinck. Standing, L to R, Dom Drago, Zach Ingalls, Matt Viliott, Connor O’Leary, Max Brown, and Anthony White. (courtesy photo)

MELROSE — The Melrose Pee Wee B hockey team recently capped off a successful season by winning its Valley League division and conference championship.

Melrose finished 28-15-4 this year on a nine-game winning streak, the last four being playoff games. All four of the playoff wins came against teams Melrose had lost to during the season, three of which Melrose had not beaten. Melrose outscored its four playoff opponents 23-5, including a 9-2 win over Acton-Boxboro for the Valley East National AA division championship and a 4-0 win against American division champ New Hampshire East to claim the East AA conference championship.

Melrose was a big-game team all season, catching fire in the Mass. Hockey District 10 tournament in January, winning four straight games, three by shutout, to win the district and qualify for the state tournament. Melrose defeated Wakefield in the district quarters 5-4 in overtime after being down 3-0 after the first period and 4-1 in the third period. Melrose then beat Stoneham 1-0 in the semis on a score with two minutes to play before beating Medford 5-0 in the final.

At the state tournament, Melrose opened with a big win against Winthrop. Melrose then played an undefeated Medfield team that had petitioned to play down from its higher classification. Melrose played the game of its season in a fast-paced, highly-competitive contest despite ultimately losing by two. Melrose faced another “playing-down” team tough in Westfield before falling in that contest.

“This team had talent, worked hard, was resilient and improved tremendously over the course of the season,” said head coach Bill Keefe, who was assisted by Craig Schwarze and Chris O’Leary. “But more than anything, they learned the importance of playing as a team; they became a really tight-knit group that believed in each other and played for each other and that made them unstoppable down the stretch.”

Ronan Donohue and Brendan Zinck provided stellar goaltending throughout the season. Matt Schwarze and Anthony White were solid mainstays on defense all year with Gavin Donohue solidifying the three-man blue line rotation to finish the season. Matt Viliott and Dom Drago also contributed on D during the year, particularly killing penalties, as did Ronan Donohue when not in net.

Melrose had explosiveness, tenacity and great depth up front with Max Brown, Viliott, Drago, Connor O’Leary, Tommy Keefe, Dom Lamentea, Matt Tarpey and Zach Ingalls. Gavin Donohue and Zinck, when not in goal, also sparked the offense.