Melrose finishes best effort in nearly a decade
By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
BOURNE—It was a joyride season for the 2024-25 Melrose High girls’ hockey team, but it came to an end in the opening round of the MIAA Div. 2 playoffs last Thursday evening when No. 23 seed Melrose fell to No. 10 seed host Sandwich, 4-1, at the Gallo Ice Arena in Bourne.
While it was a short postseason appearance for Melrose, it was their first playoff appearance in seven years so there had been much to celebrate all season.
With that defeat, Melrose ends their year at 11-9-1, their best season in several years. The Blue Knights, meanwhile, ended up losing, 2-1, in the Round of 16 game at Marshfield on Sunday night to finish at 13-10-1.
“Their defense stiffed us,” admitted Melrose head coach Frank Sorrenti. “Our defense and goal tending was fine, but we couldn’t get anything going offensively.”
Melrose had a season-low six shots on net while the Blue Knights had 30. Melrose normally averages around 23 shots on net per game.
Things got off to a good start as Melrose scored first on a partial breakaway goal by Nora Murray, who beat goalie Bryce Sawyer in the first period. Sandwich then scored twice in the second period to make it 2-1 heading into the final 15 minutes. Elisabeth Stutzman tied it just 49 seconds into the second on a rebound of a shot by Khloe Schulz. Sandwich’s Casey Pestilli got the eventual, game-winning goal with 9:49 remaining on the power play as she put home a rebound of a shot by Harper Penna. Early in the third, Stutzman lit the lamp again with a shot from the slot to make it 3-1.
With a little over a minute left in the game, Sorrenti pulled Melrose goalie Ruby Hansen for the extra attacker, but Darby Rounseville, who had two assists, scored on the empty net with a little over 20 seconds left to round out the scoring. Hansen made 26 saves as she finished at 11-9-1 in net this winter. “She played very well,” said Sorrenti. “She kept us in the game.”
This season Melrose will graduate two seniors, Charlotte Demers and Ella Bonacorsi, and will return with several starters, which may indicate that Melrose will remain a winning team in 2026.