3-1 comeback win over Amherst-Pelham
By JENNIFER GENTILE
SAUGUS—The Melrose High boy’s hockey team earned an impressive playoff victory in the preliminary round of the Div. 3 MIAA playoffs against visiting No. 35 Amherst Pelham, 3-1, on Monday evening at home at the Kasabuski Arena in Saugus.
No. 30 seed Melrose would score three times in the final period, courtesy of two goals from junior Quinn Haggerty, to secure the ultimate 3-1 win. Teammate Griffin Brady scored the other.
At press time, Melrose was scheduled to travel to Pembroke on Wednesday (post deadline) to take on #3 seed Scituate (15-5-2) in second round of MIAA Div. 3 play.
“I’m just really happy and proud of our seniors. To have a tough year like we did but stay together and keep fighting, in front of a great home crowd was special,” says Melrose head coach Joe Ciccarello. “I don’t know how long it’s been, but Melrose hasn’t won a tourney game in a few years.”
In fact, it has been since 2019 that Melrose (5-15-1) has advanced past an opening game. That season they made quarterfinals on a bye (there was no tournament in 2021 due to Covid). While playoffs remain a staple for this team, and there have been many teams with solid winning records, first-round losses have held Melrose back in recent seasons, which makes Monday’s victory all the more special.
Coach Ciccarello acknowledges that Amherst Pelham played well, despite the long ride out on a school night. “I thought they played hard. Had some speedy forwards, good D and a really good goalie.”
Amherst scored first, a rather fluky goal off the skate of a Melrose defender, but Melrose was not deterred. “We were determined to not let the game end on that goal,” says Ciccarello. “That’s what we just kept saying on the locker room. It’s not ending on that play. The boys rallied and I couldn’t be anymore proud of that.”
Melrose fought back in the third with three goals, two from Haggerty, an assist by Jack Wright, and then the game finisher by Griffin Brady, on an assist by Brendan Doyle. Meanwhile, defense rose to the occasion over the night, holding the Hurricanes scoreless for the rest of the game.
“Brendan Doyle, Ethan Burns, Mike Fuccione, Joe Kelleher, and Griffin Brady all played hard nosed D hockey minimizing mistakes and no stupid penalties,” says their coach.
At goal, Matthew Fuccione fended off about around 30 shots on net for another solid outing.
Prior to this, as Melrose prepared for playoffs, they hosted Somerville on Feb. 21 for a 2-1 victory at Kasabuski Arena. Melrose’s Jack Wright scored a scrappy goal to tie it then Brendan Doyle scored a slapper to get the go-ahead goal. Matt Fuccione at goalie once again played well in net.
Said the coach of this effort, “We were down 1-0 early. But again, we didn’t give up and played our best period of the year dominating them for the 2-1 win. It was a good win at home to end the season and it definitely helped carry our confidence into the tourney.”
With No. 3 seed Scituate (15-5-2) on tap, there is an increase in competition on the horizon. Melrose was scheduled to play the Sailors on Wednesday (post deadline) but with these boys playing their best hockey now, there’s plenty of room for upset. After a slow first half of the season, Melrose has enjoyed five wins since late January.
Notes Ciccarello, “We had a lot of breaks go against us this year from the Masco scrimmage on. However, you make your own breaks with hard work and sticktoitiveness, so I believe things just started to turn around for us because of our commitment to those principles we stressed all year. That is a testament to the players.”
He concludes, “No doubt, not many #30 seeds beat a #3 seed, but that’s why we will play the game. We just have to keep things simple and play our very best game to be in it.”
Fans are encouraged to visit our social media pages or miaa.net for up to date tournament information.