After press time: Melrose falls to Winchester 5-1 (Dec. 20)
Melrose falls to Medford 4-1 (Dec. 23)
Published December 22, 2023
Opens season with 2-2 tie against Belmont
By JENNIFER GENTILE
SAUGUS—The Melrose High boys’ varsity hockey team has kicked off their season with competitive outings against Middlesex League competition including a 2-2 draw against Belmont during their home opener at Kasabuski Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 13.
Melrose (0-1-1) is opening their season against Middlesex League muscle, with Winchester (2-0) on tap this Wednesday (post deadline) as they enter a busy pre-holiday week.
According to Melrose head coach Joe Ciccarello, while a tie isn’t ideal, it’s a fair start to what should be a competitive season. “The tie against Belmont was a letdown at the moment, as we had the lead the whole game. We still are getting too many penalties. It hurt us against here.”
Belmont entered the game down some seniors from 2022 but remained an edgy opponent. Notes the coach, “Belmont still has plenty of talent. Very skilled players that we had to watch all night.”
Melrose scored two power play goals in the first period, giving them a healthy, early lead. Melrose junior Brendan Doyle tallied the first and senior forward Tyler Muse put Melrose up, 2-0.
In the second period, Belmont put one goal on the board and with just a minute left in the third, hit the equalizer to ultimately finish the game on a draw.
“We were shorthanded the whole second period and we were gassed,” says Ciccarello on the momentum shift. “I did like how we didn’t let the last-minute goal (to tie it 2-2) make us go in the tank in OT. So that showed some toughness.”
At goal, junior Matthew Fuccione played a strong as he has in recent seasons. “He played really well and didn’t have a chance on either goal. With all our penalties he had to shut down their power play. While we did a good job killing penalties, we shouldn’t have to.”
Melrose went on to play Reading (2-0) on Saturday, Dec. 16 at Burbank Arena and fell in a 6-0 shutout. While disappointing, there were takeaways for Melrose from their loss against a tough Rocket team. “They’re ranked top 5 in the state for a reason. Very high skill,” says the coach. “However, we got away from the things that make us good. I will take a lot of the criticism for not instituting some more defense schemes. We learned some things about us that we will use to go forward.”
Once again, penalties hurt them particularly when Melrose fell to 3-0 after 2 periods. “The wheels fell off in the third when some of our key guys had to sit for not being disciplined,” Ciccarello notes.
Their schedule doesn’t get any easier in the coming days, which means Melrose will need to shift into high gear to enter 2024 on a winning note. Playing Winchester on Wednesday (post deadline) will prove to be a challenge. “Winchester graduated very few, so I expect them to challenge for the liberty championship.”
Melrose playing their most disciplined game can lead to more offensive opportunities, and that can translate to wins. Notes the coach, “Straight up I believe we can play with anyone. We need that winning instinct and to do the things that makes us deserve to win. We have to learn to stop getting undisciplined penalties. We can skate with anyone on our schedule.”
Upcoming games
Wed. Dec. 20 v. Winchester (Kasabuski) 7:45 pm.
Sat. Dec. 23 v. Medford (Kasabuski) 3:45 p.m.
Sat. Dec. 30 @ Marblehead, 1:00 p.m.
Wed. Jan 3 @ Watertown 8:00 p.m.