2-1 loss to Lexington ends season
Published February 26, 2021
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose/Stoneham varsity co-op hockey team (“Stonerose”) finished their season in one of their most competitive games of the year in a consolation Middlesex League playoff game on Feb. 17. It was a defensive gem as the two teams took a tie into the last five minutes of the game, but Stonerose was edged near the end, 2-1, to bring their season to a close. Scoring Stonerose’s lone goal was Stoneham’s Ava Krasco on an assist by Kaylee Cronin.
Stonerose’s defense had one of their best outings of the year and the Spartans took an early 1-0 lead by the goal from Krasco at 16:09. It was a lead that they’d hold on to for another ten minutes thanks to quality defense and the goaltending by Stoneham’s Grace Connell, who made several impressive saves at the 15:41, 15:11 and 13:00 minute marks. Lexington scored to even it up at 1-1 at 9:36 and the two teams took their stalemate into halftime, despite a near-goal by Stonerose at the buzzer.
The Spartans enjoyed good puck possession in the first minutes of the second half, and Melrose’s Hannah Connolly took a nice shot that just missed at 13:05. But Lexington would find the net on a goal inside the blue line with just 5:00 to play. The two teams exchanged power plays until the clock drained in Lexington’s favor. Melrose assistant coach Frank Sorrenti gave his Stonerose team credit where it’s due. “Our defense played well,” he said “In general, it was a good defensive game which allowed our goalies not to have to work too hard. We simply ran out of time to tie it up. If felt like we were there, though.”
The game marked the final games for Melrose seniors Hannah Connolly, captain Sydney Kroon, Francesca Maiuri and Emily Waden. Sorrenti notes the challenges of a shortened season and a lessened practice time. After a COVID pause, Melrose had to compete without practice for two weeks before resuming play. “We had to play a lot of catch up over the season,” he said. “This was a team who could have benefitted from practice every day. We definitely wish the season had been longer.”
In earlier games, Stonerose had trouble allowing too much traffic in front of the net. According to Sorrenti, that wasn’t an issue against Lexington. “I thought we did a good job adding layers in front of the net, clogging lanes and disrupting their passing,” he says. “And I think at the end of the game, we put tons of pressure on them and came up just shy.”
In terms of progression over the season, this team certainly displayed an upward trajectory. “Our last few games were quite competitive and we took leads. In a sense, we kind of ran out of season,” says the coach.
Melrose senior players have been long contributors to the team. Sorrenti notes that as a recent practice he joked to senior Hannah Connolly, “I said to her ‘what will I do without a Connolly on the team?’ Her sister was on the team right before this. But what I want for all these seniors is to be proud of how optimistic and enthusiastic they played even when the chips were down.” He continued. “Not earning a lot of wins can bring any team down. I know our seniors would have liked more wins before leaving. But they didn’t let losses get them down. This team boosted each other when they needed it. They get it. They understand the hallmarks of teamwork and that kind of stuff lasts for a lifetime.”
