Melrose Youth Hockey

Pee Wee A’s Take Another State Championship!

The Melrose Youth Hockey Pee Wee A team took home another state title capping off their run to the championship with an electrifying 3-2 win against Concord-Carlisle in the tournament championship game! The victory was the fourth for Coach Kevin Crovo overall and his second in the last three years.

The road to the finals began on Friday night with a scintillating victory against the same Concord-Carlisle squad they would face in the final round. Jonathan Botelho’s tap in at the crease was the only goal of the game and the outstanding goaltending of Joe Taglieri made it stand up. A key to the shutout effort was the determined back checking of the Melrose forwards and the strong defense in front of Taglieri by Max Karelas, Jake Karelas, Elliot Judware, Chris Brown and Stevie “The Shot” Lavasseur.

After the thrilling win on Friday night Melrose faced off against a talented Danvers team that had beaten Melrose handily during league play a few weeks earlier. Melrose had a 3-1 late in the game but had to hang on for a 3-3 tie as Danvers fought back to tie the game with some late game heroics. Melrose then quickly regrouped from the disappointment of the Danvers game and flattened Wakefield, 11-3, to put the team in the thick of the race to get to the semi-finals on Sunday morning at Stoneham Arena. Jake Witkowski and Eric Mercer had hat tricks for Melrose while Luke Amato and Jonathan Botelho had two goal games as Melrose dominated Wakefield in all aspects of the game.

With their destiny still hanging in the balance pending the outcome of the remaining tournament games the Melrose Pee Wee A’s awaited their fate. In the early evening hours of Saturday night the word came that Melrose had nudged past the stubborn Danvers team and would be one of the final four teams playing on Sunday morning in Stoneham.

When Sunday dawned Melrose found the team from Everett/Revere their only obstacle to making their second appearance in three years in a state final game. The game went back and forth for most of the contest with each team taking the lead only to have their opponent bounce back and return the favor. At the end of regulation the score was tied 4-4…it was on to overtime to determine who would advance to play for the state title later the same day. Melrose wasted no time in ending Everett/Revere’s bid for the upset win when Conlin Healy banged in the rebound of an Eric Mercer shot to send the Red and White into the final round. Healy and Mercer provided all the offense Melrose would need as Mercer registered another “hat trick” and Healy had two scores including his strike in overtime. Once again Joe Taglieri was huge in the Melrose net turning aside several scoring chances by a desperate Everett/Revere team with the game hanging in the balance.

With the weekend winding down the Melrose Pee Wee A team had one more challenge in front of them before they could claim another state title. Once again, the formidable club from Concord-Carlisle stood firmly in front of the Melrose squad and their date with destiny. Determined to prove the 1-0 loss on Friday night was a fluke Concord-Carlisle came out flying and took a 1-0 lead. Melrose held firm, dug in and tied the game a short time later on a pretty goal by Eric Mercer. Melrose took control of the game during the second period when Cam McGuire cruised down the left wing and slid a perfect pass to a wide-open Luke Amato. Amato took the pass on his backhand and scooped it into the Concord-Carlisle net to give Melrose a 2-1 lead. With less than two minutes left in the second period Conlin Healy scored what eventually would be the game winner with assists going to Eric Mercer and Max Karelas.

The third period was a real nail biter for both teams. With Concord-Carlisle down by two and getting more desperate by the minute they stormed the Melrose net trying to get back in the game. At the eight-minute mark Concord-Carlisle managed to sneak one by Taglieri to cut the Melrose lead to one. The last half of the period was frenetic and full of action! The combination of Taglieri in net, the solid play of the defense and the relentless back checking of forwards Zack Mercer, Jimmy O’Donnell, Josh Crowell and Cam McGuire kept Concord-Carlisle away from the Melrose net and off the board until the final buzzer enabling Melrose to proudly bring home their second state title in the last three years! As the clock ran out the Melrose players raced off their bench and piled on goaltender Taglieri in celebration of another championship as the huge throng of Melrose supporters, who supported the team throughout the championship run, cheered wildly!

With the title secured and the heroics behind them the 2007-2008 Melrose Youth Hockey Pee Wee A team can look forward to being feted at a banner raising ceremony honoring their accomplishment early next season!