Thee Melrose Red Raiders made the short trip to the Spy Ponders of Arlington as both teams began their 2019-2020 seasons as well as Middlesex League play. Arlington controlled most of the play as was able to skate their way to a 4-1 one to open their campaign. Senior Nate Brennan earned the win in net.
The first saw Arlington get some early chances as 2004 Jake Murphy used his size to protect, carve space and fire one on net. Melrose goalie Nick Sicurella was up to the task as the big tender absorbed the shot. Melrose pushes hard on the forecheck but with little going on in front of the Arlington net and Brennan. The Spy Ponders broke through with 2:35 left as Brendan Pigott fired home a pass from sophomore Matt Allese. Ryan Davies also picked up an assist. On the goal, Allese had a backhand stopped and stayed with it to gather and set up Pigott. Period ended 1-0 Arlington.
Melrose took a penalty just 15 seconds into the second period. Arlington took advantage as Northeastern commit Anthony Messuri blasted a rocket shot home. Assists went to Ryan Davies and Leo Piandes. Soon after with 12:19 left, sophomore Reid Malatesta buried a rebound on a nice shot from a tough angle. Brendan Jones and 2003 Dom Laiosa assisted. Arlington now had a commanding three goal lead. Melrose got going however and picked up a goal from Sean Senier on a nice cross crease pass by Quinn McCarthy. Melrose has a 5-3 power play for over a minute but could not capitalize as Brennan was aggressive and made a few excellent stops. Second period ended 3-1 Spy Ponders.
The Rad Raiders made a solid push to start the last period. They came close and finally were able to get some of their big bodies to the net. The Ponders’ Brennan was up to the task, however. Arlington put the game away when John Hourican hammered a rebound home just before the whistle to give his team a 4-1 lead. Pigott and Allese assisted. The Spy Ponders had to kill off a 5-3 Melrose power play late and hung on for the 4-1 win.
Three Stars
First: Brendan Pigott (Arlington)
Second: Brendan Jones (Arlington)
Third: Ryan Davies (Arlington)
NZ Notes: For Arlington; Pigott was on the puck a lot, irritating, quick and willing to go to tough areas; Jones did a lot despite not getting on the sheet. He is excellent on special teams, has great speed and drives the cage, protects and distributes; Piandes showed a nasty side to his game we liked, the 2003 can skate and has decent size, should have a breakout season. Davies is smart. His game is subtle and mistake free. Goes about his business and can play any way, Hourican was elusive, set up in Gretzky’s office on the PP and forechecked hard; Messuri is quick to pucks and irritated Melrose, his shot is legit. looked stronger as a couple Melrose players bounced off him; 2003 Allese is athletic, caught bad passes and made some pretty cross ice dishes in the NZ. Brennan played well. The big goalie was never really challenged but he stayed square and used his size to his advantage. For Melrose; they will get better. They have a football hangover and will be tough to play against in January. Junior Brendan Fennell showed great vision and is thick, able to win wall battles. Fennell also ran for 108 yards, a touchdown and threw for another to finish a perfect season for the Red Raiders football season at Gillette in the D4 Super Bowl. He will be ready to take that ability to the ice soon. What he did tonight was impressive.
** Note: We do not have a roster for Melrose so we could not add some profiles**
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
