Wakefield, lead by Giancola, overpowers Medford

So far this season, the Wakefield Warriors have been the surprise of the Middlesex League, getting off to a 5-1-1 start and recording impressive road victories over Woburn and Burlington. They were humbled a bit on Saturday afternoon, however, as they hosted the Melrose Red Raiders and were dealt a frustrating 6-1 loss. On Jan. 17, the Warriors seemed to get back on the right track with a dominating 3-0 win over Medford High School.

“It goes without saying that we looked much better today then we did against Melrose on Saturday,” said Wakefield head coach Derek Edgerly. “Like I said then, we just wanted to put that game behind us and focus on Medford today, and I was really pleased with how the guys bounced back today.”

The Warriors did the majority of their damage with their special teams, erupting for two powerplay strikes and really creating chances every time they had the man-advantage. On the other side, their penalty kill was very strong, not allowing Medford to gain any momentum back.

“Our powerplay was good again today, and I feel like it’s really been good for the last handful of games here, going back to the Winchester game,” commented Edgerly. “You know, we struggled with it early on, and we worked on just simplifying it and focusing on shorter passes and quicker puck movement, and I think it’s a testament to the guys for really working at making it better.”

Wakefield’s senior assistant captain Adam Giancola scored both goals for his team with the man-advantage, with both goals coming in the first period. That would be all the Warriors needed, but they added an insurance goal late in the second when Kevin Doherty took a feed from Giancola in the slot and buried the puck to put Wakefield up by three. The line of Giancola, Doherty and Brett Buckley was a force all game, figuring in on all three of the Wakefield tallies.

At the other end of the ice, Medford’s senior backstop Michael Gendreau did all that he could to keep his team in the game. Gendreau was electric from start to finish, making 37 saves, with many of them being of the difficult variety, in the loss.

“Michael is always good for us, and I’ll be honest I feel like he’s one of the best goalies in the area right now,” said Medford’s bench boss Steve DeBenedictis. “We really go into every game feeling like we have a chance to win with him back there for us, and that gives the rest of the team confidence.”

It was a frustrating afternoon for the Mustangs, however, as they struggled to get through a tough defensive front from the home side. Despite the result, though, the Mustangs still sit at .500 with a 3-3-1 record, and their head coach is encouraged by their approach to the game.

“I wasn’t unhappy with the effort by any means, I thought the kids played hard and did a good job of battling and staying in the game,” DeBenedictis said. “We just have to work on staying out of the box, especially against a skilled team like Wakefield, because in the end it’s going to kill us. I thought we were right in it 5-on-5 though.”

The win improves Wakefield to 6-2-2 on the season.