Wellesley’s Squirt B2 ice hockey team — Photo by Dingli Zeng

Reported by Eloise and Dingli Zeng

The Valley Hockey League Raiders from Wellesley (all born in 2007 or 2008) had a rough start to the season. But their dedicated coaches, Sean Campbell, Sam Steere and Jeff Rotella, and especially the team, fought their way up to the #2 seed in the 9-team division with a record of 15 wins, 9 losses, and 3 ties.

Last weekend, the Raiders defeated 7th-seeded Charlestown and 6th-seeded Melrose, both by 5-1 score. This earned the team a spot in the Central American Division Final, in which Wellesley faced the Brookline Warriors, coming off two straight shutouts. The final game was set in Malden, on the morning of March 31.

Brookline took an early lead in the first period. However, Coach Campbell prepared the kids for a comeback. In the third period, Liam Caffrey tied the game with an assist by Anton Sodervall. Then with less than 4 minutes left, Eddie Zeng scored the winning goal with an assist by Caffrey. The team went wild after their 2-1 win and Team Raiders took home the 2018 Valley Hockey League championship.

(Team roster: Chase Murphy, Liam Caffrey, Conor Campbell, Greg Derenzo, Aidan Greene, Charlie Griswold, Jacob Loomis, Alasdair McDonough, Nolan Morton, Jude Ramsden, Jack Rotella, Armaan Singh, Anton Sodervall, Sam Steere, Eddie Zeng.)