Junior Ice Hockey player Jessica Crugnale. Photo by Carolina Cuevas.
Jessica Crugnale is a junior from the Malden High School and plays on the Medford/ Malden Girls’ Ice Hockey team. Sixteen year old Crugnale lives with her parents and two sisters, who have all played ice hockey together since they were younger. Crugnale has been playing ice hockey for twelve years, so far.
Crugnale plays ice hockey “because [her] dad has played hockey since he was a kid so he put [her] in hockey when [she] was four and [she] just liked it ever since.” The same can be said about her other sisters but they either do not play as much or do not play at all anymore.
Wearing number five on her Jersey, Crugnale plays as right wing. One major accomplishment Crugnale has achieved during her years of playing was about two years ago when she made two hat tricks in two separate games. Crugnale said “[she] was very proud of [her]self.”
Because Crugnale has played for so long, she has grown very fond of the sport. Crugnale describes herself as having a “lets all get along” kind of attitude.
“Everyone is really nice” Crugnale claims. “[They’ve] improved throughout the season. [They] all get along really well. [They even] bond a little too much. Everyday, after school, [they] all go to the rink before practice. And then from then until the end of practice, [they’re] all together.”
“Being a team, it doesn’t stop once you leave the rink,” said Crugnale on the closeness of the team.
Crugnale also said that their record is much better than last year and that “[they] all work very hard. [Their] record is not as great but its improved a lot and its way better than last year. [They have] improved a lot.”
And to all other athletes, Crugnale says to, “never give up, keep your head up.”
