Monomoy-Mashpee Boys Hockey Earns Program’s First Postseason Win

SOUTH DENNIS – The Monomoy-Mashpee boys hockey team’s season ended in historic fashion.

 Monomoy senior Casey Huse and sophomores Nick Garneau (Monomoy) and Logan Puma (Mashpee) each tallied two goals each, and junior Luke Raftery (Monomoy) and sophomore Owen Cloney (Monomoy) also scored to propel the 30th-seeded Sharks to a dominant 8-1 win over No. 35 Keefe Tech in a Division 4 state tournament preliminary-round matchup Feb. 25 at Tony Kent Arena. 

 It marked the first postseason victory for Monomoy-Mashpee, which debuted as a co-op program in 2013.

 “It’s awesome to be a part of it and to see the success,” said first-year coach Chris Harlow. “We’ve had a lot of games where we’ve pieced together parts of games here and there, maybe two periods, so it was really cool to see what our true potential would be. 

“We got to get a lot of guys on the ice that don’t see the ice as much, and even they were able to hold their own. It speaks volumes about the future of the program.”

The Sharks suffered a hard-fought 4-2 loss to third-seeded Dover-Sherborn in the Round of 32 on Feb. 27 at The Rivers School in Weston, ending their historic season that finished with a 13-9 record. 

Although the tournament run didn’t end the way the players had hoped it would, the program reached new heights setting a record for most wins en route to the Keefe Tech victory. 

“We talked about it all season,” said Garneau, an East Harwich resident. “We wanted to break those records — it’s very important to me.”

There was never much doubt during the preliminary-round tilt. Monomoy-Mashpee came out flying, with Puma setting the tone after he opened the scoring just 40 seconds into the contest. 

Cloney and Huse added first-period goals to give the Sharks a 3-0 lead at the first intermission before the team exploded for five goals in the second period to put the game away before the final frame began.

“We knew it was do or die right when the puck dropped, so we had to come out hot and get the job done,” said Huse, a Harwich resident. “It’s really cool [to earn a postseason win], especially this year being a senior.”

Although Huse and fellow Monomoy seniors Cam McCutcheon, Aiden Stone, Dylan Chase and Mashpee senior Declan Smith will be missed after graduating, the group of upperclassmen helped establish a culture that captivated the community throughout the winter. 

The preliminary-round matchup was no exception — a raucous crowd packed the Tony Kent Arena stands and rooted on the Sharks from the opening faceoff to the final buzzer. 

“It’s awesome to see,” Harlow said. “I teach at the school, and we’ve had people walking around telling the guys, ‘Hey, good luck tonight! I’ll be there tonight!’ and the guys from the youth teams have been sending texts. 

“It’s been awesome to see members of the community coming around the guys.”