Monomoy-Mashpee Make Deepest Tourney Run in Team History

STONEHAM – Heading into March 1’s tilt against No. 1 Stoneham in the second round of the Division 4 boys hockey state tournament, No. 16 Monomoy-Mashpee knew they were the underdogs.

They also knew they could win.

They heard speeches from their coach about other underdog squads. They felt the big upset was possible. Probably most importantly, they didn’t doubt themselves. Monomoy-Mashpee (11-9) defeated Stoneham (13-7) in that round of 16 bout 3-2 — the Sharks’ third playoff win all-time but easily the most significant.

“We knew we could win that game,” senior goalie Dom Silvester said. “We were confident that we could win that game, and we did win that game.”

Back on the same ice where they had upended the one-seed a few days prior, Monomoy-Mashpee subsequently lost 6-3 in the quarterfinals last Thursday to No. 9 St. Bernard’s, ending their playoff run. But heading into the game, the fact of the matter was the Sharks were already further into the state tournament than they had ever been previously in team history. 

“It's awesome because it sets the precedent, puts us on the map,” head coach Chris Harlow said.

The Sharks and St. Bernard’s (17-3) played an even first 15 minutes, though a mounting attack by the Bernardians as the period closed foreshadowed how the rest of the game would turn out. Silvester, in that first period, made a number of saves, carrying over his elite level of play from the upset against Stoneham into the next round.

St. Bernard’s jumped ahead early in the second period on a score by junior Toby Beaulac, then added another from junior Pheonix Fortier to go up 2-0. Monomoy-Mashpee responded at the 3:25 mark with a goal from junior Owen Cloney, the puck pinballing to him in the slot where he finished. 

But each time the Sharks scored, the Bernardians responded. Fortier found the back of the net again with just 3.6 seconds left in the second period and junior Kody Warren extended the lead in the third’s first minute. Junior Gavin O’Leary scored to bring Monomoy-Mashpee back within two, but St. Bernard’s junior Evan Walker answered about 20 seconds later, then put in an empty-net goal. Monomoy-Mashpee junior Nick Garneau also scored near the end of the game.

“Really glad that we were able to get back to it in the third and play hockey, because I think that if we played in all three periods how we did in the third, we're looking at a different outcome,” Harlow said.

The Sharks may have gotten overeager and overzealous after the first period, starting to run around the ice a little too much, Harlow said. Their systems fell apart from that overcompensation. It was natural to try to draw comparisons to the previous round win against Division 4’s top team — a game where Monomoy-Mashpee “had an extra level of desperation,” Harlow said. St. Bernard’s has since advanced to the state finals, where they’ll face No. 2 Littleton-Bromfield (19-1) on Sunday at TD Garden.

“Not to say that the effort wasn't there, but in order to end up in the Garden, you need a lot of things to go your way, and tonight, it just didn't go our way,” Harlow said.

So ended the deepest run into the state playoffs in Monomoy-Mashpee history. The team won the Cape and Islands League Lighthouse Division for a second consecutive year and notched two more tournament wins, a season after earning the program’s first. The Sharks, in Harlow’s second year, have ushered in a golden age. Two years ago, the team won four games total.

“I couldn't be more proud of our school, our team, our coaches,” Silvester said. “We did things that nobody even dreamt of two, three years ago, right? We made a run in these playoffs. We beat the number one ranked team in Division 4. We came up short today, but I'm still so very proud of our whole team and our coaching staff and everybody that is involved with our program, and I have no regrets about this season.”

The 15 seeds separating Monomoy-Mashpee and Stoneham represented the biggest upset in the Division 4 boys hockey tournament since 2024, back when No. 24 Ashland took down both No. 9 Medway and No. 8 Martha’s Vineyard. 

The Sharks and Spartans played a scoreless first period, after which the confidence truly started to hit for the visitors.

“It was really after the first period, at 0-0 — that's when we're like, ‘Boys, we are winning this game,’” Silvester said. “Not ‘we can win this game.’ We are winning this game.”

Monomoy-Mashpee scored three goals unanswered throughout the second period (by senior Luke Raftery, O’Leary and junior Logan Puma). But the top-seed wasn’t going to go down quietly. The Spartans scored twice in the last period as Silvester made 52 of 54 saves overall, with 27 stops in the third (nearly two shots per minute) to hang on.

To Harlow, what Silvester — the Cape and Islands League Lighthouse Division’s Most Valuable Player in 2025 — did that night wasn’t even shocking. The Sharks also blocked 18 shots as a team.

“He has been the guy for four years now, and we've been in games where he's made ridiculous amounts of saves, and it's funny that it's almost second nature,” Harlow said. “And I think that the fact that that hasn't been the conversation this year speaks volumes about how much a lot of the other guys improved in the offseason, because he hasn't had to do it, so to be able to see him do it again was almost routine.”

Silvester’s numbers against Stoneham made it seem as if, for him, the puck was maybe traveling in slow motion. He said he was moving subconsciously and not thinking, which is when he plays his best.

“You're not thinking whatsoever,” he said. “You just react. Obviously in the back of your head, you know what's on the line. It's do or die.”

In the quarterfinal round, all three goalscorers for the Sharks against St. Bernard’s were juniors, a nice omen for Monomoy-Mashpee heading into next season as they graduate three seniors (Tristan Eldredge, Raftery and Silvester) but have a current core of players like Cloney, Max Cronen, Garneau and O’Leary.

“We're thrilled that our trajectory is what it is, and our junior class really is a huge part of that,” Harlow said.

That crop of returning players will be fundamental pieces for the Sharks once again next year, Harlow said. They now have quite a playoff story to draw upon.

“Elite eight run for the 16-seed, it's legendary, and that's going to be something that I remember for the rest of my life,” Silvester said. “And I will tell my children and my grandkids and my grandkids’ kids.”