By Joe Kelly
The energy inside a packed Charles Moore Arena was electric. Nauset fans made their way to the student section, while others made a mad dash to get a view on the glass. It was a lower cape rivalry game to close out the year and the barn was rocking. The teams played each other tough, but in the end it was a familiar result, as the defending state champion Nauset earned a 6-2 victory over Monomoy.
Nauset may have had the talent advantage, but Monomoy was going to make sure they earned every inch of ice. The Sharks established a physical tone from the get-go, laying some board-rattling hits that you could hear from the other end of the arena. Nauset hit back, and the result was an entertaining, emotional game between two teams that aren’t exactly fond of each other.
Seamus Shanahan opened the scoring for the Warriors with 6:47 remaining in the first period, potting a goal into a wide open net on a gorgeous cross-crease pass from Sam Mayhew. Just over a minute later, defenseman Colin Sullivan wristed a shot from the point through traffic and beat Monomoy goalie Dom Silvester. Don’t let the score fool you- Silvester was fantastic in net, making several eye-popping saves. The six goals allowed could have been a lot more had he not been on his game.
After the Sharks immediately responded with a goal of their own to cut the Warrior lead in half, Nauset went back on the attack, and Zach Weiner made it 3-1 on a highlight-reel goal. Weiner juked the defender, powered to the net and ripped a beauty under the crossbar.
It was smooth sailing from there for Nauset. Despite a second period goal from Monomoy Junior Logan Puma, goals from Cole Hansen and Jake Eldredge put the game out of reach for the Sharks.
The chipiness and physicality was present throughout the whole game, and as the clock winded down, the referees put their foot down, handing out a roughing game misconduct.
I caught up with Nauset goal scorer Cole Jansen after the game, who gave me his take on the chippy play.
“We just ignored it, we try to ignore it. We're a disciplined team, we don't fall to that level of rough and undisciplined style of play, because that's just what losing hockey teams do and we’re a winning hockey team."
The Sharks gave Nauset all they could handle for 45 minutes. Coach Chris Harlow was proud of the team’s effort in the loss.
“We had a little bit of a short bench and some guys battling some things, and I'm incredibly proud of the fact that when you watch most of that game, you don't notice those things.”
One thing the scoreboard doesn’t always show is heart, and Monomoy certainly played passionately.
“I thought that we showed a lot of heart for most of the game, and, you know, I'm proud of that effort,” explained Harlow.
As for the defending champs, the march of dominance continued. Can anyone stop this team? Jansen is confident they can keep it rolling.
“If we keep playing our best game, if we keep doing what we've been doing for most of the games this season, I think we could beat anybody. I think we can go as far as we're able to go, or we want to go."
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