Battle of the Barn Thriller: Monomoy Outlasts DY in OT

The Battle of the Barn. The mid cape showdown. The ocean creature classic. Ok so maybe I made that last one up, but either way, it was a massive rivalry game between DY and Monomoy at Tony Kent Arena in Dennis. 

In the end, it was Monomoy who came out on top in a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory on Senior Night. The game was extremely physical, especially from the DY side. Massive hits were commonplace from the start.  

Max Cronen got the scoring going for the Sharks 20 seconds into a five minute power play, ripping a shot past goaltender Cam Wood from the right circle. 

The lead didn’t last long, as Jake Moriarty broke loose from the Monomoy defense and powered to the net, deking goalie Dom Sylvester and backhanding a shorthanded goal into the net. That one was a thing of beauty. After a penalty-filled first period, the score was knotted at one apiece. 

A Dolphin power play carried over to the second. Colin Endres capitalized on the man advantage, notching a gritty rebound goal to make it 2-1 just over a minute into the period.  

If there was one thing that doomed DY in this game, it was their struggle to get the puck out of the zone, and it cost them midway through the second, as Monomoy forward Owen Cloney took advantage of a DY turnover in which they failed to clear and wristed one past the goaltender. 

The third period of this heavyweight battle did not disappoint. A quick DY goal by Adam White early in the frame put the pressure on the Sharks. But pressure brings out the best in Max Cronen. He potted one into the back of the net on a scrappy goal around the crease. It was his second of the game. 

The most crucial point of the contest came with 6:48 left in regulation. The Dolphins were granted a five minute power play on a Monomoy game misconduct. The Sharks would have to hang on for dear life. And that’s exactly what they did. Dom Sylvester was outstanding in the game and he came up huge in the final penalty kill, stoning the Dolphin attack at every turn. Perhaps his biggest save was on a Colin Endres drive to the net. Endres zoomed into the zone with a full head of steam and attempted to sneak in a backhand, but Sylvester extended his left pad and denied the chance.

Coach Chris Harlow was impressed by his team’s effort in such a critical point in the game.

“The thing I'm absolutely most proud of is the fact that despite having a five minute major on the board, I felt like we controlled the play man down for five minutes.”

After clearing that hurdle, the team was confident they would finish the job. 

“We went to work afterwards, and we knew that we were going to win the game,” Harlow remarked. 

Insert Owen Cloney. With the game in overtime, Cloney decided it was time to show the Dolphins that the sharks are still the king of the ocean. He stickhandled the puck down to the right circle and snapped a shot that snuck by the Wood. The arena erupted. 4-3 Sharks in overtime.

Cronen finished with two goals and two assists on the night. Luke Rafferty, Nick Garneau, and Gavin O’Leary all added an assist. And of course, Cloney had two goals, including the OT winner. On the DY side, Jake Moriarty led the way with two points on the night. Endres and White had a goal apiece and defenseman Liam Graham also added an assist. 

Goalie Cam Wood played extremely well for the Dolphins. Had it not been for the play of Wood and Sylvester, that 4-3 score could’ve easily been in the 7-6 range. 

The three Monomoy seniors honored before the game were Sylvester, Rafferty, and Tristan Eldredge. I asked Coach Harlow if he had a message for them. He made it clear that they were hugely influential in building up the Monomoy program.

“We say in the locker all the time, leave it better than you found it, and those are three guys who absolutely have done that.”