From Eagle Media
By Jordan Manning
It isn’t every day that club hockey players have the opportunity to play against some of the NHL’s best players. So when Florida Gulf Coast University’s club hockey goaltender Mason DeCaire found out he would be, he made the most of it.
The opportunity came about after Florida Everblades goaltending coach Anthony Butrico approached DeCaire with an intriguing proposition.
“He was the one to introduce me to a coach down here who trains a lot of elite guys,” DeCaire said. “Eventually he was just like, ‘hey, there’s three brothers coming down. Can’t really say who it is, and you can take a guess.’ And I was like, ‘wow, this is going to be a really cool opportunity.’”
When he took to the ice, he quickly realized he was playing against Jack, Luke and Quinn Hughes of the New Jersey Devils and Minnesota Wild, something he said he will never forget.
“There was nothing like it, and it came about in the most random of ways. I wasn’t going out looking for it. It just came to me, and I took it and took full advantage of it, and it was awesome,” DeCaire said.
Playing against three of the NHL’s best gave him a lot of confidence heading into his third season with the FGCU club hockey team.
“When you play against elite players and make even a few saves, it’s definitely a good confidence booster, especially going back, like definitely felt more comfortable, more than anything,” DeCaire said.
That confidence showed in the team’s first game of the 2026-27 season versus Division I Liberty where he faced 71 shots and made an impressive 66 saves. FGCU head coach Eric Mabie had nothing but praise for his goaltender after his outing versus the Flames.
“We try to have our defensive structure to make our goalies’ lives as easy as possible. But with that, there’s moments in the game that we need them to come up with big saves and keep momentum on our side, and he seems to do a good job of that,” Mabie said. “He gave us every chance to win…overall he gave us a real good opportunity and he continues to do that night in and night out.”
DeCaire’s journey from New England to Southwest Florida
DeCaire’s hockey career began when he was five years old in Grafton, Massachusetts. However, he didn’t start out as a goaltender.
“I ended up choosing full-time goalie around like 10 years old, and kind of went from there,” DeCaire said. “I just liked the pressure. It was fun, it’s a different position, feel like there’s nothing like it in sports. That’s kind of why I chose it.”
He spent three years on his high school’s varsity team, stopping an average of 26.6 shots per game on 1050 shots faced in his tenure per MaxPreps. After graduating from Grafton High School in 2024, he made the transition to collegiate hockey that fall, enrolling at FGCU for the 2024-25 season.
His debut for the Eagles came after he was substituted in with just over a minute left in the second period versus Division II Liberty. Over the course of the next 37 minutes of play, DeCaire stopped 21 of 23 shots faced, helping the Eagles nearly come away with the win, losing 6-5.
DeCaire collected his first win in the following game versus East Texas Baptist. He went on to win seven of his next 12 games, posting four shutouts and a .932 save percentage by the end of the season.
He played only seven games in 2025-26, tallying five wins, including a four-game winning streak to open his campaign. The real highlight of the season wasn’t his .929 SV%, however, it was what he and the team did in the postseason.
DeCaire propelled his team to the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Men’s DII National Championship, recording a 10-save shutout against Tennessee in game two of regionals. FGCU went on to win the title, securing the fifth national championship in program history.
For DeCaire, the victory was a culmination of a season spent building towards a shared goal.
“It was an awesome experience, especially with the group of guys that we had last year,” he said. “We kind of all knew it was coming. Like everyone kind of felt it around the room, and we knew we were going to walk in the tournament and have a really good opportunity to win, and glad we could get it done.”
Mabie felt he could rely on DeCaire in dire situations thanks to his quick growth since joining the team.
“Mason’s one of those guys that has the ability to really drive the bus for us. I mean, just his overall game I think he’s gotten more calm in the net, he’s kind of staying within himself and doing a lot of good stuff,” he said.
Setting his sights on another national title
The goaltending department changed slightly over the offseason. FGCU graduated goaltender Keegan Wise in the spring, who’s now working behind the bench as the team’s goaltending coach.
With Wise still in the locker room, Mabie believes that continued chemistry could help DeCaire have another great season.
“He has the ability to give him some feedback on the highs and lows that he had during his journey, and also Mason can bounce ideas off of Keegan where needed,” Mabie said. “It gives Mason the ability to not shy away from things and be upfront and open about what’s going on with his game and be able to work through whatever we need to.”
DeCaire believes the atmosphere inside Hertz Arena also deserves some credit for how he performs in the crease.
“Even if I do mess up or I make a mistake, like you still got some fans there that are there cheering for you no matter what,” DeCaire said. “Having a group of people that are behind you just feels good, keeps you going.”
After four starts so far in the 2026-27 season, DeCaire is looking forward to seeing what can be accomplished in his third campaign with the Eagles.
“I just can’t wait for a good season and see what this group can do,” he said. “I think we have a good group that can take another championship back there to FGCU.”
FGCU club hockey hosts FAU on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6 and 7 at 8:30 p.m. at Hertz Arena.
(Originally published at https://eaglenews.org/36152/sports/how-an-unexpected-opportunity-gave-mason-decaire-confidence-as-top-fgcu-club-hockey-goalie/)
