Mark Shepard was a standout left wing for the Wayland High School hockey team before graduating in 1973. He scored 119 points in 50 career games. He was a Dual County League All-Star his sophomore, junior and senior year, the team’s MVP as a senior and EMass All-Star as both a junior and senior. The Warriors defeated Acton-Boxboro in the EMass final in 1973, but lost in the state final to St. Joseph’s of Pittsfield that year.

After a stint playing for Berwick Academy and the Portsmouth Vikings in Junior A hockey, Mark went on to Merrimack College where he played hockey and graduated in 1977 with a business degree. He played minor league hockey for the Green Bay Bobcats of the United States Hockey League in 1978 and was scheduled to go to camp with the Detroit Red Wings as a free agent. However, he was traded to the Waterloo Iowa team that was notorious for not paying its players. Mark eventually hung up his skates over the issue.

Following his playing career, Shepard coached various youth level teams including the Wayland Middle School hockey team. Mark is the current owner and operator of Shepard’s Mobil. Mark has been married to his wife Suzanne for 26 years. He is the father of a daughter Cija and a son Shane. He has four grandchildren: Dillon (13), Joe (5), Ghianna (4), and Tony (2).

This past April, Shepard skated in the Over 50 Ice Hockey nationals in Tampa Bay, Florida, with the Darien (CT) Hornets.

He sends a special thanks to his father, to Coach Bill Morris, and to his hockey linemates Rick Irving and Mark O’Keefe, whom he credits for his high school athletic success. “Without teamwork, nobody excels in hockey,” he says.