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Honored
The Woodstock Academy boys’ hockey team honored its seven seniors on Senior Night prior to a 4-2 win over East Haven Feb. 15. Photo by Marc Allard.
The Woodstock Academy boys’ hockey team had never beaten East Haven before this season. Last week, the Centaurs downed the Yellowjackets twice.
Woodstock Academy kept its winning streak alive and extended it to eight straight games with a pair of victories over the East Haven Cooperative program.
The Centaurs downed the Yellowjackets on their home ice early in the week, 3-1, and followed that up with a 4-2 victoryFeb. 15.
“That was a big win there,” said Woodstock Academy coach Kevin Bisson.
The Centaurs (14-4) are fighting for a CIAC Div. II state tournament home game.
“East Haven is a Division II opponent and we have Housatonic and New Milford left, those are both Division III opponents, so those points are going to be important but we are restricted in how many we get (against Div. III teams). When we can take a Div. II (win) and get those extra points, it’s critical to keep our momentum going. We had a little back-and-forth at the beginning of the year. We have certainly found our consistency and we’re trying to make the strong push to the end,” Bisson added.
The Centaurs jumped in front of the Yellowjackets in the first period Feb. 15.
Nick Chubbuck scored his second goal of the season 9 minutes, 42 seconds into the contest off assists from Jake Starr and Austen LeDonne.
“Nick has had a tough year scoring. He knows it. We all know it, but he’s really been trying so to see him get the first one and get the momentum on our side was huge,” Starr said.
The Centaurs got a little breathing room in the second period when sophomore defenseman Brendan Hill, with help from Guerin Favreau and Doug Newton, scored his fifth goal of the season.
“Brendan has had that breakout year,” Bisson said. “He was good last year, too, but as a freshman when you are still learning to play with those other bigger bodies – he’s a big body, himself, and plays that style of game – but its’ getting that understanding of when you can go and when you shouldn’t. We use him in every phase of the game.”
Bisson was also happy with the play of another sophomore, Kyle Brennan, Feb. 15.
“He was just a man on a mission,” Bisson said with a smile. “He was all over the ice, taking away opponent’s chances, back checking, fore checking, playing the body, shooting pucks, going hard to the front. Those are two young guys (with Hill) that we’re certainly going to rely on for years to come.”
Favreau put the Centaurs up, 3-0, with his 30th goal of the season with 9:38 to play in the second period.
But Woodstock Academy got caught a little flat-footed to start the third. East Haven scored just nine seconds into the period and then added another with 6:34 to play to make it close.
“We just weren’t ready for the puck to be dropped,” Bisson said. “That gave them a little juice and they were pushing from there.”
Fortunately, senior Josh Lavitt was up to the task in goal for the Centaurs where he made 22 saves in relief of starter Colin Liscomb who was out on a school trip.
Favreau finished off the win when he scored off an assist from Hill into an empty net with 12 seconds to play.
The win also came on Senior Night for the Centaurs.
The team celebrated the dedication of seven players in their last year in a Woodstock Academy uniform; Newton, Starr, Anthony Girard, LeDonne, Sean McCusker, Sonny Neilsen and Lavitt.
“It was good. I think we’ve won every Senior Night (that he has played in). Coming in, we wanted to keep that streak going. I remember going through it all four years and watching my friends graduate and go through this and now, it’s really special doing it myself especially with some of my best friends,” Starr said.
The Centaurs also jumped out on top early against East Haven in their first meeting of the week. Favreau, off a feed from senior Newton, poked one into the East Haven net just 2 minutes, 14 seconds into the game.
But this would hardly be a high-scoring game as the score remained 1-0 through the remainder of the first period and the entire second period as well.
East Haven tied the game up just 2:50 into the third period.
The Centaurs weren’t fazed. They kept attacking. “There were a lot of chances that we just didn’t capitalize on,” Bisson said.
A case in point was the first line of Favreau, Newton and Brennan forging a good chance, but Brennan’s shot clanged off the crossbar on a redirect.
Newton later had a breakaway and tried to confuse East Haven keeper Logan Hamilton with a little forehand, backhand activity but Hamilton came up big with the save.
The Centaurs were not getting bodies on the net and thus, shots off rebounds were pretty much non-existent.
Fortunately for Woodstock Academy, Favreau didn’t need one with 5 1/2 minutes to play.
The forward came down the left side, shot across his body, went glove side and snuck it past Hamilton.
Newton then added some insurance in the final seconds with a goal into an empty net.
“We’re (ranked) fourth in the State (in Div. II) and we just want to keep this going because we’re only in there by a couple of points. We just want to make sure that we’re going to get a home playoff game. That would be huge,” the senior said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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