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Centaurs look
forward to full
hockey season
The motivation to play boys’ hockey last winter was not the traditional type.
A six-game regular season, no conference playoffs and no state tournament.
“They were playing because they loved (the game) plus there wasn’t much other excitement or positivity, so just playing the game was enjoyable. This year is bringing back some of that extra motivation,” said Woodstock Academy coach Kevin Bisson.
The Centaurs finished only 3-3. “Those games were more geared toward the varsity roster,” Bisson said. As a result, younger players didn’t receive a lot of ice time and development was delayed by a year.
That will all change this season. The 20-game regular season is back, the five-team Nutmeg Conference is back and so is the state tournament.
There is also a full junior varsity schedule.
Of course, all of that is dependent on the COVID virus. Teams will have to stay healthy this winter and the early winter positivity rates in Connecticut are mimicked inside the high schools.
That, said Bisson, adds another level to the anxiety about the season.
The Centaurs had the biggest turnout they’ve ever had since Bisson took over prior to the 2018-19 season.
Out of that, came 24 skaters and three goalies between varsity and JV.
Woodstock only lost five seniors from last season.
Gone is starting goalie Colin Liscomb, blue-liners Gabe Geyer and Alex Wojciechowski, and forwards Nick Chubbuck and Guerin Favreau.
Favreau finished with 45 goals in his high school career.
Junior Kaiden Keddy is the heir apparent to Liscomb.
Keddy did lose almost a season of prep as the small amount of games limited playing opportunities and the majority of the time went to Liscomb.
Chris Thibault and Brendan Hill (out with an illness, not COVID, is shelved until Dec. 15), two senior veterans, will likely anchor the defense.
Sophomore Jared Neilsen, the younger brother of former Centaur Sonny, may move back behind the blue line.
Two transfers to Woodstock Academy, Ryan Wallace, a sophomore who is more familiar with the offensive side of the game but whom Bisson feels can play defense, and his older brother, Shawn, a senior, will add depth to the defense.
Kyle Brennan is one of the holdovers to the offensive line. Brennan was the team’s fourth-leading scorer with six goals and eight assists as a sophomore.
Jeter Darigan and Max Larkin, two juniors who came into the Academy last year, will get their first chance to play a full year of high school hockey.
Sophomores Noah Sampson and Don Sousa will also contribute. Don Sousa scored two goals for the Centaurs in the opening scrimmage.
Woodstock opens the season Dec. 15 against a Nutmeg Conference foe, the Eastern Connecticut Eagles, at 7:40 p.m. in Norwich.
It doesn’t get any easier after that. “I feel I’ve given us the hardest schedule we’ve ever had to play.” Bisson said.
A plus for the Centaurs. The Pomfret School’s Jahn Ice Rink, which has been refurbished a bit, is again their home ice.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
Boys’ Hockey Schedule: Dec. 15: at Eastern Connecticut Eagles, 7:40 p.m.; Dec. 20: at East Haven Co-Op, 8:45 p.m.; Dec. 22: at Rocky Hill Co-Op, Cromwell, 8:05; Dec. 27: at Auburn, TBA; Dec. 29: vs. Branford, 5:30; Dec. 31: vs. Suffield-Granby-Windsor Locks, noon; Jan. 5: vs. Eastern Connecticut Eagle, 7; Jan. 8: vs. Smithfield, 7; Jan. 12: vs. E.O. Smith-Tolland, 7; Jan. 15: vs. Auburn, 5; Jan. 17: vs. Housatonic Co-Op, noon; Jan. 19: at Moses Brown (RI), TBA; Jan. 22: vs. Glastonbury, 5; Jan. 26: vs. Bishop Hendricken (RI), 7:30; Feb. 4: at Suffield-Granby-Windsor Locks, 8:20; Feb. 9: vs. Tri-Town, 8; Feb. 16: vs. Burrillville, 6:30; Feb. 19: at E.O. Smith-Tolland, 4; Feb. 21: at Housatonic Co-op, 4; Feb. 25: at Tri-Town, 8:20.
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