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caption, page 2:


Celebrate
Woodstock Academy junior Eliza Dutson celebrates after scoring the second goal of the game versus Warwick. Photo by Marc Allard.



Girls'
hockey team
posts first
two wins
It was a nice vacation week for the Woodstock Academy girls’ hockey team.
After losing its two opening games to Connecticut teams, the Centaurs rebounded with a pair of wins over teams from outside the state line just before and right after the Christmas holiday.
The Centaurs held off Warwick, R.I., 2-1, to even their record at 2-2.
Woodstock Academy had opened the week with a 4-3 victory over Auburn.
“We’re really happy. We’ve really improved over our first two games which didn’t go so well. The team is starting to figure out the plays and figure out how to work together well. It’s really good,” said senior Chelsea Willis.
Willis got the Centaurs going against the Lady Titans from Warwick Dec. 27.
With 3:50 left to go in the first period, she was able to poke a goal past Warwick goalie Mary Centracchio.
“It was a mess,” Willis said with a laugh. “It looked bad but all three of us (linemates Eliza Dutson and Sydney Haskins were part of the said ‘mess’) were in front of the net and just hitting (the puck) which was right by her pad. We got it up and over the pad and tucked it in.”
Willis has started to develop a crease presence for Woodstock Academy.
“It’s what we’ve called on her to do. She’s a bigger presence and can keep her stick down on the ice. If we can feed her the puck, she will have opportunities to score,” said Woodstock Academy coach Jeff Boshka.
It was Willis’ second goal of the season.
Dutson added the insurance goal for the Centaurs, her fourth of the year, when she crossed over the blue line all alone and bested Centracchio one-on-one 9 ½ minutes into the second period.
The Centaurs, who outshot the Titans 26-12, had numerous other opportunities.
“I thought we were going to have a little more of a spread there, but Warwick kept fighting and definitely made it hard for us. They had a very good goalie, made some nice saves and we just couldn’t finish,” Boshka said.
The Centaurs also grew a little complacent.
It had the coaching staff a little concerned in between the second and third periods.
“You always wonder about momentum,” Boshka said. “There was some talk at the break that we were skating about 80 percent. We decided to go to shorter shifts so that everyone could go 100 percent and get off the ice to someone with fresh legs.”
The Titans still made it close.
Faith Kennedy scored the first goal of the year for the Warwick team, which was playing its season opener, with 12 minutes left in the game.
“You can’t win by a lot every time,” Willis said. “It was a concern, but we held them off. We kept them on the outside like coach said and it slid off. We listened.”
The Centaurs are going to get pretty familiar with the Titans. The two teams will play again at 9 p.m. Jan. 3 in Warwick.
Against the Auburn Rockets, the Centaurs were clinging to a one-goal lead with 15 seconds left when Woodstock Academy goalie Marie Gravier made a fateful decision.
Somehow, her glove had become stuck and she could not move her hand.
To make matters worse, an Auburn offensive player was coming in and there was a loose puck in front of Gravier.
She just pulled her hand out of the glove and stopped the puck with her bare hand.
“It wasn’t a hard shot, it was just one where she tried to lift it, but it was pretty close and pretty hectic,” Gravier said.
The senior’s heroics saved the day for Woodstock Academy which recorded not only its first win of the season, but also its first-ever win as a member of the Central Massachusetts League.
“It’s so important to start off our real league season like this. I mean it can only go up from here,” Dutson said.
It came against the team whose coach, Pete LaPrad, was instrumental in helping Woodstock Academy gain entry into the Massachusetts league.
“It’s a very competitive game and that’s what this is all about. Girls’ hockey has come a long way and I know Woodstock Academy is a part of that and it’s really a good thing,” LaPrad said. “It’s good to have good competitive teams to come out and play against.”
Auburn jumped out on top early, getting three goals within 3 ½ minutes between the first and second periods.
Haley Vadenais struck first for the Rockets (1-2-1, 0-2-1 Central Mass) putting one over the right shoulder of Gravier with 2:52 left in the first period.
Auburn would take a 2-0 lead into the second period when Reese Levansavich scored with 44 seconds left.
The Rockets put their size advantage to work in front of the net early.
“We have to get position and battle for position. That has to be a key point,” Woodstock Academy coach Jeff Boshka said in between the first and second periods.
He went into the locker room to discuss it with his team but when they came out, the same thing occurred.
Brooke Lyden passed the puck in from the left wing and Delany Novick was stationed on the opposite post.
Lyden’s pass found her teammate who scored easily just 27 seconds into the second.
It was clearly shaping up to be a long day for the Centaurs who hadn’t, to that point, scored a goal yet in the season.
But Boshka was optimistic.
“There is hope. There is always hope when you have a team that works hard and keeps on trying,” Boshka said.
With 7:49 left in the second period, a little ray of light snuck in when Dutson scored the first goal for the Centaurs.
Newcomer Juliana Buoniconti got the puck just inside the blue line and passed it to the junior for the power-play goal.
“I asked the question (Monday), ‘Who will get us our first goal?’ and there was a loud roar and everyone said, ‘Me,’ knowing full well that Eliza had a very good percentage chance of getting that first goal. She has the skill and desire. She’s hungry,” Boshka said. “It was great and much needed. It got the monkey off our back and then, it was like, ‘Let’s play this game.”
Dutson would make it a one-goal game when she recovered from a pretty solid hit just inside the Auburn blue line, skated across and beat Auburn goalie Kori Hopkinson with 1:25 to play in the period.
Nine seconds later, Willis tied the game.
Dutson put home the game winner with 5:05 left when Jade Hill sent one off the boards and on to Dutson’s stick.
Gravier then came up big late, as she had all day.
The goalie finished with 38 saves as Auburn outshot the Centaurs, 41-11.
“She makes that save with her glove stuck and she’s like, ‘I have to do what I have to do.’ What more can you ask for as a coach? She made the save with her bare hand. She’s all fired up and all in,” Boshka said.  
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

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The following charges were listed in the Putnam Police Department logs.  The people charged are innocent until proven guilty in court. The Town Crier will publish dispositions of cases at the request of the accused. The dispositions must be accompanied by the proper documentation. The Putnam Police Department confidential Tip Line is 963-0000.
Dec. 16
Daniel Sheehan, 54, Woodside Street, Putnam; misuse of markers, failure to insure motor vehicle, operating an unregistered motor vehicle.
Dec. 17
Michael Mayo, 29, Sabin Street, Putnam; possession of less than ½ oz. of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia.
Dec. 19
Mariah Moriarty, 24, Putnam Road, Charlton; violation of protective order, interfering with police, second-degree breach of peace.
Zachary Moriarty, 26, Hartford Pike, Dayville; second-degree breach of peace.
Dec. 20
Aleksandr Ionkin, 45, Woodside Street, Putnam; second-degree breach of peace.
Dec. 21
Chad Acberry, 36, Laconia Avenue, Putnam; operating while under suspension, operation without a license, failure to stop at stop sign.
John Caez, 38, Smith Street, Putnam; disorderly conduct.
Dec. 22
Justin Stately, 22, Woodstock Avenue, Putnam; third-degree assault, disorderly conduct.

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Captain

Senior Rachel Lambert will serve as Woodstock Academy’s captain this girls’ basketball season Photo by Will Fleeton/The Woodstock Academy.

New London’s quickness causes trouble for Centaurs girls

The Woodstock Academy Centaurs girls’ basketball team knew its first real foray on to the court was not going to be easy.

They invited the fifth-ranked team in the state, New London, to the Alumni Fieldhouse Dec. 20.

A shaky start put the Centaurs behind early, but they didn’t give up and acquitted themselves pretty well in the end, falling 41-26, in their season opener.

“(New London) has lightning fast feet, quick hands, they try to get a steal on every pass,” said Woodstock Academy coach Will Fleeton.

To make matters worse, the Centaurs had troubles handling the ball early, committing some 18 turnovers in Fleeton’s guesstimate and not all of those turnovers were forced by the Whalers.

“There were passes that should have been stolen,” Fleeton said.

Fortunately for the Centaurs, New London’s shooting wasn’t exactly perfect either.

The Whalers (2-0, 1-0 ECC Division I) scored the first eight points of the game but it took them most of the first quarter to do so.

Woodstock Academy’s first basket wouldn’t come until senior captain Rachel Lambert (3 points) scored with 2:16 left in the first quarter.

The Whalers would own a 12-3 lead at the end of the first quarter and then scored the first 11 points of the second quarter. Sophomore Joniyah Bland-Fitzpatrick had four of those and freshman D’Nazia Uzzle added a 3-pointer.

“We started to settle down in the second quarter and broke through that pressure which got us some shots and we were able to score,” Fleeton said.

The Centaurs scored seven of the last eight points of the half, five by sophomore Aurissa Boardman and only trailed at the half, 24-10.

“Once we relaxed a little, did the things we know, took care of the ball and made better passes, it wasn’t as effective,” Fleeton said.

The Centaurs did get it down to as few as 11 points in the third when Boardman hit a putback with 2:51 left in the quarter to make it 27-16.

Boardman finished with a team-high 11 points.

“This was her first varsity game. She played last year and got some spotty minutes but this was her first varsity game with huge expectations and I think she did a good job. I think she did a better job on defense than she did on offense to be honest,” Fleeton said.

New London re-took control, scoring 11 of the next 13 points to put the game out of reach.

Wendy Gethers led the Whalers with 13 points, Jayden Burns added 10.

Fleeton said he thinks the experience of playing a fast, aggressive team like New London right out of the gate may help down the road.

“I think it’s just a matter of relaxing,” said the Woodstock Academy coach. “Their speed and aggression took us out of the game early and forced us into some bad decisions. We dribbled it into trap spots and got trapped. That’s going to happen. You are going to turn it over. I think the experience of learning from those mistakes and making better decisions will keep us out of those spots.”

Marc Allard

Director of Sports Information

The Woodstock Academy

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PUTNAM — Dec. 20 the Putnam Police Department responded to several auto burglaries which occurred the previous overnight in the residential areas of Addison Street and Oak Hill Drive.  All of the vehicles were entered because they were not locked.
The Putnam Police Department reminds residents to always lock your vehicles and remove your keys and other valuables from view inside of your vehicle or just take them into your home.  “These were crimes of opportunity and if your takeaway the opportunity by locking your vehicles and removing your valuables, you will certainly reduce the chance of being victimized,” said Chief of Police Christopher D. Ferace.
Anyone who has information or may have witnessed suspicious activity in their neighborhood overnight Dec. 19 into Dec. 20 morning is encouraged to contact Police Officer Mark Boulanger at the Putnam Police Department at (860)928-6565; use the anonymous tip line 860-963-0000 or  email us at www.putnampolice.com and message us in the contacts drop down box.

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