caption:
Juliette Hammer, left, and Sophia Gouveia, were recognized on Senior Day for the Woodstock Academy girls’ hockey co-op. Both enjoyed their three years on the ice in a Woodstock Academy uniform. Photo by Collin Singleton/Woodstock Academy.
Season comes to a close for Centaurs girls’ hockey
The Senior Day festivities were dominated by the Suffield Co-Op. As is tradition, the visiting team’s seniors are always introduced first. It took a while before the two Woodstock Academy seniors were introduced.
“We were at their Senior Day last week and I was able to go over and have a cup of coffee while they were announcing,” said coach Eric Roy said with a laugh.
Saturday’s contest was the second of a back-to-back for the two teams who did play the week before in Simsbury where Suffield held on for a 2-1 victory.
The Wildcats made sure it wasn’t as close this time as they handed Woodstock just its second loss by shutout this season, 4-0.
The loss marked the end of the season for the Centaurs who finish 7-13.
It also marked the last time in a Woodstock Academy uniform for the two seniors, Juliette Hammer from Ledyard High School and Sophia Gouveia from Wheeler High School.
Hammer came to the Centaurs three years ago as a sophomore, coming from playing co-ed hockey to play girls’ hockey.
“It’s been an amazing experience,” Hammer said of the ability to play hockey against fellow females.
She had been part of the Seahawks club team which is associated with the Eastern Connecticut Eagles which is a boys’ co-op program, that like Woodstock Academy for the girls, offers a place for most boys in the ECC to play the sport.
Hammer had been on skates since she was 3-years old in California. Her father was an avid hockey fan and had loved the idea of girls playing the sport.
But playing high school hockey against boys was not her cup of tea.
“After my freshman year of playing co-ed hockey, I was going to be done. I was not going to continue to play hockey. But one of my prior coaches told me his daughter was coming to Woodstock Academy to play all-girls hockey and he recommended that I do the same and it’s just been phenomenal to play girls’ hockey and have the opportunity to grow,” Hammer said.
She was proudly wearing the ‘C’ significant of team captain of the Centaurs and was a key defensive presence for the Centaurs.
“She is a gritty, tough defender, who grew as a leader in her time here,” Roy said of the player who also happens to own the program record for penalty minutes. “She became a shutdown defender and would always be matched up against the opponent’s best. I will always remember her passion for the game and her will to win.”
Hammer and Gouveia both had to deal with something else. Travel.
The voyage from Ledyard and North Stonington to Pomfret School and the Jahn Ice Rink for games and practices is time consuming.
“The only time it’s really tough is when we have a 9:45 p.m. practice because the boys’ team practiced before us. I truly would have made any trip to come and play for this team. I will drive three or four hours just to play,” Hammer said.
Gouveia’s father grew up playing hockey as did her older brother, Cameron. “I loved what Cameron did and I wanted to do the same,” Gouveia said.
But she, like Hammer, was disenchanted with playing co-ed hockey.
“Our only option was the Eastern Connecticut Eagles so when this co-op came together, I was all in. I was so excited from going from playing on an all-boys’ team to one with all girls,” Gouveia said.
Her game blossomed. She finishes as the program’s all-time career goals (35) and points (51) leader.
“She has a knack for finding the right place to be,” Roy said. “She quickly became one of our goal-scoring threats and year after year, she kept besting her season-high totals. I will always remember how you can watch Sophia play and often wonder, ‘How did she do that?”
For both Hammer and Gouveia, the time spent as a member of the Centaurs went by quickly.
“It’s gone by fast. I’m sad that it’s over but I’m happy that it happened,” Gouveia said.
Gouveia is also a very talented lacrosse player where she was named the Player of the Year in girls’ lacrosse in the ECC a year ago. She has been offered the chance to play the sport at the Div. I level for Stonehill College.
Hammer has committed to Worcester State University where she is hoping to continue her hockey career but nothing is concrete yet.
“I can’t imagine (her hockey career) being done after this,” the senior said.
The Centaurs played well against the Wildcats (11-5) who came in as the fifth-ranked team in the state in Div. I.
The two teams finished scoreless at the end of the first period with sophomore goalie Gen Nash making 12 saves.
“She had a great game; we just left her out to dry a couple of times,” Roy said of Nash. “She had a heckuva game and that should help her build toward the future.”
Unfortunately for the Centaurs, the Wildcats constant pressure became too much.
Grace Pocholski scored 4 minutes, 9 seconds into the second period to break the scoreless tie. Samantha Ruggieri added a second just 4:20 later and Suffield took a 3-0 lead into the locker room when Kaylyn Ambrosino tallied. Lila Prayzner finished off the scoring for the Wildcats with a third-period tally.
“The stated goal was the playoffs but every game we played was competitive. This was probably our biggest loss of the season (the four-goal deficit equaled a 5-1 loss to Simsbury). It seemed like most losses were by two goals or less, so many were last second mistakes here and there. We’re on the cusp,” Roy said.
It’s also nice to have such a short Senior Day program — almost everyone is coming back.
“We lose a great shut down defender and our goal scorer, but this team builds up every year. Next year, we have nine seniors who have been here from the beginning and they will step up,” Roy said. “We have an open skate on March 1, almost like a tryout, so we know what we have coming up and we’ve had a lot of people reaching out so the numbers continue to grow.”
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
..