Hockey team
tops league
Parity.
It’s a concept most athletic leagues at any level try to have.
The Central Massachusetts Girls Hockey League has certainly stumbled upon it.
The addition of Woodstock Academy to the league this season has left the “B” Division of the league in a virtual deadlock halfway through the season.
The Centaurs finished in a 2-2 tie early last week against the Auburn Rockets in Auburn.
It gave the Centaurs a 3-4-3 overall record and a 1-0-3 mark in the league with divisional road games still to play against Oakmont and Leominster.
The record put the Centaurs on top of the league standings with five points.
Auburn at 1-1-2 is second with four while Leominster 1-0-1 has three and Oakmont (0-2-2) two.
“It’s amazing,” Woodstock Academy coach Jeff Boshka said of the bunched up standings. “All of us in this conference, it’s super close.”
What makes it that way? Boshka said it’s probably the depth or lack thereof it.
“A lot of us are playing two lines and mixing in a third line here and there,” he said. “It’s equal ability and it’s not like any of us are standing out. We’re just all pretty even. It’s not like anyone is coming in and dominating the games.”
Auburn got on the board first with sophomore Reese Levansavich scoring for the Rockets in the first period.
But Woodstock Academy tied it just 2:19 into the second period when freshman Ivy Dowdle scored her first career varsity goal off an assist from Julianna Buoniconti.
The Centaurs took the lead with 6:24 left in the game when sophomore Sydney Haskins scored her second goal of the season with help from Eliza Dutson and Chelsea Willis.
“I thought going into this game, we were going to score more goals. When we went ahead, I thought it was good and all we had to do was play smart and hold them off,” Boshka said.
It was not to be.
A rebound off an Auburn shot just a minute after Haskins’ goal was not cleared by the Centaur defense and Levansavich picked it up and beat Centaur goalie Marie Gravier (39 saves).
Boshka said since it was a game on the road on a smaller rink than what the Centaurs are used to, it was an acceptable result.
The Centaurs, once again, will have plenty of time off.
Woodstock Academy was coming off an eight-day break going into the Auburn game.
It now gets another week and a half off before it plays host to Shrewsbury, Mass., in its final home game on Thursday.
“Looking to the future, it would probably be nice if we added a couple of games, have a couple of games a week. It gives you something to strive for. The team gets amped up for games,” Boshka said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
Feb. 1 a strong 4th quarter from Pomfret allowed them to pull away from Portsmouth Abbey at home. The final score was Pomfret School 54, Portsmouth 35.
Sel Gonzalez and Tay Guirantes led Pomfret in scoring while Grace Bullied and Molly Vincent led Pomfret in rebounds. All 10 Pomfret players played in the game and made solid contributions to the win.
Portsmouth Abbey: 11 20 33 35
Pomfret School: 10 25 39 54
Pomfret Scorers: Sel Gonzalez: 14 points; Tay Guirantes: 13 points; McKinley White: 11 points; Brooke Zahansky: 6 points; Grace Bullied: 6 points; Molly Vincent: 2 points; Laila Travers: 2 points.
Earlier in the week Worcester Academy beat Pomfret 67-54. Worcester Academy is currently the top-ranked “AA” schools in NEPSAC basketball and Pomfret knew they needed to compete at a high level throughout and do the little things (rebound, take care of the ball, execute, etc.) well against a talented and well-coached opponent. Worcester blitzed us early and got out to a fast 10-0 lead. Our defense wasn’t where it needed to be, but we corrected and when we realized we could make things difficult for them our confidence grew on both ends. After only scoring 4 points in the first quarter, we settled down offensively and forced Worcester to defend. They continued their hot shooting early and this allowed them to pull ahead at the half by a score of 40-18.
Although we were disappointed with the start, our compete level increased in the second quarter and we challenged the team to raise it even more during the third quarter. We did just that, and held Worcester to 15 points while scoring 18 of our own. We continued to increase our work rate and intensity in the fourth quarter as we once again put up 18 points while holding Worcester to 12. With 3:30 left in the game, we were down by 9 and had a shot to take it down to 6 just rim out. We battled to the end but came up short, 54-67.
Sel Gonzalez and Tay Guirantes both scored 16 points, and both had double-digit rebounds on the day (Sel with 13 and Tay with 14). McKinley White was a presence inside and her ability to box out allowed her teammates to rebound well throughout. Molly Vincent didn’t score on the day, but she had 9 boards and played with poise on the offensive end. Grace Bullied scored 7 points in a variety of ways and was strong on the offensive glass throughout the game while also providing us with a physical presence in the paint when we needed it. Brooke Zahansky and Alba Samu were very effective defensively and pulled down a number of offensive and defensive rebounds. Teagan O’Hara continues to bring energy to the group and her good communication anchored our transition D in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Michaele Nsubuga gave us a spark in the first half and helped us get two important stops that lead to transition baskets. The team’s overall energy was at a high level in the second half and we thank Laila Travers, Bella Goldman, and Colin Kroll for their constant encouragement of their teammates.
Pomfret Scorers: Sel Gonzalez: 16; Tay Guirantes: 16; McKinley White: 10; Grace Bullied: 7; Alba Samu: 3; Brooke Zahansky: 2.
By Patrick Burke
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DKH rates
well on
readmission
PUTNAM —Day Kimball Hospital learned recently that among the 26 Connecticut hospitals facing Medicare penalties for high 30-day readmission rates, it has the 5th lowest hospital-wide, 30-day readmission rate in the state, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) report
The CMS Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) was established in 2012 as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and evaluates U.S. hospitals annually on rates of 30-day readmission among Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. Financial penalties are imposed on hospitals for excess readmissions when compared to expected levels of readmissions. The current results assess readmission rates from 2015-2018 for six common medical and surgical conditions: heart attack, heart failure, chronic lung disease, pneumonia, coronary bypass surgery and total joint replacements.
Nationally, 83 percent of hospitals evaluated by this program were penalized, with penalties averaging 0.7 percent of Medicare reimbursement, up to 3 percent.
Day Kimball Hospital’s current rate is 0.15 percent, a 0.49 percent decrease from the previous year. “This is a testament to the dedication of our care team who strive to ensure that patient care is successfully managed across the continuum,” said Day Kimball Healthcare’s Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs and Quality, John Graham, MD.
“Preventing readmissions is a complex issue that involves hospitals, physicians, and other care providers who manage patient care, as well as patients and their families. Day Kimball remains proactive in this area through various initiatives including a focus on care transitions from hospital to home, enhanced readmission protocols, and addressing social determinants of health which can also contribute to readmissions,” he added.
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Nabs top
award 2nd
year in row
THOMPSON — For the second year in a row, Marianapolis Prep junior Sydney Masciarelli of Northbridge, Mass., has been named the Gatorade Connecticut Girls’ Cross Country Runner of the Year.
The award recognizes “the nation’s most elite high school athletes for not only athletic excellence, but also for high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character.” Masciarelli is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Girls’ Cross Country Runner of the Year, to be announced in February. Masciarelli was also named the Gatorade Connecticut ‘ Track and Field Athlete of the Year last year.
“Winning the Gatorade Athlete of Year Award has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl,” Masciarelli said. “To be able to win this prestigious award three times is truly an honor and a blessing that I will never take for granted.”
As the 2018 Foot Locker Cross Country Champion, Masciarelli finished in seventh place this year with a time of 17:19:4. This season also saw her win the New England Prep School Division 4 championship in 18:49 and finish first in the Canterbury Invitational, Marianapolis Prep Invitational, and second at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional championships.
Masciarelli is currently in the middle of basketball season on the girls’ varsity basketball team and she also participates in track and field in the spring. In addition, she has maintained a 3.57 GPA.
“This season Sydney continued her career as a phenomenally talented runner and acquired some important wisdom along the way: that a runner’s strength lies less in their successes and more in their ability to encounter and learn from challenge,” said Marianapolis Head Cross Country coach Emily Gaudet. “It’s difficult to believe in yourself when others judge your worth based on how many races you win and expect you to win every race when, in fact, that is an impossible feat. It was a season of tremendous growth that will provide her with a solid foundation in her future seasons.”
As part of Gatorade’s “Play it Forward” platform, Masciarelli has the chance to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national youth sports organization of her choosing. In addition, she has the opportunity to submit an essay to win one of 12 $10,000 spotlight grants for an organization of her choosing.
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