Hockey team
has mixed results
It was nice to just get back on the ice for the Woodstock Academy boys’ hockey team.
The Centaurs had over a week off before they got on the bus and made the 2 ½ hour ride to Falls Village and handed the Housatonic Regional/Northwestern Regional/Wamogo Regional/Torrington cooperative a 3-1 loss in a matinee game on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The Centaurs then played their first home game since Dec. 28 on Jan. 25.
The results were not what they had hoped as Woodstock Academy fell to Branford, the defending Div. II state champion, 8-1.
Woodstock Academy coach Kevin Bisson was just happy to finally play a game which ended an unexpected vacation from the ice. Two games were postponed.
The time off took its toll.
“When you look at how much you’re skating and then not skating, when you have a game and then don’t have a game and finally we do have a game against Housatonic. It took a little while to get going,” Bisson said.
In addition to the rust, there was also the bus ride and a few other factors to contend with in the game with the Housatonic cooperative.
“The overall volume of the game was very mild. It was hard to find that energy level. We had to manufacture it on our own,” Bisson said.
The first period ended in a scoreless tie.
In addition to the bus ride, the lack of fans, the funky venue, there was an additional factor the Centaurs had to deal with.
Penalties.
Woodstock Academy and Housatonic were whistled for two apiece in the first period.
The Centaurs were hit with three more in the second period while the Mountaineers had two.
“I thought it was a well-officiated game. The penalties were warranted, but you think you have a power play and no sooner than it begins and we take a tripping penalty. Now, it’s 4-on-4 and then it became 4-on-3. There was a lot of movement, shifting and line jumbling because of kids being in and out of the (penalty) box,” Bisson said.
Successive shifts by the Centaurs first line produced what Woodstock Academy needed; the lead.
Junior Guerin Favreau finally broke the ice 6:05 into the second period with a goal.
The first line left the ice briefly and when it returned, Doug Newton followed just 55 seconds after Favreau’s goal with his fifth tally of the season.
The Centaurs (3-2 Nutmeg Conference) sat on the 2-0 lead until Favreau added some insurance just 1:59 into the third with his second goal of the game and 17th of the year.
Tyler Calhoun scored the only goal for the Mountaineers with 11 seconds left in the contest.
The win was nice considering the Centaurs were away from home for nine hours.
“It makes it that much better that we came away with those two points from that extremely long day especially considering how much we invested in that game physically,” Bisson said.
Jan. 25 Branford scored its first goal just 3:57 into the game when Blake Kustro found the net off an assist from Will Linder.
The Centaurs (6-4) then got what most thought would be an advantage.
A slash against the Hornets left them a man down.
Branford responded with three shorthanded goals, from Jack Manware, Daniel Faricielli and Matt Morgan over the next 46 seconds to go up, 4-0.
Morgan then added another goal 38 seconds after his first when the teams were at even strength to put Branford (10-1-1) up, 5-0.
The Hornets added two more goals in the second and another in the third.
The only goal for Woodstock Academy came with 1:30 left when Alex Wojciechowski scored his first career varsity goal off an assist from Chris Thibault.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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Cornfield
working hard
Lani Cornfield has taken on all comers and, at the very least, held her own. At the very least she has held her own.
There have been plenty of times Cornfield, a guard on the Putnam Science Academy girls’ prep basketball team, has come out on top in her matchups against some of the other better guards in the country.
She had 21 in PSA’s season-opener against TPLS, whose point guard is going to Delaware and played a great game herself that night. Cornfield had 18 against Crestwood in the next game, and their guards are going to North Carolina State and UConn. (Cornfield then added 14 in a second game against Crestwood late in the season.) And she goes up daily against two Division-I teammates in Niya Fields and Lucie Castagne, who are going to Norfolk State and Bryant College, respectively, next year.
Still, the offers to play next year in college aren’t even trickling in for Cornfield. Schools have shown interest, but no one has offered her anything. Mustangs coach Devin Hill just doesn’t understand it.
“These are the players she’s going up against and she’s having success,” said Hill. He believes Cornfield is a low-to-mid major Division I player. “It’s like, how many matchups does she have to have – and play well – before schools really take notice of her?
“I can’t act like she hasn’t gotten any interest because she has. But still, I don’t understand what the hesitation is. Lani is a winner. She’s got toughness. Athleticism. She has scoring ability. She’s a hard worker. She’s been one of our biggest crunch-time players as well. She’s never afraid to take the big shot, never afraid to make the big play. These things translate well to the next level. I don’t see what’s not to like.”
Cornfield is plenty confident in her abilities but she said she doesn’t want to do a postgrad year and it’s January of her senior year and the uncertainty is, naturally, weighing on her.
“I’m always thinking about it,” she said. “It is frustrating, but I keep hoping. And whatever happens, happens. I just bottle it up, and it makes me want to play better. I try to make the point that I can do it.
“I know me and I know I’m capable of playing at that level. If coaches see something that I have to fix or they don’t like or think needs to be better, I’m completely open to it.”
Cornfield said she needs to work on her mentality and handling her emotions a bit better. She said she can get in her own head sometimes and then be too hard on herself when she shouldn’t be. She is constantly working on those things.
Her high basketball IQ may just be the strongest part of her game. She naturally sees the court differently, sees plays unfolding before they do, which only adds to her ability to be an extension of the coach on the floor. Hill sees that, and so do Cornfield’s teammates.
“You can see her high IQ for the game when she makes certain passes that a regular player won’t see,” Fields said, “or she’ll know exactly what play to call to get that quick layup or the three.”
Hill looks at his team and all that Cornfield adds to it, and he is just puzzled by what is not happening.
“You look at Niya, Norfolk State. You look at Lucie, Bryant College. You’re telling me that Lani can’t play? Come on,” he said.
“And we’re all on the same team, so it’s not a competition, it’s just being real. They’re all playing together, out there competing. Sometimes Niya gets the best of Lani, sometimes Lucie does, sometimes vice versa. So I don’t see what the difference is. I really don’t.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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caption, page 7:
Waiting
Woodstock Academy defenseman Jade Hill awaits the puck in a game against Smithfield last week. Photo by Julia Budd/The Woodstock Academy)
Two new
opponents
score wins
Woodstock Academy had a chance to tie against Smithfield, R.I., early last week.
But an empty-net goal with 55 seconds left in the game guaranteed the Sentinels’ cooperative program a 4-2 victory over the Centaurs.
The home game with Smithfield was also the Senior Day event for the Centaurs who honored senior players Marie Gravier, Chelsea Willis and Linda St. Laurent prior to the puck being dropped.
“We knew that (Smithfield) played Warwick, R.I., and beat them, 6-0, and we beat Warwick (twice, 2-1 and 1-0). It comes down to shooting, though. We took a lot of shots against Warwick, but they were going right at their goalie. Smithfield, meanwhile, has three players who are very good skaters, shooters and puck handlers,” said Woodstock Academy coach Jeff Boshka.
Still, the Centaurs (3-4-2) took the early lead in the non-league game with the Sentinels.
Eighth-grader Julianna Buoniconti scored the first goal just under three minutes into the contest off assists from Ivy Dowdle and Grace Pokorny.
“It was fantastic, a well-executed play, with a nice pass and a great shot into the top corner,” Boshka said.
It was the second goal of the season for the youngster.
“We are so pleased with her. It’s like, ‘Wow, she’s only in eighth grade.’ We’re excited about that,” Boshka said.
Ava Pomposelli tied the game for the Smithfield/Coventry, R.I./Moses Brown cooperative program 2 ½ minutes later.
The tie remained for much of the second period until Pomposelli broke it 12:16 into the period.
The freshman then put the Sentinels up, 3-1, with another goal just 14 seconds later.
“(Pomposelli) just handled the puck really well,” Boshka said.
But the Centaurs didn’t give up.
Sophomore Sydney Haskins brought Woodstock Academy back within a goal when she took a pass from Eliza Dutson and put it into the net for her first goal of the season.
The goal came with 5 ½ minutes to play and the Centaurs eventually had to pull their goalie, Gravier (37 saves), to try and get the equalizer.
“We had the pressure on them with the 6-on-5 advantage, had some good opportunities and just couldn’t keep it in our zone,” Boshka said.
Pomposelli, who else, pounced on the puck and scored her fourth goal of the game into the unprotected net to seal the win for the Sentinels.
It was the second straight loss for the Centaurs who fell to St. Peter-Marian four days before, 5-0, at the Worcester Ice Center.
“They were good, not exceptionally good, we skated with them and hung with them,” Boshka said of the Centaurs’ Worcester-based opponents. “We let in a couple of soft goals that Marie probably wishes she had back. I think it could have been a 3-0 game. One thing we have to get better at is shooting, shooting to the open spots and making the goalie move.”
The Senior Day occurred because the Centaurs have only one home game remaining with Shrewsbury on Feb. 6.
Gravier and Willis both have played all four years for the girls’ hockey team.
St. Laurent is a first-year player.
The Centaurs still have four games on the road — three are the second matchups with their fellow Central Massachusetts League teams, Auburn, Oakmont Regional and Leominster.
“I think we’re excited to play them again and those will be pretty good battles,” Boshka said.
The Centaurs downed Auburn, 4-3, and tied both Oakmont (1-1) and Leominster (2-2) meaning they still have a chance for the Division B Central Massachusetts League title.
“It’s going to be close. We’re all hovering around the same record,” Boshka said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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Woodstock public schools
Monday: Cheeseburgers, fruit. Tuesday: French toast sticks, sausages, fruit. Wednesday: Popcorn chicken, mashed potatoes, carrots, fruit. Thursday: Baked potatoes, broccoli, fruit. Friday: Pizza, green beans, fruit.
Putnam Elementary/Middle
Monday: Chicken patties on buns, carrots. Tuesday: Macaroni and cheese, broccoli. Wednesday: Cheeseburgers, fruit sorbet. Thursday: Chicken tenders, gravy, mashed potatoes, corn. Friday: Pizza or stuffed-crust pizza, cucumber coins.
Putnam High
Monday: Three-cheese grilled cheese or spicy chicken sandwiches. Tuesday: General Tsos chicken or bacon cheeseburgers. Wednesday: Mozzarella sticks, marinara sauce or chicken quesadilla. Thursday: Nachos Grande or chicken Caesar salad. Friday: Stuffed-crust pizza or mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce.
Pomfret Community
Monday: Mini corndogs, rainbow tray with fruit and vegetables. Tuesday: Cheese quesadilla, corn, rainbow tray. Wednesday: Chicken Parm on rolls, rainbow tray. Thursday: Pancakes, chicken sausages, hash browns, rainbow tray. Friday: Pizza, carrots, rainbow tray.
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