The Woodstock Academy boys’ hockey team has been skating on thin ice lately.
Undisciplined play has been the bane of the team thus far this season and it came to a head Dec. 28.
The Centaurs were whistled for 20 minutes of penalties, all but two minutes coming in the second and third periods.
As a result, the Centaurs lost a 5-3 game to the Suffield-Granby-Windsor Locks cooperative team to drop to 2-3 on the season and 1-2 in the Nutmeg Conference.
The same issue hounded Woodstock Academy earlier in the week when it just pulled out a 3-2 win over Auburn, Mass.
Woodstock Academy coach Kevin Bisson was not happy between the second and third periods of the Centaurs hockey game with Auburn.
His team was incurring needless penalties and not getting shots on goal.
And his words then, could just have well been spoken following the loss to the Wildcats Dec. 28.
“It’s infuriating,” Bisson said. “They need to be better, bottom line, every single guy in my lineup needs to be better. We’re giving them way too many opportunities, turning the puck over left and right in our end and our defensive structure is not where it’s more than capable of being.”
It didn’t cost them against the Rockets.
It did against the Wildcats.
The Centaurs, as has also been their trademark this season, came out in the first period quickly.
Just 17 seconds into the game, Jake Starr got a pass from Doug Newton and ripped it over the right shoulder of Suffield goalie Cam Begley for his third goal of the season.
But the Centaurs were whistled for high-sticking and just six seconds into the power play, Ryan Corrigan scored his first career goal for the Wildcats to tie the game.
Guerin Favreau answered with his team-leading seventh goal of the season when he tucked a rebound off a shot by Newton into the net with 3:03 left in the period.
But the Wildcats took the momentum into the locker room when Tyler Gadzik smoothed one inside the right post with 54 seconds left.
The Centaurs have not been a good second period team this year.
That was not going to change against Suffield.
Just 2:13 into the period, Tyler MacKowski broke the 2-2 tie as he scored when the Centaurs turned over the puck near their own goal line.
Woodstock Academy started a steady flow to the penalty box shortly after the goal.
A roughing call left the Centaurs a man down and 16 seconds after the call, Adam Grabowski tallied for the Wildcats.
Brandon Severns would also score with 2:10 left in the period to give Suffield a three-goal lead.
Austen LeDonne scored his second goal of the season with nine seconds to keep the Centaurs within range, but five penalties against the Centaurs in the final period ended their hopes.
The same issues were there Dec. 23.
Against Auburn, however, the Centaurs and Rockets were tied going into the third period and the Centaurs were able to turn things around.
Sophomore Kyle Brennan got the game winner just 2:34 into the third period when Sonny Neilson sent the puck in from the point and Brennan was in the right place at the right time.
“I was in front screening the goalie when I saw Sonny shoot it. I tipped it in and we won the home opener,” Brennan said.
Goalie Colin Liscomb made sure the goal stood up as the junior turned in 31 saves.
“There were a lot of battles in front of the net, but thought we handled it and came together as a team in the third period,” Liscomb said.
The Centaurs started off well. LeDonne put in his first goal of the season when he took a slick past from Starr and slipped it into the Auburn net 6:40 into the game.
Auburn tied it when defenseman Matt Shirm took a pass on the right point from Caleb Bartlett on the left point and had an alley to fire it past Liscomb with just 1:05 left in the opening period.
But Woodstock Academy tied it when Starr knocked down a deflection and got it on to his stick, getting the goal with two seconds remaining in the period to put the Centaurs up 2-1.
“He’s been a man on a mission, leading by example. Whether he has a ‘C’ or an ‘A’ on his jersey (significant of captain and assistant captain) means nothing, but if you go out and lead, you’re a leader. That’s what matters. I thought he led (Monday). That first goal was his effort coming down with the puck, seeing Austen and feeding it to him and the second goal, he saw an opportunity, made a good move, put the puck on the net and got a good result,” Bisson said.
Auburn (1-1-1) tied the game in the second period on a goal by Dominic DiPadua before the Brennan goal sent the Centaurs home happy for Christmas.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

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