New coach
to lead Centaur
girls’ hockey
For the third time in three years, the Woodstock Academy girls’ hockey team will have a new head coach.
Although, unlike in most cases when this happens, the previous two head coaches are still with the team.
Eric Roy steps in as the new head coach for the Centaurs and he will be assisted by last year’s head coach Madison Millar and the head coach from the 2019-20 team, Jeff Boshka.
Roy comes over from the Daniel Hand High School program in Madison where he spent the last three seasons. Roy lives in Windham which made the Woodstock Academy program attractive for him.
“I am definitely excited for the closer opportunity. It was a little bittersweet to leave my Daniel Hand girls where I had seven seniors who are graduating this year who started with me,” Roy said.
Roy has been on the ice for as long as he can remember. “I learned to skate when my father threw me on a pond that we had behind our house and I cried and cried and cried, but still skated to him. I figured it out by myself,“ he said.
Roy went on to play youth hockey in South Windsor and high school hockey at East Hartford. He went to Niagara University where he played club hockey, but was injured, and decided coaching was for him.
He went back to his youth hockey roots in Central Connecticut where he coached for two years with the boys squirt program before taking on a new gig, coaching the Northern Lights girls’ club program with a friend for six years.
That same friend started the Avon-Southington cooperative high school program where Roy went for a couple of years before taking over the Hand program.
He inherits a Centaur program that is a little small in number for Roy’s likes.
Woodstock Academy has 18 girls out, 16 of those are skaters with two goalies.
“The numbers aren’t that big, but there is promise since six are very young and that bodes well for the future but this year, we’re an injury or COVID-scare away from very low numbers,” Roy said.
The good thing for the Centaurs, senior Mia Dang is a fixture in goal. Dang, who raised eyebrows with her golf skills that led the Centaurs to a Div. II state championship this past spring, is solid in between the posts.
“In my years of coaching, she’s the best goalie I’ve seen. In my coaching, I’ve been blessed with a good team and a girl who has had to learn in the net. It was always tough because I had to play a defensive style of hockey because I knew I was in trouble back there. But Mia controls the net pretty well, is pretty confident in herself and allows us to concentrate on the offensive end because she has us covered back there,” Roy said.
Junior Elizabeth Morgis is Dang’s understudy but those are the only two goalies in the program which means Roy and his staff will have to start working on a backup goalie plan for next season, hopefully, this year.
Keynila Hochard and Alex Lee will anchor the defense although don’t expect them to stay behind the blue line.
“They are both solid defensemen, but I like a brand of hockey where my defensemen are involved in the offense. They aren’t used to it so I’m loosening them up a little bit,” Roy said. “Lee will be a Swiss Army knife. She plays defense but I’m going to use her everywhere.”
Up front, the Centaurs do have senior Sydney Haskins who had six points in her sophomore season and added four goals in the abbreviated three-game season last year.
“Sydney can light the lamp, (senior) Bella (Chaves) will also be one of our top scorers, I would be surprised if they’re not 1-2 on the team in scoring. Bella is fun to watch with the puck. She can do some things and make some people look bad. It’s cool to see,” Roy said.
The Centaurs also have seniors Hannah Clark, and Brigid McNerney and junior Bryn Miller.
Grace Pokorny is only a freshman but is playing in her third season with the program.
It will be a much busier winter for the Centaurs this season.
They are scheduled to play 15 games, including seven Central Massachusetts League contests. Woodstock finished 3-8-3 overall and 1-2-3 in the lower division of the Central Mass League in its inaugural campaign in 2019-20.
The Centaurs will also play several Rhode Island teams including Burrillville, Smithfield and Warwick.
“This will be a whole new world for me. Normally, I can sit there, look at the schedule and know what I have coming at me. I’m relying on my assistant coaches to tell me and the players what a Burrillville or Leominster (Mass..) has. I have no clue,” Roy said. “It’s important for us to have some sort of league (title) to play for or else, you’re just playing. It’s just participation. You can get stale playing for nothing so it’s good to have something.”
In addition to playing for the league division title, the Centaurs will also play in a four-team tournament in Auburn at the end of the season. It will be the closest the Centaurs will come to postseason play.
Woodstock, since it is a Connecticut school, is not eligible for the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association girls’ hockey state tournament and the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference does not sponsor a postseason state tournament in the sport.
Girls' Hockey Schedule: Dec. 15:  vs. Burrillville  6 p.m.; Dec. 22: vs. Oakmont (MA.), 5; Dec. 27: at Auburn (MA.)  (at Hogan Ice Rink), 1; Dec. 30: vs. Ridgefield Co-Op, 11; Jan. 7:    at Warwick (RI), 7; Jan. 15:  vs. Auburn, 7; Jan. 19:  vs. Leominster, 7; Jan. 23: at Oakmont (MA.) (at Cushing Academy), noon; Jan. 26: at Leominster, 5:30; Feb. 2:  vs. Smithfield, 7; Feb. 5:  at Pope Francis (Mass..), 5; Feb. 12: vs. Warwick, 6; Feb. 16: at Auburn Tournament, 5; Feb. 19: at Auburn tournament, TBA; March 5: at Hand Co-Op, 7.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

Woodstock Academy senior Hannah Clark handles the puck in a recent practice at the Pomfret School’s Jahn Ice Rink. Defenseman Alex Lee fires a shot at goalie Mia Dang in a recent practice. Photos by Madison Millar/The Woodstock Academy.

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