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caption, page 2:
Solid Season
Junior Doug Newton (4) led the Woodstock Academy boys’ ice hockey team in scoring with 29 points this season. Sophomore Guerin Favreau had a solid regular season for the Centaurs, finishing with eight goals and six assists. Photos by The Woodstock Academy
Coach
happy with
winning year
The first regular season for Woodstock Academy boys’ ice hockey coach Kevin Bisson is in the books.
The Centaurs finished with a 12-5-2 overall mark and a 7-2-1 record in the Nutmeg Conference after a 1-1 tie with the Housatonic cooperative program Feb. 18 in Litchfield.
“Overall, pretty happy, when you consider what the record was last year (8-13) and what we were able to accomplish this year,” Bisson said. “There was a slight disappointment, in some respect, because I feel our record could have been that much better and our standings going into the state playoffs could have been that much better as well. But when you’re looking at coming in, taking over a new group and you’re a new voice, a new face, and trying to do some things that they might have not been asked in the past – I feel pretty happy.”
Bisson said it would be hard to pinpoint a facet of the game that he would have liked to see come together better.
Overall, he considered it a learning experience, both for his Centaurs and the opponents alike.
“You look internally and ask ‘What could we have done better?’ You look at the opponents and know that they are also learning about you and how you do things. In that respect, what can we do to make adjustments to alter their game plan against us from what they have seen us do in the past?” Bisson said.
Junior Doug Newton led the team in scoring more than the 19 games. The junior finished with 16 goals and 13 assists for 29 points.
Senior Matthew Odom led the team in goals with 19 and finished second in points with 27.
Junior Austen LeDonne (9 goals, 6 assists) finished with 15 points and sophomore Guerin Favreau (8 goals, 6 assists) added 14.
The Centaurs finished up the season on a tough note.
They had to travel to the other side of the state to play the Mountaineers and didn’t have the easiest time getting there.
The coach bus they were traveling in broke down, and the team did not arrive at the Hotchkiss School rink until just 25 minutes before game time on Presidents’ Day afternoon.
Once on the ice, the Centaurs ran into a hot goalie in John Purdy.
“We’re either running into (a hot goalie) lately or we have to do something different on our end,” Bisson said. “We keep producing the shots and chances, but not the finish.”
The two teams played through a scoreless first period before the Mountaineers, comprised of players from Housatonic Regional, Northwestern Regional, Wamogo Regional and Torrington got on the board with 10:33 left in the second period.
Luke Mollica took a pass from senior Jack McAuliffe to put the Moutaineers (4-11-2) up 1-0.
The Centaurs countered with what Bisson described as a “team-effort goal.”
With 4:12 remaining in the second period, Favreau prevented Housatonic from clearing its zone by knocking down the puck handler. Newton swept in and took the loose puck, sucking the defender his way and then he flicked it a short two-feet away to freshman Kyle Brennan who scored for the seventh time this season.
“All three factored in and impacted the play and those are the types of goals that, as a coach, you love to watch because you can really see them all connect, work together and get a good end result,” Bisson said.
There were plenty more opportunities for the Centaurs. Bisson said Woodstock Academy was all over Purdy to the point where the Centaurs didn’t allow a shot on goal in the third period.
“We need a little more finish around the net because we definitely had our chances. The puck was there for us. We just didn’t quite put it home,” Bisson said.
No one found a way to score in the third period or the eight-minute overtime period that followed.
The good news for the Centaurs, they got the rest of the week off.
“At this point, it’s extremely important. It’s been a long season with the way the games wound up setting up between the varsity and the JV,” Bisson said. “We’re going to look forward to a couple of days off. These kids have been going on a six-day stretch of games. That’s a lot.”
The Centaurs, who earned the second seed in the conference, played Feb. 26 (too late for this edition) in a Nutmeg Conference semifinal against No. 3 Tri-Town.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy
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