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Roundup
Centaurs pick
up 19th win;
take title
It’s a pretty impressive accomplishment; 19 wins in 20 regular season games.
And it’s what the Woodstock boys’ hockey team can be proud of this season after a 5-3 win over East Haven Feb. 25.
“If you were to ask me how I envisioned (our record) at the beginning of the year, it certainly wasn’t 19-1,” said first-year head coach Mark Smolak. “We lost a lot of key players, three of our top four defensemen, and we had three freshmen to replace them. We knew our offense was fine and now, I trust our defense. We had some kids who struggled with it at different times of the year, we worked with them, told them what we wanted and they’ve been able to execute it.”
Now, of course, comes the hard part — postseason play.
That begins for the Centaurs on Saturday when they host the Nutmeg Conference tournament championship game at 6 p.m. at the Jahn.
Next Monday, the CIAC Div. II state tournament begins.
But Smolak will enter this part of the season with a whole different mindset than what he began the year with.
“We can roll in three pairs of defensemen in the playoffs. There is no team that I can think of that is comfortable rolling in three pairs of defensive players and three (offensive) lines, I haven’t seen one.
Usually you stick to two of each and roll a third line occasionally but I feel comfortable with the three lines that we have,” the coach said.
The blue line of Noah Sampson (17 goals, 31 assists), Maxx Corradi (34, 18) and Donnie Sousa (22, 20) has been wildly successful.
But so have players on the two lines that follow them like Max Larkin (8, 12), Jayden Fuller (10, 9), Jacob Jurnovoy (3, 14) and Jared Neilsen (5, 7) which means the Centaurs will give opponents plenty to think about.
There will be challenges.
The Centaurs had one on Saturday when the Yellowjackets (9-7-2) hung with them but, going into the postseason, it could have been just what the doctor ordered.
“It got us going. It got us excited,” said senior captain Jacob Jurnovoy. “We were kind of worried after they scored a couple of goals but we got it back.”
Larkin scored in the first period for the Centaurs but so did East Haven junior John D’Albero who scored all three of his team’s goals.
“My game plan coming in was ‘Defense, know where he is, stop ‘em.’ But, he got three by us because we couldn’t stop him. He’s a heck of a player. I’m glad we’re not going to see them in the first round (of the state playoffs),” Smolak said.
The Centaurs took command when Sousa, Jurnovoy and Corradi scored within 6 ½ minutes of each other in the second period.
“In terms of a full, complete game, we’re playing extremely well, playing Woodstock Academy hockey and doing more of what we want and are trying to do. Definitely, it’s what we need to do moving forward into the States,” Smolak said.
D’Albero did keep East Haven close with a goal at the end of the second period and another at the beginning of the third but a goal by Fuller with 1 minute, 53 seconds left ended the Yellowjackets hopes for an upset.
Prior to the game, the Centaurs honored their five seniors; Kaiden Keddy, Andrew Newton, Larkin, Jurnovoy, and Elias Newall-Vuillemot.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better captain than Jurnovoy for my first year as a head coach,” said Smolak. “He’s so mature in his take and preparation for the game and he’s willing to do whatever we ask. No team has a better 1-2 tandem in goal than we do; Keddy has improved his game significantly. Newton’s work ethic is fantastic. I can’t say enough about him improving his game and accepting his role. Larkin has a lot of speed on the ice, brings energy, and his shot is probably the hardest on the team. Elias is the consummate team player for the Academy. He was the backbone for a winning JV team, while providing an old school goaltending style.”
Earlier in the week, the Centaurs picked up a pair of Nutmeg Conference victories and claimed the regular season league title in the process.
Woodstock Academy had already clinched a share of the title coming into the President’s Day game with Tri-Town but an 8-2 win at the Jahn Ice Rink at Pomfret School meant the title now belongs exclusively to the Centaurs.
“That’s good to know,” Smolak said. “All of that means nothing, though, if you show up on Day 1 (of the state tournament) and lose. Yeah, now we have something here but our ultimate goal is States. If we get to the state tournament and lay an egg on the first night, everything that we worked for here this year, no one will remember. What we want is something to remember- a state championship.”
Woodstock Academy followed up the win over Tri-Town with a 6-2 victory over the Eastern Connecticut Eagles on Friday at the Rose Garden Arena in Norwich.
While a six-goal win is normal for the Centaurs this season - they came into the game with Tri-Town averaging six goals per game and giving up just one - this one took a little work early.
The Centaurs, playing their fourth game in six days, got out of the gates a little slow.
It was Tri-Town that put the first goal on the board 11 minutes, 11 seconds into the contest when Brett Cato found the back of the net with a power-play goal.
“It poked the bear a little bit,” assistant coach Bob Donahue said of Tri-Town getting on the board first. “We don’t like to play from behind, we’re used to playing with the lead. That kind of shocked some of us and they realized it was time to wake up.”
Fuller scored the first of his two goals off assists from Larkin and Newton just 1:49 later to send the game to the second period knotted up.
But there would be a second wake up call.
Brendan Birmingham of Tri-Town scored the first goal of the second period, just 2 ½ minutes in, to put the visitors in the lead again.
The junior winger tied the game 2 ½ minutes after the Tri-Town goal and, after a Sampson goal put the Centaurs ahead to stay 9:22 into the period, added a second goal to give the Centaurs a little breathing room.
“I don’t score on the home ice a lot, it’s usually in away games where I get most my goals, so it’s good to come out here and score in front of the fans,” Sousa added.
Corradi, Larkin, and Brady Lecuyer also tallied in the win for the Centaurs.
“I was happy with how we played in the third period especially, it tends to be our best period, we put up the most goals in that time frame. We did that, continue to do that, and my focus is to bring that third period mentality to the first two periods,” Smolak said.
The Centaurs finished up their Nutmeg Conference schedule with a spotless 8-0 record with the win over the Eagles Friday.
Woodstock broke out to a 3-0 first period lead on goals by Sousa, Corradi and Larkin.
The Eagles (5-12, 3-4) did counter with a goal just before the buzzer to make it 3-1 going into the second period.
Sousa added his second goal of the game in the second period and Corradi finished up the hat trick with a pair of goals in the third.
Sampson and Ian Sherman added a pair of assists in the win.
Gymnastics
The Woodstock gymnastics team put together its best team score of the season.
But even that was not enough to carry the Centaurs to the top of the state this season.
The Centaurs finished third in the Class M state championship meet Feb. 25.
Woodstock posted a 137.45 total, which fell short of winner Ellington/Tolland (142.575) and Fairfield Warde (138.1).
The third-place finish ended a run by the Centaurs that saw them win 11 consecutive state titles.
“This was definitely a really tough division,” said coach Kasey Tocchio. “The girls, honestly, had a great meet. That’s all you can hope for is that it is a great day and you walk away proud and we did that (Saturday).”
They were ranked fourth.
“There are just some teams that have more depth than we do with start values and the like. It’s hard to keep up in a sense, but I’m so proud of the girls for their execution of the routines they had,” Tocchio said.
Sophomore Olivia Aleman had a fine performance as she finished first on the floor (9.55) and bars (9.5) and tied for first in vault (9.35) for a 37.075 All-Around total.
No individual awards are given at the state championship meets.
“She had a great day. She had a little mistake on the beam but other than that, she dominated as usual,” Tocchio said.
Tocchio thought freshman Julia Kerr hit all four of her events as she finished tied for third on the floor with a 9.45 and also scored a 9.0 on beam which helped her finish with a 35.35 All-Around total.
“Everybody hit all of the routines that they did,” Tocchio said. “Maddy (Martinez) probably had her best meet of the season. Emma Long put in a new pass on floor so I really felt like all six kids really contributed (Saturday) and did their absolute best.”
The season is not over for the Centaurs as the team qualified for the State Open championship March 4 at New Milford High School as the fourth seed.
Boys’ Basketball
Everyone on the Woodstock boys’ basketball team would love to still be playing.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.
The Centaurs were playing some of their best basketball of the season as they produced their third consecutive win in a 57-42 victory over Old Lyme early last week.
They also bolted out to a halftime lead over Fitch in an ECC tournament quarterfinal game.
That lead, however, went away in the second half and third-seeded Fitch prevailed over the sixth-seeded Centaurs, 63-41, Feb. 23.
It was the end of the road for the 2022-23 season as Woodstock finished 7-14, one win shy of qualifying for the state tournament.
“I told the guys they have helped me become a better coach throughout the season,” said Donte Adams about his first year at the helm. “Seven wins, double from last year, it wasn’t the goal to do but we definitely got better. Our seniors set a standard for the guys planning to play next year.”
Nine points by senior Brandon Nagle propelled the Centaurs to a 23-19 lead at halftime of the quarterfinal against the Falcons in Groton.
“We played almost a perfect half in terms of execution and handling their pressure,” Adams said. “We had a few minor miscommunications but, besides that, our guys were getting to the rim pretty much any time they wanted. We were playing good defense, too.”
That had been the case in the previous three games that produced wins over Waterford, Griswold and Old Lyme.
“The guys were on the same (wavelength) and that’s why we were able to put together a little win streak. Erven though shots weren’t falling at one point, we were able to get back on to the other end and defend,” the coach added.
That changed in the third quarter as Fitch put together an impressive comeback.
Mikey Wagner was nearly impossible to stop as the Falcons guard put down four 3-pointers and a trio of free throws to key an 18-point run by Fitch.
“That third quarter was rough,” Adams admitted. “It’s been tough all season to come out after halftime and keep the same energy. We knew Fitch was going to be more aggressive, but I always tell them to embrace the pressure. (On Thursday), it got the best of us.”
Nagle was the only member of the Centaurs to finish in double figures with 13 points, Hunter Larson added seven points.
In the regular season finale against Old Lyme, Larson finished with 15 points while Brady Ericson added 12 and Nagle 11.
The wish list for Adams for next season includes a more consistent scoring effort.
That could be helped, not only by additional experience of the expected returnees, the possibility of a newcomer or two but also by a rule change.
The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference has adopted a 35-second shot clock for the 2023-24 season for both boys’ and girls’ basketball.
“I’m excited for that,” Adams said. “It’s more my style. Teams will not be able to hold the ball. (Thursday) We were playing defense for, like, a whole minute and a half. We actually were guarding them well but they finished with a bucket and it took a lot out of the guys. Next year, we will be able to get up-and-down more. Hopefully, it will help us put more points on the board.”
Adams and his assistant, Denzel Washington, were former coaches with the Woodstock Academy prep basketball team which played with a shot clock.
Adams also is familiar with it from his playing days, which may give the Woodstock Academy coaching staff a leg up on their ECC counterparts.
“I’m definitely used to it. I played with it all through high school in New York and in college and coached with it with the preps. It should play in our favor,” Adams said.
Adams likes the core he has returning with Larson, Ericson and Garrett Bushey leading the way.
But, the team could use something.
“We need a point guard so, hopefully, someone steps up,” Adams said.
Girls Honored
Four members of the Woodstock girls’ basketball team received postseason honors last week prior to the ECC girls’ basketball tournament championship game.
Sophomore Eva Monahan was named a first-team Div. I ECC All-Star while freshman Kaylee Saucier received Div. I honorable mention.
Senior Lennon Favreau was the Centaurs’ Scholar-Athlete and fellow senior Leila MacKinnon was the Sportsmanship Award recipient.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
captions:
Finishes Third
The Woodstock Academy gymnastics team was all smiles after finishing third in the Class M state championship meet. The Centaurs qualified for this Saturday’s State Open championship. Photo by Kasey Tocchio/Woodstock Academy.
Seniors
The senior members of the Woodstock Academy boys’ hockey team, from left: Andrew Newton, Max Larkin, Jacob Jurnovoy, Kaiden Keddy and Elias Newall-Vuillemot gathered prior to their Senior Night game versus East Haven. Photo by Sean Saucier.