Woodstock Academy boys’ hockey coach Mark Smolak knew his Centaurs were a team that others would have to contend with this season.
Woodstock opened with a 3-0 win over Nutmeg Conference foe, the Eastern Connecticut Eagles on their home ice Wednesday. The Centaurs followed that up with an 11-1 win over Branford on Saturday.
 “Now, the expectations get higher across the board. Other teams are going to look at what we’re doing and expect to see a great team. That’s up to the coaching staff to make sure we have them prepped because we’re going to have a target on our backs.”
A 10-goal win against Branford may not sound like the Centaurs came out lackluster but it seemed that way to Smolak.
Junior Noah Sampson helped the Centaurs open up a 3-0 lead by getting the hat trick, three goals, and he did so in the course of just one shift on the ice.
The Centaurs also got goals from Donnie Sousa and Maxx Corradi in that first period to take a 5-0 lead into the second period.
Branford did score its only goal to start the second period as they got enough bodies in front of goalie Dante Sousa to obscure his vision and poke one through.
But Woodstock would add five more unanswered goals when Corradi, Andrew Newton, Sampson, and two players who scored their first career goals, Jayden Fuller and Seamus Coleman, all tallied.
Brady Lecuyer finished off the scoring for the Centaurs with his first career goal in the third period.
In the win over the Eagles in the opener, Jared Neilson scored in the first period, Newton scored in the second and Corradi in the third and Kaiden Keddy turned aside 23 shots for the shutout in goal.
While the win was the first for Smolak coaching the Centaurs, assistant coach Bob Donahue recorded his 100th career win
Smolak knew Donahue had reached the milestone and the players were cognizant of it as well. So, Smolak did the smart thing. He let Donahue go into the locker room following the game – first. He got an extra "shower."
Girls’ Ice Hockey
Take away the second period from the Woodstock girls’ ice hockey team’s game with Auburn and the first period from their home opener against Simsbury and things would have been really nice for the Centaurs last week.
Unfortunately, the reality was that the Centaurs surrendered three goals to the Rockets in the second period and fell, 4-2. The Trojans then scored four goals against the Centaurs in the first period enroute to a 5-0 win Saturday.
“That’s the staple of our team,” said coach Eric Roy. “We struggle right out of the gate and then we start chipping away but it’s too deep a hole.” The losses dropped the Centaurs to 1-3 on the season.
Woodstock is young in both age
 and as a program. The Centaurs feature only four seniors and with the new cooperative aspect of the program, the chemistry is still a work in progress.
The Centaurs unfurled their new alternate pink jerseys on Saturday against Simsbury in a game that helped benefit cancer awareness.
Unfortunately, Simsbury spoiled the party and made it tough on Woodstock early.
Thora Clark worked her way behind the net for Simsbury just 2 ½ minutes into the first period and poked it into the side of the net to give the Trojans the lead.
Just 34 seconds later, Simsbury (1-3) struck again as Tessa Strolis, with help from Clark and Izzy Pringle, scored the second goal for the Trojans.
Clark added her second goal of the game off assists from Pringle and Strolis with 5:29 left in the opening period and Strolis and Clark helped Pringle finish off the four-goal period as she tallied with 2:05 to play.
The Centaurs had some good chances in both the second and third periods, but just could not cash in on some shots in front of the net.
It’s that “dirty” area as Roy terms it, the area in front of the net, that has betrayed the Centaurs both offensively and defensively and that’s where the toughness aspect plays in.
“Defensively, we get focused on the puck and someone sneaks in behind us. Offensively, we focus on the puck and don’t concentrate on the open areas. It’s the hockey IQ I guess,” Roy said.
After a scoreless first period earlier in the week, the host Auburn Rockets scored three second-period goals and held off the Centaurs, 4-2.
Sophia Gouveia and Maci Corradi scored for Woodstock while Mia Williamson added an assist. It was the fifth goal of the season for Corradi.
While the school begins its holiday break on Wednesday, the girls’ hockey team keeps on playing.
The Centaurs play Auburn again and then travel to Springfield to play Pope Francis, another former Central Massachusetts League opponent.
Boys’ basketball
If the season continues like this, Woodstock first-year head coach Donte Adams may be sporting a little less hair at the end.
The Centaurs opened the season with a pair of nail biters and unfortunately, both went the opponent’s way.
Fitch rallied in the season opener on Thursday for a 61-55 victory in overtime. On Saturday, the Centaurs fell behind Windham early and rallied but ended on the wrong side of a 59-55 score.
The Centaurs looked really good in the first half as they were 12-of-20 from the floor and limited Fitch to 6-of-19 shooting.
That resulted in a 13-point halftime lead, 30-17.
A 3-pointer by Brandon Nagle (15 points) and a basket by Hunter Larson early in the third quarter extended that lead to 16, 35-19.
Fitch clawed its way back and it trailed by only eight, 40-32, by the end of the third quarter. The gap continued to close in the fourth quarter.
Woodstock led by five, 50-45, with 25 seconds to play after a pair of free throws by Nagle.
But Fitch point guard Lorenzo Rivera hit just the second 3-pointer of the night for the Falcons to cut the lead to two with 15 seconds left.
Fitch immediately fouled Carter Morissette and the senior hit one of two from the charity stripe to restore a three-point Woodstock advantage with 12 seconds left.
Senior Van Spruill tied the game for the Falcons at the buzzer, hitting a 3-pointer, to send the game into the extra period.
Fitch carried that momentum into overtime as Mike Wagner and Rivera both hit hoops to give the Falcons the quick lead. The Falcons were then just good enough from the line where they hit 6-of-12 in overtime to seal the victory.
The Centaurs were 4-for-4 from the line in the overtime but missed all seven of their shots from the field.
Brady Ericson added 15 for the Centaurs. The 6-foot, 6-inch sophomore came up big against the Whippets and almost carried the Centaurs across the finish line against the Whippets.
The Whippets (2-0, 1-0 ECC  Div. II) gradually built a lead against Woodstock on Saturday.
The hosts went up by two at the end of the first quarter and were up by 11, 30-19, at the half. Travis Mangual scored 11 of his 15 points in the first half while Malcolm Hunter added 10 of his team-high 25.
Windham held that lead going into the fourth quarter, increasing it only modestly, as they led 43-31 but Ericson became a one-man wrecking crew in the fourth.
He dominated in the paint and got 17 of his game-high 27 points to pull the Centaurs (0-2, 0-2 ECC Div. II) close, but it wasn’t enough as the Whippets hung on for the four-point win. Morissette added eight points for Woodstock.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

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