Roundup
Beaupre takes over the helm for Centaurs
For Drew Beaupre, it’s a case of some unfinished business. Beaupre was one of the originals of the Woodstock Academy boys’ hockey team as he played defense as a junior in the program’s first season in 2012.
He went on to captain the team as a senior the following year.
“I remember saying (after his senior season) that my only regret was that I was only able to give two years because of the circumstances,” Beaupre said.
Guess what. He’s back. Beaupre was chosen to replace Mark Smolak who stepped aside after last season as head coach of the program.
Beaupre decided to return to his alma mater to serve as a dorm parent and tutor to international students and was quickly brought on board as both a soccer and lacrosse assistant coach.
“I made it clear to the athletic department that if anything at all came up as an opportunity with hockey; I wanted to be the first call. I appreciate the fact that it was the case when the opportunity arose,” Beaupre said.
He does bring a unique perspective as he saw the program come to fruition and watched with pride when it won a Div. III state championship in 2017 and played for a Div. II state title in 2023.
But last year was difficult for the Centaurs as they produced only three wins.
He feels, however, that he can convey what it takes to get back to the level of play that the Centaurs have experienced in the recent past.
“I have seen all of that and can explain (to his players) that I know what it takes to get from where we are now with a youth movement, rebuild and build back up to that kind of success,” he said.
Logan Rumrill and Vaughn Buzak are the only returning seniors for the Centaurs which lost nine players to graduation.
That means a lot of the leadership responsibility will fall to the junior class who may have to grow up quickly.
“I’m just trying to be more of a leader this year,” said junior defenseman Kieran Shepherd. “We have only two seniors on the team but we have a really big junior class so I’m just trying to be a leader. It’s humbling but our whole junior class is a really good group of guys. I think they’re all great players and great people.”
Camden Marshall, Kellen Coleman, Patrick Griswold, Cam Perreault, Logan Dumouchel and Brady Hebert are the other members of that junior core that Beaupre will have to rely upon.
Josh May will be added to that group in the middle of the season as he transferred in from St. John’s in Worcester and has to sit the first 10 games before he is eligible to play.
Hebert will take over in net for Devlin Mansolf.
“I just have to stay focused in practice, really work hard for every save in every game, play the best I can,” Hebert said of his role as starting goalie.
Beaupre said he’s also been encouraged by the talent he has seen amongst his younger players.
“To have this freshman class that we have is extremely exciting. If they come along as we hope from what we’ve seen in the first two weeks, the program will develop in the next couple of years. It’s really exciting,” Beaupre said.
The freshmen class, which includes forwards Anthony Malone and Bruce Walker, defenseman Tucker Faber and goalie Mikai Shepherd, will have a baptism of fire as the Centaurs will not field a junior varsity program this season.
Beaupre, however, does not believe that means it is necessary for Woodstock to consider becoming a co-op program like so many high school teams, including the Woodstock Academy girls, are.
“There have been discussions about it. The hockey community is tight knit and you know the players whose high school doesn’t have a program. Talking with (Woodstock Academy athletic director) Sean (Saucier), the goal is that as long as we can have a varsity hockey team comprised of entirely Woodstock Academy players, we will continue to do so,” Beaupre said.
The Centaurs have gone back a bit to the programs roots as far as schedule is concerned. While it remains a Div. II program in the eyes of the CIAC, the Centaurs will play a host of Div. III programs this season.
“There are still some heavy hitters in there. We will see Pilgrim (High School from Rhode Island) and East Haven in the first week who have very strong programs but we have the Eastern (Connecticut) Eagles in our home opener and we played them close last year. We also have some familiar faces from last year and some new ones which we feel we will have competitive games with considering where the program is right now. The bar is not super- high but we just want to head in the right direction,” Beaupre said.
Beaupre said he really wants to see his players invest in the program and take pride in playing for Woodstock which could benefit the program in the future.
“I feel pretty good,” Kieran Shepherd said of the psyche of the team. “We have a big freshmen group which is good since we graduated a lot of guys last year. I think we’re looking to build off last season and, hopefully, get some more wins this year.”
Beaupre added that the incoming crop of freshmen have another advantage. They have been playing hockey together coming up through the ranks which helps their chemistry and, in turn, the team’s.
One thing that Beaupre will have to get used to again. The early morning wakeup call. The Centaurs practice at the Jahn Ice Rink at Pomfret School generally around 5:30 a.m. weekdays.
“It brings back memories,” Beaupre said. “Waking up that first week and having to be there even earlier to make sure the rink was open took me back to when I was 16 or 17 years old and I had to wonder, how I was doing this? The boys really relish it though. It’s one of those things that sets hockey apart from some of the other sports – not everyone is getting up for the early morning practices. Knowing that they are awake before most of the other students and athletes and putting in the work helps to build that team identity and they take pride in it.”

Girls’ Hockey Preview
Fatigue. It was a problem for the girls’ hockey cooperative team last season.
“The third period came around and we would be tired. I joked that I loved home games because we had two Zamboni cuts and we needed them,” said Centaurs head coach Eric Roy.
Ten of the 13 losses for the Centaurs were by two goals or less including a pair of overtime defeats. Roy is hoping that is a thing of the past.
 “We can run four lines, solid, three goalies and one of those goalies is top-three in the State. I can honestly say, I’m confident that we have four lines that will be out there consistently and each will have a job,” Roy said.
What joy a little depth can bring.
The Centaurs are coming off a seven-win season in which they just missed making the state tournament. They did lose their top scorer, Sophia Gouveia (16 goals, five assists) to graduation and their defensive stopper, Juliette Hammer.
But Roy is happy with those who are coming back.
“I just don’t like this team, I love it,” he said with a laugh. “We have a young core. We have seniors who have been together for five years. This is what it has been all leading to- this year. In my opinion, everyone has gelled, everything is coming together. We had so many close games last year and so many close losses but you need those. You have to take your licks and be ready for the next step and I think this may be the year for the next step.”
The next step is not hard to guess.
The Centaurs want to make the state tournament and the state may have made that a tad bit easier.
Instead of only 12 teams making the tournament, new rules will now allow 14 to qualify.
“We want to be the first (girls hockey team) from Woodstock to make States and I know, we’re one of the top 14 teams in the state,” Roy said.
Losing a player who scored 16 goals is tough to replace.
But Roy is confident. “In practice, we’ve focused a lot on offense. We have a lot of offensive skill,” Roy said.
Senior Maci Corradi, who is on the heels of Gouveia to be all-time goals leader at the Academy, had five tallies last season.
Corradi said the key to her scoring ability is pretty simple- play hard. “I just have to have confidence in myself and give 100 percent every shift, every game, every practice,” the senior said.
Corradi was one of those who was allowed to play high school hockey in seventh grade for the Centaurs so she has been around for a host of changes.
 “We’ve improved and have grown closer as a team,” Corradi said. “The standards have been set higher. Since I was given the chance to play so young, it helped me to grow with the team as the years have gone by.”
Zi Qing Biondo from Stonington is the leading returning scorer as she finished with eight goals last season. Sophomore center Summer Discordia, from Waterford, can put the puck in the net as can junior Mia Auger. 
Paige Hinckley and Grace Lescault will get their share of opportunities as they will be stationed pretty close to the opponent’s net and are likely to poke a few in.
Another senior, Ellary Sampson, returns and will serve as a captain for the third consecutive season.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a captain,” Sampson said of her continuing leadership role. “The team is supportive of me in that position and I appreciate the opportunity to lead all the girls.”
Sampson finished with three goals and 13 assists last season but will drop back behind the blue line this year to add some defensive support.
“Losing Hammer hurt because she was our defensive stalwart for so long, but we’ve moved Ellary back there. She used to be our Swiss Army Knife but now she will be our shutdown defenseman,” Roy said.
Sampson was onboard with the move. “I’ve always played more defensively even when I was on offense so playing defense is like a second home to me,” Sampson added.
Fellow senior Avery Nielsen and sophomores Sophia Bonner, Lucy Trudeau and Beatrice Manfredi will all be in the back.
“We’re making our defensemen offensive-minded,” Roy said. “Ellary is not going to be missed up front because we will have an offensive defensive team and Ellary will be a part of the rush. She fits right into the plan and may even get more assists this year from back there.”
The defenders will play in front of goalies Josie Hatch, a sophomore whom Roy does consider to be one of the best in the state, along with junior Gen Nash and sophomore Amelia Jones.
“We just have to be better in that last period. We have to finish consistently. We were giving teams just shy of five minutes of less-than-great hockey but in those five minutes (the opponents) would take advantage. We know we can stay with these top teams, we just have to know that we can win,” Roy said.
Their first game: The girls’ hockey team is hoping to put the puck in the net often this season but found that difficult to do in their season opener against Greenwich.
The Centaurs took 18 shots on goal but Greenwich goalie Eleanor Woolven was able to turn them all aside.
The Cardinals didn’t fare much better against Centaurs goalie Josie Hatch who made 21 saves but one did get through and it gave Greenwich the 1-0 victory over the Centaurs.
Lexi Lisjak scored just 3 minutes, 15 seconds into the contest to give Greenwich the season-opening victory.

Boys’ Basketball Preview
The best way to describe the boys’ basketball team is a bit of a hybrid. There are plenty of new faces on the team but they are not new faces to the school.
The team of international players who played a club schedule last year are now eligible to play in the high school ranks, according to Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference rules, and should help bolster the Centaurs ranks.
“I’m definitely looking forward to this year considering how we left off last year and were able to win a state tournament game. We have some returners from that team and the additions from the club team. I’m looking forward to a good year,” said coach Donte Adams.
Brady Ericson helped power the Centaurs to a 9-14 overall record by averaging over 15 points and seven rebounds a game.
But the 6-foot-6 big man has graduated along with seven other fellow seniors.
Fortunately for the Centaurs, Drake Abdullovski who averaged a second-best 8.2 points per game for the team with a team-best 29 3-pointers returns for his sophomore campaign.
“He has come back better too,” Adams said. “He has had a big summer, a big offseason and we’re just looking for him to pick up where he left off. He’s a definite outside threat.”
Alec Nunes, Nate Couture and Brayden De Oliveira are also back.
They will be joined by a group of players from the club team that will, fortunately, bring some height with them.
Jamie Dean Stewart and Mert Coker both stand 6-foot-5 and both Lawrence Liu and Xavier Matwieg stand 6-4. Vuk Lisansic also stands 6-3 so the height can be well distributed.
“We can use that to our advantage,” Adams said. “Last year, we just had Brady down low, battling by himself. Now, we have a few guys with more height. We’re going to be playing a little inside-out and get those guys the ball.”
Can Yakal and James Dong are two guards who played for the club team. Phillip Feaney-Aleman, Ryan Chabot and Brody Dexter have come up through the ranks to the varsity team.
Adams likes the basketball IQ of his new team members who have displayed a good variety of skills already.
The biggest question mark may be how the team gels.
“I’m definitely seeing chemistry. These are all great kids and they’re all unselfish. It’s my job to get them to be ready to be on the court and be ready to work together. We’re doing a lot of team bonding. Guys are getting to know each other both on and off the floor and once you have chemistry off the floor, the basketball is easy,” Adams said.
The Centaurs will play alongside Killingly, Windham, Waterford and East Lyme in Div. II of the ECC this season.
But just because St. Bernard, New London, Norwich Free Academy and Fitch are all up in Div. I doesn’t mean the Centaurs can just call in the games.
“Anyone can get beaten on any night which means we have to come out and play hard, come out and defend, come out and rebound. We’re very capable of winning a lot of games but it’s up to them and how well they defend. I feel like we fit in here,” Adams said.
And it’s not only getting used to one another and the competition but getting used to the game as well as the international players will have to make some adjustments.
“The officiating is going to be a bit different, the shot clock; we’re playing quarters instead of halves. It’s a few minor adjustments, nothing crazy, and all they have to do is go out and play basketball. It’s my job to worry about the team gelling and getting them to perform at a high level,” Adams said.

Girls’ Basketball
The girls’ basketball team knew their home opener wasn’t going to be an easy proposition --- they hosted defending Class S state champion, Coventry.
“They had the same team from last year. They were a quality team, well coached, and we were familiar with each other,” said coach Will Fleeton.
The Centaurs and Patriots played last year with Woodstock pulling out the six-point victory.
Coventry turned the tables on them on Friday as it captured the season opener for both programs, 52-50.
The Centaurs did bolt out to the early lead over the Patriots by controlling the boards and taking almost double the shots of their opponents (33-18), Kaylee Saucier (13 points) hit three 3-pointers in the first half and Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain added 10 of her team-high 15 points as the Centaurs sprinted to a 21-12 lead early in the second quarter.
But Woodstock missed eight consecutive shots at the end of the second quarter which allowed the Patriots to pull back within four points, 26-22, by halftime. Sophomore Reese Jeamel did much of the damage for the Patriots as she scored 11 of her game-high 21 points in the first 16 minutes.
Vivian Bibeau had the hot hand for Woodstock in the second half. The senior dropped all 14 of her points including four 3-pointers, the last of which came with 2 minutes, 51 seconds left in the contest and gave the Centaurs a 50-45 lead.
Coventry, however, pulled back within two just 19 seconds later on a 3-pointer by Danielle Wheeler who had the only two treys in the game for the Patriots.
The two teams then went scoreless for the next two minutes until Patriots forward Hailey Mayo (14 points) tied the game at 50 with 32 seconds left.
Coventry got the ball back on a jump ball and Jiana Foran was fouled in the lane and made both free throws for the Patriots with eight seconds to play to account for the winning margin.
The game was the only home contest for the Centaurs until after the holiday break when they host Stonington on Jan. 6.
Friday’s game also marked the re-opening of the Alumni Fieldhouse with its new surface after a water pipe break rendered the facility useless for the fall.
“I really think the company we hired did a fantastic job. I was here working the day of the accident and as I was pushing water out the door, I was thinking I would be lucky to be in here by January. I think it looks a little better. The lighter wood makes the place brighter and a little more inviting,” Fleeton said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

2025-26:  
Four players will serve as captains for the Woodstock Academy girls’ hockey co-op team including, from left: Paige Hinckley, Ellary Sampson, Maci Corradi and Zi Qing Biondo Photo courtesy of Amy Sampson.

Left photo: 
First-year Woodstock Academy boys’ hockey head coach Drew Beaupre will be relying heavily on his junior class this year including defenseman Kieran Shepherd (middle) and goalie Brady Hebert. Photo by Drew Beaupre/Woodstock Academy.
 
Right photo: 
The Woodstock Academy boys’ hockey team will be guided by former Centaur player, Drew Beaupre, who takes over as head coach.
 
Photo ID:
Woodstock Academy sophomore Drake Abdullovski returns to the Woodstock Academy boys’ basketball team after averaging over eight points a game with a team-best 29 3-pointers last season. Woodstock Academy photo.

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