Varsity Stays Hot
Putnam Science Academy’s Varsity team has been red hot the last three weeks of the season riding a seven-game winning streak following their two wins this week. Tyler Henry was able to get to his spot on the floor and relentlessly attacked the rim scoring 34 points in a 93-85 win over Redemption Christian Academy earlier in the week. Jaiden Rivera provided a spark off the bench for Head Coach Dana Valentine shooting 4 of 6 from downtown to finish with 25 points. Rivera made key shots later in the week in a 70-53 win on the road against Rocky Hill with 11 points but it was Henry and Justin Rodriguez each scoring 18 points apiece to help the Mustangs improve to 16-7 and winners of 7 straight going into their week next week that features five games, three coming at home at Putnam Science Academy.
Varsity Girls Struggle
A week to forget for the Varsity Lady Mustangs of PSA as they dropped three straight games and have lost four in a row to bring their record to 8-8. The Lady Mustangs came up short in a road contest versus Redemption Christian Academy 38-34 early in the week. Zoe Furman-Cox had 14 points but she was the only Mustang to score in double-figures. PSA was involved in another close game but couldn’t make shots when it mattered in a 35-32 loss to Tabor Academy. The offense again struggled with Furman-Cox leading the way with just 10 points. With a 3 game losing streak hanging over their heads, the Mustangs welcomed New York Military Academy to PSA, a team that defeated the Mustangs handedly the week before 85-45. The Varsity Girls kept the game close in the 1st half but turnovers doomed the Mustangs in the 2nd half with U.S. Military Academy blowing the game wide open in a 103-46 rout. Nasserine Williams was the lone bright spot posting a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
#1 Prep Goes 2-0
The #1 ranked Prep Mustangs picked up two wins this past week to increase their record to 28-1 on the season. The Prep Boys won both games on the road starting with a 63-60 nail biter over Navy Prep thanks to Hassan Diarra who recently received a Division 1 scholarship offer from Texas Tech. Diarra powered the Mustangs with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists while Junior big man Abou Ousmane picked up his play adding 14 points, which led Putnam Science Academy. Abou would use his 6’9 frame to dominate in the paint versus Masters School posting his season high 20 points to go with 9 rebounds and 3 blocks in the 101-82 road victory. Demarr Langford showed up on both ends playing hard-nosed defense turning turnovers into points scoring 18 points and 6 rebounds. Ousmane and Langford were two of the five Mustangs to score in double figures along with Russell Tchewa (13 points), Charles Pride (12 points, 7 rebounds) and Hassan Diarra (12 points, 4 assists). The Mustangs have four games next week including a tough road game against Brimmer and May.
Varsity 2 Winning
Putnam Science Academy’s Varsity 2 team has made tremendous strides since the beginning of the year. After losing the first two games of the season, the Mustangs are in the midst of their 2nd winning streak that’s resulted in 5 or more wins in a row. PSA won 6 games in a row back in December before falling to Rectory School and are now riding a 5 game winning streak after this past week with a 64-34 win over Rocky Hill and a 58-51 win versus New York Military Academy. Sophomore Pablo Perez posted a monster double-double in the road win over Rocky Hill with 12 points and 15 rebounds while Amir Sanders led the Mustangs with 18 points. Sanders would keep it up leading PSA with a game high 23 points adding 10 rebounds over NYMA. Perez did his thing on the glass once again with 16 rebounds, just missing another double-double with 9 points. A big week is on the horizon for the Varsity 2 team with 4 games this week all on the road which features a Friday night game at Rectory School, where PSA has lost 3 times this year (13-5).
Josh Sanchas
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
..
Legal Notice
Town of Putnam
Zoning Commission
The Town of Putnam Zoning Commission will hold a meeting on February 20, 2019, at 7:00 P.M. at the Putnam Town Hall located at 126 Church Street, Putnam, CT. A public hearing will be held on the following:
Docket # 2019-01: Igreja Assembleia De Deus Pentecostal EI Shaddai — Request for a special permit to operate a church at 96 Front Street, Unit D, Town Assessor’s Map 15, Lot 007., Zoned HC.
Patricia Hedenberg,
Chair
Feb. 14, 2019
Legal Notice
Town of Pomfret
Planning and Zoning
Commission
Public Hearing
Notice
The Pomfret Planning & Zoning Commission will hold the following Public Hearing at its meeting on February 20, 2019, starting at 7:00 PM at the Old Town House:
1. Jonathan Ricciardelli, 469 Taft Pond Road — Special permit application for a dog boarding and training facility
A copy of the application is on file in the office of the Planning and Zoning Commission, 5 Haven Road, Pomfret Center, Connecticut. The file is available for review during normal business hours.
Town of Pomfret
Dated this 23rd day
of January 2019
Lynn L. Krajewski,
Clerk
Planning & Zoning Commission
Feb. 6, 2019
Feb. 13, 2019
..
Forget about it.
“Leave the game at the rink, leave it in the locker room, don’t go home and think about it,” said Woodstock Academy boys’ ice hockey coach Kevin Bisson.
That was the message that Bisson left his team with following a 3-3 tie with the East Haven Co-op Feb. 9.
It was a game where Bisson said his team felt like it had lost and the Yellowjackets probably went home with the feeling like they had won after tying the game with just four seconds left in regulation and then surviving the overtime period.
“It was nice to get the tie versus the loss,” Bisson said. “It was nice to come away with something for a lot of hard work. Our mental toughness was tested early on. In a game where you’re not getting the calls or the breaks that you feel you should, it’s very easy to turtle and go away and I don’t think the guys did that.”
The Centaurs took the 1-0 lead when freshman Kyle Brennan scored the first of his two goals,
“Kyle came up big for us,” Bisson said.
Brennan scored his first on a tip re-direct, finishing a play in front of the net.
Brennan added a power-play goal in the third period.
Bisson credited the five guys on the ice for making that goal happen which tied the game at 2 in the third period.
Austen LeDonne put the Centaurs up 3-2 when a teammate took a hit to leave the puck for the junior.
“It was on his stick, off his stick, no stick-handling, right to slot and he ripped it right past the goalie to give us the lead. It was a major momentum swing with about a minute and a half left,” Bisson said.
Unfortunately, the Centaurs were whistled for a penalty with about 40 seconds left.
The Centaurs (12-4-1) cleared the defensive zone on the ensuing face off, but the officials called icing not realizing the Centaurs were shorthanded.
When the mistake was finally noted, the decision was to have a faceoff at center ice. The problem was the clock was stopped the whole time.
East Haven made use of those valuable seconds when it knotted the game with four seconds left in regulation.
The Centaurs dominated the eight-minute overtime.
The Yellowjackets had only two moments when they skated the puck out of their own end, relying instead on sending the puck the length of the ice where it was quickly brought back due to icing calls.
The Centaurs, however, couldn’t break through.
“It was chance, chance, chance and I can’t be upset with our guys when we have that level of zone time and pressure. You know that they are doing the right things, but you know what, sometimes you run into that goalie who can make those amazingly tough saves,” Bisson said.
The Centaurs were coming off a pretty interesting contest from Feb. 4.
The Centaurs battled for a 7-4 victory over the Suffield-Granby-Windsor Locks cooperative team on Feb. 4.
The game was played at a high pitch.
And for a team coming off their best effort of the season just two days before – a 7-3 win over Burrillville, R.I., — it didn’t take much to light the spark.
Sometimes that’s good, but in some cases, it can be costly.
The Centaurs were dominant early against the Wildcats.
Doug Newton scored just 1 minute, 21 seconds into the game off an assist from Connor Starr. The Centaurs then went up 2-0 with a short-handed goal by Matthew Odom off the first of three assists from LeDonne.
The Centaurs successfully fought off a 5-3 two-man advantage for the Wildcats in the period and limited them to just two shots.
The Centaurs put three goals in the net, but Suffield answered with two.
LeDonne and Newton also scored for the Centaurs in the second period. Suffield made it close when it scored 3 ½ minutes into the third period to once again reduce the deficit to two, 5-3.
But LeDonne notched what proved to be the game-winner when he put home his eighth goal of the season. Bisson said he, being a first-year head coach, didn’t know anyone coming in the door which means everyone had a clean slate. LeDonne has taken advantage of the fresh start.
Thibault didn’t have to wait long for his second career goal. It came with 8:18 left and gave the Centaurs the cushion they needed.
Their next game is 6:30 p.m. Saturday night at home against the Eastern Connecticut Eagles followed by a game on the road at the Housatonic Co-Op at 1:30 p.m. on President’s Day. They will then have another week-long break before the Nutmeg Conference playoffs.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy
..