Stingers get big win over Martlets

A slow start to last Friday’s game turned into a hard-fought battle between the Concordia Stingers and the McGill Martlets women’s hockey teams.
The Martlets, desperate for a win after an uninspired performance at the Theresa Humes tournament last weekend, were unable to stop a powerhouse Stinger team, who won this game 4-2.
The first ten minutes of the game could be described as lackluster at best, with not much action occurring on the ice.
After a few failed attempts at scoring, McGill’s forwards showed their frustration by obtaining two early penalties for slashing and charging. Concordia, despite a two-player advantage, were unable to skate by a strong McGill defence. Both teams appeared to be of equal calibre offensively, getting past each other’s defenders.
The first period was set to finish on a scoreless note when Stinger centre Anouk Grignon L’Anglais surprised Martlet goaltender Amey Doyle by shooting the puck in between her pads with one minute remaining, ending the first frame with a 1-0 Stinger advantage.
“We’re on such a high right now,” Grignon L’Anglais stated. “We proved that we can beat anyone in our league, so this will definitely have an impact on us.”
The Stingers, playing without captain Lisa-Marie Breton due to a suspension, managed to keep their cool when the Martlets turned on the heat during the second period.
Despite a strong offence, McGill’s defence broke down halfway into the period when the Martlets were unable to shoo Concordia’s forwards out of their zone.
The Stingers capitalized when left wing Leanne Martell shot the puck towards the left side of the net. Doyle, who went down early, did not see the puck as it slid past the goal line giving the Stingers a 2-0 lead.
The Martlets, desperate to recover from their slump, displayed high emotions when they provoked the Stingers into a tussle, resulting into one penalty for the Martlets and two for the Stingers.
Despite being shorthanded, Concordia kept the puck on a string and Stinger Catherine De Abreu shot over Doyle’s right shoulder.
McGill became extremely protective of their zone after being scored on three times, whereas their offence turned aggressive.
Goaltender Jessica Anderson came through when it counted, keeping their 3-0 lead intact at the beginning of the second intermission.
McGill came into the third frame with an explosive offence, but was met by a surprisingly strong Concordia defence.
“The defence is more comfortable with the puck,” Head Coach Les Lawton said. “We put in a new fore-checking system, and that seemed to work great tonight.” The game took a physical turn, with a lot of end-to-end playing.
There were two scrambles in front of the Concordia net that might have been fatal for the home team, but Anderson stayed put and protected her net.
The Martlets’ frustration fueled their desire to play, which resulted in more aggressive offence.
They were rewarded for their efforts when McGill winger V,ronique Lapierre shot the puck towards the Concordia net.
Anderson, thinking she had stopped the shot between her pads, was disappointed to see the puck going past the goal line, giving the visiting team their first goal.
Both teams played more aggressively afterwards, with the Martlets attempting to pick a fight with the Stingers on several occasions in front of the home team’s net.
Concordia was able to keep their cool and they ran the clock.
In the winding minutes of the game, McGill’s desperation showed when they pulled Doyle, just as the Stingers were given a penalty.. With a six-on-four advantage the Martlets capitalized when right wing Katherine Safka sank in a goal with only 46 seconds remaining.
The Stingers replied immediately when right wing Leanne McPhee shot the puck from the blue line, which slowly crept into an empty Martlets net, giving the Stingers a 4-2 win and increasing their winning streak to five games in a row.
“This is truly a big win for us,” McPhee said. “We both came out to a rocky start, but we pushed hard throughout the whole game, and we proved to be the strongest team.”