The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team fell to 1-5 on the season with a 5-1 loss to the undefeated McGill Martlets on Friday night.
The Martlets dominated the Stingers territorially,holding a 35-15 shot advantage.
Stingers’ head coach Les Lawton said that he wasn’t disappointed with the team’s efforts on this night, saying the loss was due to a 10-minute span in the second period when the Martlets scored three goals. Lawton also singled out goaltender, Carolanne Lavoie-Pilon, and defenseman, Gabrielle Meilleur, for their strong games.
McGill forward Katia Clement-Heydra opened the scoring for the Martlets 30 seconds into the second period. The Stingers were able to tie the game, thanks to a goal by centre Alyssa Sherrard. However that was the closest the Stingers would get, as the Martlets exploded offensively about midway through the second period. Martlets’ forward Gabrielle Davidson scored three goals in six minutes, registering the natural hat-trick and giving her team a 4-1 lead. Clement-Heydra scored her second goal of the night late in the third period to give her team a 5-1 lead.
The Stingers were strong on special teams throughout the first half of the game, and that’s what kept them in it, but it was ultimately their downfall in the second half of the game. The Stingers’ penalty kill was strong in the first period and a huge reason why the game was scoreless after one. Their power play produced the game tying goal early in the second. The Stingers, however, let in the power play goals in the second half of the game and were unable to score on their three following power play opportunities. Lawton noted that he felt the special teams were average on this night and there is room for improvement.
This marked the fifth time in six games that the Stingers failed to score more than one goal, the only exception being in their 6-4 win over the Carleton Ravens earlier this month.
The Stingers have had trouble scoring goals, but Stingers defenseman Carol-Anne-Gagné kept a positive attitude, saying that the team played very well.
“Before the game the girls were all ready and I think playing against a big team like this is a really good challenge for our team,” she said.
Despite the loss, Lawton expressed some optimism going forward. “We’re a very young team and I think we’re going to do very well.”
Gagné added that playing against a team of McGill’s caliber will help the Stingers improve in the future.
“We have really good chemistry,” Gagné said, adding that the team’s 1-5 record does not reflect their performances.
“We’ve lost many games by a score of 2-1 and we’re constantly improving as a team, and we’re just going to continue getting better. I have a good feeling going forward.”
The Stingers next play on Sunday, Nov.24 against the Carleton Ravens in Ottawa.
