The Stingers headed into their Saturday night clash with the Nipissing Lakers having lost four games in a row — all to top ranked opponents in McGill, Carleton and twice to UQTR.
This turned into an important game as the Stingers were only two points ahead of the Lakers going into this game.
“The guys know that every game is an important one, especially in our league,” said head coach Marc-André Élement. “They were two points behind us, we needed that win and we got it.”
It was apparent early on that this game would be a barn burner as both teams combined for five goals in the first period, with Concordia coming out on top — leading 3-2 after the first frame.
“The team is really happy [with the way they played],” said Élement. “I just didn’t like the first period to be honest. We had a three goal lead and took some stupid penalties [so it got away from us].”
Philippe Sanche recorded a hattrick in the game and Carl Neill added three assists to his season point totals as well. Élement said that he needed his veterans to step up in this game, considering the gravity of its significance with regards to the playoff picture.
Our message before the game was ‘leaders lead the way,’” said Élement. “They really needed to step up and that’s [exactly] what they did.”
Sanche credits his performance from last night to his linemates. He, along with Alexander Katerinakis and Tyler Hylland, dominated the game whenever they were on the ice. The three players combined for four goals and two assists.
“You wanna score every game,” said Sanche. “Our overall work in the offensive zone was great. It was a great game offensively for us.”
The Stingers are back in action tonight. They’ll take on the Queen’s University Gaels who beat them back on Oct. 11 by a score of 5-0.
Feature photo by Cecilia Piga
