The Concordia Stingers, thanks in part to the offensive contribution of centre David Comeau, surmounted a 5-2 deficit in the third period to tie the Ottawa Gee-Gees 5-5 last Friday night, in a game held at Ed Meagher Arena.
“It’s never easy to play catch-up hockey, but our team never lost confidence, and that’s why we were able to come back in the game,” said Comeau, who scored twice for the Stingers, including the tying goal.
The Stingers started the game off on the wrong foot by conceding a quick goal to Gee-Gees’ winger Hugo Giguere, who skated around the Concordia defence and beat Stingers’ goalie Philippe Ozga at 2:59 of the opening period. The Stingers played a physical first frame but could not capitalize on their numerous scoring chances, with Ottawa goalie Derek McKlusky shutting the door.
The Stingers’ two best scoring opportunities of the period were foiled by McKlusky’s solid play, who first made a sprawling save on centre Gerry Gomez at 10:25, and then thwarted a two-on-one rush by wingers Michel Tremblay and Mathieu Fleury in the final two minutes of play, keeping the score at 1-0.
The Gee-Gees doubled their lead 6:35 into the second period when Christian Jensen served Ozga a nifty deke and beat him stick-side. However, just a little over two minutes later, Comeau got Concordia on the board by deking a stickless Ottawa defenceman and blowing a shot past McKlusky.
With only seven seconds remaining in the period, the Gee-Gees’ Giguere scored his second goal of the night after streaking up the left wing and lifting the puck over Ozga’s glove, making it a 3-1 game.
With Ottawa leading 5-2 a little over past the midway mark of the third period, the momentum shifted in favor of the Stingers, who scored three unanswered goals. With 6:54 remaining, Patrice Roy netted his eighth goal of the season to narrow the gap to 5-3. Fifty seconds later, it was Fleury’s turn to shake the mesh with a blistering slapshot that gave the Ottawa goaltender absolutely no chance. The Stingers crowned their comeback during a two-man advantage when Comeau scored the tying goal with 2:20 remaining in the game, sending it to overtime.
The best scoring chance in overtime belonged to Concordia’s Gomez, who fired a shot a few inches wide of the net with under a minute to go. With the tie, the Stingers were able to remain undeafeated against Ottawa this season, posting a 3-0-1 record against their East Division rivals.
“We just weren’t playing with the intensity we needed to play with (from the beginning),” said Stingers’ head coach Kevin Figsby following the game. “We found that intensity late in the third period, but the key thing is we found that intensity.”
“Tonight was a character point,” commented Figsby. “It was a point we needed to come away with…to stay ahead of the pack.”
With the point, the Stingers were able to increase their lead to two points ahead of the McGill Redmen in the East Standings.
“It’s never easy to play catch-up hockey, but our team never lost confidence, and that’s why we were able to come back in the game,” said Comeau, who scored twice for the Stingers, including the tying goal.
The Stingers started the game off on the wrong foot by conceding a quick goal to Gee-Gees’ winger Hugo Giguere, who skated around the Concordia defence and beat Stingers’ goalie Philippe Ozga at 2:59 of the opening period. The Stingers played a physical first frame but could not capitalize on their numerous scoring chances, with Ottawa goalie Derek McKlusky shutting the door.
The Stingers’ two best scoring opportunities of the period were foiled by McKlusky’s solid play, who first made a sprawling save on centre Gerry Gomez at 10:25, and then thwarted a two-on-one rush by wingers Michel Tremblay and Mathieu Fleury in the final two minutes of play, keeping the score at 1-0.
The Gee-Gees doubled their lead 6:35 into the second period when Christian Jensen served Ozga a nifty deke and beat him stick-side. However, just a little over two minutes later, Comeau got Concordia on the board by deking a stickless Ottawa defenceman and blowing a shot past McKlusky.
With only seven seconds remaining in the period, the Gee-Gees’ Giguere scored his second goal of the night after streaking up the left wing and lifting the puck over Ozga’s glove, making it a 3-1 game.
With Ottawa leading 5-2 a little over past the midway mark of the third period, the momentum shifted in favor of the Stingers, who scored three unanswered goals. With 6:54 remaining, Patrice Roy netted his eighth goal of the season to narrow the gap to 5-3. Fifty seconds later, it was Fleury’s turn to shake the mesh with a blistering slapshot that gave the Ottawa goaltender absolutely no chance. The Stingers crowned their comeback during a two-man advantage when Comeau scored the tying goal with 2:20 remaining in the game, sending it to overtime.
The best scoring chance in overtime belonged to Concordia’s Gomez, who fired a shot a few inches wide of the net with under a minute to go. With the tie, the Stingers were able to remain undeafeated against Ottawa this season, posting a 3-0-1 record against their East Division rivals.
“We just weren’t playing with the intensity we needed to play with (from the beginning),” said Stingers’ head coach Kevin Figsby following the game. “We found that intensity late in the third period, but the key thing is we found that intensity.”
“Tonight was a character point,” commented Figsby. “It was a point we needed to come away with…to stay ahead of the pack.”
With the point, the Stingers were able to increase their lead to two points ahead of the McGill Redmen in the East Standings.
