Hockey men beat Ottawa

Concordia Stingers men’s hockey head coach Kevin Figsby can finally get some rest after last Friday’s 5-2 victory over the Ottawa Gee-Gees at Concordia’s Ed Meagher Arena.
“I’ve lost a tremendous amount of sleep trying to figure things out,” an elated Figsby said after the game.
“There was nothing holding the team together for a while now, and we realized all we needed was some confidence.
“We finally found that confidence on the ice tonight,” he said.
That confidence shone through during the third period on Friday, which paved the way for three spectacular goals.
The Stingers appeared to be determined from the get go by dominating every aspect of the game, although the Gee-Gees were the first to score, only two minutes into the first period.
Shortly after the Ottawa goal, Concordia took advantage of an Ottawa penalty and tied the game up when Stinger defenceman Philippe Parent took charge of the puck and shot it past Gee-Gee goaltender Derek McKlusky.
The home team was able to enter the Ottawa defensive zone on several occasions, but McKlusky excelled at guarding his net, sending both teams into the dressing rooms deadlocked at 1-1.
The pace of the game intensified during the second period, resulting in many hits and tussles around the net.
Concordia’s defence was outstanding, clearing the puck several times for Stinger goaltender Chris Wilcox.
Wilcox, who started his first game of the season, was impressive throughout the match, especially when Gee-Gee Samuel Seguin faced him with a breakaway.
“Their offence was pretty rough towards the middle of the game,” Wilcox commented. “But I stepped up, and our defence stepped up, so we were able to contain them.”
The Stingers’ offence was strong as well, and kept pressing, resulting in a goal when defenceman Sebastien Roy shot the puck towards the Gee-Gees net.
It bounced off McKlusky’s pads, and left wing Alain Charbonneau slipped the puck across the goal line.
Ottawa retaliated, despite being shorthanded, with 3:47 remaining in the period when Gee-Gee defenceman Dan Delisle found the back of the net, ending the second period with a 2-2 tie.
Ottawa’s defence broke down during the third period, which allowed Concordia to outshoot them 29-16 for the game.
The Stingers were a constant presence in the visiting team’s zone throughout the third frame, and their efforts paid off when right wing Philippe Paris buried the puck into the left side of the net.
McKlusky, showing a glove-side weakness, was scored upon five minutes later when Stinger forwards Sean Tilley and Patrice Roy outplayed the defence to give their team a 4-2 lead.
The physical aspect of the game took its toll on both teams, with Ottawa’s defence falling apart and Concordia’s looking slightly sluggish.
Stinger right wing Chris Page took advantage of the other team’s fatigue in order to blast the puck over McKlusky’s right shoulder.
The Gee-Gees played with an aggressive defence in the winding minutes of the game in a desperate attempt to gain control of the puck, but the Stingers held the fort to send the Gee-Gees home with a loss.
“We really played up to our full potential tonight,” Page said. “Everyone played hard. The new players are fitting in nicely with the rest of the team, and we finally got our confidence back.”
See page 15 for the story on how the Stingers
performed in Saturday’s big Corey Cup match at McGill