Stinger men not quite as sharp

OTTAWA – The Concordia Stingers hockey team’s pursuit for the final playoff spot in the OUA Far-East division took a tough step backward Sunday as they lost to the Ottawa Gee Gees on the road 4-1.
With Sunday’s loss the Stingers now sit nine points out of that final position with seven games left in their regular season.
After two big wins last week against McGill and Ottawa, the men were looking good going into the game.
But the early moments showed that something was missing.
It took only two minutes into the game for the Gee Gees’ to open the scoring on a pretty play, as a pass came in front of the net for Mike Corneau who was left untouched as he beat goalie Philippe Ozga.
Ottawa nearly extended their lead 30 seconds later when a Concordia giveaway produced a 2-on-1 break which Ozga easily stopped.
A few minutes later, with the Stingers already on a power play, defenceman Chris Lyness was hauled down behind a play giving Concordia a two-man advantage.
The Maroon and Gold didn’t waste that opportunity as Chris Page scored after working a beautiful give-and-go play with the team’s top scorer, Patrice Roy, to the tie the game.
The Gee Gees’ had a great chance to get that one back as they went on a power play of their own.
The best chance came on a shot that Ozga batted out of the air with his glove to preserve the tie.
Ozga continued to be the only reason the game was still tied until, with one minute remaining, Ottawa’s Yves Bellerose scored on the power play off a screened slap shot from the right face-off circle that beat Ozga far side.
The second period started fast and furious as the teams exchanged great scoring chances which both goaltenders handled calmly.
But it wouldn’t take long for Ottawa to get back on their path of revenge for the previous weekend’s loss.
With the Gee Gees taking it to the Stingers in their own zone, a pass came in front of the net which was put past Ozga on a deflection to make the score 3-1.
Trailing by two goals, Concordia attempted to break down the opposing defence with some slick passing plays and skating maneuvers.
The result was nearly disastrous on several giveaways as the Stingers found themselves delivering no-look passes to the other team.
The final seconds of the period would produce an Ottawa breakaway following a Concordia turnover.
But in one of Concordia’s few brilliant defensive moments, Lyness caught up with the approaching player and stripped him of the puck.
The final frame would, at least from a fan’s perspective, last all of five minutes.
That was how long it took for Ottawa to extinguish any fire that Concordia had left in it’s belly with a short-handed goal by Robert Rideout as he broke in and lifted a backhand shot that just made it over Ozga’s shoulder.
The rest of the period had both teams appear to be going through the motions with Ottawa not needing to attack and Concordia’s shots at the net coming few and far between.
With a final score of 4-1, much of the focus after the game concerned the importance of the result and the rest of the season.
“Some guys didn’t bring their “A” game,” Stinger Head Coach Kevin Figsby said after the game. “We had some guys who struggled today and we can’t have that.”
Team Captain Michel Tremblay shared in Figsby’s concern.
“They’re a team that played with a lot of confidence. Maybe we didn’t know the importance of the game,” he said. “Now it’s just one game at a time.”
The Stingers now get ready for their biggest weekend of the year with games against Toronto Friday and Ryerson Saturday. Both will be at Ed Meagher Arena at Loyola Campus.