Women’s hockey Stingers dominate Ravens

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team laid down the law last Sunday by shutting out the Carleton Ravens by a score of 6-0 at Ed Meagher Arena.
The Stingers dominated all aspects of the game, but the defence really stood out, allowing only nine shots on goal.
The Ravens came out with a strong defensive game in the first half of the first period.
The Stingers, despite looking quite sluggish offensively, displayed a strong penalty killing system after taking three penalties due to playing a physical brand of hockey.
“We’re always thinking defence,” Head Coach Les Lawton said. “Even though we didn’t get that many shots, we made sure to stay in our position, and that paid off.”
The Concordia forwards’ attempts to score in the first frame failed when Carleton goaltender Genevieve Hupe denied all of their 19 shots.
The visiting team’s offence woke up in the last minutes of the period, but the Stinger defenders took care of any intruders, sending both teams into the locker room tied at 0-0.
Fed up with a scoreless first period, Stinger captain Lisa-Marie Breton took matters into her own hands.
Only two minutes into the second period and with a Raven in the penalty box, Breton skated past the defencemen and blasted the puck over Hupe’s weak stick side to give her team a 1-0 lead.
Concordia attempted to score again when forward Suzanne Kaye shot the puck towards the net.
The puck hit the left post before bouncing into the crease but the whistle blew before it could go any further.
The Stingers offence began to play more aggressively, remaining in the Ravens’ zone for long stretches of time.
A powerplay opportunity paved the way for the Stingers’ second goal when forward Leanne McPhee, receiving a pass from teammate Kaye, tipped the puck in between Hupe’s pads with only one minute remaining in the period.
The Stingers’ offence then exploded in the third period.
Their forwards took full advantage of a clean sheet of ice as, 27 seconds into the frame, left-winger Marie-Claude Allard, assisted by Breton, shot the puck over the goalkeeper’s right shoulder, giving her team a 3-0 lead.
“When you’re only leading by one or two goals, it really pumps the team up to perform better,” Allard said.
“We knew we could win this game, so after the two first periods, we just kept our momentum up.”
Stinger forward Leanne Martell outplayed the Ravens’ defence one minute later and blasted the puck past Hupe to increase the score to 4-0.
Faced with an aggressive offence, Carleton tightened up defensively and stopped a breakaway by Concordia centre Anouk Grignon L’Anglais.
The Stingers picked up the pace of the game and skated faster, tiring out the opposing team.
Halfway through the period, Stinger right wing Kendra MacDonald scored her team’s fifth goal by sliding the puck past the goal line.
Carleton became aggressive in their attempts to make up for their deficit, involving Concordia in a tussle that resulted in penalties for both teams.
While playing 4-on-4 hockey, Breton found Hupe’s weak side when she scored her second goal of the game by drilling the puck over the goalkeeper’s right shoulder.
Carleton became more aggressive and began to play with their sticks, but Concordia remained calm to win the game with a score of 6-0, giving goaltender Louise-Michelle Tansey a shutout.
“This is the first time I start a game in two years,” Tansey explained.
“The defence was there for me today, and I felt that the team had confidence in me.
“To start my first game and to get a shutout at the same time is a pretty amazing feeling.”