There are some games that just deserve an extra period of action. Last Sunday’s match-up between the Concordia women’s hockey team and the Ottawa Gee-Gee’s, which finished in a 3-3 tie, was a prime example.
Unfortunately, as the regular season of women’s university hockey does not include overtime, the most exciting five minutes in sports never came. The extra period would have been a good one in a crucial contest between two teams that will likely be battling for a conference championship until the last day of the season. “We should really have a five-minute overtime, it could really make a difference at the end of the year,” head coach Les Lawton said.
All that having been said, the best thing about this game was that it probably shouldn’t have finished as a tie to begin with. Concordia overcame a 3-1 deficit in the last 12 minutes of the game to maintain a tight race in the QSSF division with the likes of Ottawa and McGill. “We’ve battled back against a lot of teams this year. We’re relatively inexperienced so it really helps to build character,” Lawton said.
It didn’t take long for the hardworking Gee-Gee’s to create some quality chances in this one. Less than two minutes in Ottawa nearly got the opener on a scramble in front of the net, that produced no less than three great chances, but goalie Cecelia Anderson managed to hold her own, as usual.
Ottawa continued to control the tempo through the first ten minutes and would ultimately hold a 14-6 edge in shots for the opening frame. Both teams were also well-disciplined as only one penalty was called in the period. That penalty would be a high-sticking call against Ottawa’s Lisa Sgoifo.
Not a team known for failing to seize an opportunity, the Stingers quickly turned the game’s momentum around as Janie Brassard converted with the extra-attacker to give her team the lead.
Through a combination of bad judgment on the part of the players and officials, the second period got off to a dreadful start for the Stingers, who found themselves on a two-man disadvantage after just four minutes of action. With Sophie Beaudry and Rose Healy sitting in the box, it only took Ottawa 27 seconds to convert as Torill Thomas buried a pass on Anderson’s far side.
About four minutes later Ottawa would grab a 2-1 lead on another powerplay goal by Kathryn Davison. The best chances continued to go their way as Anderson was forced to stop a partial breakaway just moments after the go-ahead goal. The Concordia netminder would come up big more than one time before the second came to an end, to keep her squad within reach.
Then all seemed lost for the Stinger faithful when Danika Smith gave the Gee-Gee’s a commanding 3-1 lead at the six minute mark on the team’s third powerplay goal of the game. But cue the comeback…
Perennial scoring machine Dominique Rancour let a shot rip from in close that trickled through a crowd and into the net, to bring the Stingers within striking distance.
Then, with her first goal in the Maroon and Gold, Sandy Roy buried the first even-strength goal of the afternoon on a wrist-shot in close to even the game at 3-3. “I’m very excited with my first goal,” Roy said. “I think we did a good job of regrouping after the first two periods and played a lot better.”
Captain Kelly Sudia stressed the importance of the win for the young squad. “Since the beginning of the year we’ve wanted to build a team identity so that team’s know what to expect when they play us,” she said. “We want to show intensity and character.”
