I’m calling everybody out. I’m calling out Concordia and McGill students, I’m calling out The Gazette, Le Journal de Montreal, La Presse, and I’m calling out hockey fans in Montreal.
Last week, university hockey was covered thoroughly by media outlets, as well as attended greatly by fans and students when McGill and Concordia’s men’s hockey teams faced off in the first round of their OUA quarterfinal.
Now, it is the women’s turn. Tonight (Wednesday), the McGill Martlets and Concordia Stingers face off in their first round series at McGill’s McConnell Arena. And the media has an opportunity to show a great deal of equality, or has the opportunity to show how far we still have to go.
Women’s hockey is not something that we hear about, save for the World Championships or the Olympics every four years, but it is a sport that is growing, and is just as interesting and exciting as it’s male counterpart.
Stu Cowan, The Gazette’s Sports Editor wrote a very interesting, and true, editorial about university hockey after his experience at Concordia’s Ed Meagher Arena last Friday night. I would like to thank him for that, because the university game is exciting and student-athletes deserve the support. However, I hope Mr. Cowan comes out to a game in the Concordia-McGill series and sees the excitement of women’s hockey that I discovered as a rookie journalist three years ago.
Like many sports fans, I only paid attention to women’s hockey during the Olympics. But, when I attended my first Concordia Stingers women’s hockey game, I loved the action and the intensity of the players.
I also wouldn’t advise you to look at this like a slam dunk for the Martlets. Yes, they only lost one game all year, but they are beatable. Concordia has played very close games against them this season, and their 3-2 shootout loss two weekends ago was a great game. A playoff atmosphere should make it even better.
The last time that Concordia and McGill played a women’s hockey playoff series, it was unbelievable.
I still remember the third game of that series when fans spilled over to the Ed Meagher arena from a men’s basketball semi-final win over Bishop’s from across the sports complex. I still remember when Cecilia Anderson was holding a 1-0 lead, when McGill tied it and when Jodi Gosse scored the winning goal with not much more than one minute remaining after McGill was penalized for too many players on the ice.
These two teams love to hate each other, love to beat each other and any hockey fan at Concordia or McGill should want to check out what should be a very, very exciting display of university women’s hockey.
Let’s hope the local media pays the same attention to this series as they did with the men’s series last week. The athletes deserve it.
If the media doesn’t cover it, it will smell of gender bias towards men’s hockey and set the fight for equality back when it seemed it is steadily improving.
Concordia men’s basketball scary
At risk of jinxing them, the men’s basketball team at Concordia is very, very solid. They have their quarterfinal game at home against UQAM on Thursday night, and if their almost-40-point-victory last week was any indication, an upset shouldn’t happen this time around. The veterans on the team know that this season is all about the playoffs and the regular season means nothing.
Still waiting for Gainey.
Let me get this straight. Bob Gainey thinks this team is good enough to make the playoffs as it is. Or, he thinks the team won’t make the playoffs but still decided to keep Sheldon Souray?
Hmm. I’m sure he tried to make some moves, but this team is not built for a playoff run, and if it does sneak in, then at least they’ll get to have a quick trip to Buffalo or New Jersey and go golfing in April.
