Men’s hockey team falls to Ottawa

The Stingers suffered a disappointing loss Friday night, going down 7-3 against the University of Ottawa Gee Gees.
Back-up goalie Sheldon Baerg started in net, but was pulled late in the third period in favour of starting goalie Patrick Lepage.
Ottawa’s Keven Gagné opened the scoring 1:34 into the first period on a power play. With Stinger centre Simon-Pierre Sauvé in the box for interference, Gagné flicked a wrist shot past Baerg to make the score 1-0.
From then on both teams decided to start playing old-time hockey. Concordia’s Marc-André Element drove hard on the forecheck and ended up face first into the boards after taking a bump from an Ottawa player. Minutes later Baerg flashed the leather on a shot from the point that was gloved easily and held for the ensuing faceoff. The Gee Gees decided to show their frustration by crashing the net just over six minutes into the period, sending Baerg toppling over.
Concordia finally scored with 13:14 left to go in the first period, when defencemen Brett Beauchamp slipped one past Ottawa goaltender Andrew Hamilton. Hamilton was just barely being screened when Beauchamp caught him off guard just outside the point. A booming shot sent the puck past the goaltender, who merely shrugged as if there wasn’t a thing he could do to stop it.
With 11:30 left to go in the first Gee Gees defenceman Gabriel Houde got caught for interference. Twenty seconds later Beauchamp recorded his second goal of the night. Assisted by forwards Brad Gager and Corey Ruhnke, Beauchamp potted a power play goal to bring the score to 2-1.
“It felt good to get the two,” Beauchamp said, “definitely.”
After being called again for interference Ottawa scored with just over six minutes to go in the first when right wing Corey Thibaudeau tied the game at 2-2 with an even strength goal.
The first half of the second period saw many minor penalties, the majority being hooks or slashes, indicative of a ferociously competitive game. With 11:52 left to go in the second Ottawa scored a power play goal with Stinger Corey Ruhnke in the box for a hooking penalty. The play itself started by a puck bouncing off the boards and onto Gee Gee forward Yanick Charron’s stick, who then made a bullet-pass to Kevin Glode who scored the goal.
Baerg kept the Stingers in the game for most of the second, stifling Ottawa’s breakaways with his glove hand. However the Gee Gees scored again with 8:23 left to go in the second to make the score 4-2.
A power play goal by Stinger Brad Gager made the score 4-3, giving Concordia some much needed momentum with three minutes to go in the second. The momentum swung again soon after when Ottawa retaliated with an even strength goal with just over two minutes left. The score at the end of the second period was 5-3.
Just five minutes into the third period, the Ottawa Gee Gees recorded yet another power play goal when Yanick Charron converted the two-man advantage into a prime scoring opportunity. The Gee Gees scored again with just under ten minutes to go, making the final score 7-3.
In a game where momentum swings violently and frequently, Stinger defenceman Beauchamp admits that playing at home may have given the players a much-needed boost, and the ability to turn the game around.
“It’s always better to play in front of the home crowd, having the fans cheering for you,” he said.

Be there to cheer on the Stingers when they face the Patriotes from the Université du Québec

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