Saturday had all of the makings of the upset. Just look at the NCAA. With Ohio State’s loss on Saturday, five teams ranked No. 1 or No. 2 have been beaten by an unranked team this year. It even extended to Canada when last week the No. 2 ranked and previously undefeated Ottawa Gee Gees lost, leaving Laval and Manitoba as the only undefeated teams in the country going into the provincial finals.
But unfortunately for Concordia and Regina, the year of the upset stopped at the nation’s capital and went back south in time for Illinois’ win over the previous No.1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
For a few minutes at the beginning of the second half, it looked like Concordia had a little Cinderella in them. When Cory Watson rumbled 50 yards on an option-reverse and Cedric Ferdinand made it a one-score game, I was on my couch hoping an upset would come. But Laval proved why they are the No. 1 team in the country, scoring 18 unanswered points in a 35-10 win.
There were still a lot of positives from this Stingers team despite not making it any further than last season. This year they lost Andrew Hamilton, Scott Syvret and Pat Donovan – three of the best players in the country last year. Ferdinand, Liam Mahoney and Cory Greenwood stepped up this season, and the fact that they played well down the stretch means that this Stingers program is on the right track. I don’t think many people thought that the Stingers would even have made it to the Dunsmore Cup when Rob Mackay went down for the season.
As for South of the border, this is why a playoff has to be the way to go. If Kansas loses, there would be no undefeated teams in the top-10, meaning that the two teams chosen to play in the National Championship will be chosen by a computer system and not because they were the best two teams.
Put eight of the teams in a playoff, and go from there. After all, there is a month layoff between the end of the regular season and the Championship, anyway. And the excuse that you can’t have the students playing football during exams is blatantly hypocritical. You don’t seem to care that these athletes. sorry. student-athletes are putting in incredible hours at any other point during the school year.
Good thing they play hockey on ice.
.Otherwise, you’d have a lot of burning Concordia hockey players. Not only did the women’s hockey team have their best scoring output since the Liberals were in power, but the men’s hockey team completed a sweep of the Ryerson Rams and Toronto Varsity Blues. Who says that Montreal can’t beat Toronto.
There is a lot to be said about these two teams that have rebounded after sub-par seasons. The men’s team captain Trevor Blanchard is leading his team by example, and in scoring, while the women’s team is starting to come around after the worst season in their history a year ago.
It’s been a while since Concordia could boast a couple of Conference championships at the Ed Meagher arena, but both Kevin Figsby and Les Lawton are trying to change that. The only thing we need now are bigger crowds. You have no excuse, Concordianites. Go out there, get more puck for your buck and cheer on the Stingers.
You also have to check out those really, really nice uniforms. I wish they sold them. I would have a nice addition to my Chrismukkah list.
Thanks a lot, Schedule maker
Stingers basketball tips off this weekend, but you wouldn’t know it by the Concordia Gym. That’s because the Stingers, both men’s and women’s, don’t have a game at the Loyola complex until Nov. 30 when the men and women face the UQAM Citadins.
Not only that, but after that game is the Christmas break which means that they won’t have their second regular season home game until Jan. 4.
So much for home-court advantage? The men’s and women’s teams have played a combined three games at home this pre-season – all by the men’s team.
I wonder if they will even be able to remember where the home locker rooms are.
Another all-male Hall of Fame class
I thought that the Hockey Hall of Fame was supposed to be for all types of hockey and not just the NHL. Alright, so Vladislav Tretiak is enshrined despite never playing an NHL game, but would you mind explaining why there are no women inductees?
Just wondering.
