Di Stasi’s hat trick leads Stingers

It was a long time coming for the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team. The Stingers defeated the Carleton Ravens 6-3 on Sunday for their second victory of the season, matching their entire win total from a year ago.
Not since Nov. 19, 2005 have they scored six goals in a game, and there are a few similarities from that game. That game was an 8-2 win also over the Ravens at the Ed Meagher arena. Janie Brassard had a hat trick in that game. On Sunday, it was Angela Di Stasi who had the hat trick – the fifth-year player’s first with the Stingers – including the game-winning goal halfway through the third period.
The Stingers trailed 3-2 after two periods, but came out strong in the third, scoring four unanswered goals to take the game. Devon Rich got the ball rolling 1:23 into the frame when she intercepted a pass from a Raven defender before breaking in and putting a wrist shot past Carleton goaltender Valerie Charbonneau.
“We wanted to win so badly,” Rich said. “We didn’t play as well as we could have in our last games against Carleton, so we had so much motivation,” she said.
The win ended a three-game losing streak for the Stingers that saw them score only one goal.
The Ravens opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game when Carleton’s Alexandra Palm broke in and fired a shot past Concordia goaltender Meggy Hatin-Léveillée.
Normally that would have spelled doom for the Stingers, but they didn’t flinch. The Stingers scored on their first power play of the game when Di Stasi scored her first, after a Victoria Johnstone point shot was stopped by Charbonneau.
The Stingers broke the tie early in the second period when Di Stasi scored her second goal of the game after Esther Latoures had a scoring chance that caused a scramble in front. Carleton came back with a power play goal just three minutes later when a Kerri Palmer shot was tipped in high over Hatin-Léveillée by Tara O’Reilly.
Carleton went up before the end of the third when Palm scored her second of the game on a shot from the left faceoff circle.
The Stingers then came out confident in the third, playing their best period of the season.
“We weren’t going to take no for an answer,” said Stingers forward Donna Ringrose who scored two goals in the period, including an empty-net goal.
After Rich’s tying goal, it was their goaltender’s time to shine. Hatin-Léveillée made two big saves, one on Jennifer Gordon on a breakaway and another on Kristen Marson after she danced around three Stinger defenders. Hatin-Léveillée made 30 saves in the win.
On the rush following Marson’s chance, Maggie Mac Neil’s shot was steered behind the net by the Carleton goaltender Charbonneau allowing Di Stasi to come around the net on a wrap around and put in her third of the game.
The game was then put out of reach and clinched by Ringrose. The second-year player scored only two minutes after Di Stasi’s winner with a goal that looked eerily similar to the one scored by Devon Rich. She added her empty-netter with a second remaining.
The line of Di Stasi, Ringrose and Tawnya Danis was the best offensively for the Stingers, with the trio combining for five goals and two assists. Danis, who had an assist, also had some of the best scoring opportunities for Concordia.
“We want to be the line that goes out and creates the energy that people feed off of,” Ringrose said. “This year, our rookies are really helping out and that motivates us to practice harder and bring that to games because we’re playing for each other,” she said.
The win moves Concordia within two points of the second-place Ravens and one point behind the Ottawa Gee Gees.
The Stingers travel to Halifax on Friday morning to play three exhibition games before playing two conference games two weeks from now.
“We have to take this game and raise the bar,” said Di Stasi. “This is only the start in our path to reach our ultimate goal – Nationals,” she said.
“We were a little more hungry today. We had a very good forecheck and didn’t give up,” said Stingers head coach Les Lawton.
“We have to use this recent run as a spring board and not a hammock.”