Redmen cool off Stingers

The Stingers lost to their cross-town rival Wednesday, going falling to the McGill Redmen 5-3.
Starting goalie Patrick Lepage was solid in the first two periods, and the Stingers’ special teams did a great job at killing penalties and creating opportunities.
Concordia’s offense struck first when Nicolas Lafontaine opened the scoring 12:41 into the first period.
The rivalry heated up with less than two minutes to go in the fist, when Blanchard was the victim of a hit from behind by Redmen’s forward Simon Marcotte-Légaré. Blanchard’s longtime linemate Marc-André Rizk came to the aid of his captain, and wrestled Légaré to the ice.
With the Stingers up 1-0 late in the second period, and with defenceman Brett Beauchamp serving an interference penalty, McGill defenceman Louis-Simon Allaire made the game tied at 1-1.
Before the end of the period, again playing short-handed, centre Guillaume Demers beat Lepage, extending McGill’s lead 2-1.
McGill’s speed may have been a factor in the win, but their questionable hitting was played a major factor in the game. Stinger left winger, Sciangula, was checked face-first into the boards, again on a hit from behind, just 4:38 into the third period. Sciangula suffered a gash above his eyebrow, but stayed in the game.
The hit seemed to fuel Concordia’s offense as they scored at 6:42 in the third to tie the game. Beauchamp took a shot from the point that was stopped by the McGill goalie, but Gabriel Boies pounced on the rebound and jammed the puck into an open net.
The tie was short lived as McGill took the lead again just a minute later and Redmen Vincent Lambert quickly added another to make the score 3-2.
With only 11:11 left to go in the third period, McGill scored again to gain a two-goal lead.
Blanchard rebounded for the Stingers, with 7:40 left on the clock. He fired a knuckler into the McGill zone that caught a lucky bounce, and hopped right over the goaltender’s glove to make it a one-goal game.
The Redmen didn’t let the Stingers get any closer, as the final goal came with just under five minutes left in the game. Demers scored his second of the night with a slapshot from the high slot, beating Lepage, making the final score 5-3.
“They just out-worked, out-skated and out-hustled us,” said coach Figsby.
“We had some guys that were mentally fatigued out there, and it showed,” he said. “But good teams rebound, and we play [McGill] a few more times.”
The Stingers are currently third in their division after losing two road games this past weekend. They take to the road in Europe from Dec. 28 to Jan. 7, playing teams in England, Ireland and Scotland before resuming regular season play Jan. 11.