Tough love on Valentine’s weekend for Stingers

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team came onto the ice this past weekend knowing full well that their biggest game of the season was to be played Saturday afternoon.
Even with an equalizing goal in the final minute, the Stingers were unable to capitalize in overtime, and wound up losing a heartbreaking 3-2 in the shootout.
“We don’t remember the goal,” said defender Catherine Desjardins. “We remember the loss.”
The game started off even with not much action going on at either end. Both goaltenders, Audrey Doyon-Lessard for Concordia and Valerie Charbonneau for Carleton stopped all shots fired at them, Doyon-Lessard making 10 saves and Charbonneau eight throughout the first 20 minutes.
The Stingers also managed to kill off two penalties assessed to forwards Maggie MacNeil and Kelly Feehan.
Midway through the second frame with the Ravens leading by one on an unassisted goal by Natasha MacDonald under Doyon-Lessard’s glove, Carleton’s Victoria Germuska took a hooking call at 13:18.
The Stingers were poised and ready, and on the ensuing draw, Mary Jane O’Shea passed back to her blue line where sophomore Meghan George collected the drop pass, then sent it to her d-partner Desjardins who wired a shot past a screened Charbonneau to tie the game giving Concordia some momentum.
The entire blue line looked solid on every shift, as each player gave a good effort.
Early in the third while the Stingers were on the power play both forward Devon Rich and defender Keely Covo made great individual efforts to try and break the stalemate.
“Our special teams were very effective throughout the weekend,” said Rich. “We had lots of great opportunities.”
Almost nearing the halfway mark of the period O’Shea was called for tripping and early on in the advantage the Ravens Kristen Marson shot from the point on a feed from Jennifer Gordon to send the puck past Doyon-Lessard at 9:59 of the third.
Down by one with just 10 minutes left on the clock, the Stingers had to pull themselves together.
With a faceoff in the Raven zone and 51 seconds left on the clock, coach Les Lawton called for a timeout and pulled his goalie.
With some solid cycling in close on Charbonneau, captain Esther Latoures took a few whacks at the puck before an open puck sprung loose for forward Donna Ringrose who shoveled it in with only 42 seconds left.
“We were going for it, we kept plugging away at it,” said Ringrose. “We wouldn’t stop until it went in.”
The extra period didn’t solve anything despite Carleton getting stopped point blank on a highlight-reel save by Doyon-Lessard in close and the Ravens having a 27-second power play.
In the shootout, it was Carleton’s Melanie McKnight who squeaked a backhander past Doyon-Lessard on their third attempt, the only goal they needed to solidify the win.
‘We needed the win, and that goal gave us a chance,” said Ringrose. “It was a chance to come out in front, but it didn’t happen.”
Twenty-four hours later, with the team feeling deflated after the previous game, they took to the ice again facing off against the Ottawa GeeGees.
The Stingers were still in a state of frustration and it showed when Joelle Charlebois connected on a GeeGee goal only 1:33 in.
Later on in the frame, Stingers rookie Mallory Lawton received a hard check to the boards and left the ice shaken up. She was later diagnosed with a concussion
By the end of the first period, the Stingers were already two goals in the hole, being badly outshot 17-6.
The second wasn’t any better for the Stingers, giving up another goal by GeeGees forward Joyce Spruyt, adding to Ottawa’s substantial lead 3-0. Les Lawton had some choice words with the officiating.
Just after nine minutes into the period, Concordia’s defender Alynn Doiron collided with the referee, sending her to the ground where she stayed for several minutes.
“The officiating was brutal and useless,” said Rich. “So we took two of them out to pay them back.”
Not even a half minute later, GeeGees Jodi Reinholcz added another goal with a backhand five-hole on Doyon-Lessard.
The Stingers fought back with a power play goal by Catherine Rancourt at 10:48 of the third, who shoveled a puck through the legs of a stick-less Jessika Audet.
With the goal sparking the offence, the Stingers didn’t give up on trying to score, managing one more goal in the final minute on another goal through Audet’s legs by forward Emilie Luck.
The Stingers now have two games left in the season, both on the road on back-to-back Saturday evening tilts, one against Carleton again, and then rounding off the season Feb. 28 against their cross-town foes, the McGill Martlets.

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