The Stingers’ season ends with a heart-breaking loss in overtime against McGill
In game two of their best of three series against the Redmen, the Stingers delivered a performance full of heart as there was a possibility it could be captain Olivier Hinse’s final game. While Concordia played well, the team lost to the Redman 4-3 in overtime, eliminating them from the playoffs and putting an end to the season.
“I’m just so proud of the guys, they played well, we were missing some key guys and the guys worked their [behinds] off and I’m really, really proud of these guys,” Stingers coach Marc-André Element said.
In the first period both teams played a tight, checking style of game but towards the mid-way point of the period, Concordia seized the momentum from McGill and was forcing the play in the Redmen zone. The Redmen could only counter with their strong transition play, forcing Stingers goalie Miguel Sullivan to come up with some huge stops early to keep it tied.
The Stingers effort in the McGill zone was rewarded late in the period as Stingers forward Scott Oke banked the puck in off of Redmen goaltender Jacob Gervais-Chouinard’s blocker to give them the lead. The Stingers continued to pressure the Redmen but a huge hit by Stingers forward Philippe Hudon was deemed an illegal check to the head which ejected Hudon from the game. Coach Element did not like the call and was visibly upset by the referee’s decision.
The second period was a high scoring affair starting with a goal by Redmen forward David Rose who scored early in the period while on the powerplay. The Stingers replied with a goal by forward Raphael Lafontaine to give themselves a 2-1 lead. Rose would score again for the Redmen to tie it up with a one-timer a little over a minute later.
Midway through the period, Hinse capitalized on the powerplay after Stingers forward Jessyko Bernard took a shot from the circle, which deflected off of Chouinard and landed on Hinse’s stick. At the end of the second period, it was 3-2 in favour of the Stingers.
In the third period, Sullivan stood on his head as the Stingers were outshot 15-7. While McGill did tie the game midway through the final frame, Sullivan was the reason it went into overtime. The shot count was 42-30 in favor of McGill going into the overtime period and it would end 51-36 in McGill’s favor.
“[Sullivan] played really well, really had a good game and if you want to have success you need your goalie to play a game like that and you know what, he had a really good season,” said Element.
In overtime, both goalies had to make big saves to keep the game tied but Sullivan once again outshone his McGill counterpart with some amazing glove hand stops. However, McGill did eventually capitalize on the power play as McGill forward Simon Tardif-Richard scored on a rebound to end the Stingers season.
Despite losing, Hinse, whose CIS career could potentially be over, had nothing but praise for his team.
“They’re a great bunch of young players, they have big hearts and they never stop working,” said Hinse. There’s a change of culture going on and we’re all going in the right direction and I can’t wait to come back and see these guys winning because it’s right there.”
The Stingers men’s hockey season is now over, however, the women’s hockey playoff will be starting within a week.