The Stingers almost came back from five goals down to tie the game but lost 6-5
After going down 6-1 at the beginning of the third period on Oct. 14 against the McGill Redmen, the Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team mounted a late comeback but it was too little, too late, as the team lost 6-5.
“It was a lesson for the guys,” Stingers head coach Marc-André Élement said. “We’re a young team but the guys are going to have to learn that if you want to win in the [Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS)] you have to play a full 60 minutes. We played about 25 minutes.”
The first period was a rough one for the Stingers as they gave up four goals because of bad bounces and defensive miscues. Just five minutes into the game, Redmen defenseman Étienne Boutet scored on a shot from the blue line that floated by the blocker of Stingers goaltender Philippe Cadorette.
Less than a minute later, Redmen forward Samuel Hodhod scored after a scramble in front of the net. Later in the period, Redmen forwards Frédéric Gamelin and Patrick Delisle-Houde each netted a goal to give the home team a 4-0 lead.
“Yeah we got unlucky but you create your own luck also,” Élement said. “I got to give [the Redmen] credit. They were working harder than us so for us it’s a really good wake up call.”
To start the second period Cadorette was replaced by backup goalie Miguel Sullivan after allowing four goals on 12 shots.
The period started in the Stingers’ favour after a quick goal 25 seconds in by rookie forward Anthony Deluca. The Redmen would come back quickly with goals by defensemen Dominic Talbot-Tassi and Redgie Bois. At the end of the second period, the score was 6-1 in favour of the Redmen.
“They went on hard in the first two periods,” Stingers captain Olivier Hinse said. “We were not winning our battles. The first two periods we were not there mentally or physically and they were all over us.”
The third period started off slow and seemed to be a write-off for the Stingers, until a goal by Stingers forward Raphael Lafontaine pumped new life into the team with eight minutes left in the game.
Within two and half minutes of Lafontaine’s goal, Stingers forwards Scott Oke and Dominic Beauchemin each added a goal to bring the score to 6-4 in favour of the Redmen.
With four minutes left, Lafontaine picked up his second goal and lowered the deficit to one goal. Despite taking out Sullivan late to add an extra attacker, the Stingers were unable to tie the game and suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of their McGill rivals.
“The third period was amazing and that’s who we are as the Stingers,” Hinse said.
One high point of the game for the Stingers was the brewing chemistry between the top line of Hinse, Deluca and Sanche. Deluca scored his first goal of the season, and the whole line demonstrated crisp passing and lightning speed.
“We practiced a bit together this summer in three-on-three leagues,” Deluca said. “I think it’s a really good mix. We’re really close on and off the ice, and the chemistry we’ve built has shown and hopefully it helps us all season.”
The Stingers will play their home-opener on Oct. 15 against the University of Carleton at 7:30 p.m. at the Ed Meagher arena.
