The Concordia men’s hockey team defeated the Royal Military College of Canada after two straight losses
After losing to the Carleton Ravens 4-0 the night before, the Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team bounced back and defeated the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) Paladins 7-1 on Nov. 26 at the Ed Meagher Arena.
“The win was very important since we didn’t play well last night,” said Stingers head coach Marc-André Élement. “I wanted the guys to be physical tonight and to execute the gameplan, and that showed on the scoreboard.”
The Stingers came out flying in the first period, out-shooting RMC 19-5. Despite the pressure, Paladins goaltender Austin Hannaford was a nuisance for the Stingers forwards, as he made save after save.
Five minutes into the opening period, the Stingers were able to solve Hannaford after a goal by forward Vincent Watt. The goal was Watt’s first of the season and his first with the Stingers.
“Getting my first goal of the season felt great especially since it was for my hometown team,” Watt said.
For the rest of the period, the Stingers kept up their high-tempo offence but were unable to convert. Halfway through the period, the Paladins tied the game at 1-1, after a goal squeaked by the arm of Stingers goaltender Miguel Sullivan.
Just a few minutes later, the Stingers took the lead back with a power play goal by captain Olivier Hinse, which put them up 2-1 going into the first intermission.
“Tonight we wanted guys to throw pucks on net and have a physical presence in front of the net,” Élement said when asked about his team’s offensive performance.
The Stingers kept up their dominance in the second period as they continued to generate shots on net. Just four minutes into the period, the Stingers increased their lead to 3-1 when forward Charles-Éric Légaré scored on a rebound.
Throughout the period, Hannaford continued to be the Paladins’ best player, as he stopped shot after shot. However, the Stingers proved to be too much for him to handle. With three and a half minutes left in the period, the Stingers went up 4-1, after forward Philippe Sanche sent a cross-crease pass to Hinse, who scored his second goal of the game.
Two minutes later, Hinse scored his third goal of the game for a hat-trick. The goal came on a five-on-three power play and put the Stingers up 5-1, which was the lead they took into the third period.
“Tonight the puck was just coming to my stick and all I had to do was put it in,” Hinse said. “My goal with Sanche was amazing. He did all the work and I just had to tap it in.”
In the third and final period, the Stingers weren’t as energetic as they were in the first two periods. However, they were still too quick for the Paladins. Seven minutes into the period, Stingers rookie Anthony Deluca scored to make it 6-1.
With just under three minutes left, Hinse put away his fourth goal of the game, which would be the team’s last of the night en-route to their 7-1 victory.
The Stingers will play their next game on Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. against the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. It will be their last game before the winter break.
