Stingers shutout Ravens at home

The Stingers were able to pick up their second win in five games on Sunday. Photo by Alex hutchins.

The Concordia women’s hockey team was relentless on defence in their victory on Sunday

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team dominated the Carleton Ravens on Nov. 6, winning by a score of 3-0 at the Ed Meagher Arena. They outshot their opponents 39-8, earning their second win in five games.

The Stingers took no time getting to work, out-hustling the Ravens for much of the first period. For most of the play, the puck stayed in Carleton’s defensive zone, as Concordia’s defenders played aggressively at the blue line to keep plays alive.

“We’re really working hard to allow our defencemen to go on offence,” Stingers head coach Julie Chu said.

Chu said she likes her defenders to jump into plays and contribute on offense whenever possible, whether it means joining a rush up the ice, or carrying the puck low into the offensive zone.

“They’re starting to [make rushes], and it allows us to have a lot more layers of offense and to keep [opposing] defenders on their toes a bit more,” Chu said.

Carleton goaltender Katelyn Steele stood tall for the Ravens, keeping the game tied as her team got outshot 10-3 in the first period.

The period would not be without adversity for the Stingers. With roughly four minutes left to play, defender Emily Even of the Stingers went down in the corner with an injury.

Even did not return to the ice, and the nature of her injury is unknown.

By the midway point of the second period, the Stingers were outshooting the Ravens by a 16-4 margin, and had spent almost no time on defence since the start of the period.

With seven minutes left in the period, Stingers forward Devon Thompson broke the deadlock by scooping in a rebound from a shot by Stingers forward Marie-Pascale Bernier.

Two minutes later, Stingers forward Stephanie Lalancette forced a turnover in the Ravens zone, and passed the puck to teammate Audrey Belzile, who one-timed the puck into the net to put the Stingers up by two.

The Stingers stayed relentless in the third period, conceding only one more shot to Carleton. It was a stellar defensive performance from the entire team, as Concordia goaltender Briar Bache notched an eight-save shutout in her first start of the regular season.

Chu explained that in their previous game against Montréal, the team struggled with defence.

“Throughout this entire week of preparation, we really focused on net front battles, playing pucks in the corner and taking away space,” Chu said.

Stingers forward Claudia Dubois scored the final goal of the game midway through the third period on the power play to cap off a 3-0 win. The Stingers took 31 more shots than the Ravens in their most dominant performance of the season to date.

The Stingers will hit the ice again on Nov. 11 at 7 p.m., when they play the Université de Montréal Carabins.

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