The women’s hockey team’s resilience and capitalization in overtime play get them the win
Last Friday, the Stingers’ women’s hockey team delivered a great performance against the Ottawa Gee-Gees in a rousing game that left fans on the edge of their seats at the Ed Meagher Arena.
The first period was full of back and forth between the Stingers and the Gee-Gees to get the first goal of the game. After around 16 minutes of play, Stingers’ forward Jessymaude Drapeau breached the barrier of Gee-Gees’ goaltender Aurélie Dubuc to bring the score to 1-0.
“It was a big team effort, but a huge goal in the first period to start the game,” said Drapeau.
The game slowed down for both teams in the second period. Eventually, the Stingers were able to take seven successful shots. The Gee-Gees, however, couldn’t get hold of the puck enough to tie the game.
But within the first half of the third period, the Gee-Gees hit their stride. Ottawa forward Katherine Birkby finally tied the game and Abygail Moloughney, another forward, gave the Gee-Gees the lead when she intercepted a pass from Stingers’ goaltender Alice Philbert who was away from her net.
“I know it was a big mistake, but at the same time we have to learn from our mistakes and the team really stepped up for me so I’m happy with that,” said Philbert, doubling down on how she always feels the support from her team.
Indeed, the Stingers quickly repressed the Gee-Gees and a few seconds after Moloughney’s goal, Stingers’ forward Megan Bureau-Gagnon slid the puck past Dubuc to bring the game to another tie, leading to overtime.
No goals were scored during the first period of overtime, but the second kept fans on their feet. The winning goal was thought to be scored by Drapeau but the referees called it back due to goaltender interference by Stingers’ forward Emmy Fecteau.
“For sure, it’s rough,” said Stingers’ forward Émilie Lavoie, who had two assists in the game until that point. “You think the game is over, and all of a sudden everyone has to go back. But we have a team that’s competitive all the way around, it’s just reset and go back.”
During the second period of overtime, in a last-ditch effort while caught between two Gee-Gees players, Lavoie scored the game-winning goal for the Stingers. She was named the game’s first star for her stunning performance.
“It feels good, but, at the end of the day, it’s a team effort,” said Lavoie. “Everyone put the effort in, I took the puck at the end, but we kept the puck the whole time during 3-on-3.”
“I think that game was everything beyond our expectations,” said Stingers’ head coach Julie Chu. “I think we had some tremendous moments and we also had some moments where Ottawa put us on our heels and we had to play a more defensive game.”
Chu also spoke about Philbert’s performance and noted her ability to bounce back from her errors. She emphasized how crucial Philbert was for the win and how she loved to see her players’ response to moments of adversity.
The Stingers women’s hockey team will be back at the Ed Meagher Arena to play against the McGill Martlets on Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
