The team has now won nine straight games and remain undefeated at home this season.
The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team was back in action this weekend. They welcomed the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees to Ed Meagher Arena for their first meeting of the season on Nov. 2.
After losing their first regular season game of the season in overtime, the Stingers had rallied for eight straight wins coming into their game against the Gee-Gees. They had outscored their opponents 39-11 while storming their way into second place in the USports’ top ten Oct. 28 men’s hockey power rankings. For the Stingers, the goal was to keep their momentum going.
“We just need to take one game at a time,” Stingers head coach Marc-André Elément said. “I think you let the guys enjoy [the wins], but then we get right back to work.”
Once the puck dropped, the Stingers and Gee-Gees brought the energy. A hard-hitting, fast-paced first period set the tempo early, leading to opportunities on both sides. Nine minutes into the frame, Stingers forward Nicholas Girouard found open space in the offensive zone, got his stick on the puck, and tipped a shot from defender Simon Lavigne into the back of the Ottawa net. The Stingers brought the 1-0 lead into the second period.
The following twenty minutes saw a similar pace as the first. Both teams generated scoring chances, but unlike the first period, both teams were able to capitalize.
Each team traded a goal in the first five minutes of the period, with Lavigne scoring his seventh of the season for the Stingers. Eleven minutes into the period, Lavigne added yet another to give his team a 3-1 lead. This brought him back to the top of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) lead in goals.
“When you play the right way, you try to bring the offense,” Lavigne said. “My goals come from the guys all around me, but it’s nice to have some points. Every game, I want to do my best, and the points are coming right now.”
The third period saw the Gee-Gees claw back. Ottawa scored five minutes into the period to bring them back within one. Elément said that in situations like these, it is important to get his players’ composure on the bench.
“It’s a game of emotions,” he said. “[The players] need to be ‘never too high, never too low,’ especially in chippy games like tonight.”
With seven minutes remaining in regulation, the Stingers found themselves shorthanded. Not long into their penalty kill, a Gee-Gees defender turned over the puck, leading to an odd-man rush for Concordia. Captain and forward Gabriel Proulx passed it to his linemate and forward Edouard Charron, who snuck a shot through the Ottawa goaltender. The goal gave the Stingers an insurance goal, leading 4-2.
The Gee-Gees would not go quietly, however.
Ottawa scored on the same power play to make the score 4-3. The Stingers would have to hold down the fort for the final five minutes to secure the two points.
With time running out, a scramble in front of the Concordia net meant chaos for the Stingers’ defense, but the team was able to hang on and earn the victory. Defender Christopher Inniss, who played a huge part in holding down the Stingers’ defensive corps, said that while the team will enjoy the win, the mindset is always on the next game.
“[We have to] stick to the fundamentals,” Inniss said. “We have to remember what got us to this point, and as a team, stick to that and try to be a better team every day.”
The Stingers will bring their 9-0-1 record over to their cross-town rival McGill University Redbirds on Nov. 8. Puck drop at Place Bell is set for 7:30 p.m.
