Concordia women’s hockey holds on to beat Bishop’s on home ice

The Stingers are now 14-0-0 on the season as playoffs creep closer.
Stingers forward Émilie Lavoie chases the puck vs Bishop’s. Photo courtesy of Concordia Athletics.

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team was back in action at Ed Meagher Arena this past week. On an unusual Thursday night game, the Stingers welcomed the Bishop’s University Gaiters to town for the first of two matchups in four days.

The Stingers welcomed back four players to their lineup as they returned from the Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU) Winter World University Games. Forwards Émilie Lavoie and Émilie Lussier, defender Alexandra-Anne Boyer, and goaltender Jordyn Verbeek represented the Stingers on Team Canada’s women’s hockey team.

“They landed on Tuesday; we had them join us on Wednesday at practice because we played today. If we didn’t play today, they probably would’ve had a day off,” Stingers head coach Julie Chu jokingly said about the returning players. “We are happy to have our family back together again.”

The fully-rostered Stingers came out of the gate firing on offence, pushing for the game’s first goal. The team led the Gaiters in shots on goal through the first period, 11-3, but could not find the back of the net.

A power play halfway through the second period posed a good opportunity for the Stingers to strike. On the advantage, they did just that.

Lavoie fired a shot from the blue line that found forward Alexis Bedier’s stick blade for the deflection. The Stingers led 1-0 and used the momentum to continue their push. 

“We have to make sure that any time we get a special teams opportunity, we can create momentum out of it,” Chu said. “Our power play did a great job, and our PK [penalty kill] as well. If anything, in the second period, we didn’t love the start of the second — it was a little bit on the slow side, and it was the penalty kill that gave us some energy.”

Six minutes later, the FISU Games fifth-highest scorer would add a tally. Lussier parked herself in front of the Gaiters’ net, found a loose puck, and scored on a rebound. The Stingers brought a 2-0 lead into the third period.

Forward Jessymaude Drapeau added the team’s third goal to give the Stingers more insurance, now up 3-0. Bishop’s would add a goal late, but Concordia would hold on for a 3-1 victory.

Lussier shared postgame how it felt to be back with the team.

“Getting back right now, it’s a bit tough being jet lagged,” Lussier said, laughing. “Contributing to this win felt great, […] it was a great win for the team.”

The Stingers improved to a record of 13-0-0 this season and have won each one of their regular season games since Feb. 9, 2023. The team took their streak to Bishop’s home ice on Sunday for the second leg of the home and home.

In this matchup, Concordia added another win by a score of 7-1. The Stingers will look to bring their winning streak to CEPSUM Arena at Université de Montréal to face the Carabins. The puck drop on Jan. 31 is set for 7 p.m.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts