Author: Elias Laradi

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Concordia Stingers play solid after holiday break

Photo by Brianna Thicke

The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team won 5-1 against the Laurentian Voyageurs at Ed Meagher Arena last Friday night, after a six-week holiday break.

Photo by Brianna Thicke

The game started off with Concordia playing some solid hockey. Four minutes into the first period, Concordia got its first chance on the powerplay as Voyageurs forward, Caleb Apperson, was called for hooking. The Stingers threw everything at the net but couldn’t beat the Voyageur goalie, Alain Valiquette.

Despite getting the first early chance to take the lead, the Stingers fell behind 1-0 when Voyageurs forward, Dylan Fitze, got a squeaker past Stingers goaltender, Antonio Mastropietro, opening the scoring for Laurentian.

However, Concordia wasn’t down for long in the second period, as four minutes in, left winger Anthony Nobili fired a quick shot past Valiquette. The game was now tied with the momentum swinging in Concordia’s favour. The Stingers started attacking the net in search of a lead.

The Stingers got another powerplay opportunity after tying the game, defenceman Jeremy Barriault, who was playing his first game of the season, went in on his own and got a wrist shot into the back of the net, making the score 2-1 for the Stingers.

One minute later, Voyageurs forward Fitze was given a two-minute minor with a 10-minute misconduct for giving a hit to the head. Concordia played on with the one man advantage but couldn’t solve Valiquette.

Five minutes later, Stingers centre, Olivier Hinse, scored his team-leading 15th goal of the season, giving Concordia a 3-1 lead after the second period.

Concordia continued strongly in the third period, getting a fourth goal early. Less than two minutes into the period, the Stingers added to their lead when centre Hugo Vincent got a good shot past Valiquette making the score 4-1 for Concordia.

With the game out of reach for Laurentian, the match became a little more heated. Stingers right winger, Nicolas Samoluk, and Voyageurs forward, Sebastian Leroux, were both called for roughing as they had been in a scrum after the play had been whistled. Then, Stingers defenceman, Sean Blunden, and Voyageurs forward, Joel Senecal, fought, giving both players a 10-minute misconduct penalty.

With five minutes remaining in the game and with Stingers captain, George Lovatsis, in the penalty box, the Voyageurs took the risk of pulling their goalie out in favour of a sixth attacker on the ice.

Two minutes later the Stingers took a 5-1 lead when Lovatsis fired a shot into the open net.

The end of the game turned ugly when more scrums and fights broke out. Stingers right winger, Ben Dubois, was assessed a four-minute spearing penalty during one of the scrums, and the game ended on that note, with the Stingers winning their second game in a row.

Stingers head coach, Kevin Figsby, said he was proud of his players in the win, and that the team profited from the return of defenceman Youssef Kabbaj, who returned Friday night after missing two months from a leg injury.

“It was a pretty clean game that turned feisty, I think we played a consistent game of 60 minutes, [Youssef] was big in his return and it showed how much we missed him on the ice,” said Figsby.

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Concordia plays hard but can’t beat York

Photo by Brianna Thicke
Photo by Brianna Thicke

After a six-week break, the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team got back into action in the 34th annual Theresa Humes Women’s Hockey Tournament, but lost 3-2 to the York Lions on Friday, Jan. 3.

The game started off well as both teams got serious chances to open the scoring. The game had a good flow as there was no whistle for the first 10 minutes of the game. With three minutes left in the first period, Concordia took a late penalty when right winger Jaymee Shell was called for interference.

York responded one minute later on the powerplay when forward Kiri Langford got a pass from defenceman Lindsay Brook and got a squeaker past Stinger goaltender Carolanne Lavoie-Pilon.

With 46 seconds left in the first period, Concordia got into more penalty trouble when Alyssa Sherrard got called for roughing.

Not even 20 seconds into the Lions powerplay, York forward Rianna Langford got called for tripping. The period ended with York up 1-0.

The second period started with some 4-on-4 play and York scored 35 seconds into the period when defenceman Kristen Barbara got a quick pass from Kiri Langford and got a good shot that went five-hole through Lavoie-Pilon, doubling their lead to 2-0.

Nine minutes later, Concordia got another penalty when left winger Audrey Morand got called for tripping. Luckily the Stingers were able to kill off the penalty and a couple of minutes later got a chance to go on the powerplay when York forward Rianna Langford got called for slashing. Concordia capitalized on the powerplay when defenceman Gabrielle Meilleur got a good shot past York goaltender Megan Lee. Not even a minute later, Concordia tied the game at two when Shell tipped in a shot into the back of the net.

As the Stingers looked to score the game-winning goal to ice the game, they got a chance when York got called for another penalty to Rianna Langford for hooking.

Concordia played a solid power play but couldn’t solve the York goalie. Not even 30 seconds after the York penalty was called Concordia got a penalty when defenceman Emily Even was sent to the box for tripping.

One minute later Concordia got another penalty when centre Jesse Keca got called for cross checking. This penalty ended up costing Concordia the game as York went to work on their powerplay and got the tie breaker when defenceman Sarai Whitty got a shot off Lavoie-Pilon’s helmet and into the back of the net.

Concordia tried to get back into the game but couldn’t get the equalizer back. The game ended with a final score 3-2 for the Lions.

“I think today we were a bit rusty after a six-week layoff,” said Stingers head coach Les Lawton. “[But] it was a good way to get back and we are just using this game as a springboard to get back into action.”

 

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Stingers dominant in second game at Theresa Humes Tournament

Photo by Brianna Thicke
Photo by Brianna Thicke

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team won their first game of 2014 at the annual Theresa Humes Women’s hockey tournament on Saturday, Jan.4, beating the St. Thomas Tommies 3-2 on home ice.

After outshooting the Tommies 12-0 through the first half of the first period, Concordia opened the scoring 12 minutes in when left winger Audrey Morand skated in on her own and got a shot past St. Thomas netminder, Kristin Wolfe. Six minutes later, Concordia doubled their lead as centre Alyssa Sherrard got another fast shot into the back of the net.

With four minutes left in the first period, St. Thomas got a penalty when defenceman Michelle Savoie was called for interference, but the Stingers couldn’t capitalize on the man advantage and went into the second period with a 2-0 lead.

Eleven minutes into the second period, Concordia got their first penalty of the game when centre Valerie Wade got called for tripping, but St. Thomas failed to get a shot on Stingers goalie, Briar Bache, during the power play. But after Tommies defenceman Amy Duffield got called for hooking and forward Kelty Apperson was sent to the box for for slashing, the  Stingers were able to make it 3-0 on the 5-on-3 advantage when left winger Kerianne Schofield got a good shot into the back of the net.

St. Thomas got a puck past Bache on their third shot of the game reducing the Stingers lead to 3-1 after 40 minutes.

St. Thomas was looking for the comeback heading into the third period as they began taking more shots at the net. With about six minutes left in the game, St. Thomas got a power play goal from forward Teah Anderson after Stingers centre Alexandria D’Onofrio was called for roughing. St. Thomas was pressuring for the equalizer but failed to score and the game ended with a final score of 3-2 for the Concordia Stingers.

Stingers head coach Les Lawton was proud of the way his team played in this game.

“It was a pretty solid effort and I am very proud of the way we played and I am looking forward to the game tomorrow vs. Queens,” he said.

“The girls played amazing today,” added Bache. “I liked how we remained focused and the way we were outshooting them, we played a lot better than yesterday where I found we were rusty and it proves how hard work pays off.

 

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Concordia dominated by Queen’s in Theresa Humes Tournament

The Stingers were looking to finish the weekend and the Theresa Humes Tournament with a good result but came up short, losing 5-0 to the Queen’s Gaels on Sunday, Jan.5.

Queen’s was quick to take the lead in the first period as they capitalized on the power play after Stingers right winger, Jaymee Shell, was called for a hit to the head. Forward Jessica Wakefield got the goal for the Gaels. Barely three minutes later, Queen’s doubled their lead when forward Megan Farrell got a pass from Wakefield and got a quick shot past Stingers’ goalie, Carolanne Lavoie-Pilon.

It didn’t get any better for the Stingers when three minutes later Tracy-Ann Lavigne got a penalty for body checking. Once again, Queen’s scored a power play goal as Wakefield’s slap shot beat Lavoie-Pilon for her second of the game. After allowing three goals on seven shots, Stingers head coach, Les Lawton, pulled Lavoie-Pilon for backup goaltender, Frederike Berger-Lebel. Concordia trailed 3-0 after 20 minutes.

After starting the second period shorthanded, the Stingers were able to kill off the penalty. But the Queens added to their lead when centre Emily Gervais got a good shot past Berger-Lebel.

The Stingers had a chance to go on the powerplay when Gaels defenceman Danielle Girard was called for tripping, but Concordia couldn’t get the puck past Queen’s goaltender Caitlyn Lahonen.

After adding another goal to make it 4-0, another goal by Wakefield gave Queen’s a commanding 5-0 lead, a lead the Gaels took to the second intermission.

The third period was scoreless for both teams even though Concordia threw everything at Lahonen but failed to get a puck past her.

After the game, Lawton said “it was a tough game, we weren’t ready, we had some goaltending issues and we are still getting back into it after the six-week layoff.

“We played better in the second half but we [still] played sloppy,” said defenceman Mary-Jane Roper. “But our defence did a good job, only allowing 37 shots all tournament.”

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Concordia Stingers unveil new arena

Photo provided by Concordia University

With their six month renovation plan now complete, Concordia’s newly appointed director of Athletics and Recreation, Patrick Boivin and associate vice president of facilities management Peter Bolla unveiled the new and improved Ed Meagher arena last Wednesday.

Photo provided by Concordia University

During a tour of the new arena, with both the women and men’s hockey teams in attendance, Boivin and Bolla spoke about the finances needed for the project that saw a new rink surface built. The renovations cost Concordia $7.75 million.

They spoke about the new refrigeration system put in place to make the arena more eco-friendly. With the new ice surface, the rink can now be open 11 months a year, instead of the seven before the renovations, according to the university’s press release.

As well as a new ice surface, the arena also has new boards and a new heating system has been installed, “the burning of natural gas has been replaced by recycled heat generated by the new heating system,” explained the press release.

The arena was also expanded by 2,500 sq. ft, according to the press release. During the tour, they showed the new dressing rooms in the arena, which are now larger due to the expansion. The equipment storage room is also bigger and Concordia has added two new changing rooms for the rugby and soccer teams, while upgrading the hockey changing rooms are also bigger.

The feedback from the athletes was very positive and they were proud to talk about the new features. Both the women and the men’s hockey team were there preparing for practice as the tour was being conducted.

“This is actually my first year and this arena seems very welcoming and it’s a great environment to play hockey,” left-winger Anthony Nobili said.

“I think it’s great and I find it really accessible,” goaltender Carolanne Lavoie-Pilon said. “There’s a lot of space [and] it’s very comfortable and the rooms are awesome.”

Captain Erin Lally echoed both Lavoie-Pilon and Nobili’s comments.

“I am really excited about the new facilities it’s a breath of fresh air and I’m really happy to be a part of it,” she said.

“I really find it a first-class facility and were starting to get settled,” said left-winger Taylor Lambke of the new arena.

Right-winger Charles-Alexandre Plaisir also added that “I didn’t [get] to see the old arena but I feel at home when I’m here it’s a great place, great atmosphere and the ice is wonderful.”

However the excitement of a new arena did come with some challenges. Boivin and Bolla spoke about some of the flaws of the renovations, saying that during the men’s first game, there were issues with the Zamboni door not closing properly. They were quick to point out that every arena at the beginning is not perfect and that things needed to be tested before hand to make sure they were running smoothly.

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JMSM invites all-star athletes

Every year the John Molson Sports Marketing (JMSM) Conference holds “the largest student-run sports conference in Canada and welcomes famous sports executives from across North America,” says Anton Sakiz, who was in charge of the Conference’s public relations. From November 7-9, JMSM hosted five panels at D.B Clarke Theatre.

On Friday Nov. 8, JMSM presented the The Road to Gold – Athletes Panel, where many Olympic Athletes were invited to speak about their experiences. Alexandre Bilodeau, who one gold medal in men’s moguls in Vancouver 2010, Joannie Rochette, who had won bronze at the winter games in Vancouver, and Benoit Huot who had won five gold medals and one silver at the Paralympics in Vancouver, were among the athletes in attendance. The panel was moderated by Scott Russell, who has worked for CBC Sports for 20 years covering the Olympics and Hockey Night in Canada.

Each athlete explained what is was like growing up watching the Olympics and getting inspired in their particular sport and about the sacrifices they made and the training it took to get to the level where they are today.

Kevin Libman VP Speakers coordinator of JMSM explained why he had picked those athletes for this panel. “We thought it was a right fit due to the fact that this February will be the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia and we wanted to bring up the hype of this great event.”

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Stingers blow two leads and fall to Warriors

Photo Brianna Thicke

The Concordia Stingers were looking for their third win of the season as they faced the Waterloo Warriors last Saturday afternoon, but fell 5-2 in their Ed Meagher Arena home opener.

Photo Brianna Thicke

After a 90 minute delay due to equipment problems, both teams started off well. The first of the game’s many penalties came four minutes in as Stinger Adam Nugent Hopkins was sent to the box.

Not even two minutes later, Stingers goaltender Antonio Mastropietro was called for roughing, which was served by Stingers’ left winger Danny Potvin. Concordia managed to kill both penalties but with 10 minutes remaining Stingers’ defenseman Marley Keca was called for cross-checking.

With eight minutes left in the first period, left winger Taylor Lambke got Concordia on the board when he fired a shot past Warriors goaltender, Justin Leclerc. Concordia was up 1-0 for the remainder of the period as the Stingers were getting solid play from their defense and goaltending.

In the second period, both teams played very physical with each team giving out solid hits. Not even one minute into the second, things got ugly as Warriors forward Anthony Tapper gave an elbow to the head of Stingers forward Charles-Alexandre Plaisir. He received a two and 10 minute misconduct. The hit sparked a scrum between three players: Potvin and Warriors’ forwards Kain Allicock and Josh Woolley. All three players were assessed roughing on the play.

Nine minutes later, the Stingers got into more penalty trouble when defenseman Sean Blunden was called for tripping. This penalty proved costly as Waterloo capitalized and scored the equalizer when forward Justin Larson took a pass from forward Chris Chappell and got the puck past Mastropietro.

The Stingers began the third period on the power play and capitalized on the opportunity. Centre Kyle Armstrong got a breakaway pass from right winger Ben Dubois and got a shot past the Warriors goaltender, giving the Stingers a 2-1 lead.

The Stingers’ got into some penalty trouble as centre George Lovatsis was called for hooking and the Warriors’ defenseman Stephen Silas got a power play goal to tie the game at two each.

The Waterloo Warriors kept attacking and Concordia seemed to lose their edge in the game, as four minutes after they scored, the Warriors got another goal from Chappell, giving them a 2-1 lead.

That goal seemed to drain the Stingers as Waterloo kept coming strong and playing both solid defense and offense. Two minutes later, Waterloo defenseman Greg Steffes was called for hooking and Concordia went back on the power play. The Stingers once again failed to capitalize on the man advantage.

At the eight minute mark of the third period, Waterloo got on the board again Chappell got his hat trick to make it 4-2 Waterloo. Chappell would soon make it 5-2 Waterloo.

Stingers’ head coach Kevin Figsby was disappointed with his team performance.

“We played a solid 40 minutes today and a disappointing third,” he said. “It’s hard when you don’t have your top defenseman (in) Youssef Kabbaj and one of your top forwards (in) Jessyco Bernard and I felt we were watching the third, not playing.”

“We played a solid 40 minutes and a tough third we didn’t have any momentum and it’s a game we wanted to win,” said Lambke.

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Undisciplined Stingers fall to McGill in Corey Cup

The Concordia Stingers were looking for their second win of the season as they were hosting the McGill Redmen for the Corey Cup title at Verdun Auditorium on Saturday night, but fell 3-1 to their cross-city rivals.

The game got off to a fast start for the Stingers. Only 1:50 into the first period, centre Olivier Hinse took a pass from defenseman Sean Blunden, rushed up the ice in a flash, and got a quick shot past McGill goaltender Andrew Fleming for a 1-0 lead.

Ten minutes later Anthony Nobili was called for slashing, which sparked a fight between Blunden and Redmen right-winger, Benoit Levesque. Both men received penalties for the fighting.

Three minutes later, the Stingers seemed undisciplined once again, getting another penalty when forward Ben Dubois was called for holding. The positive factor was that Stingers goaltender Antonio Mastropietro was stopping every shot he had faced. After one period, Concordia was up 1-0 over the McGill.

The second period started off as a physical battle between the two teams. Things then turned ugly when Redmen left-winger, Patrick Delisle-Houde threw a punch at Stingers right-winger Jessyco Bernard. Bernard suffered a concussion and was forced to leave the game. Delisle-Houde was assessed a two-minute and 10-minute penalty for roughing. Stinger’s head coach Kevin Figsby was furious with the call, thinking it should have been treated as a game misconduct.

Near the end of the second period Concordia received a minor penalty as defenseman Gabriel Bourret was called for hooking. Nearly minutes later, with mere seconds left on the clock, Concordia got yet another penalty when left-winger Dany Potvin was called for high sticking.

Concordia still held a 1-0 lead heading into the third period. However, in search of the tying goal, McGill was firing shots left and right but couldn’t beat Mastropietro. On a power play at the start of the third period, McGill finally got on the board with a shot from defenseman Ryan McKiernan, that went in as a McGill player bumped into the Stingers goaltender. After the goal, Mastropietro complained that he was interfered with and that the goal shouldn’t have counted, but the referee told him that a Stingers player had pushed the McGill player into him.

With the score tied 1-1 it was the Stingers’ turn to struggle offensively. The McGill goal seemed to slow the Stingers down. McGill’s hard work and patience finally paid off as Delisle-Houde, who had returned from his 10 minute penalty, scored the go-ahead goal to give his McGill Redmen the 2-1 lead when he got a close range shot past Mastropietro.

At the 11-minute mark of the third period, Stingers defenseman Adam Nugent-Hopkins was called for roughing. Their undisciplined play turned to anger as Bourret and Redmen left-winger Carl Gelinas got into a scrap, which they both were penalized for.

With one minute to play, Concordia pulled their goaltender during a face-off in the offensive zone in favour of an extra attacker, but an empty net goal by Redmen’s Max Le Sieur sealed McGill’s win at 3-1.

“We didn’t have any execution, we were undisciplined, we had injured players, we lost a top forward, there was poor officiating and we didn’t play our best,”  Figsby said after the game.

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The game that got away against McGill

Photo by Keith Race.
Photo by Keith Race.

The Concordia lacrosse team suffered a thumping 23-1 loss in their third game of the season against the defending national champions the McGill Redmen.

The game got off to a rough start as Concordia got into penalty trouble early. Dimitri Lappos was called three minutes in for slashing. The penalty cost them an early goal as Rufus Frost slammed it past Concordia goalkeeper Louis Grimes. Less than 30 seconds later, Spencer Bromley got a pass from Leland De Langley and scored to put McGill up 2-0 in a span of one minute.

Two minutes later, De Langley got a goal of his own to put McGill 3-0 over Concordia. Conrad Keeble was called for slashing and it didn’t take long for McGill to reply as Anders Bjella got a pass from Brandon McLean and shot it into the back of the net. The game was really getting out of hand for Concordia as three minutes later, Bromley got another one past the Concordia goalkeeper.

The goals unfortunately kept coming as De Langley scored again with a superb pass from Bjella. At this point it was already 6-0 McGill and they didn’t slow down. The Concordia offense seemed to struggle to get in the offensive zone and the penalties kept coming. Xavier Poirier was called for slashing, resulting in another McGill goal from Bromley not even 30 seconds into the penalty. After that, Christian Carter got a late goal at the end of the first quarter.

Photo by Keith Race.

In the second quarter, it was already 8-0 for McGill. Thirty seconds into the quarter, Rhys Burnell added a goal. Three minutes later De Langley scored again to make it a lead of double digits. McGill received a rare penalty when De Langley made a slash and was sent to the box for one minute. That didn’t seem to get him down as he got out of the box and went on to record his third goal at 11:10 of the second quarter. Burnell added his second goal of the night four minutes later. Not even 20 seconds later, Burnell scored again to also record a hat trick with the assist coming from De Langley.

The goals kept coming as Bohe Hosking scored a goal to make it 14-0. With no end in sight, the whistle blew signaling halftime.

Concordia finally got on the board five minutes into the third quarter as Poirier got a good shot on net and it went in to break the ice for Concordia. It didn’t take long for McGill to respond as two minutes later Hosking got another goal to make it 15-1 for McGill. Frost, De Langley, Daniel Maffezzoli and Christian Barker each added goals for McGill by the end of the third quarter, making it 19-1 McGill.

Goals from McGill were scored at the 19th, 18th and 15th minute from Bromley, Matthew Tse and Bradley Hofman, respectively. Concordia looked tired and started making mistakes. Poirier was called for an illegal body check which cost them another goal by Spencer Bromley with another assist from De Langley. That was the last goal of the night as the game ended with a disappointing 23-1 loss against the Redmen.

“We had a very rough start, we were undisciplined, and we lacked in areas that were needed like offense and defense,” said Concordia head coach Mike Taddeo.

“We managed a very slow start to the game. Louis Grimes made some good saves when we needed it, we picked things up in the fourth quarter and I saw some good stuff for the third game of the season,” added midfielder Brenden Di Vittori.

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Letting one slide in second half

The Concordia Stingers were looking to improve on their 0-2 start to the season but fell 35-18 to the St. Francis Xavier X-Men at home on Saturday afternoon.

Concordia fell 0-7 in the first quarter after quarterback Reid Quest was picked off by X-Men defensive back Demetrius Ferguson, who ran 103 yards for the interception and the touchdown. Photo by Marilla Steuter-Martin.

The game didn’t start as the Stingers would have hoped though they seemed dominant in the first five minutes of the game, driving down the field in a flash. However, Concordia fell 0-7 in the first quarter after quarterback Reid Quest was picked off by X-Men defensive back Demetrius Ferguson, who ran 103 yards for the interception and the touchdown.

But the Stingers stuck to their game plan and their defense helped them out by making the X-Men go three and out on their next three plays. A couple of drives later, Quest found Jamal Hyman for a 27-yard touchdown pass and the game was tied at seven apiece.

In the second quarter, the Stingers defense pinned the X-Men offense on their own goal line, where the X-Men decided to take a safety when Xavier quarterback Clay Masikewich snapped the ball and took a knee, making it 9-7 Stingers and giving them their first lead of the game.

On the following drive, the Stingers got the ball to the 30-yard line but fell short on downs. That’s when kicker Keegan Treloar kicked a 38-yard field goal to increase the Stingers lead to 12-7.

On the X-Men’s next drive, they got into Stingers territory but failed to convert as the defense kept strong, holding them to a field goal attempt. X-Men kicker Jeremy Ford couldn’t convert on the field goal, so they were awarded one point, making the score 12-8 for Concordia.

Treloar then gave the Stingers a 15-8 lead with a 31-yard field goal on the Stingers next drive.

The X-Men took their first lead of the game when wide receiver Devon Bailey completed a 20-yard touchdown pass from Masikewich early in the third quarter, making it 16-15 St. Francis Xavier.

The lead didn’t last long as Treloar scored another field goal, this time all the way from 42 yards out. The Stingers took a 18-16 lead.

A couple of drives later, Ford kicked another field goal to once again gain a one-point lead. The game was now 19-18 for the X-Men.

In the fourth quarter, the X-Men were driving early when Masikewich found wide receiver Jordan  Catterall, who ran for the 50-yard touchdown. The X-Men took a 26-18 lead in this up-and-down battle.

The touchdown seemed to take the wind out of the Stingers offense as they couldn’t produce anymore offense and once again the X-Men took over the game.

With two minutes left in the game, Catterall was thrown to again and he ran a whopping 85 yards for the touchdown, giving the X-Men a 33-18 lead. The game ended with a safety converted by Sanmi Adereti for another two points, which made it 35-18 for the X-Men.

After the game, Stingers head coach Gerry McGrath said he saw improvement in his team. He was pleased with the special teams but he said they needed to work on defense and interceptions.

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