Category: Sports

A lackluster performance in the first half by the Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team was the main turning point in a 65-56 loss at the hands of the
visiting Toronto Varsity Blues last Saturday afternoon.
“We stank the joint out in the first half,” said Stingers head coach Keith Pruden. “Toronto’s a good, talented, well coached team and if you don’t play the same
good basketball for 40 minutes, you lose.”
Although the Stingers played with more intensity in the second half, outscoring Toronto 34-26, the first half’s inconsistent offensive output was too much to
overcome.
“The problem in the first half was that we played soft defense and we weren’t doing things on offence that we normally do,” said coach Pruden.
Toronto started the game on an 8-0 run, with Concordia’s first points coming off the hands of Stingers forward Kirstina Steinfort who finished a strong game
with a team high 20 points.
Midway into the half, Concordia’s lack of mental focus and shot making proved to be the fuel that ignited the Varsity Blues into a stellar offensive and defensive
mode.
Toronto limited Concordia into making difficult shots for much of the half, while the Blues forged on with a face paced transition game and opportunistic
shooting.
The first half ended with the Blues leading by the score of 39-22.
The Stingers came out in the second half reenergized and things started to click, baskets were going in and the defense vastly improved.
“We came out much more sharper and played much better defense,” said coach Pruden. “We were very aggressive on offence.”
Speed and a tenacious defensive stance kept Toronto on its heels as Concordia continued to press and maintain possession of the ball.
At the 8:20 mark, Concordia dwindled Toronto’s lead to 11 points with hopes of a comeback, however Toronto continuously answered back with well-timed
shots.
“To Toronto’s credit, they hit some very tough shots to keep us at arms length,” coach Pruden said.
Forward Steinfort and guard Marie-Pier Veilleux led the way in the second half for the Stingers with the team shooting 46.9 per cent from the field compared to
Toronto’s 40.9 percent.
Concordia came as close as eight points to the lead late in the half but poor shot selection and some ill-fated individual efforts signaled the eventual end.
“It’s all mental stuff. We weren’t ready to play. We were flat mentally and when you’re not ready mentally, you’re not ready physically,” said coach Pruden.

The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks overcame a 3-2 third period deficit, scoring three goals late in the third period to defeat the Middlebury Panthers 5-3. The win gave the Hawks the bronze medal at the 33rd annual Theresa Humes Invitational Women’s Hockey Tournament.

Middlebury drew first blood in the game as it approached the midway point of the first period. Nina Kieves knocked in the rebound off a Michelle Labbe shot giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead. The score remained 1-0 until the Golden Hawks tied the game on a power play goal by Jacqueline Grahek 4:13 into the second period while Middlebury’s Erin Neil was serving a slashing minor.

Wilfrid Laurier took a 2-1 lead three minutes later when Lisa Backman scored on what would be her first of three goals in the game. However, Middlebury regained momentum after giving up the goal to Backman. While short-handed, Panthers’ Amber Neil scored with 11:10 remaining in the period to tie the game at 2-2.

Late in the period, Panthers’ Laurie Richmond set up a perfectly placed Amber Neil at the side of the net, scoring her second goal of the game and giving Middlebury a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission. As the two teams headed for their respective locker rooms, Middlebury was outshooting Wilfrid Laurier 22-11.

The Golden Hawks took over as the puck dropped to begin the third period. They threw a barrage of shots towards Panthers’ goalie Kati Madouras who remained solid between the pipes. Eventually, the aggressiveness of the Golden Hawks paid off as Heather Allan tied the game on a power play goal with only 5:26 remaining. Less than a minute later, the Golden Hawks took the lead for good on a short-handed breakaway goal by Lisa Backman.

With Middlebury pressing in the dying minutes of the game, poor discipline led to a slashing penalty to Amber Neil, thus nullifying the advantage of the extra attacker when the goalie was pulled. Shortly after the penalty was called, Backman potted an empty netter giving her a hat trick and a total of four points on the night securing a 5-3 victory for Wilfrid Laurier. Coach Bill Bowker was very pleased with the victory.

“I’m glad we were able to come out strong after a tough loss to Toronto. Lisa Backman gave us a very motivational speech after the second period which our players seemed to respond very positively,” Bowker said.

Bowker also mentioned how the tournament was a great experience for his team. “This is a very high quality tournament with a tremendous amount of significance regarding CIAU rankings,” he added.

Audrey Pellerin, a Middlebury scratch for the game couldn’t hide her disappointment with the loss.

“I feel that the referee called too many penalties although it is easy to judge when you are watching from the stands. I can’t say enough about the tournament though, the competition was excellent.” Pellerin said. Middlebury was relegated to the bronze medal game after a 3-2 overtime loss to host Concordia in the semi-finals.

Lisa Backman, the captain for Wilfrid Laurier took player of the game honours for her side scoring three goals and adding an assist. Goaltender Kati Madouras was player of the game for Middlebury making 22 saves, the majority coming in the third where she turned aside fifteen shots.

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues jumped out of the blocks quick on Sunday, and never looked back as they handed the Stingers their first loss since 1992 at the 33rd Annual Theresa Humes Women’s Hockey Invitational tournament.

Hosted by Concordia at the Ed Meagher Arena, the Stingers have dominated the tourney for most of the last decade, but were not up to the task this weekend when the number one ranked T-Blues took the gold, largely due to the outstanding performance of goaltender Alison Houston, and tournament MVP, captain Jen Rawson.

Having advanced to the final after a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory against the Middlebury Panthers the day before, the Stingers looked sluggish, while the T-Blues came out fresh and upbeat after handing the Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks a 3-1 loss.

From the first drop of the puck, it was clear the T-Blues meant business, controlling the flow when forward Jenny McRae received a pass through the crease and put the puck past Stinger goalie Lisa Herritt only 1:12 into the game.

The play moved back and forth for the next few minutes with neither team getting any particularly good chances, until a Toronto defender fell on the puck in the crease, forcing the referee to call a Concordia penalty shot.

The chance went to one of the newest Stingers, Caroline Ouellette, who also plays for the Montreal Wingstar of the National Women’s Hockey League.

Ouellette, the tournament’s leading scorer, was not able to convert on the shot, stopped cold by the sharp U of T goalie.

On the ensuing play, the Stingers had three glorious scoring chances, but failed to hit the net and took a penalty, quashing any momentum they may have gained.

After two more power play opportunities, and with the T-Blues still up by one, Stinger captain Lisa-Marie Breton had a golden chance, standing by herself in front, only to be absolutely robbed by Houston’s quick glove. Then right after the save, Breton showed her frustration by taking a penalty for hooking a Toronto player to the ice.

The end of the first frame saw some fast paced four-on-four action, as the T-Blues also had a player in the box. The Stingers seemed to be gaining momentum once again, but still headed to the dressing room down 1-0.

Although Concordia seemed ready to explode in the second, it was Toronto that struck first, when Stinger M.C. Allard was caught pinching in the U of T zone. Toronto’s Jillian Savin managed to keep the puck away from Allard, then went streaking up the ice on a two-on-one with Rawson, who put it over Herritt’s leg to put her team up 2-0.

The home team wasn’t ready to quit just yet, and pressured heavily in the opposition’s end, only to be constantly foiled by Houston.

Toronto responded to their netminder’s performance by scoring two quick goals to take what would prove to be an insurmountable 4-0 lead.

Concordia did manage to solve Houston late in the period when Ouellette atoned for her earlier miss by converting a pretty passing play into a goal. Winger Kendra MacDonald sent the puck from the point in behind the net to Allard, who then feathered a pretty pass to Ouellette. She had to take two bangs at it, but managed to get it by the sprawling goalie.

With a three goal advantage, the T-Blues left the ice confidently for the second intermission, while their counterparts in the Stingers room had to figure out a way to get back into the game.

It became clear that a win would not be in the books for the home team, however, when after nine minutes of Toronto’s smothering defence, the visitors went up by four, and then five, when Herritt let a weak one through her legs, and another on a two on one.

The rest of the period was a defensive affair, as the T-Blues were content simply trapping the Stingers in their own end, never needing to press for another goal.

Concordia managed to get one more when Annie Surprenant scored what can only be described as an ugly goal as she shot it in off the back of Houston’s leg with just over a minute left to play.

Stinger head coach Les Lawton was not about to put the blame on his goaltender or anyone else after the game.

“We didn’t play that poorly, we just couldn’t put it in the net,” he said. “(Toronto) is a good team, there’s a reason they’re ranked number one.

“They’re quick, and now we know what we’re up against. This can be a very good stepping stone to the nationals,” he added.

The Stingers next face St. Laurent on the road tonight. Their next home game is February 3, when they entertain cross-town rivals, the McGill Martlets.

With Canada’s bronze medal overtime win over Sweden at the 2001 World Junior Championship still fresh in our minds, how about taking a look into the near future, the 2002 Canadian Winter Olympic Men’s hockey team to be precise.

Canadians should be proud of our Juniors and the work they did in Moscow. Team Canada went to Russia with skill over character and should be applauded for their selections, with the exception of not inserting the highly-skilled Kris Beech into their lineup. That’s where we come in.

With Wayne Gretzky as general manager (GM) and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Pat Quinn as head coach, Canada looks like a good bet to pick skill over size and character. Granted, the latter is needed, but not on every line, as we saw in Nagano, Japan at the ’98 Olympic games where Keith Primeau, Shayne Corson and Trevor Linden were expected to add tons of grit.

So, without further ado, here are the predictions for Canada’s lineup (13 forwards, seven defencemen and three goaltenders) in 2002 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

This may surprise many, but Mario Lemieux will play and you heard it here first. Lemieux will center the first line consisting of left-winger (LW) Paul Kariya and right-winger (RW) Brendan Shanahan. All three of these players can put the puck in the net, but Lemieux’s main job will be setting-up his scoring wingers.

On the second line, Steve Yzerman will center Joe Sakic (LW) and Theoren Fleury (RW). This will surely be Canada’s momentum line and they have the added bonus of having played together at the ’98 Olympics.

Canada’s third line will be made up of three guys who know how to put the puck in the net, two of them being from Qu*bec. Vincent Lecavalier will center the line, with Luc Robitaille on his left and Owen Nolan on his right. Some may say this line lacks heart, but forget about that. Whatever they lack in heart and grit (Nolan’s got both) they make-up with a tremendous amount of skill. This will be Canada’s most exciting and dynamic line and look for Robitaille to possibly lead this team in goal-scoring.

Canada’s most controversial line will be its fourth. Captain Mark Messier will strut his stuff and show the huge mistake Canada made in ’98 by leaving him off the team. Sure, he’ll be 41 come 2002, but he’s going to play until he’s 45. Messier will have former Hab Pierre Turgeon on his left and with Team Canada’s most surprising choice, John Madden on right wing. Turgeon is not a liability on defense (he was a +30 on St. Louis last season) and he can score as well as he sets up. Madden will be Canada’s defensive-forward (much like Rob Zamuner was in 1998) and will be their No.1 penalty-killer. He is the best at killing penalties in the game today and he can also score .

Mark Recchi will be Canada’s 13th and most versatile forward, as he can play any position on any line. There’s also guys like Ryan Smyth, Jarome Iginla, Darcy Tucker, Alex Tanguay, Simon Gagn* and Jason Allison who will, and should get some consideration.

On defense, it will be a mix of size, skill and experience, but very little speed.

Chris Pronger will anchor the defense and play alongside tower of power Scott Stevens. This will be Canada’s best defense-pairing and No.1 penalty-killing unit.

The second pairing will see Rob Blake and Raymond Bourque. These two can do it all and Blake will be Canada’s No.1 point-man on the power play with his booming and accurate shot.

The last pairing will see Al MacInnis with Eric Desjardins. Both these players will provide character and will chip in with the odd point, especially MacInnis on the power play.

The decision for the seventh spot on this defensive unit will come down to Scott Niedermayer, Ed Jovanovski and Darryl Sydor, with Niedermayer getting the nod.

Lastly, but most importantly in a two-week competition, goaltending. There are four goaltenders vying for three spots: Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy, Curtis Joseph and Ed Belfour. Look for Brodeur to fight it out with Joseph for the No.1 spot, with Brodeur getting the edge. Picking between two whiners, Roy and Belfour, won’t be easy, seeing as neither one will accept a back-up role with the team. Roy will get it, decline, and Belfour will be named to the team.

All predictions can and will be criticized, but here’s hoping everyone agrees.

First off, I want to welcome everyone back to Concordia, hoping everyone had a good holiday season.

It certainly was an eventfull holiday season to say the least.

Let’s start with the biggest sports story of the past month, the return of Mario Lemieux. I know everyone has talked about this ad nauseum, but this is the first chance I have gotten to express my views on this.

In my opinion, Lemieux was and still is one of the greatest hockey players to have ever laced up a pair of skates. He has proven that in the games since his return on Dec. 27. He has faced a lot of adversity in his career from back problems to fighting Hodgkin’s disease.

If those problems couldn’t slow him down, three years away from the game most certainly would not. He has shown no rust or ill effect of his layoff from the game.

Many people have questioned Lemieux’s reasons for coming back saying that he is doing it for the money. Although I believe that is part of the reason, I don’t think that it is the main reason. He still genuinely loves the game and it shows in the way he is playing.

I hope, for the sake of the game, that Lemieux will stay healthy and perhaps even lead Canada at the next winter olympics in 2002. Ah yes, what a sweet win that would be, Lemieux and the rest of the Canadian team with gold medals around their necks. One can only hope…..for now.

Speaking of medals, how about a nice round of applause for our Canadian Junior team. It may not have been the color they wanted, but they did come home from Moscow with a Bronze medal.

We can take pride in the fact that team Canada is the only team to have won medals in the last three tournaments, all bronze. By medal standards we may not be the best but we sure are consistent. And don’t forget that we did win five in a row not too long ago.

We can always look at it this way, they may not have won this year but they are saving that for 2003 when the tournament will be held on our native soil in Halifax.