Category: Sports

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Hockey Sports

Stingers hockey teams split their weekend games as playoffs near

The women's hockey Stingers celebrate against the Bishop's Gaiters Photo credit to Concordia Athletics

Men’s team drops defensive duel while women’s team continues its winning ways.

Ed Meagher Arena was home to a busy weekend of Stingers hockey. The men’s hockey team faced off against the Queen’s University Gaels on Jan. 20. Winners of their last six matches, the men’s hockey team sat in second place in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East division standings coming into the game.

Prior to puck drop, only two points separated the top spot in the division from fourth. Queen’s came in five points behind the Stingers, making this contest highly anticipated.

The first period kicked off with a Queen’s penalty that saw Concordia earn their first power play opportunity of the game. As the Stingers maintained possession in the Queen’s defensive zone, forward Vincent Nardonne found defender Simon Lavigne who fired a shot by Gaels’ goaltender Christian Purboo, making it 1-0 Concordia.

Not long after the Stingers tally, Queen’s forward Dalton Duhart, who is currently third in USports for points scored, tied the game 1-1.

As the second period got underway, the physicality between the two teams was increasing as the penalty minutes were adding up. Despite earning a four-minute double-minor power play late in the second frame, the Stingers could not capitalize. They finished the period with 19 shots but Purboo stood tall. Defensively, the Stingers kept high-danger opportunities to the outside of the Queen’s attacking zone, keeping shots away from their own goaltender Jordan Naylor. Neither team would find the back of the net in the second period.

The final frame got off to a quick start. The opportunistic Gaels team buried their second goal of the game coming just two minutes into the period. Shortly after, the Stingers earned an extended five-on-three power play with a chance to tie the game. More chances, but Queen’s made the timely saves, killing the penalty and gaining back the momentum. 

Gabriel Proulx (right) and Dalton Duhart (left) battle for the puck behind the net.
Photo Credited to Concordia Athletics

Stingers’ head coach Marc-André Élément discussed the team’s power play struggles postgame. “You have to give [Queen’s] credit,” Élément said. “They blocked a lot of shots and we will take a look at the video to see where we could improve. They did a good job and we need to execute a little bit better.”

The Stingers continued to claw away with chances in the offensive zone but could not buy a goal. The Gaels added an insurance marker and took the game by a final score of 3-1.

The lack of scoring seen in the men’s game was thrown out the window when the women’s game took place the following day.

The Stingers women’s hockey team faced off against the Bishop’s Gaiters on Jan. 21 in hopes of keeping their undefeated record alive. Concordia entered the game with a perfect 17-0-0 record, atop the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) division standings and the USports women’s hockey rankings for yet another week.

The first period got off to an action-filled start. Stingers forward Émilie Lavoie got the scoring started with a breakaway goal put top shelf behind Gaiters’ netminder Erika Gagnon. In the next five minutes of play, Bishop’s scored back to back goals to get a lead of their own, but this would be short-lived as well.

Just nine seconds after the Bishop’s go-ahead goal, Stingers defender Léonie Philbert scored to get the momentum back on the home side. Forward Rosalie Bégin-Cyr followed this up with a wrist-shot goal, giving the Stingers a 3-2 lead after the first period.

With frustration building for the Gaiters in the second frame, the penalty minutes continued to add up. The Stingers saw themselves on five power plays in the period, three of which they would score on. Both teams traded even-strength goals, resulting in a 7-3 score after 40 minutes of play.

The Stingers changed their game plan in the final period, sitting back on their offensive forecheck and maintaining solid defensive play. The Gaiters were held to just four shots in the third period, earning the Stingers the 7-3 victory on home ice.

Despite splitting the two games over the weekend, both Stingers teams sit in good positions with the playoffs around the corner. The men’s team will go on the road for the next two games and return home for their final three. They hit the ice next on Jan. 25 against the Royal Military College Paladins. Meanwhile, the women’s team sits peacefully atop their division in the RSEQ with seven regular season games remaining. They will face off against the Carleton Ravens in their next game on Jan. 26.

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Soccer Sports

CF Montréal: New year, new coach, new hopes.

Graphic by Carleen Loney

CF Montréal hopes to bounce back after a disappointing 2023 season.

In 2023, CF Montréal narrowly missed the Major League Soccer (MLS) playoffs on the last day of the season, and lost the Voyageurs Cup final—a cup competition between all professional and some semi-professional Canadian clubs—to the Vancouver Whitecaps. This disappointing season resulted in the club parting ways with head coach Hernán Losada after just one season, citing differing visions concerning the club’s future and style of play. 

On Jan. 9, CF Montréal president Gabriel Gervais unveiled Laurent Courtois as the team’s new head coach and clearly outlined the club’s sporting objectives. “We want to make the playoffs and have the opportunity to fight for the MLS Cup. We want to win the Canadian championship and return to the CONCACAF Champions League,” said Gervais when presenting Courtois.

Laurent Courtois: “It’s almost an adult dream.”

For the past two seasons, Courtois was the head coach of Colombus Crew’s reserve team. There, he led the team to two MLS NEXT Pro Cups, of which they won one. His experience coaching youth teams and developing players was an advantage compared to other candidates for his newly acquired position, considering that CF Montréal had the fourth youngest squad in MLS last season.

However, CF Montréal is a notoriously difficult place for managers, with Courtois being the team’s 10th head coach in 13 years since joining the MLS. Despite having signed a two-year contract, he hopes to stay with the team for a long time, although he knows about the team’s history of quickly firing coaches. “I have promised [the club] two things: an identity and energy. So [whether I stay for] six months, three years, 10 years, I hope, I want the players, the club, the people I work with to develop each other,” he said in his inaugural press conference.

Courtois has clear objectives in terms of what he wants to achieve in Montreal. “What I want to emphasize is individual player development […] especially with that pool of players,” he explained during his inaugural press conference. He also wants his team to have an attractive and recognizable style of play that can clearly be attached to Montreal.

Who’s in, who’s out?

CF Montréal’s squad has changed quite a bit since the end of last season, although it is not quite the exodus of talent as was seen last year. The team’s most significant loss is forward Romell Quioto, off to Tractor S.C. in Iran. Despite an injury-plagued 2023 season, he was still an important player, having scored 38 goals in 94 games for the club. Although he is yet to be numerically replaced, CF Montréal has presumably found their new forward. The club might be considering Uruguayan striker Matías Cóccaro, whom they are heavily linked with. Cóccaro has even already said his goodbyes to the fans of his previous club, Club Atlético Huracán, in Argentina, on social media.

However, CF Montréal’s main changes have come in the wingback positions. On the left, the club has spent US$400,000 in 2024 General Allocation Money (GAM) for former Canadian international Raheem Edwards, who is back in Montreal after a short spell in 2018. On the right, the team has traded Aarón Herrera to D.C. United in exchange for their right wingback, the Brazilian footballer Ruan and US$500,000 GAM in 2024. Both Edwards and Ruan are expected to be starters and improve what was one of CF Montréal’s weaknesses in 2023.

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Hockey Sports

The PWHL era of hockey has begun

Graphic by Maggie Zeng @Maggie.Draws.Stuff

The new league continues to break barriers for women’s hockey just days into its start.

When the puck was dropped for the first time on Jan. 1 in Toronto, it was apparent that the new Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) was bound for success.

In the span of just four months, the league has been built from the ground up. In September, each team took part in the first PWHL draft where rosters began to take shape. Fans had their first glance at what each roster would look like, sparking interest and ticket sales through the fall months. By November, teams had finalized their rosters and prepared for training camp. Once the calendar flipped to 2024, the time for teams to take to the ice was finally here.

The inaugural game saw Toronto host New York at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. The game reached a historic viewership, gathering 2.9 million views through its coverage on CBC, Sportsnet, and TSN. On top of this, Minnesota hosted Montreal on Jan. 6 in front of 13,316 fans, a new record for a professional women’s hockey game.

Locally, Montreal played their franchise’s first home game on Jan. 13. The game took place at the sold-out Verdun Auditorium in front of 3,245 fans. The large crowd at the historic venue made for an electrifying home opener. With names like Ann-Renee Desbiens, Erin Ambrose, and superstar forward Marie-Philip Poulin, it should be no surprise that Montreal’s passionate fan base is ready for a second professional hockey team. The team will split the remainder of its home games this season by playing at the Verdun Auditorium and Place Bell in Laval. 

All of the milestones this new league has already accomplished is an outstanding sign of what is yet to come. It is sometimes tough to gauge how a brand new league is doing in terms of interest from the first week of its existence. In the case of the PWHL, there is no debate that fans are ecstatic to see the action and talent this league has to offer.

As the season progresses, the PWHL will undoubtedly continue to display the skills and talent of its star players. For the first time outside of non-league tournaments, we are seeing a best-on-best professional women’s hockey league. It is the beginning of a new era— an era that is truly exciting for the players, the cities, and the fans of women’s hockey.

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Sports

Stingers men’s basketball team watches the ball drop from the Sunshine State

Mens baketball team enjoying the beach. Photo courtesy of Concordia Athletics.

The team maintains the tradition of playing exhibition games and team-practices in Florida for a week.

The men’s Stingers basketball team holds a yearly tradition, where the squad travels over the new year, in order to practice as a team and compete in friendly matches against schools outside of the RSEQ. For over a decade, the team has alternated between traveling to Nova Scotia to participate in Dalhousie University’s Shoveller Memorial Tournament, and playing exhibition games in Florida. As the Stingers flew east to play in the Maritimes last year, it was time to fly south and have fun in the sun to play in the Keiser New Year’s Classic tournament.

The team flew down on Dec. 26, and had an action-packed week-long trip. With the connections that Concordia Athletics had built in Florida for over a decade, the team had access to a gym at almost all times in order to shoot around. “Some days we’ll go in the morning, shoot for an hour and come back at night. Practice for two hours on game day,” said head coach Raskto Popović. “We’d have a shoot-around in the morning and then play a game at night.”

A main component of the trip involved trial and error in gametime situations by playing exhibition games against local universities in the Classic tournament. The Stingers faced three teams in the Sun Conference exhibition games. Concordia faced Keiser University on Dec. 29 (L 84-73), and two unfamiliar opponents in Ave Maria University on Dec. 30  (W 79-76), and Florida Memorial University on Jan. 2 (L 68-74). Although the Stingers only won their second game, it was a win over one of the highest scoring teams in the nation, who are currently averaging a whopping 97.4 points per game. 

Carleton University, who had been attending the New Year’s Classic for even longer than Concordia, agreed to participate in a conjoined practice with the Stingers, followed by a scrimmage.

“You want to go there and you want to play against good teams and get good competition,” said the Stingers head coach. “That’s the way to get better. Between those three games of high quality teams and the Carlton scrimmage, we really got a chance to practice, try different lineups, get different people in, and accomplish the goal of getting better over the Christmas break.” 

In between practices, the squad engaged in all sorts of activities, such as afternoons at the beach, shopping, and team dinners. “Team bonding is a very important thing as well on this trip,” emphasized coach Popović. “We mix up guys in different rooms so guys can hang out and get to know each other. This whole trip is so good for us, and we’re so lucky and appreciative to have alumni who support us so we can afford this trip.”

Among their final activities of the trip, the group went to watch UMiami beat Clemson on Jan. 3 by a decisive score of 95-82. After the game, players met with UMiami shooting guard Kyshawn George, who’s father, Deon, was an ex-teammate of Stingers assistant coach Dwight Walton.

Newly arrived forwards Gabriel Bourdages and Ba-Amara Djame especially capitalized off of the redeeming components of the stay. Not only were they  able to practice with their team, but they were also becoming familiar with players off of the court.

Categories
Sports

Three Concordia-affiliated wrestlers move a step closer to the 2024 Summer Olympics

David Zilberman, photo courtesy of Concordia Athletics.

Wrestlers from the Montreal Wrestling Club will be competing at the Pan-American games on the last weekend of February.

The team Canada wrestling trials leading to the 2024 Olympic games were held in Edmonton on the weekend of Dec. 15–17. The winners will compete at the Pan-American qualifiers on Feb. 29–March 2 in Acapulco, Mexico. The performances will determine who gets to go to Paris to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Five members of the Montreal Wrestling Club (MWC) of the National Training Centre, managed by Concordia Stingers wrestling coaches— father-son duo, David Zilberman and Victor Zilberman—had very successful performances. Three wrestlers earned tickets to Mexico, including Linda Morais (68 kg) in women’s freestyle, Alex Moore (86 kg), and Stone Lewis (74 kg) in men’s freestyle.

On Dec. 15, the first day of the competition, matches were held for the pool component, to determine winners who would face other competitors on the ladder. Montreal’s Fred Choquette won the pool decisively at 97 kg by defeating Brampton, Ontario’s Sarabnoor Lally 10-0. He was beaten by his MWC colleague, Riley Otto, in the ladder portion. Otto lost to Abbotsford, B.C.’s Nishan Randhawa in the final ladder matchup. Randhawa will be heading to Mexico, representing Canada in the 97 kg division.

Stingers prodigy and alumnus Alex Moore, the two-time Pan-American junior gold medalist who was elected as the Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament in the USports National Championships last February, was able to qualify for Mexico by beating the Saskatoon Wrestling Club member and Flin Flon, Manitoba native, Hunter Lee. 

Moore is more focused on himself and improving bit by bit every day, consistently evolving his game. Rather than worrying about Lee and wrestlers within the country, the young athlete’s sights are set on potential Pan-American opponents. “I’m not preparing for the Canadian guys. I’m preparing for the international guys,” said Moore.

For now, Moore’s main concerns are directed towards preparing to face Yurieski Torreblanca Queralta, Cuba’s 86 kg Pan-American repeat champion as of last November in Santiago, Chile. Moore lost to the Cuban veteran in the Pan-American championship finals last year in Bueno Aires, Argentina. “The big challenge is definitely [Torreblanca]. He’s pretty jacked. You never know with the draw… but I don’t want to leave with the chance that I qualify or not. I want to prepare in a way that I’m able to beat everyone in the [division],” Moore said.

After Edmonton, Moore was able to take a break for about a week when he returned home, a rarity for wrestlers, who usually train for about six hours a day, six days a week. “Getting back into the groove of things is so hard, because you have such a strict schedule and you’re pushing really hard and it’s almost easier to just keep going and then to stop,” he said. “But I think it’s necessary to get a mental break from it. I got to see some friends and stuff, so it was nice.” 

Moore will be participating in the Brock Open, Guelph Open, and Western Open to stay in shape for Acapulco. The events take place on Jan. 14, 21, and 28, respectively.

The three qualified athletes are back in training, and are devising new plans with coach Zilberman to win at the highest level on this side of the Atlantic.

Categories
Basketball Hockey Sports

The new year boasts riveting home openers for the Stingers

Rowena Blais puts up a shot against McGill's Emma-Jane Scotten. Photo courtesy of Concordia Athletics.

Stingers women’s hockey stays undefeated, while the men’s and women’s basketball teams show grit against rivals at home in the new year.

The Concordia Stingers’ women’s hockey team picked up where they left off in 2023, skating to a decisive 7-0 victory over the Carleton Ravens. Both women’s and men’s basketball teams faced McGill on Thursday night, and the gym was packed for an electric night. Both Stingers squads showed tremendous grit, as matchups against McGill always spark extra emotion.

Coming into the winter break with a perfect 13-0-0 record, the Stingers have been at the top of the USports women’s hockey rankings since Nov. 7. While the team’s record speaks for itself, the fashion in which the Stingers are winning is simply remarkable.

It is not everyday that a team has six different players scoring at a point-per-game pace. But with Concordia’s Émilie Lussier, Jessymaude Drapeau, Émilie Lavoie, Chloé Gendreau, Emmy Fecteau, and Léonie Philbert, we’re witnessing this rarity. Moreover, goaltenders Arianne Leblanc and Jordyn Verbeek are ranked in the top five for goals-against average in the USports national rankings. The Stingers offensive dominance was put on display yet again when they faced off against Carleton on Jan. 6.

Right off the opening faceoff, the Stingers jumped in front of their opponents. Forwards Chloé Gendreau and Jessymaude Drapeau both scored power-play goals in the first three minutes of the game, giving the Stingers a 2-0 cushion early.

Shutdown defence and a consistent forecheck from the Stingers continued through the second period. Forwards Émilie Lavoie, Rosalie Parent, and Rosalie Bégin-Cyr all added goals of their own in the middle frame, extending the Stingers lead to 5-0.

In the final 20 minutes, Gendreau and forward Caroline Moquin-Joubert added one more goal each, while goaltender Jordyn Verbeek secured a shutout and her eighth win of the season. The Stingers’ 7-0 victory moved them to a 14-0-0 record, which was followed by a 5-0 win against the Montréal Carabins, as well as a 5-1 win against the McGill Martlets. They will look to stick to their winning ways when they faceoff at the Ottawa Gee-Gees on Jan. 19.

Concordia Stingers women’s and men’s basketball teams faced McGill on Thursday, and the gym was packed for an electric night. Both teams showed tremendous grit, as matchups against McGill always spark extra emotion.

The women’s basketball team started off hot in the first quarter. As the Martlets showed consistent offensive pressure, the Stingers displayed tough defence. Stingers forward Gretta-Olivia Ineza executed a steal and three defensive rebounds throughout her 34 minutes of gametime. However, forcing McGill to commit a shot clock violation and a few more close-calls wasn’t enough—the Stinger’s largest lead of the game was only by six points towards the end of the first quarter. At the same time, the Stingers put up their best scoring quarter of the game, putting up 20 points.

The two top scorers of the game played on the away side, as centre Kristy Awikeh and point guard Daniella Mbengo put up 21 and 17 points, respectively. Both showed incredible stamina to find the play, regardless of how much pressure was applied. Mbengo, who played for 30 minutes, recorded six assists, more than anyone else on the court, making it look easy to find the right decisions in tough situations. She also made all five of her free throws. 

It was too little too late for the Stingers, as the Martlets were up by 15 points towards the end of the third quarter, and started the last quarter ahead by 11. It seemed as though star point guard Areej Burgonio’s nasty fadeaway-and-one three-pointer reignited the flame for the home team in the last seconds of the third quarter. The crowd erupted into a cacophony as she held up three fingers with both her hands from the ground. Despite exuberant and desperate efforts in the last 12 minutes of the game, it seemed as though Burgonio’s efforts weren’t enough. The Stingers lost 74-66.

“[McGill] played with a lot more heart, a lot more grit,” said Stingers head coach Tenicha Gittens. “The biggest thing for me was on the rebounds. [McGill had] 25 rebounds and we got 16. You’re not going to win a game like that. Pretty much everything else is even on the stat sheet.” Despite the eventual loss, Gittens seemed satisfied with the reduction of caused turnovers compared to before the break.

“We’re trying to get to the championship game and win it,” the head coach concluded. “So you can’t just sit in your loss. This can break us, or it can make us better. And we’re going to make it make us better.”

The Stingers then lost to the Martlets 68-50 on Saturday. Concordia sits in third place out of five in the RSEQ, with a 4-4 record.

The men’s game was a real nail-biter as the teams traded even blows throughout the 48-minute period. In fact, the two teams alternated in out-scoring each other for each quarter, and they both layed down a hefty 29 points in the last, which sounds like an NBA stat.

The Stingers showed incredible team depth, as five of the seven bench players dropped an accumulative 28 points. This included new recruit Gabriel Bourdages, who recorded five rebounds, a steal, a block, and seven points within nine minutes of his debut. “I thought he showed some really good minutes in the first half,” said head coach Rastko Popović after the game. “He’s gonna get better as we get to practise.”

On the other hand, while the McGill Redbirds didn’t display much  depth, they had a great sixth man, power forward Joshua Soifer. The 4-man recorded 12 points, two assists, two rebounds and a steal in 15 minutes of playing time.

Amongst the players on the Concordia team, the guards shined the brightest. Alec Phaneuf and Sami Jahan together stole the show combining for 36 points, seven assists, eight rebounds and making all of their 11 free throws. “I thought [Phaneuf] was doing a great job in the third quarter when he built the nine-point lead,” said coach Popović.“Then we had one possession where we didn’t execute and then our point guards really made a lot of huge plays down the stretch.” 

Junior Mercy came off the bench and had a few highlight plays in the first half, including a nasty steal for a coast-to-coast and one layup, as well as a huge block and assist play to Bourdages.

Yet another third-quarter highlight occurred when centre Bradley Louidon pulled a reverse slam dunk on the towering opposing star centre Saransh Padhy, and caused an eruption from the crowd, as well as heated arguments from both benches. Despite many fouls and a missed call on a McGill flop, the Stingers pulled an 89-86 win for their first game of 2024. 

“I think our defence has to be more consistent,” Popović said. “That’s way too many points we gave up today, so you know we’ve got to clean up our defence and a little bit better execution offensively and I think we should be okay. It’s gonna be a hard game on the road, so we’ve got to get ready.”

The Stingers then beat the Redbirds 71-61 on Saturday. Concordia currently sits in second place in the RSEQ with a 6-2 record, just under UQÀM. 

Categories
Sports Wrestling

The state of wrestling at Concordia

Stingers athlete Sophia Bechard (right) Credit: Concordia Athletics

The wrestling program has always consistently been one of Concordia’s best sports programs. It’s still good, thanks to a family who found a system.

Concordia University is home to one of Canada’s top wrestling programs, thanks to elite athlete and Stingers head coach Victor Zilberman. In 1985, Zilberman obtained a Concordia sports administration diploma, and from then, he eventually earned multiple National Championship trophies while coaching the team. In addition, he’s coached the Canadian Olympic team many times over.

It was in 1977 that Zilberman founded the Montreal Wrestling Club (MWC), which has occupied the Reinitz Wrestling Centre at the Sylvan Adams YM-YWHA since 2001. There, some of the finest wrestlers show up, for three days every week, including Olympic and Commonwealth games gold medalist Guivi Sissaouri, and visitors from the likes of MMA legend Georges St-Pierre. 

David Zilberman, Victor’s son, takes after his father and is currently the head coach of the Stingers team, a teacher at Vanier College, and is in charge of the MWC. 

David Zilberman coaching during a tournament.
Credit: Concordia Athletics

The duo keep their eyes peeled for high-school talent across Canada to recruit to the club. If deemed fit, they will eventually end up wearing the Stingers’ maroon and gold. 

From October to February, the Stingers compete at national wrestling tournaments at least twice a month. So far this season, the team has participated in the following events; McMaster Invitational on Oct. 29, the Concordia Invitational Wrestling Tournament on Nov. 5, and the York Open on Nov 19. 

Coming up next is the University of Toronto Open on Dec 2. The weekend of Dec. 15, a few Stingers alumni will travel to Edmonton for the 2024 Olympic Canadian Team Trials. 

Everyone on the team practices for two and a half to four hours in the morning, and the same in the evening, six days a week. They all work at least one job, all while taking classes at Concordia. “Everyone’s a psycho,” said two-time Pan-American junior gold medalist Alex Moore. The star who is also on the Stingers team was elected as the Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament for the latest National Championships in February. Moore is currently training to qualify at the upcoming Canadian Team Trials in the 86 kg weight class. 

For MWC member Yann Heymeg, who originally played quarterback for his middle school in Saint-Césaire, which is located just west of Granby. When he suffered an injury to his throwing hand, his gym teacher who was also a wrestling coach, encouraged him to take up the sport. Heymeg would go to the MWC on Thursday evenings and by the ninth grade, he’d dropped football to pursue wrestling. 

Today, at 20 years old, Heymeg has received a scholarship to study recreation and leisure studies at Concordia after graduating from Vanier this fall semester. 

“It’s more gratifying to have an education for free when I’m working hard doing what I want,” says Heymeg, classed at 72 kg. “I give my 100 per cent when training, and I think the coach sees it.” Just this past year, he finished second in the U23 National Championships, and second in the Canada Games.

This year, the Stingers team is missing certain players in different weight classes. Only about half of both the men’s and women’s teams are filled out, so it seems that the team’s ranking has dropped over this past year. The women’s team dropped from sixth to seventh overall, and the men’s from seventh to ninth. The team, however, has hopes in first years making their debut.

Maddie Charlton is a first-year standout wrestler from Halifax, Nova Scotia who moved to Montreal a little over a year ago to train at the MWC. In the 50 kg weight class, Charlton was placed third in her first tournament with the Stingers at the Concordia Invitational, and first at the York Open. “I’m still producing results, but there’s tons of athletes here that are very, very experienced and it’s a good place for me because I’m always being challenged,” she said, impressed by the club’s talent.

Stingers player Jeremy Poirier, classed at 100 kg, is on the other end of his academic career. Onto his fifth year at Concordia, he’ll be graduating at the end of this winter semester. He won the USports National Championships this past February.

The New Brunswick native joined the MWC in 2016, after David Zilberman spotted his older brother, Geno Poirier, excelling with the University of Regina Cougars. Poirier eventually placed sixth at the National Championships. “[David] is tough, he pushes us hard, but it’s great. He shows us all the technical aspects, but he talks a lot about the mental part of the sport.”   

Poirier has ranked in the top two at the Senior Pan-American Championships for the past three years: he was placed second in 2023 in Argentina and in Mexico in 2022,  and first in 2021 in Guatemala. He and Moore won gold medals at the USports National Championships earlier this year at the University of Alberta, now having won multiple times. Poirier is aiming to fly to Edmonton for the Canadian Team Trials if his hamstring heals properly. 

Although the team isn’t in its greatest shape for now, the Zilbermans are regarded as two of the best in Canada, so the Stingers’ fate rests assured in good hands. If you wrestle in Canada, you know the Zilbermans.

Wrestlers to watch:

Women’s: 

Maddie Charlton (50 kg)

Virginie Gascon (56 kg)

Sophia Bechard (59kg)

Alexia Sherland (83 kg)

Men’s:

Ryder Church (65 kg) 

Liam Menard (68 kg)

Zaur Arsagov (82 kg)

Angus Scott (90 kg)

Olympics:

Jade Dufour

Linda Morais

Laurence Beauregard

Amanda Savard 

Alex Moore

Frédérick Choquette

Riley Otto

Categories
Sports

Sportswashing: the billion dollar band-aid

Graphic by Keven Vaillancourt

Major sports investments from entire countries aren’t just about laundering jerseys.

Sportswashing is an attempt to fix a country’s tarnished political reputation by investing great sums of money into entertainment. It happened in 1936, when Germany hosted the Olympics in Berlin. Russia and China have also hosted many Olympic Games, such as the 1980 summer Olympics in Moscow, the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi, along with the 2014 summer and 2022 winter Olympics in Beijing.

This is only one microscopic strand of the history of sportswashing, as many countries have invested great amounts into some type of sporting event amid humanitarian rights violations. Recently, there have been many purchases originating from a handful of wealthy countries in the Middle East.

Just last year, Qatar hosted the FIFA World Cup. On Oct. 31, it was declared that Saudi Arabia will host it in 2034. These are both examples of one way to sportswash: to host an event, in spite of their poor reputations for civil rights. This attracts tourists from around the world to come visit the country and receive hospitality. 

Just a few weeks ago, Saudi Arabia hosted one of the greatest boxing events of this century so far: Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou. It was fought in the newly constructed Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, which is set to be the new home of Al-Hilal F.C., the team that just signed soccer phenomenon Neymar Jr. to a two-year, up to USD $400 million  contract. 

“The viability makes sense, but now they’re trying to put their money where their mouth is and trying to get these sporting teams to come to them,” Montreal-based sports reporter Marco D’Amico said in an interview with The Concordian. 

Unless the sport is taken into global interest, however, there isn’t a large chance that a country will put itself in the spotlight. For example, as North America’s top four sports (baseball, football, basketball and hockey) have tried to expand globally, it isn’t very marketable around the world. But, there is always an opportunity to make a couple bucks here and there. 

This past July, the government of Qatar made an investment to take a minority stake of 5 per cent in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, NHL’s Washington Capitals and WNBA’s Washington Mystics. The valuation for the entire company was placed at $4.05 billion.* Is this only a business investment for these buyers?

“The more interest you have, the higher bidding wars will be when they’re made available,” D’Amico explained. “I mean you just have to look at the sale of 10 per cent of the Montreal Canadiens brought to the owner of the Ottawa Senators.” 

Michael Andlauer, who bought the Ottawa Senators last September, had made a 500 per cent return on investment after selling his share of the Canadiens at CAD $2.5 billion enterprise value. 

“That’s a pretty good outcome in my opinion. If you can make that kind of money at an accrued rate today, I don’t doubt that Saudi Arabia and Qatar and other international investors are going to get involved,” D’Amico said.

The business aspect of sports shows that entertainment is an easy way to make profit. But it is also a way to fix wrongdoings by diverting attention, like jangling keys in front of a baby. 

*Correction issued. Previously displayed as “Qatar invested just over USD $4.05 billion for 5 per cent of Monumental Sports & Entertainment”. Updated on Dec. 4.

Categories
Football Sports

Thirteen years later, Alouettes fans rejoice once again

Montreal streets celebrate as Alouettes parade with Grey Cup, winning finals 28-24 vs. the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Photo by Kaitlynn Rodney/ The Concordian.

The Montreal Alouettes defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 28-24 in the 110th Grey Cup final.

The 110th Grey Cup, held on Nov. 19 in Hamilton, was a thriller. The Montreal Alouettes quarterback Cody Fajardo found wide receiver Tyson Philpot with only 13 seconds remaining to give the Alouettes the win by a final score of 28-24. This win came at the expense of the heavily favourite Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who beat Montreal in both of their regular-season matchups.

Thousands of Montreal Alouettes fans attended the team’s victory parade last Wednesday. It was the first championship parade in the city since 2010, the Alouettes’ last Grey Cup win. Following safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy’s emotional post-game speech, Quebec flags filled the Quartier des Spectacles’ Parterre, where the final celebrations took place.

The underdog mentality

“To see [the Alouettes] play this year was a model of courage and tenacity,” said Claire, a lifelong Alouettes fan. This victory is the sweetest she experienced: “…nobody thought they would win, and they did,” she said with emotion. 

Another fan by the name of René, has been getting season tickets for over ten years during the early 2000s. However he did not have a lot of faith earlier in this season. When the Alouettes won their last five regular-season games, he started believing in the team’s chances. “Even if they played a good game in Hamilton and lost, it would have been a good accomplishment. But they were able to win, so it is incredible,” he said.

The team in elation

Only one player from the 2010 championship-winning team was still with the Alouettes this year, former Concordia Stingers player Kristian Matte, and it was a special moment for the guard. “I have been playing football for 30 years. It is the first time I won a championship as a starter,” he said in an interview with The Concordian, “so for me, it is an incredible and unforgettable feeling, and we have the best fans in the world.” 

Defensive back Raheem Wilson had similar feelings and said it was the best moment in his football career. Luc Brodeur-Jourdain, the current offensive line coach and former CFL All-Star centre for the Alouettes, won two Grey Cups as a player with the team. He felt the same joy as when he had won as a player himself. “From the moment you step on the field, yes [it is the same feeling],” he said. “You’re like a kid; you feel the emotions.” 

For general manager Danny Maciocia, this win is the consecration of a stellar career. He won the 2005 Grey Cup as the head coach of the now Edmonton Elks and stopped Université Laval’s hegemony in the RSEQ as the head coach of the Université de Montréal Carabins. “It’s probably the number one [career accomplishment] on my list by far,” he said. “As a Montrealer who grew up watching the Alouettes, it doesn’t get any better than this.”

Mark Weightman, the president and CEO of the Alouettes, was slightly more nuanced. “Every time you win a championship, it’s always gonna be the top, so I would put it right there with all the other rings,” he said. A Concordia alumnus, Weightman first joined the Alouettes in 1996. He worked his way up the team’s hierarchy, eventually becoming president and CEO in 2013, until he was replaced in 2016. He came back to his old role earlier this year.

Categories
Sports

Concordia’s Ski & Snowboard Club is ready for their upcoming season

Courtesy photo of Concordia Ski & Snowboard club

The club doesn’t have to ask icely if you want to come skiing.

With ski hills already open, Concordia’s Ski & Snowboard Club (CSSC) is ready for another exciting winter season of hitting the slopes.

Kicking off their 2023-24 season on Nov. 30 with a Reggie’s bar night, CSSC will be going on their first ski trip on Dec. 3 to Mont-Tremblant.

The club has about 2,000 members and welcomes all levels of skills, from beginner to advanced. Day trips, weekenders, and bar nights are some of the ways to socialize with peers in the club.

CSSC also boasts major sponsorships from the likes of RedBull and Burton, among other smaller apparel sponsors from Montreal. Members have access to discounts up to 25 per cent at Burton on a wide variety of gear.

For CSSC president Ajay Weinstein, giving more to members is his main goal for acquiring sponsorships. “Skiing is a ridiculously expensive sport,” he said but the club’s main goal is to make the sport a little more accessible.

The CSSC works with brands, mountains, and resorts to make it possible for students to participate at a lower cost. Day trips with bus and lift tickets cost between $80 to $100, and weekenders around $350—with everything such as lodging included. Trips can vary between 100 to 160 skiers, who leave from SGW campus at 6 a.m. to get first tracks. 

Weinstein also suggested students check out Poubelle de Ski on Saint Laurent for cheap seasonal ski rentals. It comes out to around $200 for a whole season, with skis and boots. 

The club’s skill inclusivity is the one thing that Weinstein is “most proud of.”  With about half of the participants just starting out in skiing and snowboarding, CSSC has been excelling in getting people into these sports.

If there is one trip that you shouldn’t miss out on, according to Weinstien, it’s the Jay Peak weekender. Three days of skiing and partying, plus a whole rented-out water park, in Jay Peak at the end of the season is sure to be remarkable..

The CSSC also has an active Discord channel for members to share information, connect,make friends and even carpool in case of if they missed the bus to a venue. If you were looking for updates they post most of their news through their Instagram for members to follow trip ticket drops and news about what is going on in the club. 

With 13 ski trips planned for their 2023-24 season, the CSSC has their hands full. With 11 day trips and 2 weekend trips, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved. Check out their website for trip calendars, and to get tickets for upcoming trips. 

Categories
Hockey Sports

Stingers’ associate head coach Caroline Ouellette inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame

Women's Stingers hockey team from the bench. Credit: David J. Beaudoin

The four-time Olympic gold medalist became the 10th woman to get the call from the Hall.

On Nov. 13, the annual Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held. In the Hall are about 300 legendary players and 115 builders who helped grow the game of hockey. During the 2023 meeting of the Hall of Fame Selection Committee on June 21, Caroline Ouellette’s nomination was a no-brainer despite it being only her second year on the ballot.

The road to this point for Ouellette was never an easy one. The player shared in her acceptance speech that when she was growing up, it took her two years to convince her parents to allow her to play hockey. Once she was able to convince her mom to help her buy her first pair of skates at the age of nine, Ouellette played on different all-boys teams until she was 17.

“I heard about every possible type of name-calling,” Ouellette shared during the speech. “These challenges helped me develop a deeper appreciation of how lucky I was to play hockey when so many women around my age couldn’t have the same opportunity,” she said. 

Ouellette got her first taste of professional hockey in 1995 when she joined Team Quebec during the Canada Winter Games. She won her first gold medal in 1997, playing for Team Quebec at the National Women’s Under-18 Championship.

After putting up a whopping 60 points in 27 games in the 1998-99 season for the Montreal Wingstar of the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL), Ouellette played in her first of 12 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships. She would go on to win six gold medals and six silver medals in World Championships, ranking eighth all-time with 68 points in 59 games played.

In 2000, Concordia University got introduced to the hockey phenom. In her short time playing for the Stingers, Ouellette put up 19 points in just seven games. Oullette moved on to play three seasons for University of Minnesota-Duluth, where she also became the team’s captain for two seasons. Luckily for the Stingers, Ouellette would be back with the team in the future.

Ouellette played in the Winter Olympic Games four times between 2002 and 2014. She became the only ice hockey player to this date to win gold in all four Olympics she took part in. Ouellette put up 26 points in 20 career Olympic games played, cementing her legacy as one of the best international ice hockey players the sport has ever seen.

Having played in her last World Championship in 2015, Oullette played three more years of professional hockey for Les Canadiennes de Montréal in the city where it all began. She rejoined the Stingers as an assistant coach in 2016.

Coaching stints with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, International Canadian teams, and the Concordia Stingers have made up her ongoing career. She is currently the associate coach for the Stingers alongside partner and head coach Julie Chu, and the two have led the team to back-to-back national championship final appearances, including a gold-win in 2022.

Categories
Football Sports

Five Concordia players announced as RSEQ football All-Stars for 2023-24

Nicolas Roy (left) and Loïk Gagné (right)

 Karim Brissault, Eric Maximuik, Loïk Gagné, Nicolas Roy and Franck Tchembe stood out across the league this season.

The Concordia Stingers shocked the university football world this past season, finishing with a winning record of 5-3. U-Sports ranked them as a non-contender, below Université de Sherbrooke at the beginning of the season, as they finished below the Vert et Or last season with a record of 2-6. 

“It was our motivation all season,” linebacker Loïk Gagné said. “We were in ‘the rest.’ We took that as a lack of respect, and we said, ‘Okay, we’re bringing it this season.’” 

The feelings among the selected players were mixed when it came to making the RSEQ All-Star team. For the offensive guard Karim Brissault and kicker-punter Eric Maximuik, it was a personal goal to earn this acclamation, but focusing on their semi-final game against Université Laval was more important. 

Eric Maximuik (left) and Karim Brissault (right). Credit: Kaitlynn Rodney

“For me, personally, it’s definitely an honour, but it wasn’t something I kept in my mind too long. I was more worried about focusing on the playoff game after [it was] announced,”  kicker-punter Maximuik expressed. He also announced that with an average 44.3 yards per punt this season, it is the most in the league.

The defensive players would trade it all away any day for a Vanier Cup.

The Stingers football team had a near-complete coaching change over the offseason—the defensive coaching staff was cleared and rebuilt from the ground up. Stingers head coach Brad Collinson added the role of head coach for the offensive line to his responsibilities, as his new assistant Fraser Baikie brought in a hands-on technical approach to that part of the lineup, according to Brissault. 

Brissault’s offensive line was involved in the number one rushing offense in the RSEQ with over 1,200 yards in just 188 attempts, averaging 151 yards per game. The o-line placed number two in the league for least sacks allowed, with only nine in total.

Third-year running back Franck Tchembe, the nucleus of this offense, was the number one in RSEQ rushing with 529 total yards, number six overall in total offensive players, as he was ranked fourth overall in all-purpose offensive players with 57 receiving yards to the season.

Franck Tchembe, breaking a tackle at home against ULaval Rouge et Or, Sept. 23. Credit: Concordia Athletics

This drastic staff change allowed for a new culture to thrive within the team. Leadership, team bonding, healthy competition between players and self-analysis was emphasized during the campaign.

“Last summer, going into my second year, there were 10-12 guys regularly showing up and most guys were training by themselves. This year, we were thirty training together,” Brissault said.

According to the elected defensive All-Stars Nicolas Roy and Loïk Gagné, the new defensive coordinator Paul Eddy Saint-Vilien had a specific and effective vision for his group. 

“This year, the coaches adapted to us,” said Roy, who originally started as a linebacker and played the season as a defensive end with 11.5 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. “We had the smallest D-line in the league, and we still managed to be one of the best in the entire league because of our speed, and having had a game plan for our strengths and weaknesses.”

For example, Gagné is about 25 lbs heavier than the average linebacker, which means keeping up with speedier players and guarding man-to-man isn’t his strong suit. Saint-Vilien was aware of this and made the appropriate changes to reduce his role in man-to-man plays. He finished the season in the top two tackle leaders with 36.5 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two recovered fumbles.

There were three important games in the regular season for the Stingers, the first being a tied favorite amongst the players: the away game played against the Vert et Or of Université de Sherbrooke. It was the second game of the season and the team’s hopes weren’t high, as they had been crushed at home by Université de Montréal’s Carabins. 

The team was down by 21 points going into the second half. In the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, Maximuik converted his last extra point, sending the team to overtime at 24-24. He then outscored the opposing kicker on field goals, winning it 30-27 for the team in double-overtime. “That resilience that our team had to come back when we were losing […] for me was definitely a highlight,” he observed. 

A switch was flipped that day. According to Gagné, the bench from that point had a less apprehensive approach to players making mistakes and more of a calming, level-headed, stoic approach. Roy also said the team discovered a new-found ability to ignite a second wind in the later stages of games, which their opponents didn’t counter across most matchups. 

The final game of the season was the second team-favourite to remember, as the Stingers beat the ranked top-two Canadian overall Carabins in their home turf. Yet again, Maximuik displayed his abilities to perform under high-pressure circumstances. He scored 10 of Concordia’s 16 points, avenging their season-opening performance in the last second of the game with the winning field goal.

“I kind of got screenshots in my mind of seeing my target lining up, hearing the noise. I remember specifically being able to hear the crowd and how loud it was,” the kicker recalled. “Right before the snap, I smirked a little bit. I used that energy that I got from the crowd to just focus in a little bit more and from then it was kind of just a routine kick.” 

The semi-final game against the Laval Rouge et Or was just as important, as the Stingers showed that the win was possible against the other dominant RSEQ team. Although their opponents laid the hurt in the first couple of quarters, the Stingers exploded in the last few minutes of the game. Gagné threw down 9.5 tackles and a sack throughout, Roy’s defense line held the opposition’s rushing success down to about a third of what the Stingers put up. 

“Even the bench was on fire,” Brissault said, as he was sidelined due to an ankle injury. “At halftime, the coach said to not focus on what was on the board, more on what was on the field […] They’re not the Laval team I played in the first year.”

Unfortunately, Maximuik’s 41-yard field goal conversion was not enough to win the game. However, the progress made over the season was enough to satisfy the fans.

The loss of important players like Dawson Pierre, Ezechiel Tiede and Zachary Philion, all graduating this coming May, might affect the team to a certain point. However, almost all of the current players will be staying for next season and the stars all agree that the team’s display of grit and a winning record will attract major prospects entering the RSEQ. The team’s aim for the offseason is to stay as tightly-knit as they were on the field and to stay in shape.

All-in-all, the Stingers really wanted it this season and they showed real qualities of what a winning team looked like. With changes of that size, it’s clear that all the team needed was time to adapt. These All-Stars demonstrated that they will be the leaders of next year’s championship team.

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