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The three-peat is complete: Stingers women’s hockey wins RSEQ championship

Photo courtesy of Concordia Athletics

Stingers beat Université de Montréal Carabins in winner-take-all game three.

Following a series win against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team shifted their focus to their next and final opponent in the RSEQ final— the Université de Montréal Carabins.

Though both Montréal and Concordia had clinched their tickets to the U SPORTS National Championship tournament by becoming provincial finalists, there was plenty at stake coming into this series. For the Stingers, a series win would make it their third straight RSEQ championship, a feat that has not been accomplished by Concordia since 2002. On the Montréal side, a first RSEQ title since 2019 was up for grabs, as well as revenge from last year’s heartbreaking final that saw them lose to the Stingers in three games.

The first game of the 2024 RSEQ final took place at the Ed Meagher Arena on Thursday, Feb. 29. Defense on both sides was the story of the first period. Concordia was held to 10 shots while Montréal only managed to total five, meaning quality scoring opportunities were minimal. The first period would come to a close as a scoreless draw.

Thirteen minutes into the second frame, Stingers forward and assistant captain Rosalie Bégin-Cyr broke the deadlock. Forward Jessymaude Drapeau patiently held onto the puck before finding her linemate who buried a shot past Carabins goaltender Aube Racine.

It did not take long before the Carabins evened up the game. A deflected shot from the point found its way past Stingers goaltender Jordyn Verbeek, tying the game 1-1 late in the second period.

As the third period got underway, Montréal took its first lead of the series, scoring one minute into the frame. The Stingers began to show desperation as they fired everything they had at Racine. With five minutes remaining in regulation, a golden opportunity emerged as the Stingers earned a late power play.

On the ensuing advantage, the Stingers tied it. Forward Émilie Lavoie scored on a seeing-eye wrister from the blue line, tying the game 2-2. Unfortunately, the momentum of the Stingers was short-lived.

With less than one minute on the clock, a deflected shot from the Carabins found its way into the Stingers’ cage, sealing game one for the Carabins. Stingers head coach Julie Chu offered some insight on what the message would be going into game two.

“I said to the team [today] the same as I did against Ottawa— ‘we have to reset, we have to get going and make sure that this loss is just a loss for today. So process it as you need to and don’t let it hit your heart,’” Chu shared after the loss. The message sent was received for the Stingers in game two.

As the first period got underway at CEPSUM Arena at the Université de Montréal on Saturday, March 2, the pace of play was the epitome of playoff hockey—fast-paced, physical and scoring opportunities at both ends. The Carabins came out of the gate firing, knowing the RSEQ title was in their hands with a win; but the Stingers knew if they lacked effort, their RSEQ season would end. Despite the quality chances, the first period ended 0-0.

Five minutes into the second period, the Stingers broke the tie. Forward Megan Bureau-Gagnon parked in front of the Montréal net and capitalized on a perfect deflection off a shot from forward Émilie Lussier. Bureau-Gagnon spoke on what it meant to score the opening goal.

“It felt good. The couple of shifts before the goal, we were buzzing around them so it was just a question of timing—and to put that [goal] in, it gave us a little room and we started to play freely which was great.” Once going up 1-0, the Stingers did not look back.

A goal by Drapeau in the second period and a goal by Lavoie in the third gave the Stingers the insurance they needed to close out game two. The Carabins got a goal of their own to narrow the deficit to two, but the Stingers would add an empty netter and win the game by a score of 4-1. Coach Chu spoke about returning home for the winner-take-all game three.

“We love playing at home. For us, we’re going to enjoy [the win] today but we’re going to turn the page really quick because [game three] tomorrow is going to come fast.”

The Ed Meagher Arena saw a packed crowd for the rubber match of the provincial final on Sunday, March 3. As fans supporting both sides piled in, the puck dropped to begin action. In what became a theme in the series, the first period resulted in both goalies making key saves to keep the game scoreless. This would change drastically in period two.

Three minutes into the middle frame, Montréal opened the scoring on a rebound that was put home by forward Marie Terriault. The lead for the Carabins, however, would not last long.

For a second game in a row, Bureau-Gagnon netted a huge goal for the Stingers, this time tying the game 1-1. This ignited the Stingers to take over the play overwhelmingly, resulting in an onslaught of goals.

Four goals by the Stingers over the next 12 minutes put them in command up 5-2, heading into the final period with the championship in their sight. For the players, the three goal lead, although nice, was not satisfying enough.

Following two goals by Drapeau and one from Lussier, defender Camille Richard and forward Emmy Fecteau, Concordia put the game to rest. The Stingers defeated the Carabins soundly by a score of 10-4, clinching their third straight RSEQ title. Coach Chu closed out the RSEQ season by sharing what this win means to the team heading into the National Championship.

“Anytime you win, it builds momentum. If anything, it helps us feel confident that we can go through a game where we are down a goal, where we are going through ups and downs of emotions, where the fans are incredible and the energy is great.”

The U SPORTS National Championship will be the next stop for the Stingers women’s hockey team. The team will head out to the University of Saskatchewan for March 14 where they will face the best university hockey teams from around Canada. The matchups and game times are still to be determined.

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The Concordia Stingers come out on top of the Montreal Carabins 2-1

Concordia Stingers' women's hockey vs. Montreal Carabins, Nov. 18, 2022. CATHERINE REYNOLDS/ The Concordian

Goaltender Alice Philbert shines for the Stingers this weekend as the women’s hockey team improves to 7-2

Though forward Emmy Fecteau scored the overtime winner for the Concordia Stingers, goaltending was the highlight story on both sides in the Stingers’ win over the University of Montreal Carabins on Friday, Nov. 18 at the Ed Meagher Arena.

“Montreal has a great goaltender. We have a great goaltender. There isn’t a team in this league that doesn’t have a good goaltender,” affirmed Stingers’ head coach Julie Chu after the win. “We have to get traffic to the net. That’s how we’re going to be able to beat them.”

The Stingers started the game slowly, getting outshot 13-7 in the opening frame, largely due to taking three penalties. They rebounded after that however, and outshot the Carabins 27-16 the rest of the way.

Stingers’ forward Émilie Lavoie and Carabins’ forward Raphaëlle Pouliot traded power-play goals in the first period, and the game was tied 1-1 after 20 minutes. Stingers’ goaltender Alice Philbert kept the game tied for her team in the first period, making 12 saves.

Both teams’ goaltenders stole the show after that, as Philbert and Carabins goaltender Aube Racine shut the door for the following 40 minutes, making 14 and 26 saves respectively.

But Philbert was not intimidated by her counterpart’s performance.

“In our league, there are some really good goalies. It’s like this in every game,” she explained. “For me, it’s just a motivation to push even harder, and be ready for the next shot every time.”

Fecteau finally broke the deadlock with 15 seconds remaining in the first overtime period. She rushed down the right wing and snapped a shot over Racine’s right shoulder, earning the Stingers’ a 2-1 victory.

“There were several moments where it was going well for our team,” Fecteau said. “We were putting on good pressure. I think the goal was coming.”

The Stingers made a point of getting in the Carabins’ shooting lanes and blocking shots in this game. Chu was impressed with her team’s courage in that respect.

“I emphasize it a lot because I’m a big believer in it,” Chu explained. “We’ve worked on it in practice, they’ve embodied it and they want to do it, which are huge momentum moments for us.”

Philbert also thought her team’s effort was a big factor in the win.

“They worked really hard,” she said. “The first period was not the best, but we bounced back in the second and third.”

Chu thinks that the Stingers need to figure out how to play a physical game without taking too many penalties.

“The last two, three games we took a lot of penalties and we’ve got to find that balance,” she noted. “We want to play aggressive, we want to play physical, but we don’t want to stay in the box all day.”

The Stingers improved to a 6-2 record with this win over the Carabins. They defeated the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees 2-0 on Sunday, Nov. 20 to improve to 7-2. The Stingers now sit in first-place in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec standings.

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Montreal 3, Concordia 2: Stingers season ends in heartbreaking Game 3 loss to the Carabins

The number one ranked Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team’s season is over.

The Stingers lost 3-2 in game three of the RSEQ semi-finals to the Université de Montreal Carabins.

“It’s hard, we’re devastated for sure,” said head coach Julie Chu. “We always took it one game at a time, and we had belief that our team could go really far into nationals. But we also know that we play in the best conference in U Sports. To get out of our conference is always tough to do, especially against a great rival.”

The first period saw the Stingers start where they left things off after Saturday’s 5-3 game two win. They managed quality chances against the Carabins and were executing their zone entries perfectly. With four minutes left in the frame, Stingers captain Claudia Dubois wired home a one-timer to give the Stingers the lead.

In the second period, the Carabins flipped the script.

A power play goal four minutes in, and an in-tight goal with two minutes left in the period gave the Carabins all of the momentum.

Blaming the refs for a loss is never the answer, but it should be said that there were some extremely questionable calls on both teams. Take the Stingers tying goal for example. A seemingly innocent shot from Audrey-Ann Rodrigue squeaked past Carabins goalie Maude Trevisan, but the puck fell right behind the goalie, but never cleared the goal line and was clearly still in the blue paint (I asked four other media members who all said that the puck didn’t cross the line).

Chaos ensues after the ref calls the play dead, the refs convene at centre ice, the Stingers fans go crazy while waiting for the decision. The refs finally decided that the shot went in (it didn’t). It really seemed like the refs were peer pressured by the crowd to make that call.

Mix in some blatant missed calls on both teams, and you’re left with a game that wasn’t exactly decided by the refs, but their handprints are there. Chu has never been one to make excuses and that didn’t change after this game.

“It went both ways,” said Chu. “For us we always talk about controlling what we can control. The big part of what we do control is our ability to work hard, execute and do the little things really well. Unfortunately I think we got away from that a little bit.”

The Stingers struggled to generate momentum and chances in close against Trevisan. They were outshot 28-23 by the Carabins, and Stingers goalie Alice Philbert had to bail her team out a couple of times.

Graphic by Matthew Coyte

Shortly after tying the game up in the third period, the Carabins re-took the lead. A shot towards the front of the net took a strange bounce, the puck popped up and dropped right behind Philbert and into the net. Philbert would make 25 saves on 28 shots. Trevisan would make 21 on 23 shots.

Credit to the Carabins though, after getting outskated in game two, they came out and stuck to their game plan; heavy hockey. The Carabins won key puck battles, blocked a hell of alot of shots, forechecked hard and took advantage of their chances.

This ending is especially heartbreaking for Dubois. This was her last game in a Stingers jersey. The captain was lights-out all season and during this playoff series. Dubois is the defining player of Chu’s tenure as head coach. The same way Phil Hudon represented a new era of Stingers’ men’s hockey, Dubois embodied the winning culture that’s been built at Concordia over the past five years. The coach had nothing but praise for her captain post-game.

“She’s the one who’s going to make me cry when she leaves,” said Chu. “When she came [into the program], we were still figuring out how to win, how to build a culture, how to take things to the next level. She’s a huge reason why we got to this next level. Every day, from when she came in as a first-year, to this last game, she’s given us everything. She’s prepared, she works, she wants to win, she’s gritty. For us, that’s become the core of who we are. She’s the one who leads the team and she’s the strongest voice in that locker room. We’re going to miss her.”

This is a disappointing finish for the team. Not many people would have expected a 2020 U Sports national championship without the number one ranked team. Despite this, this season was important for the Stingers.

“Our biggest thing is to hold our head up high,” said Chu. “It’s going to sting for a while, but that’s okay. When we care about what we’re doing, we’re passionate, we put in the time and effort, it’s going to hurt when we don’t get the results we want. We wanted [the team] to feel like they should be proud of everything they’ve given up. They’ve given into this program this year. We’re really proud of them.”

The Carabins will play the McGill Martlets in the RSEQ finals later this week. Both teams will also advance to the U Sports national championship taking place in P.E.I. in March.

Notes:

  • The Stingers have been the most exciting Montreal hockey team this year. It’s sad to see them end the season this way, but you’ll never hear anyone say that they didn’t put their heart into every single game.
  • Claudia Dubois and defender Erica Starnino are the only fifth-year players on the Stingers. That means that most of the core that made the Stingers so deadly will be returning.

Feature photo by Britanny Clarke

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Concordia 5, Montreal 3: Stingers beat the Carabins in Game 2 of the RSEQ semi-finals

After the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team lost in game one of the RSEQ semi-finals to the Université de Montreal Carabins on Thursday, head coach Julie Chu promised that the game plan wasn’t about to suddenly change.

“I was really happy with how we played on Thursday,” says Chu. “We had a good reset day yesterday. Our players knew what was on the line. We just stayed the course.”

The first period of game two at UDEM’s CEPSUM arena didn’t start out great for the Stingers. The outlet passes weren’t hitting sticks, the Carabins were forechecking their way into long offensive possessions and the Stingers weren’t able to generate much momentum.

With six minutes left in the opening frame, defender Brigite Laganiere changed that.

Laganiere had a very strong regular season, putting up 18 assists while being relied defensively as the top defender on the team.

Despite the effort and consistency, Laganiere wasn’t able to score a goal.

During some neutral zone confusion, Laganiere took off alone against two Carabins players, wound up, and wired a clapper over the glove of Maude Trevisan.

From there, the Stingers took off.

Stéphanie Lalancette and Léonie Philbert added goals in the first period to extend the Stingers’ lead to 3-0 going into the second period.

“We weren’t putting in pucks 5-on-5,” said Chu. “That was a really important aspect that we had to find. Get to the net, create chaos, win some of those netfront battles. Being able to get there, maybe getting some of the bounces that go in.”

After the first period tallies, the Stingers promptly welcomed Carabins goalie Maude Trevisan to the second period when Belzile finished a nice lil saucer pass from Emmy Fecteau just 44 seconds into the frame. The Carabins would replace Trevisan with Aube Racine after the goal.

“Playing a fast game is always helpful,” said Chu. “We talk about transitioning quickly both ways. We’ve got talented teams in this league. The way you make teams or anyone uncomfortable is by using speed, taking away time and space.”

Olivia Atkinson would push the Stingers total to five goals early in the third. The Stingers would rattle off 32 shots. The Carabins would score a goal in the second and make a push with two goals late in the third period, but the Stingers lead never seemed in doubt.

Stingers goalie Alice Philbert stood out tonight, stopping 20 of 23 stops. In-between fighting for looks through traffic and making a fleury of in-tight

“Alice, and all of our players, do a great job of reseting and refocusing,” said Chu. “She’s been going out there and playing some big, awesome hockey for us”

“We’re really pumped for tomorrow, to get a chance to play hard against a great cross-town rival.”

Game three of the RSEQ semi-finals will take place on Sunday, at the Ed Meagher Arena at 3 p.m.

Notes:

  • Julie Chu is playing her cards close to the chest on her plan for game three. “Staying the course” might be an accurate retroactive slogan for the Stingers 2019-20 season.
  • Game three is going to be very cool, show up.

Feature photo by Mackenzie Lad

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Montreal 2, Concordia 1 (3OT): Stingers dominate play but fall short in marathon game

The Stingers came into game one of the RSEQ playoffs having been ranked as the number one team in the nation for effectively the entire season.

But matched up against the Université de Montréal Carabins, that ranking didn’t mean they weren’t going into a tight, closely matched, dangerous series. Every game between the two this year (outside of a 4-0 Concordia win) came down to a single goal, including a shootout finish in one game and a double overtime in another.

This game managed to top just how close this year’s matchups were, coming down to the wire in triple overtime as the Stingers fell to their cross-town rivals.

For head coach Julie Chu, the mentality that will get them through is the same mentality that got them into first place: not worrying about anything that’s behind them.

“All season long, the biggest thing we’ve always talked about is that we’re just focused on one game. Whatever rankings were before that doesn’t matter,” said Chu. “[The first place ranking] feels nice, awesome […] [but] we just focus on whatever’s in front of us, and that’s the next game. For us the biggest thing is what are we gonna do the next game. From now, get a good night’s rest, wake up, take a deep breath and be excited it’s a three-game series and we have the opportunity to fight back again.”

While it may not be the result the team wanted, they certainly won’t have any complaints about their effort or the way they played. They came at the Carabins like the top team in the league.

Through five complete periods of play and a few minutes of a sixth, the Stingers dominated. The game was without goals until the third as both team’s goalies stood strong, but regardless of the score, the play was almost entirely under the control of the Stingers.

They heavily outshot Montreal, killed them in puck possession and generally looked more dangerous all night. When Montreal would break out with the puck, the Stingers would crush the hopes of any oncoming rushes with calm preciseness and turn the attack the other way.

A collection of posts was one issue that their production faced but, more importantly, some controversial no-goal calls hit them. The Stingers looked to have scored go-ahead or game-winning goals at least three times, including two such non-markers by captain Claudia Dubois.

Each was waved off. One in particular, Dubois’ second called-off snipe, this time in overtime instead of the last minute of the third, looked to have beaten the Carabins netminder clean and players and fans alike celebrated until the referee called for a faceoff.

The team wasn’t ready to go off on the referees for this, but took a ‘play through it’ mentality and took the hand they were dealt without complaint.

“There’s a lot of possibilities of what could have been a goal but we can only control what’s in front of us,” said Chu. “What’s in front of us is ‘okay the goal’s not called, okay let’s line up and be great the next shift.’”

Despite the lack of scoring—until Emmy Fecteau scored on the powerplay in the third and Montreal tied it with under four minutes to play—both teams kept their energy high and seemed to be taking the game positively. As tight at the game was, no frustration got through visibly when it came to not finding the back of the net.

“The energy on the bench was awesome. They were positive, focused and ready to go,” said Chu of her players.

Now the Stingers are in a position to regroup, as Chu said. It’s not so much a matter of major adjustments as coming back with a good mentality and positivity despite the loss. A win in game two on Saturday afternoon would force a winner-take-all game three at Concordia. The Stingers played the far better game of the two teams and if they bring the same level of play next game, they’ll be putting themselves in a great position to come out on top this time.

“We played great hockey tonight,” said Chu. “Sometimes it doesn’t always equate in a win. We know our players have a lot of fight in them, they have a lot of character in that room. They’ll reset, refocus and be ready to go on Saturday.”

 

Photos by Cecilia Piga

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Concordia 2, Montreal 1: Stingers outlast Carabins in statement win

After losing to the McGill Martlets yesterday, the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team had just 24 hours to prepare for the other titan in the RSEQ; the Université de Montreal Carabins. 

“I still thought we played pretty well yesterday,” said head coach Julie Chu post-game. “Special teams needed to be better, but in general I think we just wanted to reset and refocus.”

The message got through to the Stingers, who managed to outlast the Carabins through two periods of overtime to take the win in the shootout. Emmy Fecteau provided the game-winning goal in the shootout thanks to a sneaky backhand shot through the five-hole of Carabins goalie Maude Trevisan. Trevisan finished the game with 40 saves on 41 shots.

“That’s really not the move I do usually,” said Fecteau. “Usually I go right, and this time I went left, but I knew what I was going to do. I talked to [Stingers goalie Alice Philbert] about what I should do, and she told me to go five-hole and that’s what I did.”

“We know we’re in a great league,” said Chu. “Even in the first half, we had like four overtimes or shootout situations. Sometimes they go our way, sometimes they don’t.”

The first period didn’t see either team pick up too much momentum, although the pendulum was definitely leaning towards the Carabins early. UDEM captain Catherine Dubois was a force, powering her way through Stingers defenders and driving play the whole game. But no goals after one period.

It took the Stingers two minutes to break the deadlock in the second period. Rosalie Bégin-Cyr continued her scoring streak when she found herself all alone in front with the puck. Not in a rush, the forward outwaited Trevisan and buried the puck to get the Stingers up by one.

It took the Carabins 18 seconds to tie the game up, and of course it was UDEM’s captain. Dubois came down on Stingers’ goalie Madison Oakes, and ripped a shot short side to tie it back up.

But that’s all that would get by Oakes. The second-year goalie has been the team’s main backup this season. Tonight she made 36 saves on 37 shots to snatch the win. In what was just the third game of her U Sports career, Oakes was the reason the Stingers were able to win this game. Her game tape will include an incredible blocker stop in the third period (“What’s going through my head, I probably can’t say,” said Oakes. “But like, damn. How’d I do that?”), as well as blanking all three Carabins shootout attempts.

“Honestly, I had a pretty good warm-up so I was feeling pretty good going into the game,” said Oakes. “I was a lot more calm than my game against Carleton. [I] come out decently far in the shootout. I’m a relatively small goalie, so I just stay calm and read what they do.”

“For a goaltender that maybe hasn’t played as many games for our program, those first couple of shots are the biggest,” said Chu. “It’s kind of like your first shift back after not playing for a while. But I think she settled in really well as the game went on. She’s a gamer. I think anytime our goaltenders are able to make big saves, that gives us a boost of energy.”

With the win, the Stingers extend their lead on first-place in the RSEQ to five points. The team in second? The Carabins.

“This was a fun game for people to watch,” said Chu. “I think for our team it was important. Every game is experience. Yesterday was experience losing, but bouncing back and having the experience of feeling the pressure, the intensity of overtime and all these different things.”

To finish this recap, you gotta remember that some things are bigger than hockey. That includes the news that Concordia Stingers women’s hockey coaches Julie Chu and Caroline Ouellette are expecting their second child in May. Players streamed out of the dressing room post-game to do their cool-down with the couple’s gender reveal cake. Congrats to both Chu and Ouellette. Watch out, draft class of 2038.

NOTES:

  • Bégin-Cyr is now tied for sixth in U Sports scoring with 12 goals and 10 assists in 14 games. Every player ahead of her has played between 18 and 21 games.

Feature photo by Britanny Clarke

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Montreal 4, Concordia 3: Penalties halt Stingers momentum in loss

Photo by Cecilia Piga

If you watched the Stingers play this season, you’ve seen a team that’s managed to consistently beat two of the top teams in the country. Playing in the RSEQ is gruelling. Concordia, McGill and the Universite de Montreal are all top-5 programs in Canada.

And this game against the UDEM Carabins was yet another heavyweight bout. Unfortunately for the top-ranked Stingers, they come out of this one with some bruises as they drop a 4-3 result to the number three ranked Carabins 24 hours after beating the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees 6-2.

“We start off tough, we’re trying to come out of a hole and we take two penalties,” said head coach Julie Chu post-game. “We have to have an intensity and a grit and I think we just didn’t quite have it today. Part of it is the back-to-back and Montreal got the day off, yeah sure. But we’re going to see that at nationals, so there’s no excuse for this.”

Over the past 16 meetings between these two teams since 2017-18, 13 have been decided by one goal. This is only the second time out of those 16 games that UDEM has beaten Concordia in regulation.

The game started as a whirlwind as both teams traded blows. The Stingers were the first ones on the board courtesy of captain Claudia Dubois finding the puck in front of the net and powering a shot past Carabins goalie Aube Racine. Racine finished the game with 25 saves on 27 shots. Stingers goalie Alice Philbert is certainly not to blame in this loss, the Carabins made her life extremely difficult with tight screens, cross-ice passing and heavy shots. Philbert finished the game with 25 saves on 29 shots.

Graphic by Matthew Coyte

“We went through spurts where we were good,” said Chu. “But the penalties really killed us. Our power play wasn’t strong as well.”

Montreal’s Alexandra Labelle evened it up thanks to a cross-ice tap-in. Stingers’ Rosalie Begin-Cyr responded a minute later, capitalizing from the chaos caused in the slot by Dubois who took a hard hit to make the play. Begin-Cyr wired a wrister to retake the lead for the Stingers. The Carabins would tie it at two before the end of the period.

But the biggest problem for the Stingers was the special teams. In the team’s first 10 games of the season, the Stingers had only taken a league-best 25 penalties. In their first two games of 2020, they’ve taken 11, including six in this game.

“We have to play the full 60 minutes,” said Dubois post-game. “We have to avoid the penalties, that’s what really killed us. We had the momentum, then bang, we’re down by two.”

The power play wasn’t much better, and we’re at the point of the season where the benefit of the doubt for the Stingers is over. They hold a league-worst power play that’s converted just 8.8% of their powerplay chances, and went 0/4 this game.

“We have to improve the power play,” said Dubois. “It’s tough. We’re supposed to score. We’re supposed to capitalize on those chances and we’re not able to. There’s going to be changes and we’re going to try things for sure.”

The Carabins played what could have easily been their best game of the season thanks to their physical style of play and ability to take advantage of the Stingers mistakes. It often felt like Montreal had an odd-player rush while also having like six players back defending. It made no sense, but at the end of the day, the Stingers became frustrated and were baited into some unnecessary penalties.

The Stingers third goal was a weird one. Dubois was breaking into the Carabins zone and was beating the defender wide. The defender had no choice but to haul her down. The referee’s arm shot up, and everyone stopped. But no whistle. Racine moved out of the way to avoid Dubois, but by the powers of the hockey gods, the puck actually slid into the net with Dubois, cutting the Stingers deficit to one.

“We’ll take those goals, but those are definitely not normal goals,” said Dubois.

The Stingers were unable to convert a tying goal, but sometimes it’s just nice to watch some heavyweights go at it.

Notes:

  • I watched the replay on Dubois’ second goal about 10 times and I still have no idea how or why every single player on the ice stopped playing before the whistle. Even the crowd thought it was dead. The hockey gods giveth (a fun goal), and the hockey gods taketh away (a loss).
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Concordia 17 Montreal 20: Stingers push the Carabins to the edge

Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

Stingers record stands at 1-4 with three games remaining

The Concordia Stingers football team came close to beating the Université de Montreal Carabins. Again.

The 20-17 loss at UDEM’s Cepsum Field pushes the Stingers record to 1-4 with only three games remaining in the season. In the two team’s first meeting ended in a 10-3 Carabins win.

“We are a good football team that’s why these games are close,” said head coach Brad Collinson after the game. “When we stick together, good things happen.”

Quarterback Adam Vance has really come into his own as the season’s progressed, and Friday night was just another example of that. The American went 24/36 for 343 yards and a TD.

“The joy of playing football has come back for Adam,” said Collinson. “He has bought in 100 per cent and it shows.”

His main target this season, receiver James Tyrrell, also kept busy all game. He hauled in 13 catches 174 yards. Tyrrell is currently the most targeted receiver in the RSEQ.

“James is playing like a 5th year player should be playing,” said Collinson. “When we call his number he is making plays and that’s what we need from him.”

Rookie receiver Jeremy Murphy continued to establish himself as a dangerous option as he collected 6 catches for 101 yards and a touchdown.

On defence, linebacker Sam Brodrique continues his consistent play with 6 solo tackles, and Jersey Henry made 5.5 tackles and added a sack.

“Our defence played great and continue to progress,” said Collinson. “I’m very proud of them and the intensity that they are playing with.”

Montreal managed to stay ahead and take the win thanks to a 10-point 4th Quarter. Opposing QB Dimitri Morand went 22/29 for 293 yards and a TD. The Carabins added 127 rushing yards in this game compared to the Stingers 108 yards.

The Stingers will face the Laval Rouge et Or for the second time this season on Oct. 6. The last clash between these two teams ended with the Stingers on the wrong side of a 41-6 loss.

“We need to keep progressing and following the process we have laid out,” said Collinson. ”If we can keep progressing we will be ok.”

Archive feature photo taken by Mackenzie Lad on September 22, 2018

 

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Sports

Stingers Drop Season home opener in close contest against Carabins

Quarterback Adam Vance threw three interceptions against the Carabins. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

Concordia Stingers lost to Université de Montréal Carabins in the first game of the 2019-20 Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) university football calendar.

Both teams were looking to find their rhythm, but only one touchdown was scored and missed plays cost points for both teams.

Despite the loss, the Stingers finished the match with 266 yards gained, compared to 215 for the Carabins. The team also saw a touchdown called back in the second quarter because of a penalty. Stingers head coach Brad Collinson said his team needs to learn how to win those types of games.

“It doesn’t come easy, especially against a great team like the Carabins,” Collinson said. “They have a great defence, on paper the best in the country. We had a couple of costly penalties in the second half, but it’s a process.”

Collinson said his team wanted to show people they were not to be taken lightly.

“We saw [votings] for this week and everyone picked Montreal,” Collinson said. “We wanted to send the message today that we were there. We’re going to work hard every day and won’t skip a step.”

The Stingers’s offence was led by rookie receiver Jeremy Murphy, who gained 95 field yards in five receptions, including the longest reception of the match with 43 yards.

Murphy said he felt good in his first game with the Stingers, although he would’ve preferred to start the campaign with a win.

“We all know they’re a big team, but we’re not scared,” Murphy said. “They’re physical and that’s how they impose their [game style]. They adapted well and we had to do better. We’re just trying to play football like we’re supposed to do. Whoever comes up against us, we just try the best we can.”

The Stingers will play McGill on Aug. 30 at 4 p.m. at the Percival Molson Stadium.

 

Archive photo by Mackenzie Lad

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Stingers drop thriller against Montréal in shootout

The Stingers took 39 shots against Carabins goalie Marie-Pier Chabot. Photo by Alex Hutchins

3-2 loss is Concordia’s first in five games, going back to Nov. 17

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team lost 3-2 in a shootout against the Université de Montréal Carabins at the Ed Meagher Arena on Jan. 19. The loss snaps a five-game winning streak for the Stingers, and hands them their first defeat since Nov. 17.

This was the fourth meeting of the season between the Carabins and Stingers, the first-placed and second-placed teams in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), respectively. Like this game, all three previous games went to overtime. The Stingers won the first two in overtime, and the third in a shootout.

“This was a playoff-calibre game,” said Stingers head coach Julie Chu. “With Montréal, we’re well-matched, and that was a lot of fun to be a part of. Despite the fact that we want to win every game, it was a good atmosphere and good intensity.”

Almost right off the opening face-off, the Stingers pressured the Carabins in the neutral zone to create a turnover. Stingers forward Stéphanie Lalancette picked up the loose puck and took a well-placed shot to beat Montréal goalie Marie-Pier Chabot just 15 seconds into the game.

“It’s always nice to start off first shot, first goal off a really good forecheck on the face-off,” Chu said.

Neither team scored for the rest off the period, as both goalies, Chabot for the Carabins and Katherine Purchase for the Stingers, made key saves.

On a power play in the opening minutes of the second period, Stingers forward Keriann Schofield made a nifty deke to beat a defender and get to the front of the net. She lost the puck right in front of Chabot, but forward Sophie Gagnon was on the doorstep to give the Stingers a 2-0 lead.

Gagnon was all over the ice, scoring the goal and drawing multiple penalties against the Carabins.

Stingers forward Sophie Gagnon (#11) scored the second goal for Concordia and drew multiple penalties. Photo by Alex Hutchins

“Sophie is a worker. She’s like our warrior,” Chu said. “She’s all about grit, hard work, battling in competition, and going out there and doing what she can. She played great for us.”

The Carabins started climbing their way back into the game with a short-handed goal in the second period. While the Stingers were on the power play, some miscommunication between defenceman Caroll-Ann Gagné and forward Claudia Fortin led to a turnover to Carabins forward Jessica Cormier. She used her speed to break in against Purchase and beat her blocker-side.

“We gave up more opportunities than we created on that [power play],” Chu said. “We can’t do that.”

In the third period, both goalies were locked in and making incredible saves. Purchase made a stop with her glove while lying on her back, and just moments later, Chabot outperformed her opponent when she robbed Stingers forward Audrey Belzile with a stick save while she was lying on her side. In all, Purchase made 32 saves, and Chabot made 37.

The Carabins did get the better of Purchase with under two minutes left in the game. After sustained pressure in the Stingers zone, Carabins defenceman Valérie St-Onge threw the puck on net, and forward Audrey Lavallée tipped it in.

The Stingers outshot the Carabins 8-5 in the two five-minute overtime periods, but couldn’t beat Chabot. In the fourth round of the shootout, Laurie Mercier scored the winner for Montréal.

“You learn from your losses,” Chu said. “Games like this, you’re going to be put in tough situations […] That sets us up for a lot of learning growth for the rest of the season.”

The Carabins now have a three-point lead over the Stingers for first place, although the Stingers have two games in hand. The Stingers next play on Jan. 21 against the Carleton Ravens at the Ed Meagher Arena.

Photos by Alex Hutchins

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Sports

Stingers blown out by the Carabins

The Concordia football team fell 59-3 to the top-ranked team in the country

The Université de Montréal Carabins football team dominated in their home-opener on Sept. 16 against the Concordia Stingers, winning by a score of 59-3. The Carabins, who are the number one ranked team in the country, provided an offensive onslaught which was simply too much for the Stingers to handle.

When asked what went wrong after the game, Stingers coach Mickey Donovan replied with: “Everything.”

“We didn’t come out to play and we made way too many mistakes,” Donovan said. “You’re not going to be able to compete in those games playing that way.”

Donovan added that in the week prior to the game, the Stingers prepared for the Carabins’ strong offense and defense, but they weren’t able to execute in the game. Stingers quarterback Trenton Miller shared those same thoughts, saying that the team needs to limit their mistakes and make better plays.

The Carabins came out strong, scoring on their first offensive drive when halfback Gabriel Parent punched the ball into the end zone from the one-yard line just four minutes in. The Stingers quickly answered back with a field goal from kicker Andrew Stevens, cutting the deficit to 7-3.

The Stingers field goal ended up being the only points they would score all game. The Carabins followed up the Stingers score with a 45-yard catch and run touchdown from receiver Guillaume Paquet. Paquet outran the Stingers defense and gave the Carabins a 14-3 lead, with just under eight minutes left in the first half.

The Stingers offense was unable to get any momentum going, which forced their defense to stay out on the field for longer.

“They were tired. You go back and look at the stats and they were out there for the majority of the time,” Donovan said. “We got to be able to get some long drives going and finish them.”

The Stingers now sit at a record of 1-2.

Despite Concordia’s woes on offense, the Carabins managed to score 52 unanswered points and drew praise from the Stingers quarterback.

“They’re a very athletic and fast team. They’re well coached,” Miller said. “They do a great job year in and year out.”

In the fourth quarter, already up 42-3, the Carabins put the game even more out of reach when Carabins cornerback Jordan Perrin intercepted a pass and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown. This made the score 49-3. The Carabins eventually added another field goal and a rushing touchdown from running back Julien Choquette-Daigneault to bring the score to 59-3.

One bright spot for the Stingers was the performance of freshman receiver Vincent Alessandrini, who finished the game with nine receptions and 63 yards.

The Stingers will look to bounce back next week against St. Francis Xavier University on Sept. 24 at Concordia Stadium.

“We still have five games to go,” Miller said. “We’re in the playoff hunt.”

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Stingers swept from post-season play

Concordia’s women’s hockey team dropped back-to-back games vs. Université de Montréal

Photo by Brianna Thicke

Concordia’s hockey season has officially come to a close for the Stingers varsity teams. While McGill trumped the men’s hockey team a couple weeks ago, the women’s squad was eliminated from the post-season after being swept by the Montréal Carabins on Saturday, Feb. 28.

Game 1

The best-of-three series began on Thursday, Feb. 26 when the team travelled to Université de Montréal. The Carabins had the Stingers’ number all year as they swept the season series 4-0 against Concordia. In game one, the Carabins jumped out to the early 1-0 lead and would not give Concordia’s offence the chance to answer. The game stayed 1-0 throughout most of the contest, until the Carabins extended their lead early in the third period. After securing the 2-0 victory in game one, Montréal forced Concordia into an elimination game on Saturday. Win, or the Stingers’ season was over.

Game 2

The Carabins crowd and Stinger supporters filled the Ed Meagher Arena on Saturday to watch what was ultimately Concordia’s last game of the season. The visiting crowd was boisterous as they chanted “Aller les bleus!” throughout the game. The electricity of the crowd fueled the play on the ice, as both teams were energetic from the get-go.

Just under four minutes into the first period, the Carabins scored first on a goal that Concordia’s all-star rookie goaltender Katherine Purchase wished she could have had back. A bouncing puck that came off of the stick of Montreal’s Janique Duval squeaked past Purchase to give the Carabins the 1-0 lead.

Momentum was with Montréal early in the game as just two minutes after their opening goal, the Carabins drew back-to-back penalties. With a two-man advantage, the Carabins’ power play went to work.

Montréal forward Marion Allemoz found the back of the net for the Carabins’ second goal to quiet the home supporters. In a total of three minutes, and with the help of some untimely penalties, the Carabins were in complete control of the game.

“We took a dumb penalty in the first period, gave them a five-on-three on a call that I thought was cheesy,” said Stingers head coach Les Lawton after the game. “They took advantage of it and we just couldn’t battle back as hard as we tried, couldn’t get the puck behind the goalie.”

The Carabins were outshooting the Stingers 5-1 midway through the first but the Stingers did not give up that easily. If not for the undisciplined play and momentary lapse by the Stingers in the first period, the final scoreboard could have been different.

The second period belonged to the Stingers as the home team desperately tried to keep their season alive. Concordia applied the pressure right from the puck drop. The Stingers spent most of the opening 10 minutes in the Carabins’ zone, but couldn’t beat their defence. By the latter half of the period, the Stingers now controlled the shots on goal by 14-12.

The turning point in the game came late in the second period when the Stingers were awarded a five-on-three power play. Much like Montréal’s opportunity in the first period, this was Concordia’s chance to get on the scoreboard. During the advantage, the Stingers had multiple chances but nothing seemed to bounce their way. Every cross-ice pass seemed to skip, every mad scramble was cleared and shots that should have gone in seemed to miss by mere inches. It simply wasn’t meant to be for the Stingers on Saturday.

“I thought it was one of our better efforts of the season and I thought it was a game we could have won,” said Lawton.

Heading into the third period Concordia outshot Montréal 24-18 but the score remained 2-0 for the Carabins. Less than two minutes into the final period, Montréal made it 3-0 and all the momentum that the Stingers had gained was quickly erased. With under four minutes left in the game Concordia finally got on the board with a goal to make it 3-1.

Once the final buzzer rang, another season of Stingers varsity hockey was over. However, the progress that the women’s hockey program made should not be overlooked.

“We made some great strides this year. We’ve got a really good base of players that are going to help move this team forward,” said Lawton. “I think we learned how to win a little bit this year, which is something we’ve been struggling with in the last couple of years.” Onto next year Stingers fans, and hopefully, with better and brighter outcomes.

“I think we turned some heads, not only in our league but across the country,” said Lawton.

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