Tag: Concordia Stingers

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Concordia 4, Montreal 3 (2OT): Stingers prove their top-ranked status in win

Photo by Matthew Coyte.

Sometimes, you can just feel something in the air.

And as the extreme Montreal winds were busy blowing away delayed trick-or-treaters, the U Sports gods were setting the stage for the next chapter of what’s become one of the best rivalries in U Sports women’s hockey. The two top teams in the country clashed as the #1 ranked Concordia Stingers battled the #2 ranked Université de Montreal Carabins women’s hockey teams.

Both teams came into this game undefeated at 3-0. Both teams have fielded some of the strongest lineups in the country over the past couple of years. It was only two seasons ago that the Stingers raised the RSEQ championship on UDEM’s turf.

“We’re a really well matched team against each other and it’s been really fun,” said head coach Julie Chu. “Two years ago we had eight games against them playoffs included, and six went to shootout or overtime. It’s pretty crazy. That’s what we’re expecting for the rest of the season.”

The Carabins were the first to strike. Working the power-play, UDEM beat Stingers goalie Alice Philbert off a deflection blast from the slot courtesy of Marie-Pier Dubé with just over 11 minutes left in the first period.

What followed was a back-and-forth battle fought in the neutral zone, both teams struggling to gain momentum. The Stingers finally responded off of a dangle from captain Claudia Dubois, who fought off two Carabins defenders before quickly ripping the puck over the shoulder of Carabins goalie Aube Racine. Racine finished the game with 30 saves on 34 shots.

In the second period, the Stingers cost themselves a pair of goals. The first started off a bad turnover as the Stingers were leaving their zone. The Carabins’ Joannie Garand ripped a shot past Philbert and sent her water bottle flying in the process. The second came on the powerplay, where a miscommunication in the offensive zone left a Carabins penalty-killer all alone for a breakaway that beat Philbert high. Philbert finished the game with 29 saves on 32 shots.

For us, we always talk about never quitting,” said Chu. “The greatest that any of us can have is resilience. We’re going to go through a lot in a season, we’re going to be down goals, we’re going to be up goals, we have to be resilient enough to bend a little but not break, and that’s what this team is showing.”

However, the Stingers responded both times. Thirty seconds after Garand’s goal, Olivia Atkinson scored her first of the year on a tap-in play to tie the game up. As the Stingers went down the second time, it was Marie-Pascale Bernier who answered, firing a bullet from the slot, top shelf.

With a game this close, of course it would go to overtime. Sorry, I meant to say double overtime.
This is the second time in four games the Stingers have played 65 or more minutes.

As the second overtime period began, it was clear that both teams were taking chances. But it was the rookie Emmy Fecteau for the Stingers that managed to put the game away on a great pass cross-crease from Rosalie Begin-Cyr. This was Fecteau’s first goal of the season. Chu talked about how she is happy with how the rookie has been playing so far this season.

The top two teams in the country didn’t disappoint in this thriller. The shots leaned more towards the Stingers, who managed more high-danger shots on net, but costly turnovers and bad breaks evened things out for the Carabins.

Stingers outshot the Carabins 34-32. Graphic by Matthew Coyte.

“Our league is so tight,” said Chu. “We’re gonna have to go into overtime, shootouts or different scenarios.It’s going to be like this all season long, and what we keep telling our players is to stay in the moment and to work hard and take our opportunities where they come.”

The Stingers next game is against the McGill Martlets on Nov. 8 at the Ed Meagher Arena

Notes:

  • CEPSUM is a pretty sick rink with incredible acoustics and a really cool football-stadium-esque feel and white tiled roof. I wish more arenas would have the really distinct features, makes “home rink advantage” feel like it matters.
  • UDEM’s power-play song is the Imperial March from Star Wars, and honestly, it fits.
  • This was my first game using this new shot tracking tool by Robyn Scholz. It’ll get tweaked as the year goes on, but it’s working great so far.

 

Photo by Matthew Coyte.

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Olivia Atkinson trades in her Martlet uniform for the Maroon and Gold

It’s not everyday a player goes from one team to their greatest rival. Names that come to mind are Carlos Tevez, Mark Recchi and Terrell Owens. Now, Olivia Atkinson joins that list along with her teammate Erica Starnino.

The fourth year player began her U-Sports career with the McGill Martlets in the 2015-16 season. She transferred to Concordia last year but was unable to play because of U-Sports eligibility rules. The season did not go to waste by any means for Atkinson, playing 17 games for Les Canadiennes de Montreal.

“It was a learning experience,” Atkinson said. “The pace of the game is much faster. Decisions need to be quicker. The physicality was the thing that showed me what my play lacked, I tried to focus on [improving] that aspect of my game.”

Atkinson joins a talented Stingers team with expectations sky high. She says to be a better, more impactful player for the team, she’s been focusing on her defensive play.

“Offensive [play] was something that I focused a lot on in the past,” said Atkinson. “Coming here with the knowledge of the coaches, I want to learn how to be a better defensive player.”

Nobody can dispute Atkinson’s offensive abilities, having been a top scoring RSEQ player during her time with McGill. Head coach Julie Chu had nothing but high praise for Atkinson when talking about her willingness to improve.

“She works hard all the time, wants to learn and wants to get better,” said Chu. “Even as someone who coached against her for three years, I saw that on the ice through her intensity and compete level.”

Atkinson, enrolled in psychology, says that she made the switch from McGill to Concordia because Concordia offered more specialized courses of behavioural neuroscience that she’s interested in.

It also helps that the Stingers women’s hockey program is year after year regarded as one of the top in the country.

It can be tough coming on to a new team, especially when playing for that team’s greatest rival. However Atkinson says that her new teammates have been nothing short of spectacular in helping her adjust to life with a new team and school.

“In the first couple of games, she had to get back into the swing of playing at the U-Sports level,” Chu said. “The truth is when you’re playing for Les Canadiennes, [Atkinson] probably wasn’t given the same amount of ice time and opportunities that she’s been getting at our level. From day one she’s been such a hard worker and teammate. It’s been great to watch.”

Chu was excited when Atkinson approached her about joining the team but she says she didn’t make any promises to her when it came to her role on the team.

“We don’t talk about roles, it’s about our culture,” said Chu. “What we promise here is that you’ll be loved and supported. You’ll get every resource possible to be successful on and off the ice. We don’t promise anyone a certain role or position on our team. That’s not who we are and it’s not reality of life. We promise opportunities if you work hard and execute.”

Offensive execution is what Atkinson is known for. As a second year player in 2016-17, Atkinson was second in goal scoring and in points, lighting the lamp 12 times that season and finishing with 25 points. In her last year of university hockey in the 2017-18 season, before making the jump to the CWHL, she finished eighth in the RSEQ in points with 16 on the season.

Adding Atkinson and a number of other recruits, along with the team’s returning players makes this squad an incredibly talented one. They started the season ranked as the fourth best team in the country, and after going undefeated in the opening weekend of the season, have shot up to the top ranked team in the country.

“Polls are always a funny thing. It’s so early on in the season and no one really knows how they stack up [against other teams],” said Chu. “It’s a nice compliment, we know we’ve been playing great hockey but we also know that where we stand at the end of the season is what really counts.”

Atkinson shares the same sentiment when it comes to the ranking and says that the teams approach along with her own hasn’t changed.

“Every day we’re coming to the rink and putting in the work,” Atkinson said. “We haven’t been taking our success [for granted]. We’re in a really competitive league and anyone of the teams can win on any given night. We have a target on our back and we need to be prepared for every game that way.”

Atkinson and the Stingers will take on the second nationally ranked Carabins on November 1 at 7 p.m. at the CEPSUM

 

Feature Photo by Laurence B-D

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Concordia 2 McGill 1 (SO): Stingers win season-opener in marathon match

Sometimes three periods of hockey isn’t enough, and you have to go to overtime.

Then double overtime.

Then a shootout.

That’s what it took for the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team, as they beat the McGill Martlets 2-1 at McConnell Arena in a shootout in what was a season-opener to remember.

“That was an awesome hockey game,” said head coach Julie Chu after the marathon match. “The whole team played really well. Both teams played really well, both had moments of momentum and moments to take advantage. It was a good hard fought game and we’re really happy for the first one of the season.”

McGill jumped ahead to a 1-0 lead in the second period on a goal from Jade Downie-Landry. The goal came after the Stingers were unable to convert on a pair of back-to-back power plays.

A minute later, the Stingers responded.

On another powerplay, Concordia kept the puck moving, inching forward before defender Brigitte Lagagniére found Rosalie Bégin-Cyr, who fired a wrister past McGill goalie Tricia Deguire. Deguire would make 41 saves throughout the five periods of play.

That would be the only goal on the power play for the Stingers despite getting seven opportunities with the extra attacker, including a four-minute power play that ended with the Stingers spending more time in their end than the Martlet’s.

“Our third period power plays, we needed better energy,” said Chu. “Especially the four minute one. That’s our opportunity to really take advantage of that moment. Because we had that struggle in the first two minutes of the four, we let it affect us. When you’re on the power play, technically, you fail more than you succeed.”

Across the ice, Stingers goalie Alice Philbert was forced to stand on her head a couple of times. Most notably during a botched Stingers power play breakout that led to a breakaway, Philbert stretched her pad and denied the attempt. Philbert ended the game with 32 saves.

“I thought [Philbert] was great,” said Chu of the third-year tendy. “She’s developed into a tremendous level at the university level. Her first year, she came in as a young person who needed to gain some strength and experience. I thought she was really solid today, was calm, made some big saves for us and obviously in the shootout she was really good.”

The Stingers 5-on-5 played well. Veterans like Audrey Belzile used her speed and power to generate more than a few scoring chances. Former Martlet Olivia Atkinson showed flashes of her CWHL-level skill. Rookie Emmy Fecteau was able to dangle through waves of Martlets at times. While there were more than a few solid individual efforts, rookie Léonie Philbert was one to really stand out. Playing both defence and forward at different points of the game, Philbert battled hard along the boards, managed to get a breakaway opportunity and was a general pain in the ass of the Martlets.

After regulation, the game headed to overtime. Both teams went back and forth, and both teams had chances to put the game away, but the goalies said otherwise. So off to a shootout we go.

Fecteau and Atkinson both were unable to score in the shootout. Philbert denied first two shooters as well. It was Bégin-Cyr who finally managed to put the Stingers ahead, snapping a shot five-hole as the third shooter. McGill’s Kellyanne Lecours was than calmly stopped by Philbert, giving the Stingers their first win of the season and putting an end to a low-scoring slugfest of a game.

“It was a really good team win, regardless of it ending up in a shootout,” said Chu.

NOTES

Two things:

  1.  I’m tracking shots and shot location for this upcoming Stingers whky season. It’s not going to be perfect, but should be interesting.
  2. Please inject this type of hockey directly into my veins.

 

Photos by Mackenzie Lad

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Stingers football eyeing playoff spot

The Stingers missed the playoffs for the first time in five years. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

With just two games remaining in their regular season, and at risk of missing the playoffs for the second straight season, the Stingers need to bring some much-needed intensity, solid individual play, and good play-calling against the Sherbrooke Vert et Or and McGill to do so.

We decided to ask head coach Brad Collinson and offensive coordinator Alex Suprenant on their thoughts about their upcoming pursuit of that elusive final playoff spot.

Brad Collinson: “We gotta fight and take it one game at a time. We have a big game this weekend. If we win, we’re in. We had an off game against Laval, and that was…unfortunate. All we want is to continue progressing and I think we have the team and the offence to compete with anybody. Our defence practices with good intensity, they fly around. They need to run around the ball and get some turnovers.”

Alex Suprenant: “We just need to execute. We did against Sherbrooke at home, we did well against Montreal the week after, we had a bad one against Laval. We need to focus on what we need to do on the field, and if we do that we should be good. [Adam Vance] is our leader, he’s one of our best players, I’m pretty sure he’ll bounce back from the game he had against Laval. We expect that James Tyrrell, Jeremy Murphy, Jacob Salvail, maybe Vince Alessandrini will have big games. Our running backs are young, but they did some good things the past games. We’re going to make sure everyone can touch the ball and spread it out as much as possible.”

Here are what our sports editors (and myself) think of the season so far and how the Stingers can take their last two games.

 

Matthew Ohayon – Sports Editor: “Quarterbacks and running backs are only as good as their offensive line. Vance has done really well when given the proper protection to use his arm but the running game has struggled. If the offence wants to find sustainable success to make a playoff push, the running game needs to get going so that Vance and Surprenant can keep defenses guessing. Musangu, Foster and Mather have the talent to be an amazing backfield, but the offensive line needs to give them some help in creating holes to explode through.”

“Another offensive note; this team needs to finish off their drives with six points. These few games remaining are absolutely crucial and this team cannot be leaving points on the table. Turnovers on third down and field goals will not cut it — they need to put up touchdowns. It sounds obvious, but it’s been a major problem with the team this season. They put together methodical, time-killing drives but get stalled and have to settle for field goals. I know at a certain point, you are what your record says what you are, but this team is a lot more capable of what the stat-lines show.”

“On the defensive side of the ball, it’s quite simple. The Stingers only have seven sacks on the season — they need more pressure from their defensive line. Opposing QBs have way too much time to find open receivers and running backs have way too big of gaps to run through. If they are able to tighten that part of their defence up, it will make life so much easier against Sherbrooke and McGill.”

Alec Brideau – Assistant Sports Editor: “While there are surely things to fix on defence after a 74-0 loss, the other side of me’s thinking it’s the third time of the season the Stingers score six points or less in a game. Not many expect the Stingers to limit their opponent to a touchdown or two, but the reality is that you rarely win a game without scoring. With two games left, the Stingers will need to limit their offensive errors and make sure they’re the ones on offence most of the time. Simple plays and great runs could be the keys for those games.”

Matthew Coyte – Managing Editor: “Despite some really positive progressions this season on offence from players like Vance, Murphy and Tyrrell, the reality is that the run game needs to be better. Teams like Laval and Montreal are so good because they can burn you on the ground and in the air, and that combination is what puts defences on their heels. I would love to see Kevin Foster and Glody Musangu get more reps in the next two weeks and see what they can do.”

“The other key is on defence. The team’s struggled to stop drives and is the last place in most statistical categories, despite having some of the division’s best players. There’s a lot that could go better, but I’ll say that if the Stingers can stifle the run against Sherbrooke and McGill, they’ll give themselves a good chance to pick up some wins.For the Stingers to make the playoffs, it’s just going to take the offensive, defensive and special teams aspects of their game showing up and coming together at the same time.”

“The division’s been in a blender all year. McGill blows out Concordia, the Stingers almost beat Montreal twice, Sherbrooke actually DOES beat Montreal (the mad lads), Montreal smokes McGill. Nothing makes sense, the world is chaos, and not a single spot in the standings is determined yet. We haven’t seen the RSEQ this exciting in a long time.”

 

Photo by Mackenzie Lad

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Stingers women’s hockey team welcomes new recruits

The Stingers have gone 8-1-1 in 2019. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

As the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team prepares to kick off their 2019-20 season against their crosstown rivals the McGill Martlets, there’s a sense that there’s some unfinished business after the Stingers were knocked out of the playoffs last year by McGill.

Veterans like Claudia Dubois, Audrey Belzile, Alexandra Nikolidakis, Marie-Pascale Bernier and Stéphanie Lalancette among others are all primed to build on last season where the team lost in the RSEQ division semi-finals.

“Over the summer, all of our returning players wanted to make a commitment at getting better, and making sure that by the start of this season, they were in a much better position [than last year],” head coach Julie Chu said back in mid-September. “Because of that, we’re in a much different spot and we’re able to compete at a higher level [since the beginning of our exhibition games].”

Joining the veterans are a handful of notable recruits and new players. We asked Chu to give us a bit of insight into what we can expect from the five newest members of this Stingers roster.

Léonie Philbert
Last Team: Dawson College
Position: Forward
2018-19 Stats: 24GP-10G-11A-21Pts

Philbert played on Team Quebec in 2015 and 2016, winning silver at the U18 national championship in 2016. Last season with the Dawson Blues, she was named team MVP.

Chu: “I think Léonie’s one of the most versatile players in the game right now at the university level. We’ve been able to use her in the pre-season as a forward and as a defenceman. It’s not easy to make that shift, especially as a first year player. The speed of the game, the decision-making and everything that comes into it, there’s often an adjustment period coming out of CEGEP or high school, but Léonie’s been able to do that really well, and I think a big part of that is that she works hard everyday and is a really smart player. Her ability to process the game quickly allows her to execute at a high level.”

Julianna Classen
Last Team: John Abbott College
Position: Forward
2018-19 Stats: 24GP-8G-10A-18Pts

Chu: “Julianna is a great person. She’s a great student-athlete, she’s in the exercise science program. She has a lot of potential to come in at this level and have a great season. I think that for her, she’s a smart player, especially from the tops of the circles down, that’s where she’s the most threatening. We’ll be able to see her use her size to her advantage, take pucks to the net, and kinda play that ‘dirty game’ net front. As she gets used to the speed of this level, that 200 foot game will develop as well.”

Emmy Fecteau
Last Team: Cégep Limoilou
Position: Forward
2018-19 Stats: 24GP-13G – 25A – 38Pts

One of the more high-profile recruits, Emmy Fecteau has already started to make a name for herself nationally. The 20-year-old won the RSEQ collegiate title three years straight with Cégep Limoilou in 2017, 2018 and 2019 before making the jump to university. Last season she finished third in the scoring race at the CEGEP level with 38 points in 24 games. Oh, she was also named to Canada’s National Women’s Development Team for a three-game series against the United States this summer.

Chu: “She’s been incredible from day one. We’ve seen her growth, I’ve known her since she was 16-years-old, maybe younger, going to Caroline Ouellete’s camps before we were even coaching at university. We’ve seen her growth and development throughout the years, from her first year at Limoilou and coming onto a really talented team and learning how to develop into that position. She’s been tremendous since day one. Similar to Léonie, she just wants to get better and wants to push and wants to work. That’s the type of student-athlete you want to work with, not one you have to motivate, but wants to go out there and find ways to get better.”

Caroline Gosling
Last Team: Edge Prep, Calgary
Position: Goalie
2018-19 Stats: 14GP-2.29 GAA-.911 SVP

Gosling played on Team Alberta during the 2019 Canada Winter Games, where she helped the team win gold. She was also named to the 2016 Mac’s Midget Tournament All-Star team. Chu discovered Gosling during the goalie’s time on Team Alberta at the Canada Winter Games.

Chu: “What I’ve really enjoyed about Caroline is that she just goes out and battles for every puck. She’s not a big goalie, that’s the reality, but she has a way of playing aggressive that allows her to be bigger in goal and be able to make great saves. I think that’s going to be a huge asset for her and for the team. In practice, every time our players want to score a goal, they need to know that they’re going to have to battle hard because she’s not just going to allow the rebound to be tapped in.”

Olivia Atkinson
Last Team: McGill Martlets
Position: Forward
2017-18 Stats: 20GP – 8G – 8A – 16Pts

Atkinson isn’t a rookie, but she will be playing her first game for the Stingers on the Saturday season opener – against her old team. The fourth year forward last played on the McGill Martlets in 2017-18 before switching to the Stingers last season. While not eligible to play U Sports, Atkinson played with the CWHL’s Canadiennes de Montreal, registering 3 points in 17 games with the pro team. While on the Martlets, Atkinson was one of the team’s most effective players, registering 16 points in 20 games, tied for the team lead. Due to U Sports eligibility rules, she had to sit out last year. Now, she’s ready to join the team.

Chu: “Liv always gives a full effort. That’s something on our team we don’t have to coach. I think for us is that we’re really excited to have a great player back in the lineup. She had three tremendous years at McGill when she was playing. She can put the puck away, utilize her speed and create offensive opportunities. We’re looking for her to use her speed, take pucks to the net and use that incredible release that she had. She’s a talented player and it’s nice to have her back in our lineup.”

This year’s crop of rookie’s join a strong class of sophomores that include RSEQ All-Star Rosalie Bégin-Cyr, who netted 15 points in 20 games as a rookie.

The Stingers women’s hockey season kicks off at McGill on Saturday, Oct. 19. The team’s home opener will be on Sunday, Oct. 20 at the Ed Meagher Arena.

The team’s full schedule can be found here.

 

Photo by Mackenzie Lad

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Concordia 0 Laval 74: Stingers suffer worse loss of the season against the Rouge et Or

Let’s start with the facts.

The Concordia Stingers football team conceded their worst result of the year, getting shutout by the Laval Rouge et Or in a 74-0 loss.

“Pretty simple, we need to play better,” said Stingers head coach Brad Collinson in an email to The Concordian. “This was not our best game in all [three] facets offense/defense/special teams. Credit to Laval and their game plan. They were coming off a bye week and they clearly studied us. We had a good plan but didn’t execute it to the level that we needed.”

The team struggled at every aspect of the game. Under center, Adam Vance went 8/20 for only 57 yards and an interception against the divisions top pass defense. It was a difficult game for the usually explosive QB, who was sacked four times. Sam Nadon led the receivers with 20 yards on three catches, and Kevin Foster racked up 52 rushing yards on 7 attempts. Foster collected 152 total yards thanks to his work on the kick return. So far this year, the team has only scored 77 points, the least in the division.

“We need to go back and just coach up our kids,” said Collinson. “We have a good group of coaches that are proud people and I know that this loss will only fuel us to work harder.”

The Stingers defense was left out to dry, facing wave after wave of Rouge et Or offense. Derek Achaempong and Willaim Benoit led the team with 6.5 tackles apiece. The team has allowed 146 points, the most in the division at the time of publication.

Laval rookie QB Thomas Bolduc threw for 252 yards, going 23/30 with three TDs. Concordia’s division worst rush defense continued to struggle, unfortunately this week they were up against the divisions best rushers, giving up 286 yards on 38 attempts and allowing four touchdowns.

“The whole team needs to step up,” said Collinson. “That’s the great thing about football. Everyone needs to do their 1/12th for us to be successful. Not one player is going to make a difference we need everyone playing to their level and doing their job each and every play.”

With only two games remaining in the season, the Stingers are currently tied for last place in the RSEQ with the Sherbrooke Vert et Or, their opponent next week. It hasn’t been an ideal season as of yet, but with the volatility we’ve seen in this division, playoffs still aren’t out of the question. If the team can win the next two games, it’s not unreasonable to hope for that elusive playoff spot.

“I hope that we can grow as a team and look ourselves in the mirror and be honest with ourselves,” said Collinson. “That was not the Concordia Stingers that we saw last week and we need to play on a more consistent level.”

Concordia will take on Sherbrooke on October 12th in Sherbrooke. Their last game of the season will be at home against McGill.

 

Archive photo by Laurence B.D.

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Concordia Stingers drop their season opener to the Carleton Ravens

The Concordia Stingers dropped their season opener 2-0 to the Carleton Ravens on Friday night, but the loss is the least of their worries.

“Hockey’s an emotional sport. Everyone wants to win,” said rookie forward Tyler Hylland. “Sometimes tempers boil over but it’s nothing personal. It’s just the competitive spirit.”

The Stingers are a young team – that’s no surprise to anyone. That inexperience caused some pregame nerves for some of the players, said Hylland, and the Stingers quickly found themselves down 1-0 halfway through the first period.

“It’s fun to get the jitters out of the first U Sports game, you never know what to expect,” said Hylland. “Obviously its not the result we were looking for tonight but it’s the first game, we’re going to learn and get better. We have the tools in the room to be a competitive team.”

Right from the get-go in the second period, the Ravens came out flying and quickly extended their lead to two nothing off the stick of Cody Caron, who ripped a slap shot past Marc-Antoine Turcotte. Turcotte was the main reason the Stingers only ended up losing.

After that, the emotions took over and plays started getting out of hand. The tipping point for the Stingers came when Captain Philippe Sanche took an elbow to the face, which made him sit out of the game for a while.

Three quarters of the way through the second period, first-year Stingers player Nico Blachman and Darian Skeoch of the Ravens dropped the gloves. Both players got match penalties and are subject to an automatic one game suspension for fighting in a no-fighting league.

In the third period, Liam Murphy, yet another newcomer for the Stingers, took a checking from behind penalty that gave his teammates a tall order of killing off the five-minute major penalty. One of the few bright spots of the night was on that penalty kill; Chase Harwell had one of the best shifts of his Stingers career.

“We need that kill. We’re down two, we gotta bear down,” said Harwell. “The team did a really good, a lot of communication between the players. In terms of penalty killing, I think we did really well.”

Unfortunately for Concordia, that was not the end of the drama as right before the final buzzer. Veteran third-year defence man Carl Neill slashed a Carleton Raven in the leg, resulting in a game misconduct and a one-game suspension for his actions.

The Stingers now look ahead to tonight when they face McGill in the first of three meetings this season. Puck drop is at 7:30pm at the Ed Meagher arena where the Stingers hope to put this game and its hostilities behind them.

 

Feature photo by Cecilia Piga

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Concordia 74 McGill 0: Motivation not an issue as Stingers dominate Martlets

The Concordia Stingers women’s rugby team defeated McGill University 74-0 Sunday afternoon for the 15th annual Kelly-Anne Drummond Cup at Concordia Stadium, successfully defending their title from last year.

There were 11 Stingers who finished the game on the scoresheet, with 10 players scoring at least one try. Head coach Jocelyn Barrieau said it was great to see everyone contribute to the victory.

“It means they are playing for each other,” Barrieau said. They’re not selfish, as they love to move the ball. They don’t care who scores the try. They just want to score as a team, and I think they showed it really well today.”

As the Stingers looked to leave Concordia Stadium still undefeated in this 2019-2020 Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) season, Barrieau said the Kelly-Anne Drummond Cup game was the easiest game of the season for players to get extra motivation.

“We don’t have to search really far ahead of us [to be motivated for that match]. We have Kelly-Anne’s mother, Doreen, who’s there. It’s something really important to all of us.”

The Stingers established their game quickly, scoring their first try of the game in the 12th minute of the first half. The team went on to score four more tries in the first half, before adding seven more in the second.

In what might first look like an almost perfect game despite few missed two-point conversions, Barrieau said this game had nothing close to being a perfect performance.

“We played well, but it was far from being a perfect match,” Barrieau said. “We have a lot of details to work on. We always look to improve when we can do so, and we still have many things that we need to get better at.”

Stingers fifth-year player Lia Hoyte was named the MVP of the game, scoring one try. Hoyte now has two tries in four games played this season.

With one game left to the Stingers’s campaign, the team shows a perfect 5-0 record. Barrieau said if things are worked that well for the Stingers so far, it’s because of the players’ dedication to their team and sport.

“Players are so committed [to what they do],” Barrieau said. “It’s all about their overall implication, as they’ve worked so hard during the off-season last winter.”

The Stingers will play McGill once again for their last regular season game on Oct. 6 at the Percival Molson Stadium.

 

Photo by Laurence B. D.

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Stingers women’s hockey building off of last season

The 2018-19 Réseau du Sport Etudiant du Québec (RSEQ) season didn’t finish the way the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team had hoped. After winning the RSEQ championship in 2018, the Stingers were eliminated in the semifinals by McGill last playoffs in what was a learning season for them.

This year’s Stingers roster will present a more mature group than last season, when 11 players were rookies. Stingers head coach Julie Chu said the team experienced a lot of growth over the past months, which is a big factor in approaching the new season.

“It’s the commitment it takes to play at this level,” Chu said. “It’s the patience to know that with so many first-year players, it takes time to get to the level we need to be in regards to fitness, conditioning, overall execution on a consistent basis, and just understanding the system at the next level.”

The ending of the Stingers’s last season pushed the players to work even harder this summer. Chu said it’s incredible to see the effort and commitment players made over the summer, and how it helped them improve their game.

“Over the summer, all of our returning players wanted to make a commitment at getting better, and making sure that by the start of this season, they were in a much better position [than last year],” Chu said. “Because of that, we’re in a much different spot and we’re able to compete at a higher level [since the beginning of our exhibition games].”

Stingers forward Claudia Dubois will be one of the team’s veterans in 2019-20, as this season will be her fifth. Having been part of both 2018 RESQ’s championship team and last year’s team that lost in the semi-finals, Dubois said she’s gained enough experience to be a leader this season.

“It’s for sure a big role in the team,” Dubois said. “I just want to lead by example the best I can with the rookies, and guide them in the best direction as possible for the upcoming years at university.”

Dubois said players took a step back at the conclusion of last season. Even if the Stingers were hoping for a better result, Dubois thought this was a needed lesson, as it’s been a couple of good years for the Concordia women’s hockey program.

“I think to have experienced that as a team was a reset for this season,” Dubois said. “We know we’ll have to work hard for everything. It was hard at the beginning of the off-season, but as we were moving forward this summer, it became a motivation for all of us in discussions and practices. We’re looking forward to play McGill, but any team in the league will be sort of a revenge and opportunity to prove it was a mistake [last season’s results].”

Chu said the current Stingers roster is not only a great one, but also the ideal kind of group for players and coaches. She explained that compared to last year with all the rookies, this year’s team presents a better mix of players from all years.

“We can’t have a team of only rookies because that’s a lot of energy,” Chu said. “Yet, we also can’t have a team of only returners. Now that we’re introducing five new players to our program, it’s just adding to the veterans that we have here, which makes it better. What we have here is a really good balance of different qualities and skills that players bring to our team, lineup, and practices every day.”

With most players having already played their first year at university level, Chu said everyone seems more settled in than at the same point of the year last off-season.

“We don’t have as many players going through their first moments of figuring out everything like last year, where half of our team was new,” Chu said. “A lot more energy was spent on things as simple as understanding how to register for classes, or even moving to Montreal. It’s really fun to see our team coming together, and be in a good position in order to continue moving forward and getting better in this early part of the season.”

Stingers forward Rosalie Bégin-Cyr, RSEQ’s highest-scoring rookie and one of the Stingers’ 11 first-year players last year, said most of the team will now have made a little step forward with that first season completed.

“We now know how the league works, as well as the team’s system and everything that’s around it. We certainly have a really talented group right now with quality players in all positions.”

Dubois said players know they have what it takes to win. However, she explained the team is focusing on one step at a time, and doesn’t want to look too far ahead.

“We’re focusing on the first half of the season [that goes] until Christmas,” Dubois said. “We started playing better in the second half of the season last year. It wasn’t too late, but it didn’t help us at the end with the standings and the playoffs. We want to win and we know we have the team to do it, so we’ll proceed one step at a time and it all starts now.”

 

Feature photo by Laurence BD

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New Chapter for the Stingers men’s hockey program

The Stingers finished the regular season with a 15-11-2 record.

Last year’s season did not end the way the Concordia Stingers had thought it would. The Queen’s Gaels swept the Stingers in the first round of the OUA playoffs after a hard-fought regular season.

On top of the early playoff exit, former captain Philippe Hudon played his last game with the team after five seasons.

Enter Philippe Sanche, who was chosen by head coach Marc-André Element to be the captain of his team for the 2019-20 season.

“It’s a big honour for me,” said Sanche. “Being the captain after [Philippe] Hudon, [Olivier] Hinse, it’s huge.”

Marc-André Element said he took some time over the summer to come to the decision to slap the C on Sanche’s jersey. However, Element feels that the Stingers’ leadership group is one of their main strong points heading into the new campaign, with Carl Neill and Alexandre Gosselin serving as assistant captains.

“We have an amazing leadership group, chemistry and players,” said Element. “There’s going to be an adjustment [for some], but they’ll figure it out pretty fast that we can’t take any nights off in this league.”

While Sanche adjusts to the role of captain, new recruits will have to adjust to a new team, league and even city; four of the new wave of players from the Stingers are from out of province. However, Sanche believes they are already being integrated into the team nicely.

Neill, who led the team in points last year and is now entering his third year, also expressed how his off-ice role has changed into more of a mentor-like figure for the new and young team.

“There’s a lot of young guys coming in and I’m just trying to get them adjusted to the atmosphere,” said Neill. “The quicker the team meshes together, the more success we’ll have so it’s about showing them the ins and outs [on and off the ice.]”

The Stingers have a good mindset heading into this season. They know where their strengths lie, what needs to be improved on, and what they can build off of. One of the areas of improvement that needed to be addressed was size.

The OUA is a very physical conference. Last season, the average height and weight of a Stingers player was 5’11 and 187lbs, which ranked 18th and 15th, respectively, among the 20 teams in the conference. To address that, the average height and weight of the nine new recruits listed on eliteprospects.com, is 6’1 and 198 lbs.

“We’re more [well rounded] this year,” said Sanche. “Last year we played really fast but struggled against bigger teams. This year we will be more physical and be able to better protect ourselves.”

Along with Philippe Hudon, other notable departures on the offensive side of the squad are left-winger Charles-Éric Légaré and center Hugo Roy. Those are some big shoes to fill as they accounted for over 30 per cent of the team’s scoring.

Sanche will be a big part of filling in these big shoes. Sanche has always been one of the team’s main goal scorers, lighting the lamp 38 times in his three seasons as a Stinger.

While the team did recruit Jeff de Wit and Alexander Katerinakis, among others, who have shown their ability to add scoring, they know that they will need a greater contribution from their defence; from players like Carl Neill, Bradley Lalonde, and newcomer Gabriel Bilodeau.

“We have a lot of offensive defensemen, so we need to feed our offence from the D-squad,” said Element.

The team knows what they are getting from Carl Neill in terms of scoring; in his two seasons as a Stinger he’s averaged 32 points. There are two players of interest, however, when it comes to getting offence from the back end.

Bradley Lalonde had an excellent rookie season, scoring five goals and 16 assists. He showed off his cannon of a shot, which will play a big role should the Stingers want to repeat having the fourth-best power play in the OUA.

Gabriel Bilodeau is a name that is very intriguing as he’s shown scoring prowess at the junior level; now he must translate that to the more mature U Sports game.

“[The new guys] need to figure out what type of player they are,” said Neill. “It’s a big step from junior – adjusting to the speed and pace. The quicker they do that is how fast we’ll find success this season.”

The Stingers men’s hockey team will see their first preseason game action on Sept. 18 on the road against the Université de Québec à Trois Rivières Patriotes. 

 

Feature Photo by Hannah Ewen

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Rookie Julian Petrilli impressing between the pipes

The Concordia Stingers men’s soccer team has 14 new players for this 2019-2020 Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) season. One of them is rookie goalkeeper Julian Petrilli, who started the first four games of his team’s campaign.

Petrilli joins the Stingers after developing his game with Les Étoiles de l’Est in Laval at the AAA level. The goalkeeper said he’s enjoying his experience with the Stingers so far and wants to gain experience during his first year of university soccer.

“It’s important to go all the way by making the playoffs and going to nationals,” Petrilli said. “However, I just want to get the taste of how does university soccer feel. I played at [an] elite level since I was a child. I just want to gain experience and have fun with the team.”

Stingers head coach Greg Sutton said Petrilli shows a lot of confidence for a first-year player. He added that Petrilli adapted quickly to university soccer since joining the team.

“We will go through some learning curves, but I think he’s done some very good things so far,” Sutton said. “His attitude has been good. He’s already come up big for us in huge moments during these first [few] games of the season. For a goalkeeper, he has the overall tools, which are needed at this level.”

Photo by Cecilia Piga

Sutton said the decision to start Petrilli the first four games of the season was an easy one, as the rookie’s attitude makes the coaching staff confident with him in goal.

“As a goalkeeper, you have to be humble, but also very confident,” Sutton said. “I think he shares both those qualities. For a first-year goalkeeper, he hasn’t really played like one. He’s been able to prepare himself for training camp, come in, and make a statement early. That’s the reason why he’s in there now, and I’m sure that’s the reason why he’ll probably stay there for the remainder of this season, and hopefully beyond.”

Petrilli said it’s great to see his hard work pay off. He added that it gives him a boost of confidence to be starting in goal.

“I’ve been really determined and committed with this team right from the start,” Petrilli said. “I’ve had a great work ethic, and I’ve always been comfortable. I had the urge and desire to win, and [Coach Sutton] gave me the opportunity to play.”

Sutton, a former professional goalkeeper who played a part of his career with the Montreal Impact in Major Soccer League (MLS), won many awards in his career and said his experience as a goalkeeper will help his relationship with Petrilli.

“It’s not really the technique that I’m going to teach him because at this stage, I think it’s very difficult to change anybody’s technique,” Sutton said. “I think it’s going to be more about the mental aspect of it, the position aspect of it, and the decision making. I think those things are going to be elements I definitely will be able to help him with.”

Sutton also explained that the game becomes faster from level to level, which asks goalkeepers to make faster decisions as well. The Stingers head coach said Petrilli will learn many things during his rookie season of university soccer.

“I think it’s the decisions he’ll have to make,” Sutton said. “He’ll need to become quicker, and continue to become more and more of a communicator. He’ll need the personality to handle adversity and not dwell on things in order to be able to move on.”

Sutton explained that the key for good goalkeepers is consistency and that this is an aspect Petrilli will need to work on at this level of the game.

“If you let things get in your head in difficult moments, it will only get worse for you,” Sutton said. “Petrilli’s not struggling with those things, but he needs to be prepared and focused mentally for those moments of adversity. As he continues to climb levels, the level of focus needs to be better and better. If [he does] that, [he’ll] have the luxury of being a real significant impact player.”

For Petrilli, it’s special to have a former professional goalkeeper as head coach. He said it makes his relationship with Sutton unique.

“It’s always an honour to play for someone who played for the Impact,” Petrilli said. “I’m of course really happy to have him as a head coach.”

In four games and 360 minutes played, Petrilli made 22 saves on 29 shots and has a 1-1-2 record.

The Stingers will play the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Citadins on Sept. 20 at 8:15 p.m. at Stade Saputo.

 

Feature photo by Kyran Thicke

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“Be a sponge” Rookie receivers learning from veterans

As the second season of Brad Collinson’s tenure as head coach of the Concordia Stingers begins, a quick look at the team’s roster makes something extremely clear.

There are a lot of new faces on this squad.

The Stingers currently have 22 first-year players on their roster, with 13 more red-shirting. Three of those rookies are receivers.

If you’ve tuned in to the team’s first couple games this season, one of those rookies you’ve probably seen the most is receiver Jeremy Murphy. In the season opener, Murphy caught five passes for 95 yards. In week two against McGill, he caught seven passes for 58 yards. In week three, he added another 24 yards on two receptions. Murphy was last year’s RSEQ Division 3 Offensive Player of the Year thanks to an impressive season at Champlain College Saint-Lambert.

Alongside the first-year receiver are only two fifth-year ones on the team, James Tyrrell and Sam Nadon – both of whom have been relied on to provide on and off field leadership. Collinson spoke about the importance of building a culture of competition between younger and older players.

“Everybody is learning this year because it’s a brand new offense,” said Collinson. “We want to create competition, we want those young guys to learn from the veterans, and to have some of those young guys beat out those veterans [for roster spots].”

Murphy is joined by other first-year receivers like Tristan Mancini and Jean-Simon L’Italien. For Murphy and Mancini, who played together at Cégep, the chance to lean on the veterans around them has been invaluable.

“It’s pretty cool because these guys have been here a while,” said Murphy. “I’m next to (Tyrrell) on the field all the time, he knows what he’s doing and everything he’s taught me has helped me a lot.”

“There’s a vet on my left, there’s a vet on my right,” added Mancini. “As soon as I have a question, I can ask them.”

Tyrrell and Nadon have embraced their roles this year as leaders on the team. When I caught up with Tyrrell, Nadon, Murphy, and Mancini after practice before their match against Laval, the two fifth years were quick to praise their rookie receivers for their eagerness to be a part of the team and learn, including showing up for summer workouts before the season even started.

“It’s pretty cool that we have rookies that come in with talent and willingness to learn and get better,” said Tyrrell. “There’s an immediate trust on the field once the ice is broken off the field.”

“These guys are open-minded,” said Nadon. “When we tell them something, they listen. They’re two guys who fit in real good, real nice guys.”

On the field, the Stingers look to establish themselves as a contender in the RSEQ division alongside the usual powerhouses of Laval and UDEM. Off the field, Tyrrell and Nadon both talked about wanting to teach the younger guys to continue to be as open as possible.

“Be a sponge,” said Tyrrell. “For your first couple of years, it’s just about absorbing as much information as possible.”

As Murphy and Mancini continue to establish themselves on the team, the biggest thing they’ve learned is how much more skilled university game is compared to CEGEP.

“You gotta play with speed,” said Mancini, who caught his first U Sports pass in week three on a long 27-yard reception. “You can’t be hesitant anymore because everyone’s good here.”

“Everyone’s bigger and faster so you really can’t think twice,” added Murphy. “If you’re doing something, just go. Even if you’re messing up, you just have to go.”

 

Photo by Matthew Coyte

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