Tag: Concordia Stingers

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Michael Laplaine-Pereira is hooked on a rugby lifestyle

michael laplaine-pereira
Michael Laplaine-Pereira led the league in tries this season with five, despite playing only five games. Photo by Hannah Ewen

Third-year Stingers enjoys the culture of the sport he loves

“My favourite thing would be stepping on the field right before the kickoff,” said Michael Laplaine-Pereira, a hooker on the Stingers men’s rugby team. “To feel physically ready and mentally ready, to see that first ball leave the kicker and run, that’s the best feeling.”

On Sept. 25, the Stingers honoured Laplaine-Pereira with male Athlete of the Week. He said it was rewarding, not only as a personal achievement, but because it gave rugby the recognition it often misses out on because of the more popular sports. He also praised the work his teammates do to allow him to succeed on the field.

“At the end of the day, this is a team sport and we’re dependent on the others standing next to us,” Laplaine-Pereira said. “You really get a sense of how much you can accomplish because of [the team]. It feels like every highlight of my season has been [curated] by the other players. Everything I do, it’s not doable without them.”

After an impressive season of five tries in five games—the most in the league—and two game MVP honours, it’s a shame Laplaine-Pereira wasn’t able to show off his skills in the playoffs. On Oct. 19, in the fifth regular-season game against cross-town rivals McGill Redmen, Laplaine-Pereira received a red card for kicking a Redmen player in the head. He was suspended for four games, missing the remainder of the season as the Stingers went undefeated en route to a championship.

“It’s probably one of the top three most emotionally challenging moments of my life,” said Laplaine-Pereira about not being able to play in the playoffs. “After it happened, I was crying because it was so hard [to deal with]. It was a mistake. I knew it was my fault; I didn’t hide from it.”

Laplaine-Pereira (in grey hoodie) did not get to play in the final, which the Stingers won on Nov. 10. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Before the rest of the team went back onto the field after halftime of the McGill game, Laplaine-Pereira said: “We all make mistakes on the field; we see each other make mistakes. What rugby’s about, the brotherhood, it’s to not blame [anyone], but it’s to pick them up and adapt for the best [interest] of the team. What I did, it’s unacceptable, not for the rules, but for the culture.”

Head coach Craig Beemer spoke to Laplaine-Pereira during halftime and told him how, after playing hard and rough, part of the culture is that you can go grab a drink with the opponent.

“The culture behind rugby, the family, it’s not the same as in soccer,” said the 23-year-old. He also noted that rugby is less competitive than soccer, and he loves the culture behind the sport, which includes the “unspoken guidelines, the unwritten rules” Laplaine-Pereira holds close.

Laplaine-Pereira was enrolled in sports starting at a young age and has always been active. Before rugby, he played soccer for almost a decade. He said he remembers his parents being there for him and encouraging him when he was five years old, and that support hasn’t faded.

Laplaine-Pereira’s parents are originally from Portuguese colonies in Africa—his dad from Angola and his mom from Zaire, now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They moved to Canada for a better life, where Laplaine-Pereira and his brother could get a chance to continue their education.

At 14, Laplaine-Pereira injured his knee playing soccer, which put him out of play for six months. He had also just changed high schools for the third time and was going through some personal issues. Ultimately, Laplaine-Pereira took a break from playing sports for four years. He wasn’t part of a team until Cégep, when he joined the Vanier Cheetahs soccer team.

During his time at Vanier College, where he studied health science from 2012 to 2016, his soccer coach suggested he play rugby. In his final year, Laplaine-Pereira played for both teams but saw far greater success as a rugby player. He made the all-star team, was almost nominated for MVP and was deemed the most consistent player.

When he started at Concordia in the winter of 2016, Laplaine-Pereira was enrolled in biochemistry but hated it. He decided to switch into a more practical field, and ended up in environmental science. After realizing he hated that too, Laplaine-Pereira changed to software engineering last year. Despite constantly changing programs, he admitted that Concordia, especially the sports complex, is like a second home, and his teammates are like his family.  

The third-year player is also a reservist and has worked as an infantry officer for the Canadian Armed Forces for the past three years. This is where he gets “down and dirty in the woods.” His job as an officer includes planning and organizing events, such as exercises for his team. His current education path would allow him to be a cyber operator for the army or could lead to a career in AI. He said he might even mix his skills as a project manager with his passion for gaming, in the hopes of working for Blizzard Entertainment, the video game developer behind World of Warcraft.

Main photo by Hannah Ewen.

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Stingers football head coach wants to know players better

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

Team faced challenges with Collinson coming in so close to start of year

The past 12 months for the Concordia Stingers football team have been a roller-coaster ride. Former head coach Mickey Donovan left the team last January for the Montreal Alouettes, and his brother Pat, who was the interim head coach, quit last May.

Current head coach Brad Collinson took over in June, and the team finished the season with a 2-6 record. They missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013, when they went 0-8. The head coach was on CJLO Sports on Oct. 29 and talked about the challenges of taking over the team so close to the start of the season.

“You don’t know the student-athletes so there’s that progression and adaptation,” Collinson said. “So for them, not knowing me as well, trying to get our points across on things we wanted to do and things we wanted to instill took some time.”  

The Stingers allowed the most rushing yards this season, with 6.9 yards/carry. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

Despite the quick changes, Collinson is still happy about how his players adapted. “The kids bought into what we were trying to do,” he added. “So that, moving forward, will be very helpful and they’ll be able to teach the new kids coming in how we want to do things.”

In addition to the new coach, the Stingers also had a new starting quarterback. Adam Vance took over from Trenton Miller, who graduated at the end of last season. Miller was hurt towards the end of last year, so Vance did get a few starts, but that was under Donovan’s offence.

Vance finished the season with 1,635 yards passing, 56.4 per cent completion, five touchdowns and 10 interceptions in eight starts. Despite throwing the most interceptions in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) this season, he had the second-most passing yards, behind Université de Laval Rouge et Or’s Hugo Richard.

“I’m sure he’s not as happy as he wants to be with his season but, moving forward, I think he can build on this,” Collinson said. “Hopefully, for next year, he’ll come in prepared and know what to expect as a starter.”

Vance had the luxury of having Jarryd Taylor available as a receiver. He finished the season with 24 catches for a league-high 527 yards, and two touchdowns. Collinson expects the third-year player to be a major part of his team next season.

“He had some really big games then teams caught up to what he was doing, so he can grow from this as well,” the Stingers football head coach said.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Stingers gave up the most points in the RSEQ, allowing 38 points per game—no other team allowed more than 30. They had only 10 forced turnovers on defence, compared to 25 on offence, once again the worst in each category. Rushing was their biggest weakness, allowing 6.9 yards per carry, and opponents scored 15 touchdowns against the Stingers on the ground.

For the head coach, fixing the defensive problems is a priority in the offseason. “We’re going to look ourselves in the mirror and see what we need to do to get better,” Collinson said, adding that they’re going back to the drawing board.

Coaching job posted

Concordia University posted a job opening for the Stingers football head coach position on Oct. 30. Stingers athletics director D’Arcy Ryan said it’s just a human resource formality, since they didn’t go through this process with Collinson in June.

“After Mickey Donovan quit last January, the job was never posted, so we’re just through the regular process,” Ryan said. “Collinson was not relieved of his duties and he’s still under contract with us.”

With files from Matthew Coyte. Main photo by Mackenzie Lad.

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Stingers win back-to-back RSEQ championships

Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Men’s rugby goes undefeated two years running

The Concordia Stingers men’s rugby team won their second-consecutive Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) title Saturday, beating the Bishop’s University Gaiters 22-20 at Concordia Stadium.

The Stingers haven’t lost a game since Oct. 2016. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

A successful three-point penalty kick by the Stingers with six minutes left to play made the difference in what was a really tight game from start to finish. The Gaiters controlled most of the first half, scoring first on a try from Robert McGovern. They led 14-12 at halftime.

“We weren’t really happy with our ball skills,” said Stingers head coach Craig Beemer after the game. “We were playing a little too loose and made extra passes. We really focused on our body height [in the second half]. We made sure in contacts that we were holding on to the ball.”

The game was played in windy conditions, which led to dropped balls and even missed penalty kicks on both sides.

“We knew there would be a lot of wind today,” said Stingers’s back row Zachary Pelletier. “The kicks have been so important today for our teams. We had to work hard until the end.”

That win against the Gaiters also confirmed back-to-back undefeated RSEQ seasons for the Stingers. They haven’t lost a game since October 2016, when the Gaiters beat them in overtime of the quarter-final.

“There’s a lot of work that goes into this,” Beemer said. “It’s really a long process. I have a lot of coaches who did an amazing job and, more importantly, I had 50 players, on a weekly basis, working hard to get better.”
Beemer said his team’s depth has grown in his three years with the Stingers, and has played a big role in the back-to-back titles.

“We’re also not really looking at what other people are doing, but looking internally [at] how can we get better every day,” Beemer said. “Winning is a result, but that’s all it is for us. It’s what we do on week-to-week, how we build to become better individuals and then, by becoming better individuals, putting in the team concept.”

The Stingers needed a strong second half after trailing at halftime. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

The Stingers are now heading to the 2018 Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship, held in Victoria, BC from Nov. 21-25.

“This is something that was on our minds at the beginning of the season,” Beemer said. “However, we haven’t talked about it in the last weeks. The [players] knew it was something they could have the opportunity [to play] for at the end of the year.”

The Stingers lost their two games played in last year’s tournament. Beemer added that the team knows what to expect and is looking forward to the challenge ahead.

“We’re looking to build on momentum from last year,” Beemer said. “We know there’s gonna be a lot of great teams out there.”

Pelletier said his team will use the next days to make sure they are ready for their opponents.

“We have two other weeks to work [before the Championship],” Pelletier said. “There will be really good teams there. We have to be ready. We just need to keep working hard.”

Main photos by Hannah Ewen.

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Stingers own worst enemy in 5-1 loss to Ridgebacks

Back-up goalie Olivier Tremblay started this game. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Men’s hockey team have now lost three in a row, and four of last five

Unable to generate any offence, the Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team lost 5-1 against the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks Saturday night at the Ed Meagher Arena.

Entering the game with two consecutive losses, the Stingers couldn’t generate enough shots on net and scoring chances to get the win—leading to a frustrated group of players.

“Guys are gripping their stick a little tighter,” said defenceman Carl Neill. “The past few games, we haven’t been able to put the puck in the net. Guys start to think back and worry—we’re putting too much stress on our shoulders.”

“It’s not an excuse—they played well,” said head coach Marc-André Élement about the Ridgebacks. “Their team were in the shooting lanes and played a really good game.”

The Stingers are now 4-5-1 on the season, but still sit in a playoff spot. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Down 3-0 early in the second, Neill scored a beautiful goal on a tic-tac-toe play which seemed to energize the crowd. With the momentum shifting midway through the second, the Stingers killed off an important penalty while also hitting the goal-post on a scoring chance.

Yet, with under two minutes left to play in the period, the Ridgebacks’s aggressive counter-attack led to another big penalty. On the power play, Tyler Mayea scored on a hard one-timer from the top of the right circle, a turning point in the game and a demoralizing backbreaker for the Stingers.  

Adding salt to the wound, while leaving the ice during the second intermission, Stingers’s goaltender Olivier Tremblay took an uncharacteristic roughing penalty showcasing his frustration.

“Indiscipline,” said Neill about what went wrong. “Our penalty kill isn’t doing the job and, when that’s the case, you can’t take too many penalties.”

Taking full advantage of the Stingers’s frustration and an uneventful third period, Ridgebacks defenceman Kyle Locke agitated Concordia players for the remainder of the game.

“It’s always like that in hockey, we have to keep our self-control,” said Élement. “I told the guys to relax. We’ll get back at work on Monday, do a lot of video work, and be ready for McGill next Friday.  We had a tough weekend, it happens, we just need to focus on the positives, let go of the negative and build on that.”

On a positive note, Élement showcased his leadership abilities by calling an unexpected time-out with just under 10 minutes to play. He could be seen encouraging and motivating his players with vigor, even though the game was out of reach.

Main photo by Hannah Ewen. 

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Concordia-McGill rivalry crosses the line in physical affair

As expected, the McGill-Concordia rivalry heated up when the schools face-off in men’s hockey on Nov. 9. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

75 penalty minutes as Stingers take 6-3 loss to Redmen

The McGill Redmen men’s hockey team beat the Concordia Stingers 6-3 in their first meeting since the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East final last March. But the biggest story from Friday night’s game at McGill’s McConnell Arena wasn’t the nine goals scored, it was what happened at the start and end of the game.

Olivier Tremblay had to come in to replace Marc-Antoine Turcotte in nets. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

Less than two minutes into the game, a Redmen player fell into Stingers goalie Marc-Antoine Turcotte, who left the game with an injury. Stingers rookie goalie Olivier Tremblay, who started two games this season, came in to replace him, and allowed five goals on 39 shots.

“I have to look at the clips and see what happened there,” said head coach Marc-André Élement. “But Tremblay did a good job.”

In the final minute of the game, with the score 6-3 for the Redmen, Concordia’s Zachary Zorn laid a heavy hit on a Redmen who was trying to get to his bench. In reply, McGill’s Jordan Fournier went after Philippe Sanche, who was wearing a full face mask for the game. He broke Sanche’s face mask, which injured him, and both players were given two-minute minor penalties for roughing.

“When you know that there’s a player on the other side wearing a [full face mask] because he’s injured, and he goes at him […] They took advantage of that, and for me, that’s unacceptable,” Élement added.

After the scrum, the Redmen ended up on the power play for the dying seconds of the game, which confused Stingers defenceman Carl Neill.

“It’s disgusting,” Neill said. “Stuff like that doesn’t have a place in the game, especially for a guy like Sanche, who doesn’t do anything […] You have to know where to draw the line and, when he’s spitting blood after, it’s never a good sign.”

The two physical incidents were indicative of the game in between. The Stingers had 40 penalty minutes on 16 infractions, while the Redmen had 35 on 12 penalties, including a five-minute major and a 10-minute game misconduct on Nikolas Brouillard for a check-to-the-head. Concordia’s Charles-Eric Légare also received a ten-minute misconduct for a hit-from-behind.

“It’s part of the game,” Neill said. “We have to regroup and come back tomorrow, nothing we can do about it now.”

Stingers rookie forward Chase Harwell played in his first game against McGill, and said it didn’t fail to live up to its hype. “I knew it was going to be crazy, all the guys told me about it,” Harwell said. “But that’s my kind of game, so I loved it.”

Special teams were the difference in this game. After Brouillard’s major penalty midway through the second period, the Stingers had a 3-2 lead and a seven-minute power play. Instead of capitalizing to put the game away, they allowed a short-handed goal and took a penalty themselves.

“Sometimes, when you don’t score on the power play, you lose the momentum and they get it,” Élement said. “Our special [teams] have to be way better, we gave up too many goals on the penalty kill and power play.”

The Redmen went 3/10 on the power play, scoring the game-winning goal on the man advantage. The Stingers went 1/7 with the extra player.

The Stingers will be able to avenge this loss next Friday, Nov. 16, when they host the Redmen at the Ed Meagher Arena. But first, they host the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) Ridgebacks Saturday night.

Main photo by Mackenzie Lad.

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Stingers split doubleheader against Rouge et Or in basketball season-opener

The men’s basketball team beat the Rouge et Or, like they did in the semi-final last March. Photo by Candice Pye.

Cedrick Coriolan takes control in overtime to give win for men

Men’s game

After an injury-riddled preseason, the Concordia Stingers men’s basketball team was ready to begin their new season. They played against the Université de Laval Rouge et Or Thursday night at the Concordia Gym, and came out with a 75-67 win in overtime.

“I think this will give us great tape to show our guys how to play against pressure, because we have to play these guys three more times and they’re not going to change their defence,” said Stingers head coach Rastko Popovic.

The Stingers jumped on the Rouge et Or, being the sharper team both offensively and defensively early on. The Stingers’s crisp ball movement and aggressive defence caused serious problems for the Rouge et Or, as they struggled to get anything going towards the basket. Concordia dominated rebounding and cruised to a 23-9 first-quarter lead.

Both teams found their offensive rhythm in the second quarter, trading runs throughout. Stingers centre Olivier Simon continued to bully his opponents inside the paint, grabbing several offensive rebounds and leading second-chance opportunities for his teammates.

The Stingers came out with the intent to bury the Rouge et Or in the second quarter as they built a 20-point lead midway through the quarter. However, a few turnovers and timely three-point shots allowed Laval to close the gap to 12 at halftime. By the end of the third quarter, the Stingers held a 52-37 lead.

The Rouge et Or exploded in the fourth, saving their full court press and zone defence for the crunch time, and it threw the Stingers off guard. Less than two minutes into the fourth, Concordia’s lead was down 10 and shrinking.

The momentum was clearly shifting: Laval became lethal from the three-point line and their defence forced turnovers. Nicolas Bégin and Vladimir Thomas carried the Rouge et Or, managing to take their first lead with just under three minutes to go in the third quarter.

Both teams exchanged clutch baskets until Stingers guard Garry Merisier had an opportunity to give his team a one-point lead at the free throw line with 29 seconds left to the game. He missed and Laval came down court but missed its two potential game-winning shots, sending the game to overtime, tied at 62.

In overtime, the Stingers took control, outscoring Laval 13-5, highlighted by a three-point dagger by Cedrick Coriolan. Coach Rastko Popovic was happy, not only with the win, but the experience his team gained.

“We’ve been practicing together since maybe March, so just the fact of us always being together, the chemistry of the teammates and the coaches are better,” Coriolan said. “We’re one unit instead of just the coaching staff and the players, so when things go wrong, we always make sure that we’re all in this together.”

Cedrick Coriolan (#8) took control in overtime to give the Stingers the win. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.
Women’s Game

After a long offseason, the Stingers were looking to surprise the number-one ranked team in the country, the Rouge et Or. Despite a 20-point lead at halftime, the Stingers didn’t have enough to beat them, losing 66-61.

“The energy was there, the intensity was there defensively, the aggressiveness was there offensively in the first half,” said head coach Tenicha Gittens. “It’s a tough loss. You see that you’re up twenty and you almost expect to win the game.”

The Stingers’s swarming defence was the story of the first half. They forced turnovers, leading to easy transition baskets. Concordia’s starting center Ladonna Lamonth dominated rebounds, setting the tone early as she finished the game with 13 rebounds, six of them offensively.

Guards Areej Burgonio (#15) and Caroline Task (#7) controlled much of the play for the Stingers. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

The Stingers not only smothered the Rouge et Or, but did so without fouling, leaving their opponents with no free throw attempts in the first half, compared to 16 attempts for Concordia.

With key contributions on the offensive end from guards Caroline Task, Areej Burgonio, and Myriam Leclerc, all scoring more than ten points in the game, the Stingers had a 45-25 lead at halftime.

The first-half beat-down no doubt woke the Rouge et Or up, as they came out determined in the third quarter to close the gap. Sarah-Jane Marois, who scored nine points in the first half, led the charge for Laval as she dominated the second half. Their defence started forcing Concordia to commit untimely turnovers. Towards the end of the quarter, with Concordia up 15 points, the momentum seemed to shift. Marois came up with back-to-back steals leading to a lay-up and a three pointer towards the end of the third quarter, cutting Concordia’s lead to 11.

The Rouge et Or had all the momentum in the fourth quarter as Concordia did their best to hang on to their lead. But Marois’s 16 second-half points led to the Stingers’s eventual demise. It didn’t help that they only scored six points in the fourth quarter.

Gittens made sure to reassure her players that the game was lost on mistakes but not a lack of heart. “I definitely told them to keep their head high because we played hard. It wasn’t a lack of effort, it was just making mistakes,” she said. “I think we still had many opportunities offensively, but sometimes you just can’t control that, so defensively is where you need to take control.”

Both teams play away against the Université de Québec à Montréal Citadins on Nov. 15.

Main photo by Candice Pye.

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Devon Thompson is leading on and off the ice

Devon Thompson was voted as captain in her fifth season with the Concordia Stingers. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Fifth-year forward named captain in final season with Stingers

During Devon Thompson’s first season on the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team in 2014-15, they beat the McGill Martlets for the first time in 44 regular-season games.

“That night, our team got together and [celebrated] because we won a regular-season game,” Thompson said. “Now it’s kind of changed, and we’re pissed off any time we lose a game like that.”

The Stingers finished the 2014-15 season with a 8-7-5 record, and a 6-12-2 record in the 2015-16 season. Fast forward a few years, Thompson is now in her fifth year with the Stingers, who won the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) championship in March.

“When I take a step back and look at it, it’s crazy how much we’ve grown,” Thompson said. “Being expected to win is great, and it is pressure, but [head coach Julie Chu] tells us, ‘Pressure is privilege.’”

Thompson had a career-high 15 points last season, helping the Stingers win the RSEQ championship. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

This season, the players voted Thompson as co-captain alongside goalie Katherine Purchase, but since goalies can’t wear the “C” on their jerseys, Thompson has it.

“It was honourable to be [named captain],” Thompson said. “There are a lot of good leaders on and off the ice, so to get that recognition from my teammates was pretty special.”

Chu describes Thompson as the “mamma bear” of the team. “Devon is a truly kind person that cares about the people around her,” she said. “That’s what she does in her leadership, she builds those relationships, checks in on people and obviously does a great job on the ice.”

Purchase is also a fifth-year player on the team, so her and Thompson started their Stingers journey together.

“People think that, because she’s a goalie, she sticks to herself, but she’s always had a really big voice in the locker room,” Thompson said. “For me, she’s the one player I’ve played five years with, so we definitely have a special relationship.”

Last season, Thompson finished with a career-high of six goals and nine assists, good enough for sixth-most points on the team. She played on a line with Claudia Dubois and Sophie Gagnon, who had 20 and 17 points respectively. Along with forward Audrey Belzile, Gagnon and Dubois are the assistant captains this season.

“That group of girls, they’ve been stand-out players every year they’ve been here,” Thompson said. “But also it’s a testament to them-they don’t take anything for granted, they work hard, and they’re the first people on the ice, and last ones off.”

The last two captains of the women’s hockey team, Tracy-Ann Lavigne and Marie-Joëlle Allard, were both drafted by Les Canadiennes de Montréal in the professional Canadian Women’s Hockey League. Thompson said she learned about hard work from each of them, and that they never took a day off.

Thompson added that Lavigne and Allard proved you don’t just have to be a good player to be a good captain, but you need to be a good person outside the rink. “If I could be half the captain they were, I would be pretty happy,” Thompson said.

Part of being a captain on a varsity team is having so many new student-athletes on the roster. The Stingers have 12 rookies from Québec, Ontario, the United States, and the Netherlands, so the leadership group will have to make sure the new players integrate well into the team.

Head coach Julie Chu described Thompson as the “mamma bear” of the team. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

With players from all over the world, there isn’t just one language spoken in the dressing room. Thompson said some of the French-speaking players tend to be a bit more shy speaking English, but she tries to be a vocal leader so they feel more comfortable. “If you speak the language, you’re going to pick it up eventually,” the psychology student said.

Thompson grew up in Châteauguay, in the South Shore, and hockey wasn’t the first sport she played. She started playing football because her brothers played, and wanted to compete with them. “My parents never really gave that gender excuse. Whatever my brother did, I could do,” Thompson said. “My brother played football, so I played too.”

The captain started playing hockey at eight years old, but still wanted to beat her brother Theo at it. When asked whether or not she’s better than him now, Thompson was sure of herself: “Oh yeah, definitely,” she said with a laugh.

Thompson also had hockey stars to look up to growing up, such as Marie-Philip Poulin, Catherine Ward and Caroline Ouellette, one of the Stingers’s assistant coaches.

“She’s intense, but brings poise. You know what to expect and she wants you to work hard,” Thompson said, who was in awe when she was first coached by Ouellette. “She doesn’t let you take a rest or have excuses. If you want to have [anyone’s] mentality, you would want her mentality.”    

The fifth-year forward isn’t too sure what she wants to do after her career with the Stingers is over, but said she enjoys coaching younger kids. “I’m just focused on this year and taking it all in, then worry about all that in April,” Thompson said.

Main photo by Hannah Ewen.

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New faces make both Stingers basketball teams competitive

Expect fifth-year guard Ricardo Monge (#11) to be a major part of the men’s basketball team. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

Women heading into season ranked fourth in the country

The Concordia Stingers basketball team heads into the 2018-19 season with renewed confidence after going 9-1 in the preseason. U Sports also ranked them fourth in the top-10 ranking in the country on Oct. 30.

Playing against some serious competition from all conferences in Canada, the Stingers played well in the exhibition games and tournaments, winning the Concordia Classic tournament held Oct. 5 to 7.

Areej Burgonio is one of six new players on the women’s team. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

Coming off a 4-12 2017-18 season, and having a record below .500 for the fourth consecutive season, head coach Tenicha Gittens believes the only way is up. With the addition of new recruits and the return of some veterans, this is a combination Gittens is confident about.

“As tough as our conference is, I have a lot of faith and trust in our girls and our coaching staff,” Gittens said. “They have the right focus and mentality.”

This season, the Stingers will see a number of new recruits from across North America, with coach Gittens praising them all. Nelly Owusu of Dawson College, Areej Burgonio of Crestwood Preparatory College in Toronto, Natalie Rae Jeanson of Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ont., and Myriam Leclerc of Cégep Ste-Foy in Quebec City are the team’s new guards. Forwards Gretna-Olivia Inez of Champlain College and Ariel White Gill Bernards High School in New Jersey are also two new recruits.

“Bringing in the six new players, so far it’s worked out for us,” Gittens said. “It’s a testament of the work they put in during the offseason. They’ve been playing very well together, and they practice hard.”

Guard Caroline Task returns to the Stingers for her third year. She looks to build on her 15.2 points per game (PPG), which placed her at second in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) last season.

Forward Coralie Dumont debuts her second year with the Stingers and is looking to play as a force to be reckoned with after her outstanding rookie season. She had 11.1 PPG with an average of seven rebounds per game, and a field-goal percentage of 39.8, 10th in the RSEQ.

Along with Task and Dumont, Elise Roy, Sabrina Linéus, Aurélie d’Anjou Drouin, and Ladonna Lamonth are back with the team from last year’s roster.

“I still believe our conference is the strongest in the country,” Gittens said. “We’ve got to bring it every game. They’ll be prepared to go out there and execute and give themselves an opportunity to get a [a win] to reach our bigger picture.”

The Stingers women’s team is looking to win the first RSEQ title at Concordia since 1999.

Men’s team

The Concordia Stingers basketball team is looking to keep the momentum from last year going in the 2018-19 season. The team seeks to make the RSEQ final for a second year in a row, and win it this time.

Guard Adrian Armstrong is back for his fourth year with the Stingers. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

The preseason shed some light on some weaknesses for the men’s team, as they went 6-6 overall, but mainly against National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) teams and Canadian teams from coast to coast.

“We played a lot of games and a lot of guys stepped up while others struggled, but that’s the whole point of preseason,” said head coach Rastko Popovic. “[We had] a couple of decent wins, some losses we’d like to have back that were close, but the goal was to play good teams. These were the country’s top 10 teams.”

The Stingers ended last season with an 11-5 record en route to the playoffs, where they lost in the RSEQ final to the McGill Redmen. The men’s team have made the playoffs for eight years in a row, winning two RSEQ championships in 2011 and 2012.

There are six new players with the Stingers this season: Tariq Barki-Hamad of Central Tech High School in Toronto, Akim Olak from the London Basketball Academy, Maxime Bellony from Cégep de Thetford, Samuel Lessard from Collège Montmorency, Aleks Simeunovic from Impact Academy prep school, and Nathaniel Boisvert from Champlain College, Lennoxville.

Although last year’s top scorer, forward Ken Beaulieu, has graduated, guard Ricardo Monge enters his fifth and final year looking to carry momentum from last season. He averaged 11 PPG, with a 33.8 three-point percentage, and a league-leading 89.2 per cent from the free-throw line in the 2017-18 season.

Guard Garry Merisier is also entering his fifth and final year, while Adrian Armstrong and Cedrick Coriolan return for their fourth year on the team.

The new recruits and veterans are among the 16 on the initial roster for the season, which is likely set to change as the regular season progresses.

“Regular season is a different beast. Preseason is good to prepare and do stuff but now it’s real games that count,” Popovic said. “[We’re] looking forward to getting off to a good start.”

The season starts with a doubleheader on Nov. 8 at the Concordia gym. The women’s team plays at 6 p.m. and the men’s team at 8 p.m., both against the Université de Laval Rouge et Or.

Main photo by Mackenzie Lad.

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Women’s hockey team shows dominance in 5-1 win over Carleton

The Stingers improve to a 3-2-0 record with two wins this weekend. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

Stingers offence breaks out big for first time this season

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey dominated the struggling Carleton Ravens en route to a 5-1 victory Sunday afternoon at the Ed Meagher Arena.

Coming off a big win against the Université de Montréal Carabins Friday night, the Stingers kept the momentum going against the winless Ravens.

“It was really important for our girls to come out after a big win on Friday, to make sure they had a full effort,” said Stingers head coach Julie Chu. “We’re really happy with how they did and how they competed the entire time.”

It didn’t take long for the Stingers’s power play to be a factor in this game: Claudia Fortin scored on the first power play of the game, just over two minutes in. The first period was played primarily in the Ravens’s zone, until Carleton forward Jamie Wainman found the net for their only goal of the game.

Audrey Belzile scored both game-winning goals this weekend. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

Stingers forward Audrey Belzile made sure the game didn’t stay tied for long, as she scored her third goal of the season before the first intermission.

“Great team effort,” Fortin said following her one-goal, two-assist effort. “We came back strong from a tough weekend last weekend. It was important for us to bounce back and be amazing out there.”

The second period played much like the first, as the Stingers were on the constant attack in the Ravens’s zone. Two quick Carleton penalties set up a five-on-three situation and Marie-Pascale Bernier took advantage, scoring her first of the season. Shortly after, Stéphanie Lemelin added another goal to end the period with a 4-1 lead.

The third period was mainly stagnate, and it wasn’t until five seconds left in the game that Melinda Prévost scored to put the game away. By the end, Stingers goalie Alice Philbert made 12 saves.

“We’re constantly learning and the more games we play, the more experience we’re getting,” Chu said. “Consistently playing simple and strong. They played really good hockey and had a consistent effort overall. That’s what we’re working towards as we build.”

The Stingers improve to a 3-2-0 record this season and sit in second place, tied in points with the Carabins. They head to Ottawa next Sunday to play the Gee-Gees, and return home Nov. 18 against the same team.

Main photo by Mackenzie Lad.

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Stingers rugby head back to RSEQ final with 17-0 win

The Stingers gave up less than 10 points for the fifth time this season. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

Sherbrooke Vert et Or latest victim of undefeated season

The Concordia Stingers men’s rugby team remains perfect and is headed to the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) final after beating the Université de Sherbrooke Vert et Or 17-0 on Nov. 3 at the Concordia Stadium.

“We had a great season, but this win doesn’t mean anything yet,” said centre Charles Debove, who didn’t play in the game. “We need to stay humble about it and get ready for the finals.”

It was a cold and rainy Saturday afternoon as fans gathered to watch the semi-final. Although the Stingers hosted it at the Concordia Stadium, it almost felt like it was a home game for the Vert et Or, as there were probably more Sherbrooke fans in attendance than Stingers fans.

The Stingers will host the Bishop’s Gaiters in the RSEQ final. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

Within the first minute of the game, the Vert et Or had a great chance to strike first. Sherbrooke’s Clément Tisnerat, awarded rookie of the year, blocked a Stingers kick, and tired to recover the bouncing ball and return it for a try. Instead, he tapped the ball forward and the Stingers regained possession.

It was a defensive affair for most of the first half as the score remained 0-0 almost until the end, and neither defence gave up any ground. Finally, the Stingers got close to the try zone and capitalized. Eight-man Lucas Hotton was able to plow through several Sherbrooke defenders to take the seven-point lead.

It was quite the physical game and both teams jawed at each other. Both teams did a good job of securing the ball considering how cold and rainy it was. Concordia extended their lead to two possessions, making it 10-0 as Moritz Wittmann kicked a drop goal early in the second half. During the later part of the game, it started to sloppy, as both teams seemed to be quite tired, letting scoring chances slip right through their fingers.

Every time Sherbrooke marched down the field, the Stingers defense tightened up and came up with a big play—they simply would not allow the Vert et Or to score. This was representative of how their defence was all season long—they gave up less than 50 points in six regular-season games. Sherbrooke got frustrated at their inability to put points on the board, yelling at the ref and spiking the ball down.

The Stingers’s Malcolm Baird ended up getting another late try to win the game. The Stingers will play the Bishop’s Gaiters in the RSEQ final game next Saturday at Concordia at 2 p.m.  

Main photo by Gabe Chevalier.

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Stingers break goalless drought in 2-1 win over Carabins

Audrey Belzile broke the Stingers's goalless drought after nearly three hours of hockey. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Audrey Belzile scores team-leading second goal and adds assist

One week after losing 1-0 to the Université de Montréal Carabins, the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team avenged the loss with a 2-1 win Friday night. Forward Audrey Belzile scored a goal and an assist in the win at the Ed Meagher Arena, and was named the first star of the game.

Audrey Belzile scored a goal and earned an assist in the win. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

“[Belzile] has been great for us all year,” said head coach Julie Chu. “She wants to win, she’s a great competitor, and loves the fact that she can take on the role [of a leader].”

Heading into the game, the Carabins were ranked as the top team in the country by U Sports, while the Stingers were third. Both teams played cautious hockey in the first period, knowing their opponent was able to pounce off any mistake. The Stingers had a relentless forecheck, pinning the Carabins in their zone for most of the period, but couldn’t force their opponents to make any errors.

“I thought our girls did a great job of having a great forecheck to energize our team,” Chu said. “Ultimately our forecheck is our defensive play because we didn’t have the puck […] We did a great job creating opportunities from that.”

Despite the Stingers’s strong play in the first period, the Carabins scored less than 30 seconds into the second period. Stingers defence Brigitte Laganière turned the puck over in front of Stingers’s goalie Alice Philbert, and the Carabins’s Jessica Cormier made her pay with the opening goal.

“You have to put it in the back of your mind,” said captain Devon Thompson. “We played a first good 20 minutes of the game, so the first 20 seconds of a [period] won’t change it.”

Before this game, the Stingers didn’t score a goal in nearly 140 minutes of play, since their opening game against the Ottawa Gee-Gees. They were also facing Carabins goalie Maude Trevisan, who hadn’t allowed a single goal in two games this season. The scoring drought ended after nearly three total hours of play when Belzile put the first goal past Trevisan.

All five regular-season games last season between the two teams were decided by a goal. This game was no different. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

“Honestly it felt good,” Thompson said about ending the goalless streak. “It had been a little while we hadn’t put one in the back of the net.”

Teams traded scoring chances throughout, with Trevisan keeping the Stingers from scoring most of the game. On the other end, Philbert made key saves when we needed her to, including a few diving stops, finishing the game with 28 saves.

“We’ve had to lean on her and she made some big saves in that third period,” Chu said. “There were times we just left people a little more wide open than we would like to.”

Midway through the third period, Belzile took advantage of a Carabins’s mistake in the neutral zone to break in on a two-on-one. She passed the puck over to rookie Maria Manarolis who just got the shot by Trevisan for the game-winning goal, and her first goal with the Stingers.

“What we’re happy about is that everyone contributed,” Chu said. “We build this [winning] culture and believe in everyone on this team, so when our opportunities come, we are ready.”

The Stingers now have a 2-2-0 record and host the Carleton Ravens on Nov. 4 at 3 p.m.

Main photo by Hannah Ewen.

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Stingers shutout 3-0 in second consecutive game

The McGill Martlets scored three times in the third period to beat the Stingers on Sunday. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

McGill Martlets win in Concordia home-opener

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team were blanked for the second consecutive game on Sunday, Oct. 28. The McGill Martlets scored three goals in the third period and spoiled the Stingers’s home opener at the Ed Meagher Arena.

Missed opportunities and a slow start in the third period were reasons for the 3-0 loss against the Martlets. The Stingers had many scoring chances, but were unable to capitalize on any of them. The Stingers finished the game with 26 shots on goal, while the Martlets had 28.

“I think we didn’t have that much jump in the beginning [of the third period],” said head coach Julie Chu. “We did have a good penalty killing, which helps, but we need to have that intensity and the urgency to want to win right off the bat. It’s once they scored that we had a really good push.”

The Stingers and Martlets will meet four more times this season. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Chu added that the team wasn’t consistent enough throughout the game.

“I think we had some flashes. We had a really good shift, and then had a couple of fine ones, but not great necessarily,” Chu said. “So we’ll need to find a way to create momentum and then sustain it and try to continue to build off of each other.”

Forward Audrey Belzile said the Stingers didn’t take advantage of their opportunities.

“We had many two-on-one, but often shot the puck next to the goal, or our sticks were not on the ice for rebounds,” Belzile said. “We didn’t take advantage of our chances, and McGill took advantage of theirs. I think it was equal on that aspect, but we’ll need to be more opportunisticnext time.”

Starting goalie Alice Philbert said they need to do a better job at coming out at the start of the game.

“We can’t wait after the first goal [to start playing],” Philbert said. “We have to capitalize on our chances and shoot more on the net to get good scoring chances.”

For the Martlets, Sidonie Chard and Marika Labrecque scored, while Frederique Gauthier closed the game with an empty-net goal.

The Stingers will play the Université de Montréal Carabins on Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. It will be the second game between both teams this season, after the Carabins won 1-0 on Oct. 26.

Main photo by Hannah Ewen.

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