We always think of athletes as superhuman. Kobe Bryant’s death was a reminder that they are just as human as you and I.
Last Tuesday night, unfortunately we had another reminder.
In a game between the Anaheim Ducks and St. Louis Blues, defenceman Jay Bouwmeester collapsed on the bench from what is called a cardiac episode.
After an extended shift on the ice, Bouwmeester lost consciousness on the bench during a commercial break. Players from both teams were hollering at the training staff to tend to Bouwmeester.
The game was postponed to a later date and Bouwmeester was transported in a conscious and stable condition to hospital.
To make matters even more traumatic, Bouwmeester’s father was in attendance at the Honda Center as it was the Blues’ annual father/son road trip. Now, I’m not a parent but I can only imagine what was going through Bouwmeester’s father’s mind as his son laid motionless on the floor next to the bench.
However, if his father was back wherever he lived, there would most likely be a time difference and there can’t be anything scarier than waking up to a million phone calls from people saying “Oh my god, is your son ok? Did you see what happened?”
These horrifying events are brutal reminders that athletes are not superhuman. They have families and friends just like the rest of us.
I have to tip my cap to the training staff of the Blues and Ducks for how they handled the situation.
Bob McKenzie joined TSN 690’s Morning Show on Wednesday and said: “there was no better place for that, as unfortunate of an event as it is, than at an NHL rink.”
McKenzie is 100 per cent correct. The problem was identified right away and Bouwmeester had expert help by his side within 30 seconds of his collapse. Since the episode, Bouwmeester has undergone successful heart surgery to put an implant to help regulate his heart rhythm and is resting at home.
This is yet another reminder to us to hug your loved ones and tell them you love them.
The Concordia Stingers are moving on after winning the battle of Montreal. With a game three win against McGill, they’ve made their way into the OUA East semifinals.
After a barnburning comeback victory the night before, another high flying, flashy shootout of a game wouldn’t have been out of the question.
Instead, the Stingers provided a tight, smothering, efficient game of fundamental hockey that would be any coach’s dream.
Two powerplay goals in the second period and a complete shutdown of their cross-town rivals in the third was a recipe for success.
“It was the way both teams had the game plans set up, like a chess match,” said Stingers defenceman Carl Neill. “There weren’t many goals going, not many chances. But when we got our chances we put them in, luckily, so for us it was about keeping their chances to a minimum.”
They certainly did that. McGill’s potent offence was stymied as Neill and the rest of the defence smothered McGill’s forwards, cutting down shooting lanes and moving the puck out of their end with composure.
That, combined with some key saves from rookie goaltender Kyle Jessiman and a strong puck management game from their forwards showed another side of Concordia that McGill just wasn’t ready for.
It may not provide a collection of highlight reel goals but the Stingers game plan and execution were textbook examples of how to win when it comes to tight, low scoring playoff hockey.
The fact that they could roll four lines and three defensive pairings that could handle this made it that much easier to do this throughout the series.
“Everyone chipped in,” said Stingers forward Tyler Hylland, who had three goals in the series. “We had guys up and down the lineup step up all series long. It wasn’t just one guy or one line. The two games we won, all the lines were going, everyone was playing well. That’s what you need in the playoffs.”
What’s interesting is that the Stingers started the series on the other side of a 2-1 loss at McGill. However, it was in the late stages of that game that they started to figure out what exactly they needed to do to win this series.
Stingers winger Chase Harwell noted that the team spent much of game one focusing on McGill and their game. They were playing a game based on McGill’s style of play, rather than focusing on what had brought them success in the past: their game.
From that point on, it was Concordia’s series. They controlled the play completely in the third period of the first game, outshot McGill by double in the second game, and fully stifled their rivals’ offence in the third. All by playing their game.
“We’ve been sticking to our game, focusing on ourselves and what we can do to beat them. We stuck to our thing and they couldn’t handle it,” said Harwell.
McGill couldn’t get under their skin in game three, but Concordia forced their opponents to take some penalties out of frustration.
The tight, efficient, in-your-face style of game that may not always be pretty was exemplified by Harwell who scored the game-winning goal off of a tough rebound.
Harwell was all over McGill both offensively and defensively. He found success on the powerplay and penalty kill, drew penalties, and threw a collection of hits that kept McGill players looking over their shoulders.
“He battled the whole series,” said Stingers head coach Marc-André Élement. “He’s a playoff guy, he blocked shots. I found he was the best player on the ice tonight. He was in their face, playing the right way. I’ve gotta give him credit.”
With this win, Harwell and his teammates found out that they can win big games whether they’re high scoring battles or defensive showdowns; a major confidence boost for them as they move further into the playoffs.
“We’re a young team still. Having both [experienced both high and low scoring wins] just adds to our experience, knowing that we can play in any [type of] game,” said Hylland.
They’ll need that confidence as they get set to take on the Carleton Ravens, the top seeded team in the division. It’s sure to be a difficult matchup with plenty of animosity. If there’s a team that rivals the bitterness of the Concordia/McGill matchup, it’s Carleton.
But the team is feeling confident heading in, and, for a few hours after the game at least, they’re soaking things in.
“It doesn’t get much better than this,” said Neill.
Plenty of coaches and teams love to preach character and attitude, to the point where it becomes a cliché.
Then games like game two between Concordia and McGill happen and the definition becomes clearer.
In one of the most intense, exciting Stingers games in recent memory, Concordia mounted a comeback to force a decisive game three in this opening round of the playoffs.
Looking like underdogs early in the game and facing elimination with a loss, the team never slowed down or looked to have quit throughout the game, regardless of their cross-town rivals’ advantages at different points in the game.
“No one doubted us in the room. There was good vibes in the room and good vibes on the bench too,” said Stingers defenceman Carl Neill.
Neill and his team trailed 2-0, 3-1, and 4-2 throughout the game and climbed right back into things each time. Neill said they embraced their “us against the world” mentality and just pushed through a number of roadblocks in the game.
The Stingers battled a slow start and some self-inflicted damage caused by penalties leading to McGill goals in the first period. They dug themselves a hole that got deepened by factors that would be hard to lay at their door.
For example, captain Philippe Sanche was hauled down at the opposing net but somehow earned a penalty himself for that. Then there was the penalty shot.
Philippe Sanche was mixing it up physically all night
McGill was awarded a penalty shot late in the second period, leading 3-2. After the shot, a no-goal call was made, only for the referee to change his mind seconds later and call it a McGill goal—something coaches and players had never seen before. There are no goal reviews in U Sports so reversing calls is not something that usually happens.
The puck looked to have stopped on the line or against the post but once the no-goal call was overturned, McGill’s Michael Cramarossa skated over to Concordia’s bench for an extravagant celebration right in the Stingers’ faces, earning himself a ten minute misconduct penalty.
Several stingers players called this the true turning point of the game. Concordia was already outshooting McGill and controlling much of the play in the second. But suddenly, down 2 goals and headed into the third, they had some extra motivation right in their face.
“I don’t want to say it’s childish, but at a certain point, you’re in the playoffs,” said Neill. “I believe in the hockey gods and karma, so I wouldn’t be doing anything like that. If that’s your thing go for it. But I’ve never seen that turn things in your favour.”
The Stingers of the third period were something else. The team began to use its speed to push McGill, breaking through the neutral zone and creating strong rushes on the fly. McGill was suddenly getting beat back more and more and by the end of the game, the Stingers nearly doubled the visitors shot count with 50.
“We’ve been working for two weeks on our neutral zone regroups and I think we applied that really well tonight,” said the Stingers’ hero of the game, Anthony Beauchamp who made an impressive play to set up the Stingers third goal before tying the game at four with a goal of his own midway through the third.
Jake Fletcher battles for the puck against McGill’s Nikolas Brouillard
The Stingers never-say-die attitude carried them through the third and much of the second. Smiles could be seen across their faces and there was no doubt that the teams matched each other physically in a heavy hitting matchup like this. When Stingers winger Chase Harwell spent some time berating and challenging McGill’s entire bench, it didn’t seem out of place thanks to the Stingers maintaining what Neill calls their swagger.
“I’m proud of the guys,” said Sanche. “If you want to be successful, especially in the playoffs, you have to be in their face. You can’t go down, it’s do or die. That happened tonight.”
As the Stingers dominated the third and forced overtime, everyone appreciated the team effort, but Beauchamp was the clear focus of the win.
One of the Stingers’ fastest players, he has consistently been referred to by teammates as one of their hardest workers as well. When he was on the ice, McGill often found themselves scrambling to keep up with his speedy breakouts and forceful rushes.
“He started on the bottom line and climbed his way up [the lineup tonight], so I’m really proud of him,” said Stingers head coach Marc-André Élement.
So who better to finish this underdog comeback? On a rush into McGill’s zone in overtime, a McGill player ended up on his knees as defenceman Gabriel Bilodeau skated in with Beauchamp suddenly unguarded.
As the pass slipped over to him, Beauchamp closed his eyes and ripped a shot with everything he had. His teammates knew it was the game winner before it had the time to even bounce back out of the net. The Ed Meagher arena exploded in cheers as coaches jumped up and down and the bench emptied of players on their way to swarm their teammate.
“That’s why we play hockey. Everyone in the room got goosebumps after that,” said Beauchamp with a smile.
The Stingers found themselves in a hole at the end of Thursday night.
It wasn’t an insurmountably deep hole and they’d faced plenty of pressure like this throughout the season—but the hole remains nonetheless.
“It’s not one game that’s going to bury us. We’re going to be fine. We just have to go back to the basics […] and work our balls off,” said Stingers captain Philippe Sanche after the team’s loss in game one of the OUA East playoffs.
A 2-1 loss certainly wasn’t the result that they were searching for against cross-town rival McGill, but if they want to find a different result in their do-or-die matchup on Saturday night at home, they’ll need a different start.
While the game started with the back and forth pace that comes with matchups between Concordia and McGill, the Stingers spent much of the first half of the game looking flat and lacking energy.
McGill controlled play heavily through the first period and it took Stingers goalie Kyle Jessiman making a collection of show stopping saves to keep the team together.
Carl Neill dekes around McGill’s Taylor Ford
The normally speedy, physical team looked to be missing some of the keys to what made them such a dangerous force this season.
“[The physicality] was ok. I wanted the guys to be a little bit more physical on them. That’s what we addressed between the second and the third,” said Stingers head coach Marc-André Élement. “If we do that we’ll have more success. We have to limit their time and space.”
The sleepy start mixed with some unfortunate and questionable calls by the referees left the Stingers chasing the game; a dangerous place to be in a best-of-three playoff series where every second matters so much.
“It’s always a little bit nerve-wracking to start the playoffs. You got that little bit of anxiety, it takes you a while to settle in. Especially if it’s your first year in the league,” said Stingers forward Tyler Hylland.
The team’s youth and inexperience started to show as they took the time to get used to the hard, fast, tight game that comes with postseason hockey.
Of the nineteen players that saw the ice for the Stingers, nine were in their first U Sports playoff game. Another six had only ever played two playoff games in the league. Only Sanche, centre Jean-Philippe Beaulieu, defencemen Carl Neill and Alexandre Gosselin had more experience than that heading into game one against McGill.
Those nerves did get pushed off eventually.
Tyler Hylland lines up for a faceoff
“We’re a young team, [after the first] guys were feeling more confident and in the game. We kept our game simple,” said Élement.
Midway through the second, the team started to find itself and its style a bit more. Hylland scored his first U Sports playoff goal and the play began to shift the Stingers’ way.
They dominated possession in the third period, missing chances by inches. The closest they came to evening a game in which they had trailed 2-0 came as Neill ripped a heavy shot just off the post in the game’s final minute.
Though they failed to find an equaliser in their late-game push, the control that the Stingers played with in the third felt like something they could carry over.
“If we play like we did in the third, we’ll be right back in that series Saturday,” said Élement.
It’s pressure time now though. The team will need to win at home in game two in order to keep their season alive and force a decisive game three back at McGill on Sunday.
The Stingers are now faced with two words they’ve become accustomed to this season: pressure and adversity.
They’ve been injured (missing up to eight players at times), dealt with suspensions, a young class not having a full lineup to play with, and more. It’s been a rocky season with plenty of obstacles. That’s exactly why the team feels ready for this moment.
“It’s never a good thing to have a perfect season. It helps build a team’s character to go through adversity during the year,” said Hylland. “If you face adversity as a team and you’re used to it, you know how to handle it and respond. We’re facing adversity again, it’s nothing new to us, we know how to respond.”
He pointed to the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the St. Louis Blues. The blues were last in the league standings at point and were continuously counted out before eventually winning the cup.
The Stingers have no options. It’s time to take any lessons learned this year and put them to good use with everything on the line. They should be laser focused and ready to play Saturday night.
“It’s the biggest game of the year. There’s not a nervous feeling in the room,” said Hylland.
The Stingers certainly ended the regular season with a bang. Their matchup against the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks was one of their most dominant showings of the season.
From the first drop of the puck, the Stingers came to play in a game with major playoff seeding implications. They went up 2-0 in the first, outshooting their opponents 12-4 through the first frame. They kept the Ridgebacks under 20 shots throughout the game, even doubling them 24-12 midway through the third.
It was a fast-paced style of play for the stingers. Their quick transitions from smothering play in the defensive zone to speedy breakouts, turning into offensive chances, had them controlling the play for much of the game.
Even the rare shifts when the Stingers were being outplayed showed off the team’s talents. When the Ridgebacks came with an extended push in the Stingers end that lasted several minutes, it only resulted in a single shot. The bits of pressure didn’t bother the Stingers or throw them off.
“You’ve just gotta weather the storm,” said forward Jake Fletcher. “We’re gonna get that puck out. We’ve got guys that are gonna block that shot on every line. They’re gonna lie down and block that shot. That’s huge, especially to go deep in the playoffs.”
There’s that keyword: playoffs. It’s every player’s favourite time of the year now.
“You think about the playoffs, not the regular season,” said Stingers star rookie Tyler Hylland. “When you go to bed thinking about hockey, you want to win in the playoffs.”
Hylland and his teammates are coming into the playoffs as hot as any team could want. They had a rough first half of the season with a collection of injuries and consistency issues but have looked like a different team since the winter break.
They’ve won seven games, lost three in regulation, and two in overtime since then. That’s points in nine out of 12 games—despite a schedule filled with some of the division’s top teams.
Leading the charge, and perhaps serving as the best symbol of the team’s season is captain Philippe Sanche. The winger missed almost all of the first semester’s games with a wrist injury. Since returning, he hasn’t just been producing, he has been a force of nature.
Philippe Sanche finished the regular season with 12 goals in 17 games
He has scored 11 goals in his last 12 games, along with a strong defensive presence and that pestering of opponents he’s known for around the league.
“He’s probably one of the best players in the league,” said coach Marc-André Élement. “We missed him in the first half.”
The team has also found consistently strong goaltending from Kyle Jessiman, the rookie goalie who had to come in and replaced not only the starting goalie Marc-Antoine Turcotte but the original backup Anthony Dumont-Bouchard, after both went down with injuries.
As much as the Stingers can be proud of the stats and performances players like Jessiman and Sanche have established throughout the season, none of them are focusing on that. Especially not rookie superstar Hylland.
“We want to win,” said Hylland. “That’s why we’re here. I’m not here to win rookie scoring [titles]. We want to win the Queen’s Cup.”
A trip to the cup will depend in great part on a combination of the team’s ability to keep this momentum they’ve built, particularly over the four-game win streak that they have put together recently, and some continued health luck.
At some points in the season, the Stingers were missing up to eight players at a time. They’ve brought that down to two starting players, one of which, Félix Lauzon, is practicing with the team already.
“We battled some injuries and suspensions [in the first half of the season]. I think we came back strong after Christmas,” said Sanche. “We [always found] a way to win.”
The return to a mostly-full lineup at this time of year is a huge change for the team and the differences have been stark. The depth on offence, in particular, has been key to the recent success.
Players like Fletcher and Colin Grannary (who scored twice against the Ridgebacks) contributing like they have been the last few matches is a gamechanger for the Stingers. When healthy, the Stingers lineup has its stars but can produce offence from any line.
All of these factors are lining up at the right time to make the Stingers one of the most interesting and dangerous teams heading into the playoffs.
The Stingers will open the playoffs Thursday night against their crosstown rivals, McGill who are a nationally ranked top 10- team.
“We’ve had hard games, we’ve come back in games, we’ve battled against great teams,” said Hylland. “We showed we’re a team you don’t want to play in the playoffs. Maybe we’re in the middle of the standings but I don’t think any of the top teams want to play us. We won’t be favourites but we like that.”
I just want to start off by rescinding a take I made on Twitter before Sunday’s game between the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team and the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.
Any matchup in this divison is going to be tough, but you have to think that the Stingers would prefer Ottawa over Montreal or McGill.
The last time I saw Ottawa play Concordia was a 6-2 Stingers win in early January. On Sunday, I went on Twitter and commented on how Ottawa (currently the #3 seed in the RSEQ) would be a better match-up for the Stingers than Montreal or McGill.
I’d like to take that back now.
The Stingers took six penalties and just seemed to be a step behind all game against the Gee-Gees. To Ottawa’s much deserved credit, they did everything that the Stingers usually do so well. They got shots off in dangerous areas, disrupted the Stingers zone entries, and drew penalties when it mattered.
The Gee-Gees (21 points) are now riding a five-game win streak and moved past Montreal (20 points) in the standings. They look like a team with a purpose. They move the puck extremely well, play with speed and work their special teams with efficiency. This is a dangerous team. With two games left in their season, they could technically even pass McGill (24 points) for second place.
Ottawa clearly had fresher legs after their Friday game against the Carabins was cancelled due to weather. Stingers head coach Julie Chu wasn’t making any excuses though.
“I don’t know if it was fatigue,” said Chu after the game. “I didn’t like the jump at the beginning of the second period. We just took penalties…We took six penalties, and they were all deserved. For a team that’s really good like Ottawa, they got good goaltending, they work hard, they can put pucks away.”
Stingers captain Claudia Dubois picked up her third goal of the weekend on a power play goal early in the first period. She’s up to 12 on the year now. After that, Ottawa controlled most of the pace.
“We had our power play opportunities in the first, we scored one which was good,” said Chu. “The key is in the second we had two breakaways, a pretty good rush and another backdoor play. I’d say four really good scoring chances. We have to put one or two of those away.”
Alice Philbert made the saves she could, but Ottawa hammered away around the net. Despite being outshot by the Stingers 30-22, the Gee-Gees looked like the more dangerous team. Sophie Gareau, Christine Deaudelin, and Melina Roy were Ottawa’s goal scorers.
The Stingers only have one game left in the regular season, a Valentine’s Day match against the last-placed Carleton Ravens. Even with playoffs looming, Chu isn’t looking past the regular season quite yet.
“We have our eyes set to do everything possible to make sure our team is feeling good and playing great hockey,” said Chu. “We have a big game against Carleton, and we’ll shift our focus after that […] That’s been one of our keys this year is that we haven’t been looking way down the road. We haven’t been talking about RSEQ championships, or nationals, or playoffs. We’ve been taking it one game at a time, and today was a big part of that.”
NOTES:
The RSEQ is in a blender. If I’m Julie Chu and the Stingers, there’s no clear advantage to any of the potential matchups. Ottawa is getting hot at the right time. Montreal is a tough, experienced squad with a proven track record, McGill is relentless on the forecheck. Every series is going to be a marathon, and I can’t wait to see what happens.
On the seventh annual Pink in the Rink match, the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team came out on top with a 4-1 win over the McGill Martlets. The Pink in the Rink game serves as a fundraiser for the CURE Foundation for breast cancer.
“It’s incredible what our players do,” said head coach Julie Chu after the win. “The amount of effort that they put into it. They work the men’s game, make sure to decorate the rink, bake stuff, try to promote it, and raise as much money as possible. On top of preparing as student-athletes for their classes and their games. It’s a really important game and it’s awesome to see what a great job they do with it.”
While the season series between Concordia and McGill has been extremely close, this game felt different. The Stingers, all wearing pink laces, came out flying, disrupting passing lanes, blocking shots, and making life just generally unpleasant for McGill goalie Tricia Deguire. Sandrine Lavictoire scored her first goal of the season to open up the game in the first period with a shot from the point that made its way through traffic and into the back of the net. Captain Claudia Dubois would add another one for the Stingers after she finished a nice passing play from linelinemate Audrey Belzile. Dubois would score another goal in the second period off of a great effort play by Belzile.
While Belzile’s been getting some points out of her play (7pts in her last 8 games), her effort is not rewarded on the scoresheet nearly enough. This game, it was. The Stingers have a much harder time beating the Martlets if she isn’t making the type of effort plays that she did. Her two assists both game from using her awareness and skill to set up Dubois. The first was a behind-the-back-no-looker from the corner, right to the stick of Dubois for the tap-in. The second apple was pure hustle. With Stephanie Lalancette just looking to ice the puck, Belzile outraced the McGill defenders, got the icing waved off, collected the puck, turned, and fired a pass right to Dubois for the easy tap-in as she crashed into the boards.
It was plays like those that had Chu praising her team’s effort.
“Last weekend, there were two areas that we didn’t do well in,” said Chu. “The first was our backcheck. That was something we worked on a lot, we watched the video on it. The other was releasing shots and releasing pucks quicker. Those were our keys to success, and we were able to capitalize on them.”
McGill would add a goal of their own thanks to Marika Labrecque’s slot wrister that beat Stingers goalie Alice Philbert. She would finish the game with 26 saves on 27 shots. The second-year goalie now has 11 wins on the season. Amélie Lemay would add a power play marker to make it four on the night for the Stingers.
This was the type of win that shows the rest of U Sports that the Stingers aren’t just the top-ranked team in the country because they play in a tough division. McGill is a great team (although this game they were missing key player Jade Downie-Landry), and for the Stingers to win the way they did sends a message.
After claiming the RSEQ title last weekend against Carleton, the Stingers have done all they can to show that they’ve separated themselves from McGill and Montreal. With only two games left in the season, the only thing left for this team is to finish strong and see who the #4-seed in the RSEQ will be for the playoffs.
NOTES:
No notes this time, but enjoy this photo of Julie Chu and her daughter Liv.
Photo by Matthew Coyte
The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team won their last regular season game against the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks in convincing fashion by a score of 5-1.
In a season of ups and (a lot) of downs, the Stingers head into the playoffs in a great position. Since Christmas, the Stingers have a 7-3-2 record and have won four straight games. On top of it all, Kyle Jessiman has done a fantastic job replacing Marc-Antoine Turcotte—in 10 games, Jessiman has a .919 save percentage.
Head coach Marc-André Élement was pleased with his team’s overall play on Friday.
“We had a really good start, the guys showed up,” said Élement. “It’s the last game of the season, so we wanted to start on a high note heading into the playoffs. I thought it was a really good team performance.”
The Stingers dominated the game from start to finish, outshooting the Ridgebacks 31-19. But even with the low work rate needed from Jessiman, he still managed to make some highlight reel saves.
“He’s playing really well, he plays the puck well too and it really helps out the [defence],” Élement said. “He deserves all the credit. He works really hard.”
One of the many positives coming out of the game was the team’s depth players contributing most of the offense in the game. Colin Grannary scored two goals and Jeremy Diotte scored his first goal as a member of the Stingers.
Captain Philippe Sanche, who also scored a goal, was very happy with the team’s game as well, and felt like a lot of pressure is being taken off of him, Tyler Hylland and Alexander Katerinakis as their depth has been pitching in offensively.
“You always want to get help from all four lines. That’s why we’re having success right now,” said Sanche. “[Jake] Fletcher and [Colin] Grannary have been getting points, it’s really good for us overall.”
The Stingers’ opening round playoff opponent is still to be determined, but what is known is that game one of their series will be on Wednesday night, against either McGill or the University of Ottawa who still have two games left in their seasons. Game two will be at the Ed Meagher Arena on Saturday and should there be a need for a game three, it will be on Sunday.
Feature photo by Kyran Thicke, Concordia Stingers Athletics
Picture this — you’re at a hockey game featuring the Pittsburgh Penguins and Edmonton Oilers with players like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The third period is winding down, the game is tied, and you whisper to the person next to you “I hope we’re gonna get to see some overtime.”
What’s not to love about overtime? 3-on-3 play is arguably the best thing in hockey right now — any game that has the extra frame is pretty much must-see-TV for fans. The teams’ coaches throw out their best players on the ice and the excitement commences. When a game heads to overtime, you are bound to see some highlight reel plays.
3ICE is a brand new summer hockey league that will kick off in the summer of 2021. It is strictly 3-on-3 play that CEO E.J. Johnston describes it as the most exciting way to play hockey.
“We’ve got all the best parts of hockey,” said Johnston. “It’s all the speed, dangles, creativity that fans want. It makes the rink that canvas that lets these players that are artists really show their stuff.”
Johnston partnered up with Hockey Hall of Famer, Craig Patrick, to create the new professional league which is totally independent from the NHL.
“[When it comes to creating the league] the wheels started turning legitimately about two and a half to three years ago,” said Johnston. “Going to the three-on-three camps of the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils, and watching the NHL overtime format. At first I felt that three-on-three was a gimmick but it did not take me long to be on board after watching a couple of games.”
In its first season, 3ICE will have eight teams, consisting of six skaters and one goalie with substitutes travelling with the teams in case of injury. The league will play mini tournaments in eight different cities over the summer. Games will be two eight-minute halves of running time, with a four minute intermission to clean the ice. Johnston says the thing that sets them most apart from traditional 3-on-3 hockey is that there will be no penalties — if a player commits an infraction, it will directly result in a penalty shot.
“Our product is going to be very snackable,” Johnston said. “We’re going to pack about seven games in a three and a half hour broadcast. It’s a great way to spend an evening out.”
3ICE has already confirmed that they have television broadcast deals with CBS Sports in the US, while in Canada their games will be broadcasted on TSN and RDS.
What hasn’t been confirmed is who will be playing in this league, as 3ICE has not secured any players yet. However, Johnston says that they do have some names in mind as comparables for the type of players they are aiming to attract as they have been talking to multiple agencies.
“He is an ex-NHLer, that no longer has a contract,” Johnston said. “I like to point to a guy like Conor Sheary. He’s a third liner playing 13-14 minutes a night but is the first guy over the boards when the game goes to overtime. [Our ideal player] has also played for three or five years in the NHL.”
Johnston also said that players nearing the end of their careers in the NHL but would still like to play once out of a contract like Jason Spezza and Corey Perry would also be great fits for 3ICE.
In terms of which eight cities will host the inaugural season of 3ICE, Johnston said that it will be up to the fans. Fan engagement will be a big part of the league, including voting on which cities will host, helping to design jerseys, and will even be able to weigh in on video reviews.
We genuinely want the fans to be a part of the process,” said Johnston. “We want them on the business side and the on-ice side. We’re trying to create what we call ‘the biggest locker-room in the world.’”
When it comes to which cities will be hosting these mini tournaments, Johnston mentioned four Canadian cities as potential candidates — those being Montreal, Toronto, Halifax and Quebec City. However, he said it will come down to wherever they garner the most interest from official votes that they will release to the fans sometime within the next two months.
Johnston said that the league has a lot of potential for expansion depending on how successful their first season goes.
“In our plans are things like expansion into Asia, Europe, the women’s game,” said Johnston. “We’d like to see our version of the Little League World Series where we’d have [intercontinental play].”
The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team went into this weekend having to face two of the top five teams in the country. I don’t care what the U Sports rankings say, Concordia, UDEM and McGill are all giants in Canadian university sports.
“It’s a long season and we’re in a tremendous league,” said head coach Julie Chu. “We know that we’re going to be in tight, hard-fought games and we gotta make sure that we continue doing the little things right and staying positive is the number one thing. We have an opportunity tomorrow to go and have a great game too.”
The Stingers first game came against McGill. The Martlets came out flying and worked well to pressure the Stingers into making costly mistakes. After two periods of play, the Martlets were up 3-1. The Stingers then managed to come back to tie the game thanks to the efforts of captain Claudia Dubois, Audrey Belzile and Rosalie Bégin-Cyr who combined to force Concordia’s next two goals. Despite the comeback, the Stingers couldn’t get any momentum through the first overtime, and in the second overtime period, the Martlets capitalized and took the dub. This was the first time all season that the Stingers dropped back-to-back games.
The next day against the UDEM Carabins, the Stingers made sure to not make that mistake again. In what would be a tight, hard-fought and physical battle against Montreal, Concordia managed to outlast their opponent to take the shootout win. Back-up goalie Madison Oakes got the start against the Carabins to play in her third ever U Sports match, and she did not disappoint. Oakes was calm in the crease, only allowing one goal, including blanking all three Carabins shootout attempts.
“It’s kind of like your first shift back after not playing for a while,” said Chu. “But I think she settled in really well as the game went on. She’s a gamer. I think anytime our goaltenders are able to make big saves, that gives us a boost of energy.”
Bégin-Cyr continued her torrid scoring pace with a three-goal weekend, moving into a tie for sixth place in U Sports scoring.
– Matthew Coyte, Managing Editor
Men’s hockey:
The Stingers men’s hockey team put on a show for their fans on Saturday night. Going into their game with Nipissing, Stingers were on a four-game losing streak with their most recent loss coming on Jan. 15 against UQTR, losing by a score of 3-1. The Stingers had their chances in that game but again, it was their lack of ability to put the puck in the back of the net that got the best of them. Special teams were also an issue against the Patriotes as they were 0/5 with the man advantage.
Then came Saturday.
Only two points separated the Stingers and the Nipissing Lakers heading into the game. Having lost four in a row and facing a team trailing them in the standings, this game was critical for the Stingers. Head coach Marc-André Élement said the message going into the game was “leaders lead the way,” and boy, did they ever.
Fourth year player and team captain Philippe Sanche netted a hat-trick while assistant captain Carl Neill added three assists to his point total on the season. The team has shown flashes of brilliance in the past this season but haven’t been able to string together consecutive wins since Nov. 1. Things only get harder for the Stingers as they only have one more home game left on their schedule between now and the end of the regular season.
On top of all that, the special teams units really stepped up in a big way. The Stingers went 2/8 on the powerplay—which included goals from Jeff de Wit and Alexander Katerinakis. Meanwhile their penalty killing unit did a great job for the most part of neutralizing the Lakers’ powerplay, only holding them to a singular goal on eight attempts. On top of that, one of Philippe Sanche’s goals was a short handed marker.
A game like the one against Nipissing can turn into a critical one for the Stingers down the final stretch of the season. Beating a team that is jockeying for playoff position with the Stingers is no small feat. It can boost the confidence of the team which at this point is much needed. It is one thing to say that they can compete with any team in the country, as many of the players have said before. It’s another thing to do it.
That theory will be put to the test this weekend when the team heads to Ottawa to face off against the Ravens and the Gee Gees.
After losing to the McGill Martlets yesterday, the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team had just 24 hours to prepare for the other titan in the RSEQ; the Université de Montreal Carabins.
“I still thought we played pretty well yesterday,” said head coach Julie Chu post-game. “Special teams needed to be better, but in general I think we just wanted to reset and refocus.”
The message got through to the Stingers, who managed to outlast the Carabins through two periods of overtime to take the win in the shootout. Emmy Fecteau provided the game-winning goal in the shootout thanks to a sneaky backhand shot through the five-hole of Carabins goalie Maude Trevisan. Trevisan finished the game with 40 saves on 41 shots.
“That’s really not the move I do usually,” said Fecteau. “Usually I go right, and this time I went left, but I knew what I was going to do. I talked to [Stingers goalie Alice Philbert] about what I should do, and she told me to go five-hole and that’s what I did.”
“We know we’re in a great league,” said Chu. “Even in the first half, we had like four overtimes or shootout situations. Sometimes they go our way, sometimes they don’t.”
The first period didn’t see either team pick up too much momentum, although the pendulum was definitely leaning towards the Carabins early. UDEM captain Catherine Dubois was a force, powering her way through Stingers defenders and driving play the whole game. But no goals after one period.
It took the Stingers two minutes to break the deadlock in the second period. Rosalie Bégin-Cyr continued her scoring streak when she found herself all alone in front with the puck. Not in a rush, the forward outwaited Trevisan and buried the puck to get the Stingers up by one.
It took the Carabins 18 seconds to tie the game up, and of course it was UDEM’s captain. Dubois came down on Stingers’ goalie Madison Oakes, and ripped a shot short side to tie it back up.
But that’s all that would get by Oakes. The second-year goalie has been the team’s main backup this season. Tonight she made 36 saves on 37 shots to snatch the win. In what was just the third game of her U Sports career, Oakes was the reason the Stingers were able to win this game. Her game tape will include an incredible blocker stop in the third period (“What’s going through my head, I probably can’t say,” said Oakes. “But like, damn. How’d I do that?”), as well as blanking all three Carabins shootout attempts.
“Honestly, I had a pretty good warm-up so I was feeling pretty good going into the game,” said Oakes. “I was a lot more calm than my game against Carleton. [I] come out decently far in the shootout. I’m a relatively small goalie, so I just stay calm and read what they do.”
“For a goaltender that maybe hasn’t played as many games for our program, those first couple of shots are the biggest,” said Chu. “It’s kind of like your first shift back after not playing for a while. But I think she settled in really well as the game went on. She’s a gamer. I think anytime our goaltenders are able to make big saves, that gives us a boost of energy.”
With the win, the Stingers extend their lead on first-place in the RSEQ to five points. The team in second? The Carabins.
“This was a fun game for people to watch,” said Chu. “I think for our team it was important. Every game is experience. Yesterday was experience losing, but bouncing back and having the experience of feeling the pressure, the intensity of overtime and all these different things.”
To finish this recap, you gotta remember that some things are bigger than hockey. That includes the news that Concordia Stingers women’s hockey coaches Julie Chu and Caroline Ouellette are expecting their second child in May. Players streamed out of the dressing room post-game to do their cool-down with the couple’s gender reveal cake. Congrats to both Chu and Ouellette. Watch out, draft class of 2038.
NOTES:
Bégin-Cyr is now tied for sixth in U Sports scoring with 12 goals and 10 assists in 14 games. Every player ahead of her has played between 18 and 21 games.
The Stingers headed into their Saturday night clash with the Nipissing Lakers having lost four games in a row — all to top ranked opponents in McGill, Carleton and twice to UQTR.
This turned into an important game as the Stingers were only two points ahead of the Lakers going into this game.
“The guys know that every game is an important one, especially in our league,” said head coach Marc-André Élement. “They were two points behind us, we needed that win and we got it.”
It was apparent early on that this game would be a barn burner as both teams combined for five goals in the first period, with Concordia coming out on top — leading 3-2 after the first frame.
“The team is really happy [with the way they played],” said Élement. “I just didn’t like the first period to be honest. We had a three goal lead and took some stupid penalties [so it got away from us].”
Philippe Sanche recorded a hattrick in the game and Carl Neill added three assists to his season point totals as well. Élement said that he needed his veterans to step up in this game, considering the gravity of its significance with regards to the playoff picture.
Our message before the game was ‘leaders lead the way,’” said Élement. “They really needed to step up and that’s [exactly] what they did.”
Sanche credits his performance from last night to his linemates. He, along with Alexander Katerinakis and Tyler Hylland, dominated the game whenever they were on the ice. The three players combined for four goals and two assists.
“You wanna score every game,” said Sanche. “Our overall work in the offensive zone was great. It was a great game offensively for us.”
The Stingers are back in action tonight. They’ll take on the Queen’s University Gaels who beat them back on Oct. 11 by a score of 5-0.
