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McGill 4, Concordia 3 (2OT): Comeback falls short as Stingers lose to the Martlets in double overtime

Down 3-1 going into the third period, the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team managed a strong comeback attempt but ultimately fell to the McGill Martlets 4-3 in double overtime.

It’s the first time all season that the Stingers have dropped back-to-back games.

“We gained a really important point. That’s a good point on the road, especially being down by two,” said head coach Julie Chu post-game.

The first period was a mixed bag for the Stingers, who didn’t register a shot on net for the first eight minutes. Dubois and Belzile were responsible for generating most of the team’s chances once the Stingers got settled and started shooting. Belzile just looked like a human wrecking ball, careening around the ice, avoiding Martlet players and in some cases, definitely not avoiding them. Dubois continues to show why she wears the ‘C’, controlling play in the offensive zone and completing most of her zone entries. It’s in times like this that I wish we had advanced stats for U Sports—because even with 16 and 14 points respectively—the box score doesn’t do Dubois or Belzile justice in terms of their impact on the ice. McGill dominated much of the first period, forcing the puck deep and trying to force the puck out in front of goalie Alice Philbert. Philbert would finish the game with 23 saves on 27 shots.

Dubois and Belzile both shined, but this game belonged to Rosalie Bégin-Cyr. The RSEQ leading scorer added two goals to her total in this game and she’s now up to 11 goals and 10 assists in 13 games this season.  In this game, Bégin-Cyr’s vision to put herself in the right spots was perfectly demonstrated by her two goals. Her first was a chase-down on a puck before firing it through the pads of Martlet goalie Tricia Deguire. The second was a shot from the slot where Bégin-Cyr had movement coming across the ice and fired a cross-body shot that went off the post and in. Deguire made 36 saves on 39 shots.

“She’s only a second-year player and she’s a huge impact player for us,” said Chu about Bégin-Cyr. “I just think she’s going to continue to get better and better. The big thing about Rosalie is that she’s such a smart player. She’s skilled and talented and has a lot of great tools, but she probably has one of the best visions in the game. I think her instincts put her in good spots, and also give her linemates great opportunities as well.”

The biggest issue for the Stingers all year has been their power play. The team was 5-for-51 going into this game which adds up to a difficult 9.8% power play, worst in the division.

“It’s just repetition,” said Chu. “It’s taking a look at the game video and finding ways to make better reads. We have talented players, players that can score, pass, do all those things, but a successful power play has the ability to move the puck but ultimately read what’s the opening. I think that’s what we’ve had some trouble on.”

Now let’s combine a couple of things here. Let’s combine the Stingers’ seemingly cursed power play with the stop-at-nothing attitude that Belzile brings to her game. What comes out of the oven is a power play goal that saved the Stingers a crucial point in this game. Drawing a four-minute power play, the Stingers started out the extra player advantage similar to how they’ve done all season; they struggled. They struggled getting the puck out of their own end and they struggled moving the puck into dangerous areas. The Stingers called their time out, and pulled Philbert with over three minutes to play. With 36 seconds left on the power play, Dubois ripped a shot from the high circle, but the puck bounced off Deguire directly to Belzile who was barreling down the boards and fired a one-timer to tie it up.

“When our power play is not successful, that’s often times what’s happening, we’re not making the correct reads, maybe we’re forcing a little too much,” said Chu. “So it was good to see our girls really fight in the third, being down two goals, coming back getting one, and then plugging away and getting an opportunity on the power play at the end of that game to be successful as well.”

That was as much momentum as the Stingers would gather though. Overtime was dominated by the Martlets, first in the 4-on-4 period, and again in the 3-on-3 period. Kellyanne Lecours from McGill was the one to finally bury the puck past Philbert for the Martlets win.

“The big thing is to not hang our heads,” said Chu. “It’s a long season and we’re in a tremendous league. 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.”

Notes:

  • Don’t be fooled by McGill’s lower ranking on the top 10 list. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them jump a couple of spots. Matter of fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Concordia loses it’s #1 ranking if they can’t definitively beat UDEM on Sunday.
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Ravens 4, Stingers 3 OT: Stingers battle back but fall short in OT for second game in a row

Last week the Stingers beat the Ottawa Gee Gees 8-7 in overtime.

The Stingers looked to have turned a corner but in the three games following that win, they have gone winless, with a 0-1-2 record in that stretch.

“It’s two big points. It’s not an easy weekend,” said head coach Marc-André Élément. “It’s not an easy weekend, we gotta work on some things but overall I’m happy about the way we played this weekend.”

Whenever Concordia faces Carleton, things get chippy — fast. Last night’s game was no exception to that rule.

Everyone knows about the rivalry with McGill which comes naturally as they are the Stingers’ crosstown rival. Those games always make for high intensity, fast paced hockey.

The one with Carleton is just different. These games always contain some form of controversy. In this edition, the controversy came in the third period when Chase Harwell made a seemingly clean hit but was given a five minute penalty and an ejection for a slew-foot.

On the ensuing powerplay, Carleton took full advantage and notched a goal off the stick of Alexandre Boivin. Exactly six seconds after the penalty was over, Boivin scored again

About two minutes after that, the Ravens’ Cody Caron took a double minor for high sticking. Right off the faceoff win by Félix Lauzon, Bradley Lalonde one timed a puck past Mark Grametbauer, the netminder for the Ravens. A minute and 50 seconds later, Liam Murphy streaked down the right wing side and fired home the tying goal.

Before their match with Carleton, the Stingers’ hadn’t scored a powerplay goal since they played RMC on Nov. 23. They scored all three of their goals last night with the man advantage. Captain Philippe Sanche scored the first goal of the game — his first goal since Oct. 12.

“I think that was my hardest shot ever,” Sanche laughed. “I was so angry at myself for not scoring goals on so many chances in the last few games. It was a great play from all five guys on the ice.”  The players were in a light mood after, not dwelling on their losing streak. But the fact remains that they will need to start winning games if they want to be taken seriously in the playoff conversation.

“We gotta score more goals. When we have the chance we have to put it in,” said Élément. “We have to be hungrier around the net.”

The Stingers will resume play on Jan. 18 when they take on the Nippissing Lakers, a team they have yet to face this season, at home. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Ed Meagher Arena.

 

Feature photo by Cecilia Piga

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

Photo by Cecilia Piga

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

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

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

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

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

Graphic by Matthew Coyte

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notes:

  • I watched the replay on Dubois’ second goal about 10 times and I still have no idea how or why every single player on the ice stopped playing before the whistle. Even the crowd thought it was dead. The hockey gods giveth (a fun goal), and the hockey gods taketh away (a loss).
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Concordia 6 Ottawa 2: Explosive second period helps Stingers earn decisive win

Photo by Laurence BD

Three goals in 41 seconds backed the Stingers to league-best 10-0-1.

The Stingers women’s hockey head coach Julie Chu expects a lot from her players. It’s why they had to be back at the rink in late December to compete in the Theresa Humes Tournament — a tournament they went 3-0 at.

“Coming out of December, it was about getting a good jump for the second half,” said Chu. “We ask our players to be back on [December] 27, which isn’t always easy. They got a good two weeks off and came back with focus and ready to go.”

Thanks to those expectations, the Stingers remain the top-ranked team in the country, and they didn’t worry about having to play any rust off in the first game of 2020. An explosive one minute stretch in the second period helped the Stingers defeat the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees 6-2 on Jan. 11.

“We were excited to have this first game back,” said captain Claudia Dubois, who finished the game with a goal and an assist. “It’s been a while since we played a regular season game. It was an exciting moment for us and we were all ready for it, so it was a good game.”

The Gee-Gees battled the entire game, but found each mistake they made ending up in the back of the net. Gee-Gees goalie Jennifer Walker made 30 saves on 36 shots. Gee-Gees rookie phenom Alice Fillion was a workhorse for them, forechecking hard at 5-v-5 and on the penalty kill, and just being a general problem for the Stingers. The Gee-Gees’ two goals came with heavy traffic in front of Stingers goalie Alice Philbert. Philbert was busy herself, making 29 saves on 31 shots.

Graphic by Matthew Coyte

The first period may have been one of the best the Stingers have played in a while, and the team jumped to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Maria Manarolis and Daniela Gendron, their first goals of the season. For Gendron, it was the first U Sports goal of her career.

“I’ve had goals in the pre-season, but this was pretty exciting,” said Gendron. “It was just to keep the momentum going and it was a pretty big goal. I’m surprised it went in honestly, I didn’t think it would. I was also on the [ice] when it went in.”

Despite the lead, the Gee-Gees came roaring back in the second period, and had it not been for Philbert, that 2-0 lead could have quickly turned into a deficit for the Stingers. Instead, the Stingers weathered the storm after allowing a goal. With two minutes left in the second period, they turned the dial up a notch.

Or three notches.

Audrey-Ann Rodrigue buried a cross-ice pass to Marie-Pascale Bernier to widen the Stingers’ lead to two with 1:46 left in the frame. Before the cheering could die down, Dubois and RSEQ leading scorer Rosalie Begin-Cyr capitalized on a Gee-Gee mistake and added another goal 10 seconds later. Just 31 seconds after that, Olivia Atkinson buried yet another goal to turn the score into a 5-1 lead. That’s right, three goals in 41 seconds. Six different Stingers picked up goals in this game.

“We were off a bit to start the second period,” said Dubois. “We got a penalty and they slowed us down a little bit. We were having trouble executing passes and those simple plays, but we have a team that never gives up and gives 100 per cent effort, so we came back with a ton of momentum.It was an exciting moment. We were just going all over [Ottawa] and forced a lot of mistakes from their defence and just got the puck in the net.”

The third period was a more even frame between the Stingers and the Gee-Gees, with both teams adding a goal to their scores, but in the end, the Stingers now improve to 10-0-1 on the season, and remain atop the RSEQ standings.

Notes:

  • Three goals in 41 seconds is absolutely insane and I can’t find any record of another U Sports team doing this.
  • If this is your first time reading me in 2020, I keep track of shots at these games, and my results may differ than what is registered by the RSEQ.

Feature photo by Laurence BD

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McGill 3, Stingers 2 OT: McGill comes out on top on carnival night

There are very few times where teams are happy after a loss. For the Concordia Stingers, this was one of them.

It was a hostile environment at McConnell Arena as many McGill students were in attendance as part of their carnival week. Kyle Jessiman made his debut as a Stinger and despite the loss, the 20-year-old made quite the impression on his new team.

“For his first game, in front of all those people it could be a little intimidating,” said defenceman Carl Neill. “But he did a heck of a job, we’re very happy for him.”

Head coach Marc-André Élément showed great confidence in the rookie, starting him in front of the crowd. They jeered him the entire night but that did not faze the youngster making his first start.

“He played really well. I’m very proud of him,” said Élément. “It’s not easy coming in playing in full [arena], against McGill — it’s not easy. It just showed how mentally [tough] he is.”

The full crowd was given quite the show, as right from the opening faceoff, the game was fast-paced and physical. The game was reminiscent of the OUA conference final playoff series between the two teams back in the 2017-18 season.

The physicality of the game played to the strength of many Stingers players, including Chase Harwell who scored the team’s second goal of the game just under a minute after McGill took a 2-1 lead in the third period.

I love that type of game, the atmosphere was crazy and emotions are high,” said Harwell. “I think we played really well. We deserved those two points but that’s the way overtime goes — one bounce and it’s all over.”

This was without a doubt the Stingers’ best losing performance of the season, which on the surface isn’t saying much as they did not get the full two points. However the team felt that they deserved a better fate.

“I think we dominated the third period with a lot of scoring chances,” said Élément. “I’m really proud of the guys. It’s not easy to play in front of a full crowd like that.”

The Stingers hit a bunch of posts in the third period and overtime, and ultimately didn’t get the last bounce they needed to get the victory.

McGill’s goaltender Louis-Philippe Guindon had another stellar performance as well, making 56 saves on 58 shots. This was by far the Stingers’ highest output of shots on goal in a game this season.

This was one of the most entertaining games of the U-Sports season and Élément couldn’t help but take in all in and salute both teams, and the crowd.

“I think university should always [have a full crowd],” said Élément. “It was a great game. For 10 bucks they had a great show — it’s great for hockey.”

Élément wouldn’t confirm who would start in goal for the Stingers tonight against the #6 ranked Carleton Ravens. Puck drop for the game is set for 7:30.

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Healthy and happy new year for the Stingers

The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team can have some fun in 2020, as a treat.

If their game on Jan. 4 was any indication of what the second half of the season is going to look like for the Stingers, then the players, coaches, and fans are in for a wild ride.

We’ve been over this before: the first part of the season for the Stingers was tough. There were 16 games plagued with injuries, bad bounces and a complete lack of goal scoring.

Things are seemingly turning a corner, though. On Jan. 4, they played with a healthy lineup for the first time, minus a banged up Marc-Antoine Turcotte, since shit hit the fan and the injuries started to pile up back on Oct. 18, 2019 when they played the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks.

Philippe Sanche, one of the three players who sustained injuries that game, reflected on the first part of his team’s season after Saturday night’s 8-7 overtime victory against the Ottawa Gee Gees.

“When things don’t go your way, maybe you grip your stick a bit too tight,” said Sanche. “We were trying too much, not scoring goals and forcing plays. I think [tonight] the boys were just happy to be playing hockey. It’s a fun game so we want to have fun out there.”

Tyler Hylland, who was doing the heavy lifting in terms of scoring for the Stingers, was giddy after Saturday’s game. I mean, how could you not when you go coast-to-coast and finish off the play with a between-the-legs goal?

“We were definitely at our best offensively,” Hylland laughed. “We can’t be playing every game like that; we gave them a lot that we probably shouldn’t have. But like I said on [the last time we played] Ottawa, with this lineup, we match up with any team in the league.”

This game could be a defining moment in the Stingers’ season. They were just able to keep their heads above water in the OUA East playoff race, amassing 15 points in 16 games. The most important thing to note about the first part of the season was that they never shied away from being held accountable.

Through many conversations with Hylland, Chase Harwell, and Carl Neill, they never felt sorry for themselves or blamed their situation on the injuries. They felt they were just not playing well enough to consistently win games. Now, it is evident that with the fully healthy lineup, they are a much more energized and confident team.

“It was definitely a huge boost of confidence. Everyone gave it all they had before Christmas but it just didn’t go our way,” said Neill. “Playing with all the guys does something to your confidence and the whole mental side of it.”

On top of Sanche, Alexander Katerinakis, and Zachary Zorn being back in the lineup from injuries on Saturday, the team had two newcomers: Félix Lauzon and Jéremy Diotte.

Lauzon spent his last season of junior hockey playing with the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Lauzon not only played with the likes of NHL prospects Joe Veleno, Maxim Comtois and Pierre-Olivier Joseph, but he was also a stand out performer for the team. In that same season, Lauzon put up 80 points and was given the Guy Carbonneau Trophy, which is awarded to the QMJHL’s best defensive forward.

Félix Lauzon lines up for a faceoff against Jacob Hanlon of the Gee Gees

Best defensive forward. In a season where he put up 80 points. 80. Eight zero.

Yeah, I think the Stingers found themselves a gem.

Lauzon was not fully healthy on his Stingers’ debut on Saturday but he still received high praise from his coach and teammates for his effort.

“He was really good on faceoffs for us and really good defensively,” said head coach Marc-André Élement. “He’s going to be really good for us. He’s a complete centreman and will be a very important part of our team.”

Speaking of important parts of the team, Turcotte is still ailing with an undisclosed injury. But Élement did give an update on his starting goaltender’s status, saying he is “day-to-day.”

The Stingers have a tough stretch of games ahead of them, with just four home games left on the schedule. It’s no secret that the Stingers still have a ton of work left to do. But they can rejoice in the fact that they are once more a full, healthy line up.

“We have a lot of work to do, a lot of video to review especially after a game that [we gave up 7 goals],” said Element. “Right now, I’m just happy and it was really fun to see the guys back and [healthy].”

 

Photos by Cecilia Piga

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Mid-year Stingers grades

It’s report card time for the 11 Stingers teams

 

Football: C+

A lot of the positives from this season came from the individual performances of key players.  Adam Vance threw for over 2,000 yards and was a Hec Crighton finalist. James Tyrrell emerged as one of the top receivers in U Sports, and has now signed a deal with the CFL’s Ottawa RedBlacks. Jeremy Murphy was named the U Sports rookie of the year. Besides that, not too much worked for the Stingers on the field. The team’s defense struggled immensely, the offense faced consistency issues, and the team dropped winnable games against McGill, and ultimately posted the same record as last season. With many of his key players graduating this year, head coach Brad Collinson will have to push for another strong recruiting class.

-Matthew Coyte

 

Men’s Hockey: C-

Where to begin with this team? The season looked really promising after the first two weeks of the season. Then everything went south at the end of the fifth game (in which they actually won 6-5 in OT over Wilfrid Laurier). In the final moments of that game, Philippe Sanche, Alexander Katerinakis and Anthony Dumont-Bouchard all went down with injuries that have kept them out of the lineup ever since. Hockey is an unforgiving game and the Stingers’ 6-7-3 record is a reflection of that. Other teams don’t care about your injuries and you just have to deal with it. One of the bright spots however is rookie forward Tyler Hylland. Hylland has had a seamless transition from junior hockey to U-Sports, putting up 18 points in 16 games. The second half will be a better one for the team as they will be much healthier after the break but they’ll certainly have their work cut out for them if they want to have home-ice advantage in the playoffs – should they qualify.

-Matthew Ohayon

 

Women’s Hockey: A

I’m not sure what more you could ask for from this team. After 10 games, the team is 9-0-1 and has been the top ranked-team in U Sports for seven straight weeks. Head coach Julie Chu continues to elevate her veterans like Audrey Belzile and Claudia Dubois while recruiting rookies who have had an immediate impact like Emmy Fecteau and Léonie Philbert. This team generates an incredible amount of chances, and have managed to shut down the best teams in the RSEQ. Even their one loss was in a shootout in a game where they managed nearly 50 shots on net. Mix in superb goaltending from Alice Philbert and division-leading scorer Rosalie Bégin-Cyr and you have a team that just overwhelms opponents. The only reason I’m not giving them an A+ is because we’re only halfway through the season. The true test for this team begins in January.

-Matthew Coyte

 

Men’s Basketball: A-

There were some question marks around the Stingers after last season’s RSEQ Championship-winning season with Ricardo Monge and Garry Merrisier both leaving the team after graduating. Well, if the first six games of the season were any indication of how the Stingers are as a team, I’d say they are doing just fine with a 5-1 record. It is impossible to pinpoint one game breaker on the team but that is certainly no knock on them. In every one of their wins, it’s been a complete team win. Rookie Ali White and second year players Nathaniel Boisvert, Aleks Simeunovich and Tariq Barki Hamad have been pitching in off the bench as well. This is an incredibly deep and talented team that looks poised to repeat as RSEQ champions. It also helps when you have a very strong coaching staff that has their players buying into the team culture. U Sports needs to start giving this team, and conference, some more respect.

-Matthew Ohayon

 

Women’s Basketball: C+

The case of the women’s team is an interesting one. They are coming off a very strong season that saw them make an appearance in the nationals off the backs of their big three of Coralie Dumont, Caroline Task and U Sports rookie of the year, Myriam Leclerc. This year we’re seeing just how important Dumont was for this team as they hold a 2-3 record. Perhaps the most interesting of all their games was their 70-65 loss at Laval. The Stingers held the Rouge et Or to only five points in the opening quarter and got 20 points out of Sabrina Lineus who only totalled 24 minutes of playing time. The Stingers seem to be a little bit out of sync at the moment but they are a well coached squad who will certainly put it all together for the second half of the season.

–Matthew Ohayon

 

Men’s Rugby: A+

It’s pretty hard to find negatives in the season that team just offered. The Stingers successfully defended their RSEQ title, winning the championship a third straight year. They played solid rugby all season, and everyone contributed to the team’s success. The Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship (CUMRC) was played at Concordia this year, ensuring the team’s participation in the tournament regardless of their results in the RSEQ season. Yet, they proved they deserved their spot among the best of the country. They also played well at the CUMRC, winning their first game, and offering probably their best game of 2019 against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, despite the loss. The semi-final loss was a hard one to swallow, but I think the team can still be proud of their accomplishments this season.

-Alec Brideau

 

Women’s Rugby: A

It’s always great to see both men and women perform at such a high level at the same sport. After only two wins in seven games in 2018-19, as well as not making the RSEQ playoffs, the team bounced back with a perfect 6-0 season this year. The Stingers finished first in Section B and played through the RSEQ semi-final, where they lost 50-5 against the Université Laval Rouge et Or. It’s hard to give less than an A after that season.

-Alec Brideau

 

Men’s Wrestling: B

The men’s wrestling team has started their season well, clocking in at number 10 on the U Sports rankings three weeks running. While they’ve managed to stick around the national rankings, this is largely due to the team’s ability to grab points and not relying on individuals to carry the team. Only Aly Barghout (120 kg) and Julien Choquette (90 kg) are ranked members of the men’s wrestling team. Despite being slightly lower on the rankings than we’ve come to expect from this squad, don’t count them out yet. Wrestlers like fourth-year Francis Carter and Jordan Steen are a constant threat and are more than capable of lifting this team up the rankings.

-Matthew Coyte

 

Women’s Wrestling: B+

The woman’s wrestling team’s early success has come from its ability to get results from a number of different contributors. The team is led by fourth-year —and last year’s Stingers Female Athlete of the Year, Jade Dufour, but she’s not the only one winning matches. Kaleigh Prieur is fourth in the 48kg division, Laurence Beauregard is second in the 59kg division, plus Kaya Dube-Snow (55kg) and Amanda Savard (63kg) are first in their respective divisions. They’ve moved their way into the top three teams in U Sports, and their consistency will be key for success going forward.

-Matthew Coyte

 

Men’s Soccer: B

It was great to see the team participate in the RSEQ playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The Stingers faced adversity all season, and had trouble winning consecutive games. However, they still finished the season in fourth place with a 3-4-5 record, and played in the semi-final of the playoffs. I give the team a B because of their respectable season. Also, I think their playoff participation was quite huge for the men’s soccer team. The team knew it was the first time in a while, which represented a step in the right direction for the program.

-Alec Brideau

 

Women’s Soccer: B-

It’s been a bit harder for the women’s team in soccer. Finishing the season 2-7-5, the Stingers only won against the Université de Sherbrooke Vert et Or this year. They managed to get an impressive 1-1 tie against the first-ranked UQAM Carabins, but such results weren’t enough to make the RSEQ playoffs. The team has talented players and great potential. Sometimes, it’s just about luck or little details. At some point, it should click for that team.

-Alec Brideau

 

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The defining Canadian sports moments of the decade

With the decade coming to a close, I really can’t help but be nostalgic of all the incredible sports moments we’ve seen in the past 10 years.

I have to give a disclaimer; this will be inherently biased as a Canadian. So let’s just call it ‘my’ best sports moments of the decade.

Sports evoke so much emotion and, like music, can take you back to where you were when these moments happened. I can remember where I was for each of these.

Alright, let’s get down to it. These are, by the way, in no particular order, my favourite moments:

 

Crosby’s Golden Goal

We begin where the last decade did. The Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver was the third time in history that Canada played host to the world’s greatest athletes. Never before had Canada won gold on home soil, until Alexandre Bilodeau grabbed the hearts of so many – on Valentine’s Day, of all days – winning gold in men’s moguls.

Up until the final day of the 2010 Olympic Games, Canada held 13 gold medals. They had one more to collect. The feeling around the country was that even if they did collect the most gold of all the countries, if they didn’t take home the men’s hockey gold it would’ve been a bust for the entire Canadian Olympic team.

There was so much hype around this team, as there always is. But at the same time, odds makers had a reluctance by so many to give them any credibility after finishing seventh overall in the last Olympics in Turin.

Jonathan Toews and Corey Perry opened the scoring for Canada in the gold medal game, giving them a leg-up on the United States. Ryan Kesler cut their lead in half in the second period. Then with 25 seconds left in the third period Zach Parise stopped the hearts of Canadians watching everywhere by tying the game up.

It was a pretty uneventful overtime, with no high quality scoring chances, until the 12:30 mark. Every broadcast around the world picked up Crosby calling for a pass, “IGGY!”

Crosby put it through the legs of Ryan Miller and single-handedly united a country. I still get goosebumps from watching those highlights.

I am also a firm believer that this game is what made Canada a flag-bearing country. I felt such immense pride to be a part of this country after that game, words do not even begin to describe the feeling of elation that I and so many others felt when that red light went off. I couldn’t sing our national anthem any louder if I had tried during the medal ceremony.

Marie-Philip Poulin gives Canada gold in Sochi

I know, I know. Another Canada vs USA hockey game – very original.

This game was insane; no other way to describe it. It was the second time the Canadians faced off against the Americans in this tournament and hoo-boy the sequel did not disappoint.

Heading into the third period, the US held a 1-0 lead and would extend that lead very early in that same period. It looked like it would take a miracle to beat Jessie Vetter, the American goaltender, at that point with the way she looked throughout the game.

Hockey is a game of hard work and skill, obviously, but sometimes you need a bounce to go your way. The Canadians got one off the stick of Brianne Jenner when it fluttered into the back of the net with just over three minutes remaining in regulation.

While all of this was going down, I was in my grade 11 English class, half listening to my classmates’ public speeches. I remember telling my teacher Ms. Novek, that “it’s borderline treasonous to not let me watch this game.” After a relatively lengthy argument, she allowed me to watch the remainder of the game in the back of the class if I promised to not disrupt her class and the speeches any longer.

Oh boy was that a mistake.

Marie-Philip Poulin scored in the dying moments of the game, and I stood up and shouted “F*** YEAH!” right in the middle of one of the speeches. I was kicked out of that class and sent to the principal’s office quickly, but I didn’t really care. I booked it to the library where they had a TV to watch the rest of the game with the library staff and other students who were skipping class to watch.

Poulin scored and I jumped into the arms of a kid in grade nine that I had never spoken to before in celebration. That’s the beautiful thing about sports, but more specifically international competition; strangers immediately become friends as you cheer for your country together.

Luckily for me, the principal was a cool guy and didn’t care about me yelling obscenities in class and I got off scot-free.

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

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Sports

Colour Commentary: The good ol’ hockey game needs to change

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin

Hockey’s had a rocky couple of weeks.

Without even diving into the Don Cherry situation, the underbelly of hockey culture has been placed in the spotlight. The first example outside of Cherry came on Nov. 20, when the Toronto Maple Leafs fired head coach Mike Babcock. Shortly afterwards, a story came to light that he had purposefully humiliated then-rookie Mitch Marner in front of the entire team. While this probably doesn’t do much more than paint a picture about the type of coach Babcock was, it was the catalyst to Akim Aliu, – currently a free agent – to tweet about how one of the coach’s “proteges” had used racial slurs towards him 10 years ago while protesting against Aliu’s choice in music.

It didn’t take long before people put two-and-two together and realized that the “protege” that Aliu was referring to was Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters. The Flames immediately launched an investigation, and surprised many by doing a thorough job. The conclusion was Peter’s admitting to using racial slurs and resigning as coach of the team. Aliu, who was born in Nigeria, but grew up in Ukraine and considers himself Ukranian-Canadian, has now met with the NHL to discuss the matter.

Let’s be honest, this has been a long time coming. Hockey has long been a predominantly white sport, and it’s clear that Aliu’s experience is more of the rule rather than the exception when it comes to racism in the sport. I’ve seen too many people defend this behaviour, using various excuses from calling the players sensitive, to claiming Aliu is seeking a payout (he isn’t) and claiming that coaches do what it takes to motivate their players.

Racism, sexism and homophobia are all far-too common parts of the culture of hockey. I’ve been called just about every name under the sun, and I’m a white guy. The experiences of these athletes who come forward and expose coaches, executives, players or whoever, should be heard and welcomed. We as fans of the game should be excited by this opportunity to root out those who use the sport to justify their behaviour. Players are looked at like employees and coaches are often looked at as bosses.

No, this isn’t hockey’s demise, as I’ve seen various social media commentators suggest. This is a conversation that should have happened years ago. Hockey has been stuck in a bubble for too long, and stories like Aliu’s are far too common. We’ve heard story after story of professional athletes describing their experiences with racism and abuse, and more are coming to light. Imagine how many stories we’ll never hear if things don’t change. To defend this type of behaviour is to accept it as acceptable, and it is not.

 

Photo by Mackenzie Lad

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Sports

A look into the first half of the Stingers men’s hockey team’s season

Ah yes, December – a month seen by many as the best month of the year.

Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa. It’s a beautiful time of the year when families get together, people reflect on the year that was, and make new year’s resolutions that they will inevitably break. It really is the most wonderful time of the year.

For the Concordia Stingers’ men’s hockey team, December really could not have come fast enough. The 2019-20 season hasn’t been kind to them so far, to say the least. The Stingers currently hold a 6-7-3 record, sitting in sixth place in the OUA East division.

Looking at how they performed in the month of November, it would be easy to say, winning just two of their eight games, that it’s been a cruel month for the Stingers. But the reality is that the season as a whole, so far, has been one to forget.

The story of the season for Concordia has been the team’s lack of goal scoring, a direct causation of the multiple injuries that the team saw in the opening half of the season. Two of their best offensive players, Philippe Sanche and Alexander Katerinakis, have been out for the majority of the season with injuries, playing just five games each. Other regulars such as Jeff de Wit, Zachary Zorn, Colin Grannary, Ryan Vandervlis,have missed some time due to injuries as well.Sprinkle in a couple of suspensions to Carl Neill and Liam Murphy to that equation as well, and we have a Stingers team that haven’t iced a full, healthy, lineup all season.

You get the point. It’s been rough.

After Saturday’s game against Ottawa, you could sense the frustration in the room. Head coach Marc-André Élement reflected on the first half of the season and everything that’s gone wrong for the Stingers.

“I’m not a guy who makes excuses, but it’s been a hard first half,” said Élement. “It’s not just little injuries. It’s [big ones] to our top guys.”

Regardless of the injuries, Élement says that there are a lot of areas that his team will need to improve on in the new year if they want to make a long playoff run and qualify for nationals.

“We’re going to have to better defensively. We’re gonna need to play better as a [cohesive] unit,” Élement said. “Special teams needs to improve as well, [all around] we just need to be better.”

Let’s unpack that statement.

Forward Chase Harwell battles for the puck against two Ottawa Gee Gees players.

Regardless of the injuries they’ve dealt with, the Stingers still need to improve on a couple of areas, like Element said. One of the biggest issues the Stingers have been faced with this season is their lack of finishing. The Stingers are averaging just over 3 goals a game, which on the surface is a nice number to be at, but U Sports is a completely different ball (puck?) game than the NHL. To find sustained success, teams need to be hovering around 3.5 goals per game.

Special teams is a massive part of the U Sports game and right now the Stingers’ power play is running at 18.5 per cent efficiency. It’s not the worst number, but with the lack of talent there has been on the ice in recent games, it’s understandable how it dropped off from the 31.4 per cent it was working at, at one point in the season.

The penalty kill is the one there is no excuse for. It’s no secret that the Stingers take a lot of penalties. They rank fifth in the entire OUA conference in times short-handed. Their penalty kill is not far behind at 76.3 per cent, good for 17th in the conference. That is simply just not good enough, injuries or not. The Stingers get too flustered in their own end shorthanded and need to be more aggressive when it comes to their kill – and they have the speed to do so. The main issue with their penalty kill is that teams cycle for too long on them, tiring out the penalty kill unit which often results in a goal or another penalty.

Alright, enough negativity. Let’s end the year on some positives.

One of the things the Stingers could take a lot of pride in, despite their record, is that they’ve battled and had a chance in every game this season. Forward Chase Harwell says that when staring right in the face of adversity, the Stingers never back down.

“I’m pretty happy, the boys work,” said Harwell after losing against Ottawa. “It sucks that we didn’t get the win before the break, but the boys battled. I really like the attitude in the room.”

Another one of the bright spots of the Stingers’ season has been Tyler Hylland’s rookie season. The rookie forward’s arrival at Concordia was overshadowed by the news of the recruitment of Katerinakis and of Sanche being named captain. But Hylland has quickly made a name for himself among Stingers fans, collecting nine goals and nine assists in 16 games this season, all while having a revolving door of linemates.

Despite the first half of the season not going according to plan, Hylland is still very confident in his team’s ability to bounce back in the second half and make a strong push towards the playoffs.

“We need to work on the little details like finishing our checks and getting sticks on the pucks quicker,” said Hylland. “If we can work on those little details I think it’ll make a big difference for us because when our guys get back [from injury] and we have our full lineup, talent-wise, we’re right up there with anyone in the league.”

 

Photos by Alex Hutchins

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Ottawa 5, Stingers 3: Stingers fall in Ottawa to close out 2019

OTTAWA – Down the 417, the Stingers lost their Saturday afternoon matchup to the University of Ottawa Gee Gees by a score of 5-3.

The Stingers were vastly outplayed for the majority of the game and it showed on the stat sheet, being outshot by Ottawa 52-26. It’s a good thing that game footage exists because Sebastien Lefebvre, who made his fifth start of the season, played a very solid game despite letting in 5 goals.

Defenceman Carl Neill, who scored a highlight reel goal in the third period, praised the Stingers netminder for another performance that kept them in the game.

“You wanna play well for anyone who’s in net but especially for [Sebastien Lefebvre],” said Neill. “He hasn’t played many games in this league and he’s been doing his best.”

The Stingers made some crucial mistakes that ultimately cost them the game, most of which came in the first period, said head coach Marc-André Élement.

“It’s the little details. Little mistakes really cost us,” said Élement. “You have to give [Ottawa] credit though. They played a really good game.”

Other than a couple of mistakes made in the third period that led to the Gee Gees’ fourth and fifth goals, special teams was where the game was lost for the Stingers. The Stingers went 0/5 on the power play while letting in two goals on four opportunities on the penalty kill.

“We have to work on special units. They have to be better.” Élement said. “Our power play, our penalty kill. Everyone. They won the special teams battle and won the game.”

The Christmas break couldn’t come soon enough for the Stingers as they lost six out of their eight games in the month of November to close out 2019.

Despite their 6-7-3 record, brighter days are ahead for the Stingers. 2019 was not kind to the Stingers and was a year plagued with injuries to players like Philippe Sanche and Alexander Katerinakis, two of the team’s best and most important players. The two are expected to return for their first game back after the Christmas break.

The Stingers will cross the border to play the Boston University Terriers for an exhibition matchup on Dec. 29. They get back to league play on Jan. 4 when they will play host to these same Gee Gees for their second matchup of the season.

 

Photo by Alex Hutchins

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Sports

How shot location and volume has been key to the Stingers success

What’s that famous saying?

“You miss 100 per cent of the shots you don’t take. – Wayne Gretzky”

–  Michael Scott

Despite the obvious cliché, the best way to win hockey games is to get pucks on net. The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team is currently the top-ranked team in U Sports, and one of the biggest reasons has been the team’s ability to generate high-quality shots, without sacrificing any defensive intensity.

In nine games so far this season, the team is averaging 34 shots per game, and have scored 30 goals. On the defensive side of the ice, they’ve only allowed 26.56 shots per game. While some teams play above expectations due to ballooned shooting percentages, the Stingers have a team shooting percentage of 9.8 per cent, an extremely sustainable rate. Their 3.33 goals per game is tied for first in all of U Sports. It’s not surprising that they’ve only been outshot twice all season, against the University of Ottawa on Nov. 17 and on Nov. 24 against McGill. The Stingers won both of those games.

This season, I’ve been tracking shots (for and against) for seven out of the team’s first nine games of the season (only games I’ve missed have been the ones where the team travels to Ottawa to play Carleton and U of O). As this team keeps playing games, patterns start emerging.

The big one being that the Stingers love to shoot in close. From the team’s 309 shots, 26.5 per cent have come from within five feet of the net. The team succeeds when it’s able to control the puck around the net, crash the crease and generate rebounds. In the team’s first game against McGill, the shots were scattered with no real concentration. On Nov. 10, the Stingers played Montreal, one of the top teams in the country. They managed to control play around the net, and that led to 15 shots from the crease, and the Stingers shutout the Carabins 4-0. Their only loss of the season, a 3-2 shootout loss to Carleton, was largely due to defensive lapses and a hot opposing goalie that made 45 saves.

“For us, the best areas to be able to score goals is net-front, within the dots, up to the top of the circles,” said head coach Julie Chu after her team’s weekly Wednesday skills practice. “I think that’s a really big emphasis for ourselves. To not only be an exterior team moving the puck, but we have to get to the net. And with the goalies we play against, they’re talented, so if we only stay on the exterior and only take shots from there, they’re easy saves. We’re focusing a lot on getting to the net and trying to create traffic and winning net-front battles as much as we can.”

With all of the talent that Chu has managed to recruit to the Stingers since becoming the team’s head coach in the summer of 2016, it shouldn’t be a surprise that they’ve emerged as the top team in the country, and were named the number one ranked team in U Sports for five weeks in a row at the time of publication. Players like Audrey Belzile, Rosalie Bégin-Cyr, Emmy Fecteau and Claudia Dubois have shown that they’re not only capable of generating high quality chances basically at will, but also spreading the offence to other players. Add high-end players like Olivia Atkinson, Marie-Pascale Bernier and Brigitte Lagnagniere, and you see why teams have struggled to slow down the Stingers.

Photo by Cecilia Piga

“What’s fun is that we have a lot of talented players with a lot of skill,” said Chu. “That increases our opportunities to be threats on the ice. When you only have one player that really has a tremendous shot, and the other [players] aren’t really threats, and you’re only trying to feed one person, it’s easy to eventually shut down attacks.”

With the most goals in the RSEQ so far this season, and peppering opposing goalies with endless high quality shots per game, they’re bound to tire any goalie out. It’s been their key to outlasting talented teams like McGill and Montreal. The Stingers are not only taking a lot of shots, but they’re managing to get the majority of those shots off in dangerous areas. Olympic pistol shooters and archers would be jealous of this kind of consistent placement.

On special teams, while the power-play struggled to start this season 一 only scoring four times on 37 power play chances 一 it’s improved as the season has gone on. Chu talked about how the team has been working on reading the play better and establishing that net-front presence that’s frustrated other RSEQ teams all year.

Graphic by Matthew Coyte

Looking at the scores, it would be easy to fixate on the Stingers offensive prowess, but they’ve been just as good on the defensive side of things. They’re the only team with a positive goal differential at +14. To see how good they are, just look at how they managed to shut out McGill and Montreal in back-to-back games. Goalie Alice Philbert has been a massive part of this success, but suppressing high-quality shots has become the Stinger M.O. lately. For Chu, all of that starts at the offensive end of the ice.

“When we have a good forecheck, the ability for the transition of the opposing team becomes less,” said Chu. “Or we might have extra numbers back, so they don’t have the ability to attack and get more 3-on-2’s. I think our forecheck has been really good, which is our first line of slowing down the offence of the opposing team. Secondly, in [our] zone, we work a lot on our defensive zone coverage, and we were just trying to find ways to smartly pressure.Being good with our sticks, being great with contact, those are going to help us hopefully keep our opponents to the exterior.”

Despite the team’s hot start to the season, Chu still says that there are “lots of different aspects” that she wants the team to focus on. Most of all, the team’s breakouts.

“The consistency of our breakout is always something that’s huge,” said Chu. “In the same way that we say our forecheck 200-feet away from our net is really important in the defensive side of our game, our breakout is huge in our ability to create offense. Our ability to shut down the opponent, be able to turn the puck, make the right reads and get momentum and energy up the ice with numbers is really important.”

 

Photos by Cecilia Piga, graphics by Matthew Coyte

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