Laurentian Voyageurs – The Concordian

Laurentian came into game on 10-game losing streak

In a spirited affair, the Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team’s four-game winning streak came to an end. They lost 4-2 to the Laurentian Voyageurs Saturday night at the Ed Meagher Arena.

Entering the game on a 10-game losing streak, the Voyageurs were determined not to lose. Voyageurs goaltender Mackenzie Savard stopped 42 of 44 shots, and came up big with a dazzling, sprawling save late in the game to conserve the victory.

“Their goalie played really well. We have to give them credit; they played a really tight game,” said Stingers head coach Marc-André Élement. “We will do a lot of videos, but we have to work harder over sixty minutes if you want to win.”

Indeed, the Stingers seemed to be in control of this game, dominating the Voyageurs at both ends of the ice. Yet their powerplay went cold, unable to score on any of their four opportunities. Savard went on to make key saves, especially in the first period.

“I think it got away from us in the first, and when they scored we played well from behind,” said Concordia forward Dylan McCrory. “Their goalie made some pretty big saves. You put 40 shots on a guy and they win. That’s pretty good regardless. Either we need to learn how to score better, or he played really well. Probably a bit of both.”

Down 1-0 early in the second period, the Stingers tied the game after a top-shelf from the left circle by Hugo Roy. With the tempo shifting and the young home crowd chanting, Concordia pressed with their fast and gritty style of play to end the second period.

The Stingers entered the third period laughing and laid back. But five minutes in, Voyageurs defenceman Marc-Antoine Gagnon’s wrist shot from the point beat traffic in front of the net, and eventually went past goaltender Marc-Antoine Turcotte. This ended up being the turning point of the game, as the Voyageurs wound up getting the last laugh.

“We couldn’t score, obviously,” said defenceman Carl Neill. “It’s kind of frustrating. We had a good sequence going the past couple of games, and I think we got a little too confident. Doing the things we should—we weren’t doing it necessarily. I think it’s a bit of a wakeup call for us, and shows if we play a simple game, we got a chance to win.”

The Stingers did manage to make it exciting for the young fans in attendance, as the night commemorated minor hockey in the region. Stingers defenceman Bradley Lalonde scored with just under 30 seconds remaining to make it 3-2. The Voyageurs would add an empty-net goal with six seconds left in the game, for a final score of 4-2.

The Stingers face a tough test next week traveling to play against Carleton and Queen’s University.

Main photo by Hannah Ewen.

Men’s hockey team heads into winter break with 12-2-2 record

The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team beat the Laurentian Voyageurs 9-4 on Dec. 2 at the Ed Meagher Arena. The Stingers head into the winter break with a 12-2-2 record.

“I’m really proud of my guys the way they played the first half of the season,” said Stingers head coach Marc-André Élement. “It’s going to be a good break.”

The Voyageurs came out strong with a quick 2-1 lead, and the Stingers seemed caught off guard by their aggressive forecheck. Halfway through the first period, Laurentian’s pressure resulted in Voyageurs forward Danny Lepage creating a turnover at the Stingers’ blue line before ripping a shot past goalie Marc-Antoine Turcotte to extend the Voyageurs’ lead to 3-1. The Stingers looked tired at this point; they weren’t making clean passes, and had difficulty controlling play along the boards in the offensive zone to set up.

“I told the guys to stay positive and to keep pushing the pace,” Élement said.

The Stingers responded by scoring five answered goals to close out the first period with a 6-3 lead.

Stingers defenceman Carl Neill skates the puck into the zone against the Laurentian Voyageurs on Dec. 2. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

Stingers forward Scott Oke forced his way onto the stats sheet in the game with two goals and two assists. After being a healthy scratch against the Waterloo Warriors on Nov. 25, Oke’s four points were the most he had in a game this season.

“The past couple games, we weren’t producing. It clicked today,” Oke said. “That’s why we were able to jump back into it.”

Élement was pleased with Oke’s performance in this game and in the 6-4 win against the Nipissing Lakers on Dec. 1. The forward had struggled offensively, with only three points in the eight games before the weekend. Élement made the decision to sit Oke against Waterloo.

“It’s tough to scratch a fourth-year guy, but I had to do it because he needed a little spark. I think it did the job, and he had a really good weekend,” Élement said.

Oke said it felt good to be able to return to the lineup and contribute offensively.

“[After being scratched], I looked back on what I needed to work on,” Oke said. “I needed to protect the puck, be confident with the puck. It felt like I was probably throwing the puck away a little fast.”

Élėment said the team didn’t get the start they were looking for, but he was happy with how they rebounded and with the Stingers’ special teams play. A day after Concordia took 10 minor penalties and allowed four power-play goals against the Nipissing Lakers, they only took three minor penalties against Laurentian. The Stingers also made the Voyageurs pay for taking 10 infractions, converting on six of those opportunities.

“Tonight, discipline was really good. We let them take penalties, and that’s something we need to do next semester because we’re going to play against good teams,” Élement said.

Another player who struggled to get on the scoresheet over the last stretch of games was Alexis Pépin. Before this game, he had no points in his last five games. Yet, he exploded for four points against the Voyageurs, including two goals. His first of the night came off a slapshot from the blue line that beat the Voyageurs goalie. His second goal came from a series of dekes that put him alone in front of the net, and he flipped the puck over the blocker of the goalie.

“It’s been a long time without an offensive [scoring] touch,” Pépin said. “The first goal felt really great. I’ve been missing a lot of chances lately, and the points were there tonight. [On the second goal], honestly, I wasn’t aiming for the shot. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if it was all planned like that, but it went well.”

Stingers forward Anthony Beauregard continued his five-game points streak, with a goal and four assists. He pushed his season’s point total to 39 in just 16 games, leading U Sports in points.

The Stingers men’s hockey team’s will return from the break on the road on Jan. 5 against the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes.