Tag: Marc-Andre Element

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Stingers come from behind to win third-straight

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The Stingers won both games this weekend after being down by two goals. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Captain Philippe Hudon: This win shows tremendous character

The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team shocked their home crowd by defeating the first-place Ottawa Gee-Gees Saturday night at the Ed Meagher Arena. With eight games remaining in the regular season, the 3-2 shootout win couldn’t have come at a better time.

“We needed more emotion. It was part of my pre-game speech,” said head coach Marc-André Élement. “We’re in front of our fans, in our barn for the first time after Christmas, it was important to get that win and play well.”

Although it was a shaky start, through the team’s strong defensive play, the Stingers managed to stay competitive by killing off four early power plays and avoiding disaster.

The Stingers won both games this weekend after being down by two goals. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Down 2-0 after the first period, the Stingers got their first goal from captain Philippe Hudon. A lucky deflection flew over the helmet of Gee-Gees goaltender Graham Hunt midway through the second period, igniting the crowd.

With the momentum shifting, and the game getting physical, assistant captain Philippe Sanche started to lead by example. His heart and tenacity were evident, which helped the Stingers’s special teams.

“We managed to win some battles down low and create some chances, and we finally got the tying goal late in the game,” said Sanche.

Nearly five minutes into the third period, Hudon capitalized on the Stingers’s only power play of the game by tying up the score with a juicy rebound shot from Sanche.

Overtime solved nothing, bringing the game to a shootout. After two saves from Stingers goalie Anthony Dumont-Bouchard, Sanche scored the only goal with a beautiful wrist shot.

“I practiced it a lot during our practices,” Sanche said. “I try to keep it simple and beat the goalie with a quick release shot—it worked again tonight.”

This is the third-straight win for the Stingers, and second in as many days after they beat the McGill Redmen 5-4 on Friday. The two big wins this weekend certainly didn’t go unnoticed by Concordia’s captain.

“It’s probably one of the toughest weekends that we’ve had on the schedule so far, and honestly it’s incredible for us to have pulled it off. It shows tremendous character,” Hudon said. “Against McGill, we were down by two goals, and were again tonight. In both games, we managed to battle back. I sure hope it’s going to give us the boost we need for the last stretch.”

With the Stingers peaking at the right time, it was an all-around team effort at both ends of the ice.

“We’re playing well as a team,” said defenceman Carl Neill. “We have a game plan and modify it against the team we play every night. Tonight, the boys stuck to it. Give credit to our special units, obviously, that’s what won the game for us—Dumont as well.”

The Stingers play twice at home next weekend, with the first game on Jan. 18 against the Queen’s Gaels at 7:30 p.m.

Main photo by Hannah Ewen.

 

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Stingers win third-straight with comeback against RMC

The three-game winning streak is the highest of the Stingers’s season so far. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Concordia bounces back from 2-0 deficit to win 4-3

The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team won their third-straight game Friday night. They defeated the Royal Military College (RMC) Paladins 4-3 at the Ed Meagher Arena.

After a first period controlled by the visitors, the Stingers scored three unanswered goals in the last 40 minutes of play to defeat the Paladins. The Stingers finally broke the tie 41 seconds into the third period with a goal from forward Jean-Philippe Beaulieu.

Head coach Marc-André Élément said the Stingers will need better starts if they want to win their upcoming games.

“We didn’t show up in the first period,” Élément said. “We have to learn from that. However, our guys stepped up in the second and third period, allowing us to get two huge points tonight.”

After trailing 15 to 13 in shots after the first period, the Stingers came back strong and finished the game ahead 44-27 in that category.

“I think the big difference between the first period and the rest of the game is that we won our battles [for the puck] and kept it simple in the defensive zone,” said Stingers defenceman Charlie Roy, who scored his first goal of the season in the first period.

Defenceman Anthony Gingras, who scored the Stingers’s second goal, also got his first of the season.

Élément said the team made adjustments and played more aggressive in the second and third periods.

“I wasn’t shy to let the players know after the first period that they had to be better,” Élement said. “At university level, you can’t afford to make the kind of mistakes we made in the first period.”

The Stingers received 25 penalty minutes, while the Paladins received 12. Stingers forward Francis Brunelle received a game misconduct penalty in the third period for a hit from behind.

“It was definitely tiring [taking all the penalties],” said Stingers forward Jake Fletcher. “It seemed like there were penalties after penalties.”

Goalie Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 24 saves in the victory. It’s his sixth win this season, and his third-straight after the team’s 8-1 loss against the Ottawa Gee-Gees on Nov. 17.

“You need to focus on the present,” Turcotte said. “It’s about paying attention to what’s happening around, just staying in the game.”

The Stingers play their last game before the holiday break this Saturday night against the Nipissing University Lakers. The game will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Ed Meagher Arena.

Main photo by Hannah Ewen.

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Stingers avenge loss with 4-3 shootout win against Redmen

Carl Neill scored while goalie Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 33 saves. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Hugo Roy, Carl Neill help Concordia snap three-game skid

Despite allowing a game-tying goal with 10 seconds left, the Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team beat the McGill Redmen 4-3 in a shootout win Friday night at the Ed Meagher Arena. This comes a week after the Stingers lost to the Redmen 6-3 at the McConnell Arena, in a game that had 75 penalty minutes.

“Last week was the first game against each other. [The players] don’t like playing them, but we did some video and we were more focused [tonight],” said head coach Marc-André Élement on what changed in terms of discipline, as there were 14 penalty minutes this game. “The guys played well and I’m really happy about that.”

Despite only 14 penalty minutes, the game was still physical, as is expected between Concordia and McGill. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

One difference between last week’s game and this one was that Marc-Antoine Turcotte was available to play in the Stingers’s net, making 33 saves, including five in overtime. He was hurt early in last Friday’s game, and missed Saturday’s game versus the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks.

“He played a huge game,” Élement said. “He kept us in the game and, in the shootout, he stopped the guys.”

The Stingers opened the scoring late in the first period when defenceman Carl Neill stepped out of the penalty box, grabbed the loose puck, and scored on the breakaway.

“To be honest, I was kind of lost, I had my stick halfway out my hand,” Neill said. “I looked back and saw I was on a breakaway, closed my eyes and [the puck] trickled in.”

The Stingers controlled most play in the second period, getting the majority of scoring chances, but came out on the losing end. Redmen forward Nicolas Poulin took advantage of two lucky bounces in the final three minutes of the second to go into intermission with a 2-1 lead.

“Both teams were waiting for opportunities, and we made mistakes on back-to-back shifts and it cost us,” Neill said.

Stingers forward Chase Harwell tied the game three minutes into the third, which Élement said was bound to happen.

“The first 15 minutes [of the second period] was our best of the season,” Élement said. “I just told the guys [at intermission], if we keep playing like this, we’ll have our chances, and the guys responded well in the third.”

After Stingers captain Philippe Hudon scored his second of the season to give his team the lead halfway through the third, Poulin scored his hat-trick goal to tie it. The Stingers didn’t let the late goal affect them as both teams swapped chances in overtime, with neither scoring.

Before Turcotte made the shootout-winning save on Guillaume Gauthier, forward Hugo Roy beat goalie Louis-Philip Guindon with a five-hole shot. “I knew what I was doing right off the bat, so it was either a goal or a shot in the chest,” Roy said.

The Ed Meagher Arena was full of energy – as you would expect for a Concordia-McGill game – and was loud up until the end.

“It was fun to see the rink that full, and of course it’s never a disappointing game with Concordia and McGill,” Neill said. “Tonight was real fun to see, and we came out on top, so I’m sure the fans are happy with that as well.”

With the shootout win, the Stingers break their three-game losing streak and improve to 5-5-1 on the season. They play the undefeated Ottawa Gee-Gees Saturday night on the road.

Main photo by Hannah Ewen.

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Stingers own worst enemy in 5-1 loss to Ridgebacks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Main photo by Hannah Ewen. 

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Concordia-McGill rivalry crosses the line in physical affair

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Main photo by Mackenzie Lad.

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Stingers win against Rams in penalty-filled game

Rookie Zachary Zorn scored a shorthanded goal on a night filled with penalties. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

Concordia beats Ryerson 6-4 for second win in a row

The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team beat the Ryerson Rams 6-4 in a penalty-ridden game at the Ed Meagher arena on Oct. 20. Both the Stingers and the Rams went into the game coming off overtime wins the night before.

“[Our team] played well,” said head coach Marc-André Élement. “We were really happy about the weekend we had, picking up a good four points.”

The Stingers scored 10 goals in two games this season. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

Much like the night before, the Stingers came out firing quickly and most of the play was in the Rams’s end. The Rams took three penalties in a row, and rookie forward Chase Harwell scored on the second power play. Forward Hugo Roy added another goal on a five-on-three to open a 2-0 lead for the Stingers, but the Rams came back within one when Hayden McCool scored a minute later. By the end of the period, with a 2-1 Stingers lead, there were a total of 16 penalty minutes.

“It was a matter of time,” said defenceman Carl Neill about the amount of scoring chances the Stingers got the past two games. “We’ve missed lot of chances this year and it took a little greasy game yesterday to get us going.”

The second period played exactly like the first, with six more minor penalties. Rams Matt Mistele and McCool added two more goals early on to momentarily take the lead. That was until forward Philippe Sanche and rookie Zachary Zorn scored two goals back-to-back midway through the period. Sanche’s goal was on the power play, while Zorn scored shorthanded.

The Stingers handed the Rams their first lost of the season. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

The Stingers were up 4-3 after two periods, but Mathew Santos scored early in the third for the Rams to tie it. The Stingers took back that lead with five minutes left in the third, as Roy scored again on the power play. As desperation set in for the Rams, Harwell scored his second goal on an empty-netter to seal the win for the Stingers.

“We were facing a lot of adversity, so we changed a bit of our game plan and the guys played well,” Élement said. “We had been practicing a lot of stuff like power play and it showed this weekend.”

By the end of the game, there were 19 minor penalties for 38 minutes, and only one goal was scored at even strength.

With the Stingers win, they improve to 3-2-0 on the season and hand the Rams their first loss of the season. The Stingers kick off a four-game road trip on Oct. 26, with their first game against the Western Mustangs.

Main photo by Gabe Chevalier. 

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Sanche overtime goal seals win for Stingers

The Stingers and York Lions met up for the first time since March, when they played in the OUA bronze medal game. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Hugo Roy’s two-goal effort helps in come-from-behind victory

The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team won in an overtime thriller Friday night against the York Lions at home, 5-4.

The Stingers took on the hard-charging York Lions at the Ed Meagher arena for the first time since the the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) bronze-medal game in March. Concordia took that game 3-2 on that occasion.

“It’s a huge win,” head coach Marc-André Élement said about Friday’s game. “I think we showed a lot of character. It’s a huge comeback for us. There’s a lot of relief among the guys that we can score some goals.”

The first period was a straight slugfest and included a rash of Stingers penalties. The first resulted in a Lions goal by Scott Feser. By the end of the period, despite the four penalties, the Stingers had a 15-10 advantage in shots.

Bradley Lalonde scored his first goal for the Stingers. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

The second period played much of the same as the first. But this time, the Stingers’s defence came up strong, allowing four shots against. Stingers defenceman Bradley Lalonde opened up the scoring with a top-shelf shot and tied the game five minutes into the period. Another slew of penalties fell onto the Stingers, which the Lions fully capitalized on. Josh Lafrance scored to put the Lions back up 2-1.

The third period opened quick on the scoring chart for both teams. Concordia’s Hugo Roy scored on the power play just over a minute in, which was quickly followed by a Lions goal by Morgan Messenger. Midway through the period, the pace settled down a bit. The Stingers struck again, as Roy scored his second of the night to tie the game at three.

“I think I played good hockey.” Roy said. “I had a good third and I think it’ll help me tomorrow and into the season.”

The craziness of the third period didn’t end there. Lions Alex Mowbray added a goal on a four-on-four situation to take the lead with less than five minutes left. A roughing penalty by the Stingers shortly after looked to end their chances at a win. But it was forward Charles-Éric Légaré who scored a short-handed goal to tie the game with under two minutes left. The Lions received an interference penalty with 10 seconds in the game, to send the Stingers to overtime with a power play.

The overtime started and finished within 15 seconds thanks to the Stingers’s power play. Forward Philippe Sanche took his shot and buried the rebound to win the game for the Stingers 5-4.

“[Hugo Roy] is a fast skater and he creates offence,” Élement said. “This is a huge two points for us. We’ve still got to work on some stuff though.”

The Stingers improve to 2-2-0 heading into the second game of the weekend against the Ryerson Rams on Saturday night.

Main photo by Hannah Ewen. 

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Stingers fall 3-1 to Patriotes

The Stingers and Patriotes renewed their rivalry from last season, with UQTR getting the first win. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Marc-André Élement: “Mistakes in third cost us”

The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team were defeated 3-1 by the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) Patriotes at the Ed Meagher Arena Saturday night.

It was a good game for the Stingers until the third period. They got numerous scoring chances in the first 40 minutes of the game, and led 21-19 in shots on goal after ttwo periods, but the score remained tied at zero.

“I think we played good for 40 minutes,” said head coach Marc-André Élement. “Then, we had some breakdowns in the third period.”

The Patriotes came up strong in the final period, with Christophe Boivin opening the scoring five minutes in.

There were seven minor penalties in the game. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

The Stingers’s lone goal was scored by defence Alexandre Gosselin on the power play. Gosselin’s goal midway through the third period evened up the game for just a minute before Mathieu Lemay scored the game-winning goal for the Patriotes. The Patriotes’s three goals were less than eight minutes apart, with Samuel Hould scoring the third goal.

Élement said the Stingers’s mistakes in the third period determined the game’s outcome.

“We made some mistakes that should not happen, especially in the defensive zone,” Élement said. “There was miscommunication at one point. They have a really good top line, and when you give those guys time and space, that’s what happens.”

Animosity and physical play increased throughout the game. The Stingers received three minor penalties, while the Patriotes received four.

“Mentally, you need to be sharp for 60 minutes,” Élement said. “I think that as soon as you try to go and do everything by yourself, it creates chances for the other team. If you don’t stick to the game plan, you’re never going to have success, and that’s what happened in the third period.”

Stingers centre Chase Harwell missed nearly a period of play following a collision that caught him in the face during the second period. Harwell came back with a full face mask midway through the third period.

“I’m fine,” Harwell said. “I just had a couple of stitches, but it’s fine now.”

The Stingers fall to a 1-2-0 record this season. Stingers goalie Marc-Antoine Turcotte finished the game with 34 saves.

The Stingers will play the York Lions on Oct. 19, and the Ryerson Rams the following night, both at home.

Main photo by Gabe Chevalier.

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Stingers get first win in home-opener

Archive photo by Kirubel Mehari.

The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team beat the Carleton Ravens 4-2 on Oct. 6. in the home-opener at the Ed Meagher arena.

The Stingers lost their season-opening game 2-1 against the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) Paladins on Oct. 4. Head coach Marc-André Élement said the win is a big confidence-booster for his team. “We just have to build on that now,” Élement said.

The Stingers got on the scoreboard under a minute into the game. Captain Philippe Hudon fed forward Philippe Sanche with a pass for his first goal of the season.

“[It was a] big win for us today, that’s what we needed,” Sanche said. “It was nice to have a lot of ice time out there tonight and find the net.”

Two early penalties plagued the Stingers following Sanche’s opening goal. Carleton capitalized on their undisciplined play with a power-play goal. Alexandre Boivin scored the Ravens’s first goal of the game, midway through first. Two minutes later, Sanche added his second of the game and helped the Stingers retake the lead.

Carleton’s Jacob Smith tied the game back up just over a minute into the second period. The period went by quickly, without many whistles, as both teams kept a high tempo. That was until first-year Stingers forward Chase Harwell scored his first goal of the season, bringing the Stingers up to 3-2.

“Feels great to get the win on opening night at home,” Harwell said. “It had been tough for me to find the net this year so far. We needed to bounce back, and we did.”

The hard-charging and physical Ravens could not score any goals in the third period; penalties were not a factor either. Midway through the period, however, Stingers defenceman Philippe Charbonneau received a game misconduct for a hit to the head on a Ravens player. Later, Charles-Éric Légaré scored an empty-net goal to seal the win for Concordia.

“If you want them to have confidence in their ability, we need them to play,” said Élement about his young team and new players getting ice time. “These kinds of games are games that get us ready for the playoffs.”

The Stingers men’s hockey team improved their record to 1-1-0 on the season and will play their next game at home on Saturday, Oct. 13, against the Université de Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes.

Main photo by Kirubel Mehari

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Stingers men’s hockey team wants to improve on bronze medal

The men’s hockey teams aims to build on its bronze-medal success from last season. Archive photo by Alex Hutchins.

Head coach Marc-André Élement excited by some rookies at training camp

The puck drops on the Concordia Stingers men’s hockey season on Oct. 4. Head coach Marc-André Élement might be facing some challenges with all the changes from last year’s team.

Anthony Beauregard, U Sports leading scorer and MVP from last season, signed a professional contract with the Brampton Beast in the ECHL. Massimo Carozza, whose 35 points were second on the team to Beauregard’s 60, is playing hockey in Italy now.

This will be Philippe Hudon’s second season as captain, and last with the team. Archive photo by Alex Hutchins.

Élement appeared on CJLO Sports on Sept. 17 and spoke about how his team will need to adjust without his offensive stars. He said the team defencemen will need to join in on the attack.

“We need more offence from everyone,” Élement sad. “We’re changing stuff in our game to have the defencemen join the rush a little bit more. It’s going to be something we’re going to be working on.”

A few other veterans from the team also graduated at the end of last season. Forwards Raphaël Lafontaine, Scott Oke, Antoine Masson, Dominic Beauchemin and goalie Antoine Dagenais aren’t on this year’s team. Élement always spoke highly of Lafontaine, who was an assistant captain last season.

“Lafontaine was giving his 110 per cent every game; you know he was there every game” Élement said. “That’s what you want from every other player, so Lafontaine’s intensity and work ethic will be missed for sure.”

Defenceman Carl Neill will be an assistant captain in his second season with the Stingers. Archive photo by Alex Hutchins.

Part of having so many players leave is new players coming in. According to Canadian University Sports Network (CUSN), the Stingers recruited 12 new players, which includes eight forwards, three defencemen and a goalie. One of the first recruits the Stingers announced in April, centre Hugo Roy, is the player Élement is most excited about. Roy is one of four recruits from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QJMHL). He played for the Sherbrooke Phoenix and scored 107 points in 132 games in the past two seasons.

“He’s a guy that will play both ways and he will be our number-one centre,” Élement said. “He’s going to bring a lot of offence, and defensively, he plays really well. He’s a complete player.”

Élement was also surprised by another Roy during training camp. He said rookie defenceman Charlie Roy is doing all the right things in the team’s exhibition games.

“He’s a low-profile defenceman,” Élement added. “He plays well defensively; he’s hard to beat one-on-one. He’s a low-key guy that you’re not going to notice in practice or games but he’s doing well.”

After a season with injuries, forward Philippe Sanche is back as an assistant captain. Archive photo by Alex Hutchins.

The Stingers started training camp earlier this year because Élement wanted all his players, new and old, to bond with each other. They had a beach volleyball tournament and other team-bonding activities during training camp. The head coach said he likes what he’s seen from his leadership group, composed of captain Philippe Hudon and assistant captains Carl Neill, Philippe Sanche and Alexandre Gosselin.

“They’re doing an amazing job in the locker room,” Élement added. “I think all those guys are well-respected and it’s going really well.”

Last season, the Stingers won the bronze medal in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference and finished in eighth place at nationals. It was the first time Concordia’s men’s hockey team played at nationals in 34 years, but Élement wants to make it two years in a row.

Expect defenceman Alexandre Gosselin to play be a key player for this team. Archive photo by Alex Hutchins.

“Our expectations are always the same, we always want to go all the way,” Élement said. “With the young group we have, we see that they’re really intense so we want to have that in our game […] We want to put on a good show and have our guys compete every night.”

The Stingers visit the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) Paladins for the season-opener on Oct. 4, but have their home-opener on Oct. 6 against the Carleton Ravens.

Main photo by Alex Hutchins.

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Uniting the past and present

Roberto Mormina (left) and Derek Watt (right) before playing in the alumni game on Sept. 15.

Former players invited for an alumni hockey game

Concordia Stingers men’s hockey head coach Marc-André Élement invited former players for a weekend of festivities. Élement united the current men’s hockey team with alumni players in a golf tournament on Sept. 14, and organized an alumni hockey game at the Ed Meagher Arena on Sept. 15.

Élement himself is a former player, having been with the Stingers from 2007-11. His assistant coach, Kiefer Orsini, played from 2010-12. He joined CJLO Sports on Sept. 17 to talk about the importance of bringing former players back to Concordia for these events.

“I want [the former players] to be proud of where they come from,” Élement said. “I want them to come back and talk to the players. For me, the team is a big family and I want them to be involved.”    

The head coach wants to organize more alumni events with the team. “My philosophy for having success, it’s not just with the players on the ice. It’s all around, like having the alumni engage with our program,” he added.

Photo editor Mackenzie Lad was at the alumni game to capture some of the happier moments.

After the alumni game, the 2018-19 Stingers men’s hockey team opened their pre-season on Sept. 15 with a 4-1 win against the Université de Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) Patriotes.To listen to the full interview with Élement, click here.

Photos by Mackenzie Lad. 

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Sports

Stingers end season with 8-1 loss at nationals

The Stingers were eliminated by the defending champions, UNB Varsity Reds, in the U Sports national championship. Photo by Caroline Mercier, The Brunswickan.

Defending champions UNB too much for Concordia to handle

The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team’s season finished Thursday night after a lopsided 8-1 loss to the University of New Brunswick (UNB) Varsity Reds in the U Sports nationals championship quarter-final.

With the disappointing loss in the books, Stingers head coach Marc-André Élement chose to look at the plus side after his program’s first appearance at nationals in over three decades.

“There’s a lot of positives for us,” Élement said after the game. “It took us 34 years, first time here. It’s huge for the program and it’s not going to take 34 years for us to come back, I can tell you [that].”

The quarter-final capped off day one of the eight-team tournament in Fredericton, N.B. UNB fed off the energy of a raucous crowd at the Aitken University Centre—their home arena—scoring early and often while limiting the Stingers to a total of just 17 shots on goal.

Head coach Marc-André Élement said the Stingers hockey program is being developed the right way. Photo by Caroline Mercier, The Brunswickan.

Varsity Reds forward Chris Clapperton kicked off the scoring nine minutes into the opening period, with assists going to forward Mark Simpson and defenceman Matt Murphy.

Simpson increased the lead to 2-0 for the home side less than three minutes later, netting an unassisted goal off an impressive solo effort.

He would find himself on the scoreboard once again before the end of the first period, getting the primary assist on a goal by defenceman Randy Gazzola with 30 seconds remaining before the intermission. U Sports rookie of the year Kris Bennett picked up the second assist on the goal, his first of three points on the night.

UNB’s dominant play continued in the second period. However, Stingers goalie Marc-Antoine Turcotte’s impressive play kept his team in the game, making several highlight reel saves while facing 18 shots. He finished the game with 30 saves.

Unfortunately for the Stingers, Turcotte was forced to leave the game after the second period. He took a puck off the mask late in the second period. Rookie back-up goalie Antoine Dagenais replaced him. Dagenais made 14 saves on 19 shots.

The Varsity Reds quickly took advantage of the goalie change. Bennett, and forwards Stephen Anderson and Matt Boudens each added power play goals within the first six minutes of the final period after Concordia took a string of penalties which resulted in two five-on-three opportunities for UNB.

After being contained by UNB’s tight defensive play for the majority of the game, U Sports regular-season scoring leader, and MVP, Anthony Beauregard managed to get his team on the board five minutes into the third, bringing the score to 6-1.

However, it was too little, too late for the Stingers. UNB picked up an additional pair of late goals to complete the rout with a final score of 8-1.

UNB’s Simpson and Concordia’s rookie forward Massimo Carozza picked up player of the game honours for their respective teams.

Élement also noted that he feels the team is actually ahead of schedule in their development.

“I’m really, really proud of our guys. Our program is headed in the right direction.”

Beauregard, the Stingers’s lone scorer on the night, also expressed pride in the team’s play of the team despite the loss.

“It was hard but at the end of the day I think my linemates did a good job today and all year,” Beauregard said. “We have a special group right there.”

Brad Ackerson is a reporter for The Brunswickan.

Main photo by Caroline Mercier, The Brunswickan.

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