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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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Concordia 2 McGill 1: Stingers hang on to beat Martlets

After losing on Friday night to the last-placed Carleton Ravens, you might think the Stingers women’s hockey team’s morale would be down. 

Apparently not.

The Stingers rebounded from Friday’s loss to beat the fifth-ranked McGill Martlets 2-1 at McGill’s McConnell Arena thanks to goals from rookies Emmy Fecteau and Léonie Philbert.

Fecteau opened the scoring on the first shot of the game when she walked into the Martlets zone and ripped a wrister from the slot past McGill goalie Tricia Deguire. Léonie doubled the Stingers lead after burying a rebound short side on a first period power play. Deguire would finish the game with 24 saves.

“We were bummed after [Friday’s] game,” said head coach Julie Chu after the win. “No one likes to lose. In the locker room, they were taking it hard, but we said ‘it’s okay, taste the bitterness and bottle it up, and don’t let it discourage you, let it fuel [you].’It was awesome to see how our team came out in the first period.”

From there, things got a little tougher.

McGill came flying out of the gate in the second period, outshooting the Stingers 18-10. Stingers goalie Alice Philbert, after being given a rest on Friday, was forced to make some key saves, including a stretching toe save on a McGill 2-on-1. Alice would finish the game with 31 stops, and improve to 8-0 on the season. Alice currently leads the RSEQ with a 1.55 GAA and is second in save percentage with a .940 (Deguire leads the division with a .941).

The Stingers had to rely on their goaltending, shot blocking, and a quick stick check here and there to keep McGill from tying the game during their second period onslaught.

“We survived the second period,” said Chu. “We’re not delusional. The first ten minutes of the second, McGill really did a good job buzzing in our defensive job and we didn’t do a good job tracking and winning our one-on-one battles. They were on our heels.”

Lea Dumais would cut into the Stingers lead with a deflection that snuck by Philbert halfway through the second period, but that would be McGill’s only goal as the Stingers would throw everything at the Martlets in the defensive end.

The Stingers wouldn’t be as dangerous as they were in the first period, but when it mattered, they managed to frustrate the Martlets. With only a few minutes left in the third period, the Stingers were able to control the puck down low in the Martlet zone, killing precious time.

“This team is awesome,” said Chu. “They find a way. We’re still figuring out what our character is as we go into new situations. I like what I saw today.”

The Stingers will play the Carleton Ravens in Ottawa on Dec. 1

Notes:

  • I complained on Nov. 1 that not enough arenas have distinct features after the Stingers played the Carabins at CEPSUM. Turns out I forgot about McGill’s McConnell Arena and the visiting team’s upstairs dressing room. Teams have to climb up and down stairs to get from the ice to the room. Incredible design.

Feature photo by Cecilia Piga. Graphic by Matthew Coyte.

 

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Concordia 1, McGill 0 (OT): Stingers outlast Martlets in hard-fought game

The Stingers improve to 5-0 on the season with a 1-0 overtime win against the McGill Martlets. The team came out of the gate slow, only generating four shots on net while being outplayed by the Martlets.

Please excuse the first period, it didn’t get the memo that this was supposed to be the most exciting game of the year so far for the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team.

“It wasn’t our best effort today,” said head coach Julie Chu. “The first period McGill dominated us. It was the little details. We weren’t really strong on our sticks, strong on the puck, swarming pucks”

By the time the first period was over, the Stingers had finished what was probably their worst period of play so far in this early season. They couldn’t generate any chances, were turning the puck over in the neutral zone, and not connecting on any outlet passes.

Even so, there were flashes of life, including a Léonie Philbert-Olivia Atkinson 2-on-1 opportunity late in the period, but no true pressure or momentum. Luckily, they managed to hold McGill to mostly outside opportunities, and Alice Philbert didn’t allow any of McGill’s 11 first period shots by her.

“We were having some trouble with our transition break out,” said Chu. “McGill does a good job forechecking, so we didn’t have as much jump. When you don’t attack as a unit, it’s harder to then have as much jump on the offensive forecheck. I think if we make some better efforts in the d-zone and neutral zone, we’ll have more jump in the offensive zone to be able to attack.”

After the dismal first period, both teams started playing the way you would expect from a game between the #1 and #4-ranked teams in the nation.

The game only really started to open up in the second period. The Stingers managed to draw two penalties early in the frame, and rallied off 10 shots in the first six minutes. The team’s powerplay woes continued though, as they went 0-6 on the powerplay. So far this season, they only have two power play goals on 28 chances.

“We’re going to have to take a look, because we got some good looks,” said Chu. “We just need to get that monkey off our backs. You get one in, and you start to get a little more confident. We’ll look at video, just to see how we’re reading the play, what are we creating.”

Going into the third, the speed picked up. As the neutral zone opened up, both teams started generating chances through the neutral zone. Both goalies held strong though. Alice Philbert finished the game with a 35-save-shutout, and McGill’s Tricia Deguire made 41 saves.

Graphic by Matthew Coyte

“I know that my team is capable of scoring,” said Alice Philbert. “The shots tonight were coming from the outside, so for me, that’s easier than those in-close chances.

But for the third time in five games, the Stingers headed to overtime. Both teams went back and forth, but with no real opportunities opening up. It wasn’t until the Stingers drew a penalty that they gathered some momentum. With less than a minute left, it was Amélie Lemay who drove home a 2-on-1 pass from Marie-Pascale Bernier to win the game, scoring the only goal of the night.

“It’s a battle always,” said Chu. “For us, we’re going to stay the course and continue taking it one game at a time. There’s so much hockey left to be played. Ultimately, we want to continue getting better, and we’re going to look at the game tape to see how we can get better for Sunday.”

The Stingers next game is at home on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 3 p.m.

Notes:

  • Damn, the RSEQ is good. There are three teams here that could easily take first place, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see whichever two make it to the national championship dominate some western teams.
  • The power play needs work, but there’s too much talent on the ice for it not to click. Expect this drought to be more of a temporary measure than the norm.
  • Disclaimer that all shot counts and stats are based on my own shot tracking.
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An up-and-down week for Stingers women’s basketball

Photo by Madelayne Hajek
Photo by Madelayne Hajek

The Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team took to the court twice this past week with games against McGill and UQÀM. The team had an away game to the Martlets on Thursday night and returned home to face the Citadins on Saturday afternoon.

The Stingers went to McGill full of confidence after a highly successful Concordia-Reebok tournament over the winter break. In the tournament, they defeated the CIS number one and number five ranked teams. These results earned Concordia the number eight spot in the country.

Against the Martlets, it was a far different Concordia team. McGill was hot shooting from the behind-the-ark, sinking eight of their 15 three-point attempts compared to the Stingers’ one successful three pointer. A strong second half secured a 75-44 win for the Martlets.

“McGill came out exactly as I expected,” said Stingers head coach Keith Pruden. “They played hard, they played well, they were very aggressive and we just appeared to be surprised.”

The first quarter was closely contested for seven of the quarter’s 10 minutes. With the Stingers up by a basket, McGill went on an 8-0 scoring run in the final three minutes to secure a six point advantage after one.

In the second quarter, Concordia tried to regain momentum, but to no avail. With 2:30 to play in the quarter, the game was a one possession game as McGill’s lead was slashed down to three points. The Martlets once again got hot in the final minutes and ended up taking a 12 point lead with them into the halftime break. McGill was up 37-25.

The third quarter squashed any hopes of a Stingers comeback victory. For the first four minutes of the frame, both teams added two baskets each to their totals. Concordia would not add any more for the remainder of the quarter. The Martlets scored 18 unanswered points and grabbed a 30 point lead going into the final quarter.

“It didn’t really matter who we put on the floor,” said Pruden. “We were getting very flat performances.”

Both teams traded baskets in the fourth quarter. McGill ended Concordia’s miserable outing, winning by a final score of 75-44.

“We shot the ball extremely poorly,” Pruden said following the game. “McGill was playing a very aggressive defence. If you’re flat on one end of the court, you can’t expect to be intense at the other end of it. We were not taking care of the ball and we weren’t making sure we were getting good shots.”

Two days later, the Stingers played host to RSEQ’s first place team, the UQÀM Citadins. Concordia won the game after a great fourth quarter performance. With six and a half minutes left in the game, UQÀM had a five point lead. The maroon and gold’s strong defence denied the Citadins any more baskets. The Stingers went on a 15-0 run to end the game and win 67-57.

With the victory on Saturday, Concordia regained first place in the RSEQ conference. The team now has five wins and two losses in their seven games played this season.

Concordia will continue its three-game home stretch next Saturday, Jan. 19 when they host the last place and winless Bishop’s Gaiters. The game will start at 2 p.m. at Concordia Gymnasium.

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Stingers drop home-opener to rivals

Sporting a revamped look with many new faces, new jerseys, and a new team, the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team took to the ice Saturday afternoon at Ed Meagher Arena, dropping 8-1 at the hands of their cross-town rivals, the McGill Martlets.

With many alumni on hand to take in the season opener, the Stingers dressed seven rookies, including goaltender Chelsey Hodges, making it her first career CIS league start.

“It’s really exciting, but I was very nervous,” said Hodges, who allowed six goals on 19 shots. “Finding out I’m starting [the game], I was happy to hit the ice.”

The Martlets, no longer nationally ranked first, still had the Stingers number roaring out of the gate scoring on a shot just under Hodges’ blocker 55 seconds into the tilt.

Hodges got back on her feet quickly, stopping close chances by the Martlets potent offense.

“I said I needed to focus and go on,” said Hodges. “I knew that McGill was strong, but to keep the work ethic, and continue to play hard.”

However, barely six minutes into the first, Concordia rookie defender Danielle Leonard took a holding call, which McGill quickly responded with forward Melodie Daoust scoring from the circle just under Hodges’ glove, doubling their lead. Daoust led the day in points scoring one goal and four assists.

The Martlets added another tally on the main advantage, going two-for-four on the day, before the period was out, leading 3-0 through the first 20 minutes.

In the second, the Stingers seemed more aligned, with stronger player coverage and efficiently breaking up the Martlets’ passing.

Recently-named captain Mallory Lawton missed a close chance in the opening minutes after a scramble in front of McGill goaltender Taylor Salisbury was covered.

At 4:25 of the second, McGill’s top line struck again with forward Katia Clément-Heydra getting her first of two on the night with helpers from Daoust and Leslie Oles. The line combined for four goals and seven assists on the afternoon.

Midway through the frame, with Martlets defender Stacie Tardif in the box, the Stingers had a very strong power play, easily cycling the puck back and forth.

“We are a good mix of young and old, a little inexperienced playing with four rookies on defense,” said captain Lawton. “We just have to fine tune our offence and defense and we’re sure to make it closer.”

After the Martlets made it 6-0, Stingers head coach Les Lawton decided to rest Hodges by replacing her with Carolanne Lavoie-Pilon.

“We’re a young team, and we’ve got work to do. We need to put our nose to the grind,” said Lawton, starting his 31st season behind Concordia’s bench. “We need to work on consistency, but it’s still very early.”

Late in the period, Concordia had another chance on the advantage and this time, they capitalized. Stinger Erin Lally found an open Jayme Shell at the side of the net, sending Salisbury sprawling but coming out empty, and Shell getting her first goal of the season.

McGill added a shorthanded goal in the last minute of the period, making it 7-1.

In the third, McGill added their final goal of the afternoon when their top line connected again.

Despite the loss, the team sees good things for the upcoming season.

“I’m disappointed in the score, but definitely not the effort,” said Lawton. “If we continually work hard, chase the other teams, and build stronger as a team, we definitely have a shot at the top three.”

 

Concordia has an upcoming double-header weekend when they play an away game at U de M on Friday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. and return to home ice to face off against Carleton on Saturday, Oct. 20 at 2:30 p.m.

 

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