Tag: McGill Martlets

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Stingers’ 4-1 victory over McGill crowns Concordia RSEQ champions

Courtesy Concordia Stingers

The Concordia women’s hockey team sweeps the McGill Martlets to continue their undefeated playoff run.

The Concordia Stingers defeated the McGill Martlets 4-1 in the second part of back-to-back games after shutting them out 3-0 on Thursday. Concordia completed their second sweep and remain undefeated in the playoffs this year as they were crowned RSEQ champions on Friday.

The game started at a quick pace, with Concordia wanting to end the series, and McGill desperately trying to hang on.

The first goal came right after an offensive zone faceoff win by McGill. Stingers forward Rosalie Bégin-Cyr stole the puck, shooting it directly on net and giving her team a 1-0 lead with about six minutes left in the period.

The Stingers got their second penalty of the night shortly after, but their penalty kill did the work and goaltender Alice Philbert made all the necessary saves.

As Stingers forward Audrey-Ann Rodrigue was looking to clear the zone on the penalty kill, forward Emmy Fecteau was already in the neutral zone, collecting the pass from Rodrigue with a breakaway chance that developed into a 1-on-1. Her initial shot was saved by McGill goaltender Tricia Deguire, but Fecteau had joined her teammate just in time to score on the rebound, collecting a shorthanded goal and doubling the Stingers’ lead only a minute and a half after their first goal.

Concordia was handed three more penalties in the first half of the second period, which led to a powerplay goal by McGill forward Jade Downie-Landry.

It was McGill’s turn to be undisciplined in the second half of the frame, and Concordia forward Stéphanie Lalancette capitalized on the last second of a 5-on-3 with six seconds remaining in the period.

“Special teams are important in the postseason,” Stingers head coach Julie Chu said. “Obviously 5-on-5 too, but special teams are going to be the difference-makers when you have really good teams that are well-matched. So it was a good battle and I thought McGill had a really great game.”

Being up 3-1 with 20 minutes left to play, the Stingers played a defensive third period, while the Martlets were pushing to tie the game. The Stingers did everything they had to do, even pushing to get a bigger lead.

McGill pulled Deguire for the extra attacker with two and a half minutes remaining. However, Concordia stood tall as forward and captain Audrey Belzile scored an empty-net goal with a minute remaining, her last goal at the Ed Meagher Arena.

“It’s just incredible. After a year of COVID and the cancelled year, we came back a long way and we were ready for this year,” Belzile said. “And for all the graduating students, it was our last chance and I think we showed what this team is capable of.”

“All the girls worked so hard all year and winning this championship is everything […] I’m so proud of all of the girls,” Philbert said.

This was her second consecutive start after getting a shutout in their previous matchup. On Friday, she added to her exceptional season by allowing only one goal on 35 shots.

There was no doubt for Chu that Philbert was going to get both starts.

“She’s our goaltender and she’s proven it not only at practices every single day, and the way she pushes, but in the way that she’s competing and playing in games, so she’s going to get the nod,” Chu said.

It was bigger than just a championship for Philbert, who also got to celebrate and share the moment with her sister Léonie, who plays defence for the Stingers.

“We lost our grandmother two weeks ago, and before she passed away she told us ‘Go win it for me,’ and I know she’s been with us during those moments for the last few weeks,” Alice said. “And I’m really happy for my sister. She went from playing forward to defence and was injured for half of the season, so I’m really proud of her and everything she’s accomplished.”

Chu said it’s been a journey for everyone, from the staff and coaches, to the student-athletes, especially.

“All the pressures that they’ve had to go through, all the ups and the downs and the disappointments, to get to this point and work hard and have this final result is really awesome and we’re really pumped that we got a chance to win at home, which is special because that crowd is amazing,” Chu added.

The arena couldn’t have been any louder as “We Are The Champions” blared through the stadium and the girls celebrated on the ice.

Having hoisted the Dr. Ed Enos championship trophy, the Stingers will now be headed to the national championship at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown, PEI. Teams will compete for the Golden Path Trophy, which is presented annually to the U Sports women’s hockey champions.

 

Photograph by Kyran Thicke 

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Stingers 89, Martlets 52: Concordia dominates in women’s basketball season opener

Concordia vs. McGill Women's Basketball game on Nov. 11 2021 . LAURENT BEAUSOLEIL/The Concordian

Stingers start 2021⁠–22 RSEQ regular season on the right foot on the road against the Martlets

Stingers veterans helped lead the team to victory for their first regular season game in over 600 days. In preparation for the game, Stingers head coach Tenicha Gittens said she hoped to harness the excitement and turn it into good energy for a competitive and successful game. Concordia did just that, coming out ready to battle against the younger Martlets team. 

The Stingers took the lead almost immediately. McGill head coach Rikki Bowles called a timeout early in the first quarter in an attempt to stop the momentum. However, the Stingers remained strong, building their lead throughout the rest of the game. 

Caroline Task, a fifth-year guard, said winning the first game is “definitely a confidence booster” for the rest of the season. She attributed the successful start to strong defence and good team chemistry. 

“We feed a lot on our defence. And we were there, we were present defensively,” Task said. 

After an injury to Areej Burgonio’s left knee in the third quarter, Concordia’s command started to waver, and their lead began to shrink. Luckily, Burgonio was able to get her knee checked and re-taped, and quickly returned to the game to help her team get back on track. Stingers veteran Task wasn’t worried about the slowdown. 

“Obviously we had some lapses like any game, but we’re a team, we have really good chemistry off the court. And I think that really translates on the court,” Task said. 

The lapses are something Task believes the team will need to limit in their upcoming home opener against an experienced Bishops team. That game is set to start next week on Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. 

With the first win of the 2021–22 RSEQ regular season already secured by the Stingers, it looks to be an exciting season. Gittens said she has the same goal as all the other teams in the conference, to be champions. Her strategy is to take things one day at a time and build the team “brick by brick.”

“It starts in the preseason at summertime. It’s in the weight room. It’s in practice. It’s in those extra shots you get up at night. Every part of that journey is a brick that you want to lay to build that wall, to get us to our ultimate goal — to be champions,” Gittens said.

 

Photograph by Laurent Beausoleil

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McGill 2, Concordia 1: Stingers drop Theresa Humes Cup opener

Concordia vs. McGill Women's Hockey game on Oct. 1 2021

Concordia loses in overtime thriller versus McGill

On Friday, the Concordia Stingers welcomed the McGill Martlets at the Ed Meagher Arena for the opening game of the Theresa Humes Cup. This year’s edition of the preseason tournament is hosting four teams, as Bishop’s University, University of Montreal, McGill, and Concordia face off against each other over the weekend.

The Stingers fought a tough battle, but lost to McGill 2-1. Stingers head coach Julie Chu said that with time the team will improve on their mistakes, particularly on special teams, but Chu is not worried as the season progresses. 

“We’re going to get better,” Chu said. “Our special teams were a factor and are going to be a factor all year long, so we’ll keep on looking at areas we did a good job and areas we need to get better.”

In the first period, McGill forward Marika Labrecque and defensewoman Jaime Kastelic both went to the box, giving the Stingers two power play opportunities. Though Concordia created many scoring chances, the Stingers couldn’t capitalize.

In the second period, the forecheck from Concordia’s captain Audrey Belzile resulted in a defensive zone turnover from Martlets defensewoman Lydia MacLellan. Stingers rookie Émilie Lavoie had an open lane in the middle of the zone and sniped it past goaltender Tricia Deguire.  

Later in the period, it was the Stingers’ turn to head to the penalty box. Despite the fact that McGill spent the majority of the power plays in Concordia’s zone, the Martlets couldn’t take advantage. The closing score after the second period was 1-0 Concordia.

The last period was where the pace picked up. Both teams went back and forth with one another. The turning point was when Labrecque racked up her second penalty, resulting in a disadvantage for McGill going into the final 10 minutes in the game. 

Though the Stingers looked solid on all their power play advantages this game and seemed poised and relaxed when settling in the zone, things changed when forward Léonie Philbert coughed the puck up at the blue line leading to a shorthanded breakaway goal from McGill forward Emma Piers, tying up the score 1-1.

At the start of the overtime period, Lavoie collided with a McGill player and received a four-minute major hit-to-the-head penalty. The penalty resulted in the Stingers suffering a 4 on 3 disadvantage for the rest of the five-minute overtime period. McGill’s special teams took over from that point on as captain Jade Downie-Landry, Katie Rankin, Labrecque, and Laura Jardin went to work.  

With 1:35 left in overtime, Downie-Landry came down the wing and passed it through traffic to an open Jardin who tucked it into the net for a McGill win 2-1. 

Not being able to capitalize on chances seemed to be the running theme for both teams. Concordia was great at applying pressure (especially on the forecheck) and blocking shots during the penalty kill, or blocking passing lanes towards the net. The only thing that could not be done was the most important objective in hockey: to score. Chu acknowledges that one goal won’t be enough to win games.

“We’re a team that can score goals so we want to be able to get more than one in regulation,” Chu said.

 

Photograph by Catherine Reynolds

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Weekend Recap: Men’s hockey team dominates Lakers, women’s bounce back against Carabins

Women’s hockey:

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team went into this weekend having to face two of the top five teams in the country. I don’t care what the U Sports rankings say,  Concordia, UDEM and McGill are all giants in Canadian university sports.

“It’s a long season and we’re in a tremendous league,” said head coach Julie Chu. “We know that we’re going to be in tight, hard-fought games and we gotta make sure that we continue doing the little things right and staying positive is the number one thing. We have an opportunity tomorrow to go and have a great game too.”

The Stingers first game came against McGill. The Martlets came out flying and worked well to pressure the Stingers into making costly mistakes. After two periods of play, the Martlets were up 3-1. The Stingers then managed to come back to tie the game thanks to the efforts of captain Claudia Dubois, Audrey Belzile and Rosalie Bégin-Cyr who combined to force Concordia’s next two goals. Despite the comeback, the Stingers couldn’t get any momentum through the first overtime, and in the second overtime period, the Martlets capitalized and took the dub. This was the first time all season that the Stingers dropped back-to-back games.

The next day against the UDEM Carabins, the Stingers made sure to not make that mistake again. In what would be a tight, hard-fought and physical battle against Montreal, Concordia managed to outlast their opponent to take the shootout win. Back-up goalie Madison Oakes got the start against the Carabins to play in her third ever U Sports match, and she did not disappoint. Oakes was calm in the crease, only allowing one goal, including blanking all three Carabins shootout attempts.

“It’s kind of like your first shift back after not playing for a while,” said Chu. “But I think she settled in really well as the game went on. She’s a gamer. I think anytime our goaltenders are able to make big saves, that gives us a boost of energy.”

Bégin-Cyr continued her torrid scoring pace with a three-goal weekend, moving into a tie for sixth place in U Sports scoring.

– Matthew Coyte, Managing Editor

 

Men’s hockey:

The Stingers men’s hockey team put on a show for their fans on Saturday night. Going into their game with Nipissing, Stingers were on a four-game losing streak with their most recent loss coming on Jan. 15 against UQTR, losing by a score of 3-1. The Stingers had their chances in that game but again, it was their lack of ability to put the puck in the back of the net that got the best of them. Special teams were also an issue against the Patriotes as they were 0/5 with the man advantage.

Then came Saturday.

Only two points separated the Stingers and the Nipissing Lakers heading into the game. Having lost four in a row and facing a team trailing them in the standings, this game was critical for the Stingers. Head coach Marc-André Élement said the message going into the game was “leaders lead the way,” and boy, did they ever.

Fourth year player and team captain Philippe Sanche netted a hat-trick while assistant captain Carl Neill added three assists to his point total on the season. The team has shown flashes of brilliance in the past this season but haven’t been able to string together consecutive wins since Nov. 1. Things only get harder for the Stingers as they only have one more home game left on their schedule between now and the end of the regular season.

On top of all that, the special teams units really stepped up in a big way. The Stingers went 2/8 on the powerplay—which included goals from Jeff de Wit and Alexander Katerinakis. Meanwhile their penalty killing unit did a great job for the most part of neutralizing the Lakers’ powerplay, only holding them to a singular goal on eight attempts. On top of that, one of Philippe Sanche’s goals was a short handed marker.

A game like the one against Nipissing can turn into a critical one for the Stingers down the final stretch of the season. Beating a team that is jockeying for playoff position with the Stingers is no small feat. It can boost the confidence of the team which at this point is much needed. It is one thing to say that they can compete with any team in the country, as many of the players have said before. It’s another thing to do it.

That theory will be put to the test this weekend when the team heads to Ottawa to face off against the Ravens and the Gee Gees.

– Matthew Ohayon, Sports Editor

 

Photos by Britanny Clarke and Cecilia Piga

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Olivia Atkinson trades in her Martlet uniform for the Maroon and Gold

It’s not everyday a player goes from one team to their greatest rival. Names that come to mind are Carlos Tevez, Mark Recchi and Terrell Owens. Now, Olivia Atkinson joins that list along with her teammate Erica Starnino.

The fourth year player began her U-Sports career with the McGill Martlets in the 2015-16 season. She transferred to Concordia last year but was unable to play because of U-Sports eligibility rules. The season did not go to waste by any means for Atkinson, playing 17 games for Les Canadiennes de Montreal.

“It was a learning experience,” Atkinson said. “The pace of the game is much faster. Decisions need to be quicker. The physicality was the thing that showed me what my play lacked, I tried to focus on [improving] that aspect of my game.”

Atkinson joins a talented Stingers team with expectations sky high. She says to be a better, more impactful player for the team, she’s been focusing on her defensive play.

“Offensive [play] was something that I focused a lot on in the past,” said Atkinson. “Coming here with the knowledge of the coaches, I want to learn how to be a better defensive player.”

Nobody can dispute Atkinson’s offensive abilities, having been a top scoring RSEQ player during her time with McGill. Head coach Julie Chu had nothing but high praise for Atkinson when talking about her willingness to improve.

“She works hard all the time, wants to learn and wants to get better,” said Chu. “Even as someone who coached against her for three years, I saw that on the ice through her intensity and compete level.”

Atkinson, enrolled in psychology, says that she made the switch from McGill to Concordia because Concordia offered more specialized courses of behavioural neuroscience that she’s interested in.

It also helps that the Stingers women’s hockey program is year after year regarded as one of the top in the country.

It can be tough coming on to a new team, especially when playing for that team’s greatest rival. However Atkinson says that her new teammates have been nothing short of spectacular in helping her adjust to life with a new team and school.

“In the first couple of games, she had to get back into the swing of playing at the U-Sports level,” Chu said. “The truth is when you’re playing for Les Canadiennes, [Atkinson] probably wasn’t given the same amount of ice time and opportunities that she’s been getting at our level. From day one she’s been such a hard worker and teammate. It’s been great to watch.”

Chu was excited when Atkinson approached her about joining the team but she says she didn’t make any promises to her when it came to her role on the team.

“We don’t talk about roles, it’s about our culture,” said Chu. “What we promise here is that you’ll be loved and supported. You’ll get every resource possible to be successful on and off the ice. We don’t promise anyone a certain role or position on our team. That’s not who we are and it’s not reality of life. We promise opportunities if you work hard and execute.”

Offensive execution is what Atkinson is known for. As a second year player in 2016-17, Atkinson was second in goal scoring and in points, lighting the lamp 12 times that season and finishing with 25 points. In her last year of university hockey in the 2017-18 season, before making the jump to the CWHL, she finished eighth in the RSEQ in points with 16 on the season.

Adding Atkinson and a number of other recruits, along with the team’s returning players makes this squad an incredibly talented one. They started the season ranked as the fourth best team in the country, and after going undefeated in the opening weekend of the season, have shot up to the top ranked team in the country.

“Polls are always a funny thing. It’s so early on in the season and no one really knows how they stack up [against other teams],” said Chu. “It’s a nice compliment, we know we’ve been playing great hockey but we also know that where we stand at the end of the season is what really counts.”

Atkinson shares the same sentiment when it comes to the ranking and says that the teams approach along with her own hasn’t changed.

“Every day we’re coming to the rink and putting in the work,” Atkinson said. “We haven’t been taking our success [for granted]. We’re in a really competitive league and anyone of the teams can win on any given night. We have a target on our back and we need to be prepared for every game that way.”

Atkinson and the Stingers will take on the second nationally ranked Carabins on November 1 at 7 p.m. at the CEPSUM

 

Feature Photo by Laurence B-D

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Concordia 2 McGill 1 (SO): Stingers win season-opener in marathon match

Sometimes three periods of hockey isn’t enough, and you have to go to overtime.

Then double overtime.

Then a shootout.

That’s what it took for the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team, as they beat the McGill Martlets 2-1 at McConnell Arena in a shootout in what was a season-opener to remember.

“That was an awesome hockey game,” said head coach Julie Chu after the marathon match. “The whole team played really well. Both teams played really well, both had moments of momentum and moments to take advantage. It was a good hard fought game and we’re really happy for the first one of the season.”

McGill jumped ahead to a 1-0 lead in the second period on a goal from Jade Downie-Landry. The goal came after the Stingers were unable to convert on a pair of back-to-back power plays.

A minute later, the Stingers responded.

On another powerplay, Concordia kept the puck moving, inching forward before defender Brigitte Lagagniére found Rosalie Bégin-Cyr, who fired a wrister past McGill goalie Tricia Deguire. Deguire would make 41 saves throughout the five periods of play.

That would be the only goal on the power play for the Stingers despite getting seven opportunities with the extra attacker, including a four-minute power play that ended with the Stingers spending more time in their end than the Martlet’s.

“Our third period power plays, we needed better energy,” said Chu. “Especially the four minute one. That’s our opportunity to really take advantage of that moment. Because we had that struggle in the first two minutes of the four, we let it affect us. When you’re on the power play, technically, you fail more than you succeed.”

Across the ice, Stingers goalie Alice Philbert was forced to stand on her head a couple of times. Most notably during a botched Stingers power play breakout that led to a breakaway, Philbert stretched her pad and denied the attempt. Philbert ended the game with 32 saves.

“I thought [Philbert] was great,” said Chu of the third-year tendy. “She’s developed into a tremendous level at the university level. Her first year, she came in as a young person who needed to gain some strength and experience. I thought she was really solid today, was calm, made some big saves for us and obviously in the shootout she was really good.”

The Stingers 5-on-5 played well. Veterans like Audrey Belzile used her speed and power to generate more than a few scoring chances. Former Martlet Olivia Atkinson showed flashes of her CWHL-level skill. Rookie Emmy Fecteau was able to dangle through waves of Martlets at times. While there were more than a few solid individual efforts, rookie Léonie Philbert was one to really stand out. Playing both defence and forward at different points of the game, Philbert battled hard along the boards, managed to get a breakaway opportunity and was a general pain in the ass of the Martlets.

After regulation, the game headed to overtime. Both teams went back and forth, and both teams had chances to put the game away, but the goalies said otherwise. So off to a shootout we go.

Fecteau and Atkinson both were unable to score in the shootout. Philbert denied first two shooters as well. It was Bégin-Cyr who finally managed to put the Stingers ahead, snapping a shot five-hole as the third shooter. McGill’s Kellyanne Lecours was than calmly stopped by Philbert, giving the Stingers their first win of the season and putting an end to a low-scoring slugfest of a game.

“It was a really good team win, regardless of it ending up in a shootout,” said Chu.

NOTES

Two things:

  1.  I’m tracking shots and shot location for this upcoming Stingers whky season. It’s not going to be perfect, but should be interesting.
  2. Please inject this type of hockey directly into my veins.

 

Photos by Mackenzie Lad

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Concordia 74 McGill 0: Motivation not an issue as Stingers dominate Martlets

The Concordia Stingers women’s rugby team defeated McGill University 74-0 Sunday afternoon for the 15th annual Kelly-Anne Drummond Cup at Concordia Stadium, successfully defending their title from last year.

There were 11 Stingers who finished the game on the scoresheet, with 10 players scoring at least one try. Head coach Jocelyn Barrieau said it was great to see everyone contribute to the victory.

“It means they are playing for each other,” Barrieau said. They’re not selfish, as they love to move the ball. They don’t care who scores the try. They just want to score as a team, and I think they showed it really well today.”

As the Stingers looked to leave Concordia Stadium still undefeated in this 2019-2020 Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) season, Barrieau said the Kelly-Anne Drummond Cup game was the easiest game of the season for players to get extra motivation.

“We don’t have to search really far ahead of us [to be motivated for that match]. We have Kelly-Anne’s mother, Doreen, who’s there. It’s something really important to all of us.”

The Stingers established their game quickly, scoring their first try of the game in the 12th minute of the first half. The team went on to score four more tries in the first half, before adding seven more in the second.

In what might first look like an almost perfect game despite few missed two-point conversions, Barrieau said this game had nothing close to being a perfect performance.

“We played well, but it was far from being a perfect match,” Barrieau said. “We have a lot of details to work on. We always look to improve when we can do so, and we still have many things that we need to get better at.”

Stingers fifth-year player Lia Hoyte was named the MVP of the game, scoring one try. Hoyte now has two tries in four games played this season.

With one game left to the Stingers’s campaign, the team shows a perfect 5-0 record. Barrieau said if things are worked that well for the Stingers so far, it’s because of the players’ dedication to their team and sport.

“Players are so committed [to what they do],” Barrieau said. “It’s all about their overall implication, as they’ve worked so hard during the off-season last winter.”

The Stingers will play McGill once again for their last regular season game on Oct. 6 at the Percival Molson Stadium.

 

Photo by Laurence B. D.

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Concordia-McGill rivalry renewed in playoffs

Guard Caroline Task (#7) helped the Stingers eliminate the Martlets in the semi-finals. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

Women’s basketball, hockey teams faced Martlets in postseason action

The Concordia-McGill rivalry is one of the best in university sports, but it takes on another level when the two schools meet in the playoffs. That was exactly the case this season for both the women’s hockey and basketball teams in their respective Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) semi-finals.

The Stingers only won two of seven games versus McGill in women’s hockey this season. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

The Stingers women’s hockey team hadn’t beaten McGill in five previous playoff series. Their bad results against their cross-town rivals continued this year, losing in two games. McGill is now 12-0 against Concordia in the playoffs since the Stingers won the 2005 final in three games.

The women’s basketball team has had the same misfortune against the Martlets. Before this year’s playoff match-up, they hadn’t beaten McGill in the playoffs since 2002, losing in 2016 and 2017. This year’s team turned history around and beat the Martlets in the RSEQ semi-final, 62-55, at the Concordia Gym on Feb. 27. They also ended McGill’s seven-year run as provincial champions.

“All of us just wanted to dethrone them, as bad as that sounds,” said third-year guard Caroline Task after the game. “It was time for someone else to take the lead, so I think we went into this knowing this is what we wanted to do.”

It was a tightly-contested game, typical of the Concordia-McGill rivalry in any sport, with a loud and energetic crowd. The Stingers had a 10-point lead in the second quarter, and the Martlets responded well, leading by eight points in the fourth. That’s when the Stingers crowd got behind their team as Concordia scored 19 points in the last five minutes.

“Obviously there are a bit of butterflies in your stomach when you’re down with the time going down,” Task said. “Not for a second I didn’t think we wouldn’t pick it up.”

The rivalry takes on a whole new level each year at the Corey Cup. Photo by Hannah Ewen.
Missed opportunity

On the men’s side of basketball and hockey, there were no Concordia-McGill playoff meetings this year. McGill’s men’s basketball team lost in their semi-final, which would have set up a final against Concordia. In hockey, the Stingers met the Queen’s Gaels in the first round of the playoffs, but should have played McGill.

According to U Sports hockey insider Victor Findlay, the Gaels dressed an ineligible player in their final game of the season. The Ontario University Athletics Association only sanctioned them after their series against Concordia started, deducting them a point. Originally, the Gaels finished third, and McGill in fourth, but because of the loss of points, McGill jumped into the third seed. They would have played the sixth-placed Stingers if the issue had been dealt with earlier.

This could have set up a fantastic series between the schools. “It’s fun to play,” said rookie defenceman Bradley Lalonde after the Corey Cup on Feb. 2. “[The Ed Meagher arena] is kind of smaller, so when you get a lot of people, there’s a lot of noise.”

Stingers captain Philippe Hudon has seen it all from the rivalry during his five years at Concordia. “It’s an old rivalry, and these kind of games speak for themselves,” he said after the Corey Cup. “There should be more exposure to this kind of game, it’s fun hockey and the rivalry is tremendous.”

Fans will get another taste of the Concordia-McGill rivalry when the football season kicks off in September.

With files from Simon Prud’homme. Main photo by Mackenzie Lad.

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Stingers end Martlets title run in semi-final win

The Stingers used the crowd’s energy to their advantage. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

Concordia scores 19 points in final five minutes to move onto to RSEQ final

The Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team ended the McGill Martlets title run in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) semi-final. They won 62-55 at the Concordia Gym Wednesday night, ending McGill’s seven-year run as champions.

The Stingers missed the playoffs last year with a 4-12 record, and get to play in the final this year. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

After domination in the first quarter that gave the Stingers a 19-9 lead, they saw the Martlets coming back in the second quarter. The score was 30-29 for Concordia at halftime, and the Martlets took the lead in the third quarter. Concordia trailed behind and were losing by eight with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Stingers went on a 19-4 run to close out the game and get the win.

“I thought they showed a lot of character,” said head coach Tenicha Gittens, who was happy with her team’s performance. “When you are down seven points, it’s easy to just get down but we came back […]. You can get tired but you won’t be playing tomorrow. You can be tired next month.”

Gittens added that defence kept them in the game in the second half, allowing only 26 points. “Offensively, [the shots] were not falling,” Gittens said. “Our girls did a good job adjusting during the fourth quarter.

A team filled with rookies, this was the first playoff experience for most of them. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

Gittens also saw leadership from guards Caroline Task and forward Coralie Dumont when it mattered. Dumont played 39 of 40 minutes, collecting nine rebounds and scoring eight points. Rookie guard Myriam Leclerc also played 39 minutes, and had the most points in the game with 28.

“We never gave up,” Task said. “We had ups and downs, everybody played their part in the game.”

The Stingers will play the Université de Laval Rouge et Or on Saturday in Quebec City in the RSEQ final. The 15-1 Rouge et Or beat Concordia all four times this season, but only won by two points in their last meeting on Feb. 21.

“They won it last time but we’ll win it when it matters,” Task said about the final. “I am really excited. We played them last week and we fell short by two points and that means nothing. We know what we need to do to win the next game.”

The Stingers return to the final after losing to McGill in 2017. Laval will be looking to avenge their loss at last year’s finals, also against the Martlets.

Main photo by Gabe Chevalier.

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Martlets eliminate Stingers in RSEQ semi-final

The Stingers failed to defend their RSEQ championship title from last season. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

Concordia loses game two 5-3 after giving up three-goal lead

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team were eliminated in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) semi-finals by the McGill Martlets Saturday afternoon. The Martlets won 5-3 after the Stingers opened the game with a 3-0 lead at the McConnell Arena.

The game started well for the Stingers as they established dominance early in the first period. Forward Claudia Dubois opened the scoring 10 minutes into the game with her first goal of the series. Concordia head coach Julie Chu said that after Thursday’s loss in game one, the team wanted to improve for Saturday.

The Stingers haven’t beat the Martlets in a playoff game since 2005. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

“We talked about our mentality heading into this game,” Chu said. “It [was] a one-game season at that point for us, so we had to be ready to play and be ready to jump.”

The Stingers had a three-goal lead in the second period when forwards Rosalie Bégin-Cyr and Maria Manarolis scored two goals in less than five minutes. However, the Stingers lost their momentum after Manarolis’s goal, as the Martlets called a time-out and made a goaltending change. The Martlets then scored five unanswered goals. Chu said her team maintained a good position all game long despite the score.

“It wasn’t about a panic moment or anything,” Chu said. “It’s just a couple of moments that [the Martlets] found the back of the net, but, ultimately, they got four goals on seven shots [in the third period].”

The Stingers also had seven shots in the third period, but couldn’t beat back-up Martlets goalie Amanda Hadwen. Chu said she was still happy with how her team competed in the third period.

“I think the total effort of our team was really solid,” Chu said. “They’ve been battling all year long to be the team that they are, and I’m really proud of them. I think we didn’t come to play in the first game. This one we came to play.”

The Stingers won the RSEQ championship last year, but couldn’t win a playoff game this season. The head coach wants to use this loss as motivation for next season.

“This is definitely a tough one to swallow,” Chu said. “It will hurt for a long time, but for those who get the opportunity to return next year, that will be their fire. It will be their fire to not feel like this again and to know that we have it in this team.”

Main photo by Mackenzie Lad.

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Sports

Martlets dominate Stingers 6-2 in game one of semi-final

The Stingers will play a must-win game Saturday afternoon at McConnell Arena. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

Concordia discouraged after allowing early first goal

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team fell to the McGill Martlets in game one of the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) semi-final. The visiting Martlets beat the Stingers 6-2 at the Ed Meagher arena Thursday night.

“We saw a little bit of our youth as a team out there,” said Stingers head coach Julie Chu. “We got a little bit nervous and a little tight in that first period. Bottom line is that McGill just out-executed us today. They jumped on a lot of opportunities today that we gave them.”

Rosalie Bégin-Cyr received her rookie of the year award before the game. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

Prior to the game, five Stingers players were honoured as part of the RSEQ first, second, and rookie team all-stars for the 2018-19 season. Forwards Rosalie Bégin-Cyr and Audrey Belzile, along with defencemen Sandrine Lavictoire, Brigitte Laganière, and Claudia Fortin were those honoured. Bégin-Cyr received top honours as rookie of the year after being the highest-scoring rookie in the conference.

The Martlets got off to a flying start, scoring a mere minute into the game off a lucky bounce from a Christiana Colizza shot. Though momentum was in McGill’s favour, the Stingers caught a break with an unassisted goal by Lidia Fillion five minutes later. The tie game would be short lived, however, as the Martlets added two more goals in the period, including a shorthanded five-on-three goal.

The second period began much like the first, and the Stingers dug themselves into a deeper deficit following two early Martlets goals. By the time the score was 5-1 in favour of the Martlets, goaltender Katherine Purchase was replaced by Alice Philbert.

Each game between the two teams this season was won by the road team. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

Belzile scored shortly thereafter to give the Stingers new life and cut the Martlet’s lead. By the end of the second period, the Martlets outshot the Stingers 32-14.

“After the first goal, we got a little discouraged,” said Belzile following the game. “We were not focused on our details […], so we need to work on that that.”

Although the Stingers came out swinging in the third period, the Martlets were the only ones able to find the back of the net. Lauren Jardin scored a minute into the third to seal the deal for McGill.

The Martlets now head into game two of the best-of-three semi-final with a chance to eliminate the Stingers.

“It’s a three-game series for a reason,” Chu said. “They know there’s a reset and the season is not over. We’re going to assess what went on today and move on from there.”

The Stingers will aim to keep their season alive, and continue defending their RSEQ title on Saturday at 2 p.m. at McGill’s McConnell Arena.

Main photo by Gabe Chevalier.

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Sports

Stingers split doubleheader on senior’s night against McGill

It’s guaranteed the Stingers and Martlets will meet in the first round of the playoffs. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

Women take sole possession of second while men remain in first place

The Concordia Stingers men’s basketball team were defeated 70-59 by the McGill Redmen, while the women’s team defeated the Martlets 63-51 Thursday night at the Concordia Gym. It was also senior’s night for the graduating Stingers on both teams.

Women’s Game

McGill built an early lead in the first quarter when Concordia struggled offensively to start the game. However, Stingers guard Caroline Task registered nine points in the quarter to keep her team in the game.

The Stingers then took control when their defence stood out and helped bring their game to another level. The team dominated from the paint and the perimeter, while forcing many turnovers and shot clock violations from McGill.

Task continued to dominate in the second quarter, even hitting the 1000-point mark in her career. Her performance helped the Stingers finish the first half ahead, 31-27.

Things continued to work well for the Stingers in the third quarter. The team converted a lot of three-point shots and capitalized on offensive rebounds. The Martlets scored less than 10 points for a second straight quarter, allowing the Stingers to lead by 19 points approaching the last quarter of the game.

While the Stingers entered the fourth quarter with a 55-36 lead, poor shot selection and turnovers gave Mcgill energy. The visitors dominated a good part of the last 15 minutes of action and managed to get back in the game. However, the lead established by the Stingers earlier was too difficult to overcome.

With the win, the Stingers improve to 9-5 this season. Task finished the game with 28 points, a game-high.

Before the game, the Stingers honoured graduating students Elise Roy, Aurélie d’Anjou Drouin, and Ladonna Lamonth with framed jerseys.

The men will need to win one of their final two games to guarantee first place. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.
Men’s Game

Both teams battled for the majority of the first quarter. Stingers guard Ricardo Monge helped his team close the gap early in the game, but McGill still finished the first quarter ahead, 18-17.

Monge continued to produce offensively in the second quarter. His successful three-point shots in the first half allowed the Stingers to stay in the game and even take a brief lead in the second quarter. McGill replied and headed to the locker room ahead 29-28 at the intermission.

The third quarter was McGill’s affair. The visitors put the Stingers in a difficult situation in the third quarter, and entered the fourth with a seven-point lead. However, the Singers continued to fight and cut the deficit with back-to-back successful three-point shots from Sami Ghandour and Adrian Armstrong.

McGill came back to extend their lead with less than two minutes left. The Stingers continued to show resilience at the end of the game, as the team created scoring opportunities and received free throws.

Despite the loss, the Stingers remain first in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec ranking with a record of 10-4.

Both teams play the Bishop’s University Gaiters on Feb. 16 at the Mitchell Gym.

Main photo by Gabe Chevalier.

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