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Stingers split doubleheader on senior’s night against McGill

senior's night
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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Corey Cup lives up to its hype in tight affair

The Stingers have won three out of four games against McGill this season. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Concordia took advantage of home crowd for 4-3 win over McGill

In front of a packed house at the Ed Meagher Arena, the Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team won the 32nd annual Corey Cup against the McGill Redmen. This victory makes it the Stingers’s second-straight Corey Cup win, having won 4-3 both this year and last.

“The guys were excited,” said Stingers head coach Marc-André Élement about the Concordia-McGill rivalry. “It means a lot. With the stands packed like that it’s good for university hockey and it’s good for the city.”

The officials were quick to break up Zachary Zorn’s fight with Nicolas Poulin. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

This game had all the elements expected from a rivalry. The two teams combined for 18 penalty minutes, 14 coming in the second period. Midway through the second, McGill’s Nicolas Poulin went after Stingers forward Zachary Zorn after he delivered a huge hit. The players dropped their gloves for a fight, but were only given two minutes for roughing.

“It was cool [to see] and it kind of gets the boys going on the bench,” said rookie defenceman Bradley Lalonde. “We were proud of [Zorn] because he stood up for himself.”

Indiscipline also played a factor in this game. McGill’s opening goal late in the first period was scored on a power play, and gave them a 1-0 lead at the first intermission. After forward Charles-Éric Legaré tied the game early in the second, McGill retook the lead with another power-play goal after Zorn’s penalty.

Third-year forward Philippe Sanche scored his 12th of the season to tie the game 2-2 with eight seconds left in the second period, also on the power play. “[Sanche] has been playing amazing,” Élement said. “He’s a huge leader and that was an amazing goal.”

Charles-Éric Legaré scored at the beginning of the second and third periods. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Legaré scored his second of the game, and 11th of the season, early in the third period to give the Stingers a 3-2 lead. In eight regular-season games against McGill these past two years, Legaré has five goals and an assist, including a goal in last year’s Corey Cup. Élement said Legaré plays his best hockey against McGill because he enjoys the large crowds.

Stingers Captain Philippe Hudon played in his fifth and final Corey Cup, and it’s the third time he’s won it. He said he’s proud he’s been able to win the trophy in front of the home crowd two years in a row.

“It’s something that kind of rivals the Montreal [Canadiens]-Boston [Bruins] rivalry,” Hudon said. “Throughout the years, I’ve grown to not like McGill and really stick it to them every single game […] I’m happy a lot of people are coming because there should be more exposure to this kind of hockey.”

Midway through the third period, with the game tied 3-3, Hudon skated wide into McGill’s zone and dropped a pass for Hugo Roy. Roy blasted the puck past Louis-Philippe Guindon, igniting the crowd with the eventual game-winning goal. Hudon said he didn’t see the puck go in but heard the crowd’s roar, and celebrated like he scored a goal.

“It was a relief because it was such a back-and-forth hockey game,” Hudon said. “We were able to get the one-goal lead near the end, then bare down for the rest of the game.”

With the game tied three times, Lalonde said it helped to have the crowd behind them the whole game. “It’s a rivalry, so we know we’re never going to get behind no matter what happens, especially with the crowd into it,” Lalonde said.

With the win, the Stingers improve to 15-9-2 on the season and are in fifth place in the Ontario University Association (OUA) East with 32 points and two games left. McGill sits in fourth with 36 points, so the two teams could meet in the first round of the playoffs. McGill beat them in the OUA East final last year.

“This is what I live for; take ‘em on,” Hudon said. “If we play them this year, I’m giving it all I have.”

Main photo by Hannah Ewen.

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Lengvari Cup honours former Concordia and McGill player

The first George Lengvari Cup was played between the Stingers and Redmen on Jan. 19. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

Head coach Rastko Popovic says George Lengvari is a supporter of university basketball

The McGill Redmen hosted the first annual Lengvari Cup against the Concordia Stingers men’s basketball team on Jan. 19. The Stingers walked away with a 69-61 win at the Love Competition Hall at the McGill Sports Centre.

Concordia and McGill organized this annual trophy to honour George Lengvari, who played basketball for both schools. He played for the Loyola College Warriors from 1959 to 1963, winning a league title in his final season. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1963, he studied law at McGill, and joined their basketball team until graduating in 1966.

The Cup will be played at Concordia next season. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

“He’s somebody who’s a supporter of both institutions,” said Stingers head coach Rastko Popovic. “It’s to honour his contributions to both [teams] as a player and then as an alumni. He’s a financial supporter and I think it’s a great idea for both schools to honour him.”

Although the Lengvari Cup has no meaningful status to the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) season, it adds a level of pride to the fierce Concordia-McGill rivalry. In men’s hockey, the two teams play for the Corey Cup once a year, a trophy donated by former Montreal Canadiens president Ronald Corey. The Corey Cup is like any other regular-season game between Concordia and McGill, but playing for a trophy adds an exciting element.

Popovic doesn’t think his players needed extra motivation heading into Saturday’s game against McGill. “I think there [was] extra motivation on our side to get better,” Popovic said. “[We were] taking another step towards finishing first, and good teams find a way to win on the road.”

The Lengvari Cup will change host every year, with Concordia hosting it next year. Concordia beat McGill 86-69 at the Concordia Gym on Jan. 17.

With files from Simon Prud’homme. Main photo by Gabe Chevalier.


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Stingers split doubleheader at home against McGill

With a 7-1 record, the Stingers sit on top of the RSEQ standings. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

Ricardo Monge scores 22 in the win; Myriam Leclerc drops 26 in a losing effort

The Concordia Stingers basketball teams split a doubleheader against McGill Thursday night at the Concordia gym. It was the first set of a back-to-back series between the rival schools.

Men’s game

The men’s team defeated the McGill Redmen 86-69, as they dominated on all aspects of the game. Despite a slow start during the first five minutes when McGill took an 11-2 lead, Concordia stayed focused and got right back in the game.

From good defence to three-point shots made, the Stingers executed perfectly and that’s what allowed them to succeed. After scoring just 12 points in two games last weekend against Bishop’s, point guard Ricardo Monge came out really strong. He finished the game with 22 points, 10 assists, and 6 rebounds. Head coach Rastko Popovic described his game in one word: fantastic.

“I was trying to come out aggressive,” said Monge about bouncing back from last weekend. “I just took advantage of the miss-match we had.”

“Overall it’s a good win,” Popovic said. “There are still things we need to improve. We’ll have a good practice and be ready for Saturday.”

Popovic acknowledged that McGill was missing their best player and league-leading scorer, Alex Paquin, which affected them. But he added that a hand injury to Concordia veteran Cedrick Coriolan also affected play.

The head coach was satisfied by the play of guards Anthony Sanogo and Oge Nwoko. Sanogo had 12 points in 27 minutes coming off the bench, while Nwoko had eight points in 13 minutes. “I’m really impressed with how those guys stepped up,” Popovic said.

After two-straight games of scoring 18 points, Coralie Dumont had 14 points against McGill. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.
Women’s game

The women’s team lost 63-58 to the Martlets after a tough battle. Concordia didn’t have a strong start to the first half, and were down by 11 points at halftime.

They bounced back in the second half and, even though McGill increased their lead to 16 points, Concordia came back and took the lead midway through the fourth quarter. Despite a game-high 26 points from point guard Myriam Leclerc, the Martlets scored eight-straight points to close off the game and seal the win.

Despite a good finish that almost resulted in a win, head coach Tenisha Gittens was quite unhappy after the game. She said her team did not have a good start. “We couldn’t put the ball in the basket,” Gittens said. “To me, it’s not the end of the game [that matters]. We started the game poorly […]; we didn’t do a good job defending.”

Gittens also said her team didn’t work hard enough during the week, which contributed to the loss. “Unfortunately, I knew that this would happen because of the way we practiced,” the head coach said.

She also gave credit to McGill and expected that they would be ready to play their first game of 2019: “They have one of the best coaches in the country,” Gittens said. “I think we had some sparks, but at the end of the day, it was not enough.”

The men improved their record to 7-1, while the women dropped to 6-2 on the year.

Main photo by Gabe Chevalier.

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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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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 lose fourth straight game at home versus Redmen

Even though the Stingers had a 19-2 lead at one point, they failed to score in the second half. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Concordia takes 23 penalties in loss

The Concordia Stingers football team started their game against the McGill Redmen with a 10-0 lead before even going on defence. Despite this, they still lost their fourth-straight game 31-19 at the Concordia Stadium Saturday afternoon.

“We stopped playing,” said head coach Brad Collinson. “We got complacent when we had the lead.”

After Andrew Stevens scored a field goal on the Stingers’s opening drive, Redmen returner Pearce Dumay fumbled on the ensuing kick-off. The Stingers capitalized with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Yanic Lessard to grab a 10-0 lead before having to play defence.

Stingers mascot Buzz joined the cheerleading team. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

The Stingers played strong for the rest of the first quarter, and took a 17-2 lead when linebacker Samuel Brodrique returned a fumble 70 yards for a touchdown. Their lead grew to 17 points in the second quarter before McGill scored two field goals and a touchdown to go into halftime down 19-15. That’s when the Redmen started gaining momentum in the game.

“[McGill] started playing and we were sitting back on our laurels,” Collinson said. “We were happy that we were up and we just didn’t continue playing. That’s what it comes down to, it’s not rocket science.”

The Stingers didn’t score at all during the second half. The Redmen won the game with the strong running plays, as running back Donavan Martel led the game with 112 yards on 15 rushes. Quarterback Dimitrios Sinodinos also rushed for a touchdown in the third quarter, which gave the Redmen their first lead of the game.  

Penalties were another big factor in the loss. The Stingers had 23 penalties for a total of 215 yards—almost two lengths of the field. The Redmen had 11 penalties for 105 yards, which upset the home fans. Collinson said the undisciplined play wasn’t the deciding factor in the game, but offensive lineman Maurice Simba said it was demoralizing.

“We had three or four bad drives [with penalties] and obviously we got down,” Simba said. “But we just had to tell ourselves to keep playing.”

Despite the rivalry between McGill and Concordia, players on both teams were reminded that football is just a game. In the third quarter, Sinodinos threw a pass for wide receiver Jeremy Sauvageau in the end zone, who had to dive to try to make the grab. He couldn’t catch it, and as the players were going back to the line of scrimmage, he remained down, motionless. McGill’s trainers ran to attend to him right away, and he eventually walked off the field.

“Those are unfortunate moments that you don’t want to see on the playing field,” Collinson said. “But it is the reality of the sport.”

“No matter the colours he’s wearing, it hurts us to see it,” Simba added. “I can’t imagine what they went through seeing their teammate like that. I hope he’s okay.”

Wide receiver Jarryd Taylor was held to a single catch for six yards. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

With the loss, the Stingers now have a 2-5 record, tied with the Redmen. They sit in the fourth and last playoff spot, ahead of the 1-5 Université de Sherbrooke Vert et Or, who they beat in September. The Stingers travel to Sherbrooke on Oct. 27 in the last game of the regular season.

“We’re still in it and we still have a chance to make the playoffs,” Collinson said. “It’s up to [the players] on whether they want to pack it in or come out ready for another hard-fought battle in Sherbrooke next week.”

Main photo by Hannah Ewen.

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Stingers lose OUA East final against Redmen

The Concordia Stingers huddle around goalie Marc-Antoine Turcotte after being eliminated from the playoffs. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

McGill dominated after Pépin was tossed from game

The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team were overwhelmed by the McGill Redmen Sunday night at the McConnell Arena, losing 6-2. The Redmen won the best-of-three Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East final, advancing to the Queen’s Cup next weekend against the Brock Badgers.

“It was like a game seven,” said Stingers forward Anthony Beauregard. “For sure we were a bit stressed, but we just tried to push hard. Obviously, it wasn’t the result we wanted.”

The Stingers got off to the start they wanted, with captain Philippe Hudon scoring just 31 seconds into the game. However, less than two minutes later, Stingers forward Alexis Pépin was ejected from the game for a hit to Quinn Syrydiuk’s head.

“We had a good start, but that was a hit that [deserved] five minutes [major penalty],” said head coach Marc-André Élement. “It’s a good call, and we have to live with it […] I don’t want to blame Pépin because he’s a physical guy, and the other guy was in a vulnerable position, but that’s hockey.”

Players on both teams didn’t forget about their rivalry in game three. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

The penalty gave the Redmen a five-minute power play that would continue if they scored. And they capitalized twice. Defenceman Nikolas Brouillard and forward Jerome Verrier—the game two overtime hero—both beat Stingers goalie Marc-Antoine Turcotte on the blocker side. These goals got over 1,000 people at the arena fired up, and put the Stingers on their heels.

The Stingers shot chart. By Matthew Coyte

Despite Stingers defenceman Philippe Charbonneau tying the game midway through the first period, the Redmen regained the lead a minute later with a goal by Jan Kaminsky. That goal was all the Redmen needed, as they scored one more in the second and two more in the third, to beat their cross-town rivals.

The Stingers just couldn’t capitalize on their scoring chances. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

In the second period, the Stingers continued to get penalized when defenceman Alexandre Gosselin received a 10-minute major for hitting from behind. Élement said his players were undisciplined.

“Sometimes, in a game like that of high-intensity, the emotions are really high,” Élement added.

The Redmen are a team full of veterans, while the Stingers have many players still in their first and second years of eligibility. McGill’s composure in this series showed, considering they were a shot away from losing in overtime in game two, and climbed back to win.

“Our playoff run was huge for our program,” Élement said. “I’ve got to give them credit, they have a really good team. You know what, I hope they win the Queen’s Cup. I know it’s always a rivalry between us and them, but I hope a Quebec team wins.”

While the Redmen travel to Brock University to play the Badgers in the Queen’s Cup, the Stingers will host the York Lions

While the Redmen travel to Brock University to play the Badgers in the Queen’s Cup, the Stingers will host the York Lions on Friday, March 9 at the Ed Meagher Arena, in a bronze-medal match. The winner of that game will join the Redmen and the Badgers at nationals.

“We’re going to be ready for Friday,” Élement said. “We just hope we get the chance to win it on Friday and play [the Redmen] at nationals.”

Main photo by Alex Hutchins.

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Stingers drop RSEQ final against Redmen

The Stingers just didn’t have enough firepower to win their first championship since 2012. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

McGill will go into national championship as the #3 seed

Despite fighting their way to their first final since 2012, the Concordia Stingers men’s basketball team wore silver medals after losing to the McGill Redmen by a score of 98-79 in the championship game of the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) playoffs on March 3.

The first quarter was neck and neck, with both teams scoring 21 points. Stingers guard Ricardo Monge put on an offensive display to open up the game, going 3/4 from three-point range and scoring 12 points in the opening quarter alone. McGill did not falter in face of his hot hand, though, and managed to keep up, coming out of the quarter tied.

In the second quarter, the Redmen began to impose their will on the game. Not only did Concordia’s scoring dry up, but McGill used picture-perfect passing at the other end to create open shots, which they couldn’t seem to miss. They shot 8/12 from the field en route to outscoring Concordia 23-12 in the second quarter.

The Redmen dominated rebounds and battles in the paint. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

Concordia’s man-to-man defence was inadequate, as the Redmen continuously found open passes. Redmen guard Avery Cadogan was the x-factor in building the lead, as he scored 11 points in the second quarter, and hit all three of his three-point shots. McGill was up at the half 44-33.

Concordia came out in the second half hoping to stagnate McGill’s domination close to the basket. They switched their defence from man-to-man to zone coverage.

This proved to be a mistake, as McGill used their passing to find gaps along the three-point line. McGill made 75 per cent of three-point attempts in the third quarter, while Concordia only hit five of their 15 shooting attempts.

By the end of the third, the Stingers were down 73-50. The fourth quarter was more of the same for the Stingers. McGill’s biggest lead came with seven minutes left in the fourth, when they led by 30 points. McGill won the championship in convincing fashion by a score of 98-79.

The story of this game was McGill’s hot shooting and stifling defence. The Redmen’s shooting percentages were extremely impressive, as they went 57 per cent from the field, 54 per cent from three-point range, and 58 per cent at the free-throw line. No matter which defence the Stingers threw at them, the Redmen adapted their offence and continued to score.

Concordia’s lack of offence is what killed them. Their defence was actually not bad, but it was just one of those nights for McGill’s offence, which was simply on fire. Concordia’s only hope at winning the game was outgunning the Redmen on offence, which they were unable to do.

The Stingers will look for their shot at redemption next year, when they hope to challenge for the championship once again. Meanwhile, the Redmen strengthened their position as a national championship contender. They will play in the U Sports national championship as the third-best team in the nation.

Main photo by Alex Hutchins.

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Redmen stun capacity crowd with overtime win against Stingers

Stingers captain Philippe Hudon scored a goal in game two, but it wasn’t enough for the win. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

OUA East final now heading to a deciding game three

Jerome Verrier’s overtime goal gave the McGill Redmen a 3-2 win over the Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team Friday night at the Ed Meagher Arena. The best-of-three Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East final is now tied, with the series going to a deciding game three.

The Ed Meagher Arena, which has a capacity of about 800 people, sold out for the game. For the fans who showed up a bit later, they had to stand along the boards, in the rows or sit on stairs. The crowd was full of energy for the whole game.

“We’re sorry we didn’t end up winning for [the fans],” said Stingers captain Philippe Hudon about the packed arena.

The Ed Meagher Arena was standing room only on Friday night. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

Hudon opened the scoring five minutes into the game with a power-play goal, and the pro-Concordia crowd erupted into a frenzy. Hudon described the atmosphere as “unbelievable.”

“It gives you that constant drive even though we played nearly four whole periods,” he said.

The Redmen responded a minute after Hudon’s goal, with Guillaume Gauthier beating Marc-Antoine Turcotte with a high shot. The Stingers were undisciplined in the first period, with forward Alexis Pépin taking two penalties, and forward Massimo Carozza had another. The Redmen went 0/4 on their power-play opportunities all game.

Turcotte, who was the game-one star with 43 saves in the win, was not the better of the two goalies in game two. Although he had a fantastic game, making 44 saves, McGill’s Louis-Philip Guindon won the goaltending duel, with 50 saves. He made several important saves in overtime too.

The Concordia Stingers shot tracker on Louis-Philip Guindon. Bolded are the goals. Tracked by Matthew Coyte.

“He was strong, but we have to take advantage of his weaknesses,” Hudon said about Guindon. “He really played an unbelievable game, just as much as Turcotte did, but we just have to keep firing away. We know we could beat this guy, but it’s just a question of being in his face at all times.”

The Redmen took their first lead of the series in the second period, when Michael Cramarossa scored seven minutes in. With five minutes left in the second, Cramarossa took an interference penalty, and the Stingers took advantage when Carozza scored a goal from the high slot to tie the game.

Both of the Stingers’s goals in the game came from a power play. Stingers head coach Marc-André Élement said he isn’t worried his team couldn’t score on five-on-five.

“We just have to put more pucks on net,” Élement said. “We’re going to watch video and analyze our game, but I think putting more pucks on net [during] five-on-five will be the key.”

After winning game one on the road at McGill’s McConnell Arena, the Stingers will have to go back there to close off the series. This is not a situation they’re unfamiliar with, as they had to do it in the last series against the Queen’s Gaels. The Stingers won both games on the road, including game three in overtime. In the playoffs, Concordia is undefeated on the road.

“It’s a positive thing that we didn’t lose any away games, and I’m confident we’re going to bounce back from this tough one,” Élement said. “They have a good team, and it’s not easy to win two games [in a row] against those guys.”

The Stingers opened their regular season in October away against the Redmen, and won 3-2. Now, they don’t want their season to end where it started: on enemy territory.

Game three is on Sunday, March 4 at 7 p.m. at the McConnell Arena.

Main photo by Alex Hutchins.

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Sports

Stingers steal game one on the road

Stingers goalie Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 43 saves in the win. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 43 saves against Redmen

After an overtime win in game three of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East semi-final on the road against the Queen’s Gaels on Feb. 25, the Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team stole a road game from the McGill Redmen three days later. The Stingers’s 3-1 win gives them a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three OUA East final.

“The first game is the most important game, so we’re looking forward to [game two] and trying to finish it off there, but it won’t be easy,” said Stingers defenceman Matthieu Desautels following the win at McGill’s McConnell Arena on Feb. 28.

The Stingers started slow in the first period, allowing the Redmen to take a 16-3 lead in shots by the first intermission. But Stingers goalie Marc-Antoine Turcotte made key saves to keep the game scoreless until Stingers forward Raphaël Lafontaine scored with two minutes left in the first period to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

“For sure our guys were nervous, it’s our first final,” said Stingers head coach Marc-André Élement. The last time Concordia made it this far in the playoffs was in 1984, while the Redmen lost in the OUA East final a year ago to the Gaels. “[The Redmen] came out really strong, and we were kind of on our heels a little bit.”

However, Stingers captain Philippe Hudon saw his teammates react calmly in the first period. “Honestly, it [wasn’t] different from any other playoff game that we’ve played so far,” Hudon said. “I think we’re just more excited about being able to play McGill in the playoffs, and we just want to stick it to them.”

The Redmen continued dominating in the first half of the second period, but Turcotte continued to make key saves. After every big stop, the McGill crowd gasped, thinking their team had just scored. When they realized Turcotte had stopped the puck from crossing the goal line, they seemed dejected.

“He was the best player on the ice,” Élement said about Turcotte, who made 43 saves in the game. “He’s been amazing all year. We talked a lot about [Anthony] Beauregard being the MVP, but [Turcotte] is right there. He kept us in games all year, and now he deserves all the credit.”

Eventually, Turcotte’s big saves sucked the energy out of the building, and didn’t give the Redmen much of a home-ice advantage. In the third period, the loudest cheers came when two fans—sitting two seats away from each other—caught two pucks that flew into the crowd almost a minute apart.

Forward Charles-Eric Legare scored the Stingers second goal, late in the second period. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

“We wouldn’t be here without [Turcotte], and we’re lucky to have him.” Desautels said. “Hopefully he plays that well too next game.”

The Stingers started creating more scoring chances in the second half of the second period. With the help of some crisp passing, the Stingers had a stretch of a few minutes when they kept the puck in the Redmen zone, but couldn’t beat goalie Louis-Philip Guindon.

Eventually, with just over three minutes left in the second period, Stingers forward Charles-Éric Légaré deked around a defenceman and fooled Guindon with a backhand to give Concordia a 2-0 lead. The Redmen cut the lead to 2-1 in the final minute of the game, but Hudon scored his third empty-net goal of the playoffs to seal the win.

The Stingers also took game one on the road against Queen’s in the last series, but lost game two at home. Hudon said they need to avoid that home loss so they don’t have to return to McGill on Sunday for game three.

“Against Queen’s, we backed off a bit. We got a little bit scared and had a little bit of nerves,” Hudon said. “It’s just going to be a question of sticking to our gameplan.”

Élement added: “The toughest thing is to win the second game.”

Game two will be on Friday, March 2 at the Ed Meagher Arena at 7:30 p.m.

Main photo by Alex Hutchins.

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Sports

Stingers mount late comeback to win Corey Cup

A year after losing the Corey Cup in overtime, the Stingers beat the Redmen in a shootout. Photo by Kirubel Mehari.

Anthony Beauregard collects 60th point of the season and scores shootout winner

The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team beat the McGill Redmen 4-3 in a shootout to win the 31st annual Corey Cup on Feb. 9. Goals from Anthony Beauregard, Charles-Eric Legare and Philippe Hudon, along with the shootout winner from Beauregard sealed the win for the Stingers at the Ed Meagher Arena.

It wasn’t an easy win though. Like any game against McGill, it was physical and explosive. Adding to that energy was a near-sold-out Ed Meagher Arena at Concordia’s Loyola campus. Hudon said he had never heard the arena that loud in his four years at Concordia.

With 14 minutes left in the third period, the Redmen held a 3-1 lead with goals from Jerome Verrier, Keanu Yamamoto and Nikolas Brouillard. They played a fast, hard-hitting game, and were able to keep the Stingers on their heels for most of the game. A goal from Legare off a blocked shot midway through the third period cut the lead down to one.

“I told the guys straight up, ‘There is no one who is going to quit in here,’” said head coach Marc-André Élement. “We’re going to get it.”

Élement told the players before the game that their success would rely on their ability to take control of special team situations. But special teams almost cost the Stingers the game. The Redmen scored all three of their goals on the powerplay, and the Stingers only scored one. Each team had eight power plays.

With five minutes left in the third and the Stingers down one, McGill got called for too many men on the ice. As soon as the play started, Hudon parked himself right in the crease, waiting for a tip. The first shot sent his way hit him in the shoulder.

“I thought I was going to lose some chiclets,” Hudon said. The play reset, and a long wrist shot from the blue line from Beauregard was heading high, but Hudon managed to tip the puck down and through the legs of a still-standing Redmen goalie Louis-Philippe Guindon. Despite protests of a high stick from the Redmen players, the goal stood.

“I love playoffs; I love to play for something,” Hudon said about the post-season starting next week. “I’ve stepped it up. I had a mediocre first half. I worked on a few things in practice. My game is surging.”

His efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. Élement praised how Hudon has bounced back after a rocky start to the year.

“I don’t know what happened, but since his suspension [in November], every night he’s one of our best players,” Élement said. “He plays the game intense and physical.” The head coach added he could see Hudon playing professional hockey soon.

With Hudon’s tying goal, the game headed into three-on-three overtime. The Redmen managed to get some of their momentum back, with several scoring chances from Brouillard. After a lot of back and forth, the game headed to a shootout.

The Ed Meagher Arena was nearly sold out for the Corey Cup. Photo by Kirubel Mehari.

Beauregard was the third shooter up for Concordia. None of the previous shooters from either team had been able to solve the goalies. Beauregard wound up and carried the puck in on Guindon. At the top of the faceoff circles, he did a quick stutter step, switched his weight from one foot to another, froze Guindon and ripped a wrist shot top shelf.

Beauregard said the only thought going through his mind during his attempt was to score. Stingers goalie Marc-Antoine Turcotte bolted from his crease and was the first player to celebrate with Beauregard, before the bench cleared to join in at centre ice.

Before this game, Concordia lost three of their last four. Both teams already clinched their spot in the playoffs, but the Stingers were battling for position in the standing. Like any game against McGill, though, it was about pride.

“It doesn’t feel like a regular win,” Hudon said. “We’re playing our cross-town rivals, and it means that much more because it’s the Corey Cup game […] This was a character win. It’s going to turn things around for us.”

Every game this season between the Stingers and the Redmen has been decided by one goal, with two needing extra time. With this win, the Stingers sit in fourth place in the division, clinching home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. They wrap up their season hosting the third-placed Carleton Ravens on Feb. 10.

Main photo by Kirubel Mehari.

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