Tag: men’s hockey

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Men’s hockey lose lead and fall to Mustangs

Concordia gave up an early lead to Western, who went on to win 8-4

The Western Mustangs erased a three-goal, first-period deficit, scoring seven unanswered goals, en-route to a dominating 8-4 win over the Concordia Stingers. The loss was Concordia’s fourth-straight.

Head Coach Kevin Figsby said that the loss came as a result of not playing a full 60 minutes of hockey.

“We were ready for them tonight, we had a pretty good game plan because we came out in the first period and got 19 shots and scored four goals, and that was the game plan, to play that way for 60 minutes,” said Figsby.

Photo by Briana Thicke.

Forward Marc-Olivier Brouillard started the game off by picking up a loose puck out of a mid-ice cluster, streaking in and besting the Western goaltender with a nifty backhand, forehand move.

Nearly 30 seconds later, winger Kyle Armstrong tipped in a pass from Brouillard, putting the Stingers up 2-0. The two goals came within the first three minutes of play and on the teams first three shots of the game.

Soon after, Western responded with their only goal in the frame, coming off a long shot from center Adam McKee, which was buried in by defenceman Alex Micallef.

Forward Scott Oke restored Concordia’s two-goal lead just a few minutes later, by finishing off a centering pass from winger Domenic Beauchemin.

With three minutes left in the first period, and momentum swinging in the Stingers direction, forward Jessyko Bernard found captain Olivier Hinse in tight, who managed to out-wait Western goalie Gregg Dodds and roof his backhand. The Stingers finished the period with a 4-1 lead, outshooting the Mustangs 19-13.

The second period presented a completely different Concordia Stingers hockey team.

Centerman Julian Cimadamore opened the floodgates for Western, banging home the puck off a rebound and putting the Mustangs within two.

The Stingers’ second period collapse came off of two consecutive turnovers that allowed for two Mustang defencemen, Jed Rusk and Matt Herskovitz, to capitalize on and tie the game at four.

Less than a minute later, a loose puck within a scramble in front of Stingers goalie Robin Billingham was picked up and sent home by Adam Mckee, which put the Mustangs ahead 5-4.

Mckee would then tally his second goal of the game off a rush through several Concordia players and ensure a two-goal Mustang lead to end the second period. The Mustangs continued to roll and scored two more in the period.

The Stingers have now fallen to a 4-11-0 record on the season, losing eight of their last 10 games. When asked how the Stingers are preparing to turn their drive around, Figsby put special emphasis on the simplicity of the game.

“I met with each line before the game, I met with all four lines, I met with the six defenceman as a group and I met with the goalies as a group, and we talked tonight about just coming out and keeping things simple, and keeping things positive,” he said.

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Concordia lets game get away

The Stingers squandered a two-goal lead and lost to the Gaels 4-2 

The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team was looking to end their losing streak when they hosted the Gaels from Queen’s University on Saturday, Nov.1.

The first period started fast as both teams went on the attack, looking for the opening goal. As the period carried on, the game looked like it was going to be a physical battle, both teams dishing out big hits.

Six minutes into the period, the Gaels got a power play opportunity when Concordia’s Victor Provencher got called for roughing. Although the Gaels pushed hard and took lots of shots, they couldn’t beat Concordia’s starting goalie Robin Billingham. Billingham played extremely well in the first period and stopped every shot he faced. The Stingers killed the penalty and got their own chance on the power play several minutes later. As hard as the Stingers pushed, throwing everything on net, Gaels goalie Chris Clarke stopped every shot he faced on the man advantage. The Gaels managed to kill the penalty and the first period finished 0-0.

Going into the second period, Concordia had the slight edge and opened the scoring right away. Stingers forward Marc-Olivier Brouillard got a great pass from defenceman Alex Macdonald and fired a shot past Clarke for the 1-0 lead.

The Stingers added to their lead shortly after when captain Olivier Hinse went in alone and got the puck past Clarke for the 2-0 lead. It looked like Concordia was on their way to snapping their two-game losing streak, but the Gaels didn’t give up.

Queen’s forward Darcy Greenway to cut the lead to 2-1 halfway through the second and put the Stingers back on their heels. The goal seemed to stun the Stingers and they started to play a rougher, more undisciplined, game. Stingers forward Antoine Houde-Caron got called for roughing and the Gaels quickly capitalized on the man advantage, tying the game 2-2.

For the rest of the period, it was all Queen’s as the Stingers kept getting into penalty trouble. On another power play, Gaels forward Brett Foy tipped a shot past Billingham and gave his team the 3-2 lead.

In the third period, as hard as they tried, the Stingers couldn’t get another puck past Clarke. The Gaels added one more goal early in the period and then their goalie did the rest.

Concordia’s head coach Kevin Figsby was frustrated with his team after the unfortunate outcome.

“Our power play wasn’t working. We got discouraged which is really rare [and] after that third goal, it just seemed like we lost the will to play. It’s disappointing because we were going hard and they’re a really good hockey team,” said Figsby.

Much like his coach, Hinse was dispirited when describing the loss.

“I think we played hard. We got a bad bounce and after we had a bad attitude, which never happens. We are not a team that gives up and it’s not the attitude we want. We will work hard because we want to win again.”

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Stingers play a game for the history books

Photo by Nikolas Litzenberger.

For the first time in history, the Stingers men’s hockey team took on the Harvard Crimson in a hard-fought battle ending in a home loss for Concordia.

The exhibition game, while it did not count on the teams’ records for the season, was still a competitive match-up.

This was the third game in three days for the Stingers, a feat that is “just not done” at this level, according to head coach Kevin Figsby.

“[This was] an opportunity now for us to create an annual event with Harvard,” he said. “If we had said no to the game we’d never be able to get that back on our schedule, so we took our third game in three days.”

Photo by Nikolas Litzenberger.

Despite arriving back at Concordia at 1:30 a.m. the night before, the Stingers had a lot of energy when the puck dropped at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 19 at the Ed Meagher Arena.

However, that energy was matched by the Crimson who spent the first five minutes pinning the Stingers in their own zone. Seven and a half minutes in, the Stingers iced the puck, and on the ensuing play, Harvard forward Brayden Jaw put the puck in the back of the net.

Two minutes later, Stingers forward Victor Provencher was denied on a breakaway by the Crimson’s goaltender.

Halfway through the first, a Stingers player was sent to the sin bin for holding, and Harvard made them pay, putting it past Concordia’s netminder Robin Billingham with 30 seconds left on the penalty kill.

At the end of the first, Concordia only had three shots on goal, compared to 11 for Harvard.

The Stingers’ woes followed them into the second period, and two-and-a-half minutes in, Harvard’s Wiley Sherman managed to sneak around Concordia’s defence, but was brought down with a hook. On the ensuing penalty shot, Sherman put the puck past Billingham, making the score 3-0.
Just over four minutes later the Stingers showed signs of life. After firing a shot wide of the net, Charles-Alexander Plaisir picked up his own rebound from behind Harvard’s net. Moments later, he tucked the puck behind Harvard’s goalie to notch Concordia’s first goal of the game.

Despite some big saves from Billingham during the period, the Crimson managed to sneak two more past the Stingers’ netminder. However, the Stingers were quick to respond; about 20 seconds later, a shot from the right wing made its way into the back of Harvard’s net, making the score 5-2 with just over four minutes left in the period. That goal gave the Stingers the energy to push the pace of the game at the end of the period, but to no avail.

The beginning of the third spelled trouble for the Stingers. Despite starting the period with a powerplay, Concordia didn’t get a single shot on goal, and ninety seconds into the period, Sherman scored another goal for the Crimson. That marked the end for the Stingers, who conceded one more goal before the end of the game, making the final score 7-2.

“[The] guys gave more than they had today. That’s a tremendous sign of character,” said Figsby.

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Patriotes best Stingers with a commanding win

Photo by Evgenia Choros.

Concordia couldn’t keep up with one of the nation’s best teams for the whole 60 minutes

With a sloppy performance on Friday, Oct.17, the Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team ultimately fell short against the Université de Québec a Trois-Rivères (UQTR) Patriotes in a 7-4 rout. Costly penalties, questionable defensive plays and missed opportunities were all contributing factors in the Stingers’ home loss.

In an attempt to put the loss in a more favourable light, Stingers head coach Kevin Figsby explained how the scoreboard did not reflect his team’s effort.

“It was a 7-4 score, not a 7-4 game,” said Figsby. “I thought we showed a lot of character … we were in it for 51 minutes, and we had a couple of guys who didn’t bring their A-performance.”

Photo by Evgenia Choros.

The Stingers kept the Patriotes in check through the first period—not an easy task considering UQTR was the fourth-ranked team in the nation heading into Friday’s game. Thanks to a highlight-reel power-play goal from Concordia’s forward Dany Potvin, the game was tied 1-1 heading into the second period. However, the Stingers’ mental mistakes would prove to be detrimental in the late going.

Lack of discipline and shaky play by Concordia’s blue-liners proved to be the difference in the second period as the Patriotes scored three unanswered goals, to which the Stingers were never able to bounce back from. Tallies from Patriotes forwards Billy Lacasse, Tommy Giroux and Tommy Tremblay all came within seven minutes of each other. The Stingers were able to respond by a lone Antoine Houde-Caron goal with 15 seconds left in the second period.

The Stingers’ lack of discipline in the period was evident in a critical lapse of judgment by first year forward Victor Provencher. Provencher was ejected with a five-minute major and a game misconduct for hitting an opponent from behind, leaving his team down a man for the remainder of the game.

Things didn’t get much better for Concordia in the third period. The unrelenting Patriotes team continued to pour it on, adding another three scores to complete the blowout.

The lone bright spot in the final period came off the stick of Stingers captain Olivier Hinse. Midway through the period, Hinse stormed his way end-to-end, weaving past Patriotes defenders, and fired his first shorthanded goal of the season past the bewildered Patriotes goaltender, Guillaume Nadeau. Hinse’s fantastic individual effort could have changed momentum, but there was simply no stopping the Patriotes in this game.

“We got beatten by a better team. We’re still not [at] the point in our learning curve to beat a team like that,” said Figsby.

Following the tough home loss, the Stingers had a busy weekend schedule, as they headed to Kingston the next day to confront the Queen’s Gaels, and then hosted the Harvard Crimson in an exhibition match on Sunday Oct. 19 at home.

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Paladins prove to be no match for Stingers

Concordia complete a perfect weekend, winning both home games

The Concordia Stingers finished off their home-stand this weekend with a convincing 10-4 win over the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) Paladins on Saturday, Oct. 11. The Stingers improved to 2-2 on the season.

The first period began as both teams pushed hard to try and get the first goal of the game. Six minutes into the game, RMC got the first penalty of the game when forward Frederic Thouin was called for hooking. The Stingers jumped on the board early when Stingers forward Domenic Beauchemin buried a shot past RMC goaltender Paul Mazzolin to give Concordia a 1-0 lead.

After an intense four minutes, RMC got on the board when forward Alexander Pym got a shot past Stingers netminder Robin Billingham.

Concordia quickly took control of the game late in the first period. With two minutes left, forward Ben Dubois scored on a wrist shot to give Concordia the lead, but the Stingers were nowhere near finished. Fifty seconds later, veteran defenceman Youssef Kabbaj got a pass from forward Jessyko Bernard and scored to give the Stingers a 3-1 lead heading into the second period.

In the second period Concordia continued to dominate the game. Two minutes into the period, captain Olivier Hinse got the puck and went in alone and put it past Mazzolin for a 4-1 lead.

After a Stingers penalty, the Paladins got on the board again when forward Jake Bullen beat Billingham to make it 4-2. However, this game belonged to the Stingers from the get-go.

They quickly responded when Domenic Beauchemin sent a shot past Mazzolin for a 5-2 Stingers lead. After Victor Provencher and Dany Potvin scored late in the second period, the Stingers went into the final period with a 7-2 lead. By then, it was clear that Concordia’s commanding momentum would not be stopped.

The third period was no different as Concordia continued to dominate the game. Four minutes in, the Stingers added to their huge lead when Hinse fired another wrist shot past Mazzolin. The final goal scorers for the Stingers were Kieran O’Neil and Matt Boudreau.

The back-to-back wins this weekend were impressive performances by the home squad. The Stingers outshot the Paladins 37-31 and were successful on two out of the four times that they were on the powerplay.

“We played really well, I could honestly call it solid hockey,” said Concordia’s head coach Kevin Figsby. “Great defense this weekend, [it] was a great building block for the season and a good foundation. We dominated from start to finish and we had stellar goaltending.”

Much like his head coach, Concordia’s leader and captain was pleased with the two wins at home.

“I feel good, it was a great weekend [and] we played really well. Every line produced [today] and it was a great team effort,” said Hinse.

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Stingers roll over Ravens in home opener

Men’s hockey team was victorious over Carleton on Friday night, earning their first win of the season

The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team was looking to extract some revenge against the Carleton Ravens in their home opener. The Ravens had previously beaten Concordia in Ottawa last week in the first game of the season. On Friday night, Oct. 10, the Stingers could not be stopped as they beat the Ravens 5-2.

Stingers forward Antoine Houde-Caron tucks a goal past Carleton’s netminder. Photo by Nikolas Litzenberg.

The game got off to a great start for the Stingers. Off the opening faceoff, Stingers defenceman Youssef Kabbaj fed forward Scott Oke who fired a quick shot past Carleton’s goalie to give Concordia a 1-0 lead, just 20 seconds into the game.

Four minutes later, after Stingers forward Ben Dubois got called for tripping, the Ravens capitalized. Carleton forward Joe Pleckaitis snapped a wrist shot past Stingers goaltender Robin Billingham to tie the game at 1-1.

It didn’t take Concordia long to respond as defenceman Sean Blunden got a pass from Marc-Olivier Brouillard and found the net to make it 2-1. Only a minute later Concordia got into even more penalty trouble when Olivier Jodoin was called for slashing.

After a slew of penalties by both teams, the Ravens defenceman Jason Seed got called for high sticking and the Stingers took full advantage of the powerplay. Forward Jessyko Bernard got a great pass from Kabbaj to extend the lead to 3-1.

After killing off a penalty of their own, the Stingers were back on the powerplay after Ravens defenceman Owen Werthner got called for tripping. Once again, Concordia took full advantage of the powerplay when Kabbaj gave a great pass to Matt Boudreau who found the net to give the Stingers a 4-1 lead over the Ravens.

Ten minutes later, as both teams were battling hard to get another goal, Carleton cut their deficit back down to two as Pleckaitis got his second goal of the game.

As they had been doing all game, the Stingers quickly responded and got another goal three minutes later. Kabbaj recorded his fourth assist of the game when he fed Stingers forward Antoine Houde-Caron, who ultimately made it 5-2 for Concordia.

The third period was mostly a period filled with penalties and scrums between the two teams, but the Stingers held on and earned their first win of the season.

“It was tremendous. We had great success tonight compared to last weekend. We actually used the same game plan just with a little more intensity and it showed,” said Concordia’s head coach Kevin Figsby. “If we keep playing like that we’re going to be very successful this year, and I really like how we faced adversity and we battled to overcome it.”

Kabbaj, who was clearly one of the best players on the ice, was happy he could help his team win.

“It felt good to be at home,”he said. “I got off to a slow start last week but now I’m slowly finding my game and it felt good to help contribute to the team tonight.”

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Men’s hockey gets shut out in Toronto

The Stingers play against the York University Lions. Photo by Forster Chan
The Stingers play against the York University Lions. Photo by Forster Chan

York University’s Lions imposed their roar on the lowly-ranked Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team, routing the visitors 5-0.

The Stingers, who began the game winless in their last six games, played like a defeated team from start to finish.

Stingers head coach Kevin Figsby said his team’s effort wasn’t what it should have been.

“Right now, the guys are not playing within a collective concept,” he said. “They’re playing as individuals. We need our guys to play as a five-man unit.”

It didn’t take long for the Lions to force their will on the Stingers. Three minutes into the game, a lucky bounce rebounded off Lions forward Jesse Messier in front of the net, throwing Stingers’ netminder Loic Boivin off-balance. With the ensuing shot hitting the post, Messier’s line-mate John De Gray potted the puck into an open Concordia net.

The Stingers, who were visibly without their skating legs, had their first quality scoring chance when forward Olivier Hinse found himself alone facing Lions netminder Andrew Perugini with a juicy rebound opportunity. Perugini robbed him with the flashy glove save.

“The guys are squeezing the sticks too much,” said Figsby. “They’re frustrated with not scoring goals.”

Moments later, the Lions took the puck end to end. The play developed into a two-on-one, with Lions forward Evan Gravenor wristing one past Boivin.

Just before the end of the first period, York forward Troy Barss’ weak backhand shot creeped Boivin to make it 3-0 for the home team.

Although the Stingers began the second period with some much needed energy and a stronger forecheck, it didn’t pay dividends as Lions defenseman Tyler Mort hit a slapshot from the blue line past a screened Boivin. The goal incited a goalie change, but to no avail.

With York scoring for the fifth and final time on Stingers backup goaltender Antonio Mastropietro late in the second, the game was out of reach and was starting to get nasty with players exchanging some errant high sticks, crushing body checks, and goalie snow-showers.

The last five minutes of the third period featured an eruption of penalties, one of which was a 10-minute game misconduct handed to Stingers centre Kyle Armstrong after his antics during a scrum in Perugini’s crease.

On Saturday, Concordia faced off against the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks at Sun life Arena. Despite the Stingers outshooting the Golden Hawks, Laurier won the game 7-4.

The Stingers are now winless in eight games and are currently ranked ninth in the eastern conference of the Ontario University Athletics League, with a 2-7-1 record.

 

Concordia will return home to Ed Meagher Arena to play the Carleton Ravens on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 2 p.m.. The following day, the team will head to Ottawa to face the Gee-Gees at the same time.

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Concordia’s comeback falls short

Photo by Marie-Josée Kelly.
Photo by Marie-Josée Kelly.

In any sport, if a team does not play from the first to the final whistle, odds are that team is going to lose. The Stingers men’s hockey team found out the hard way Friday night, when they hosted the Ottawa Gee-Gees. Despite controlling the last two periods, the Stingers could not overcome a slow start and lost 5-3.

Ottawa scored 32 seconds into the game and the Stingers were down before the home crowd at Ed Meagher Arena had settled into their seats. The Gee-Gees outshot the Stingers 14-5 and went two-for-two on power-play opportunities in the period, however, Concordia did not capitalize on theirs. By the end of the first period the Stingers were down 4-0 and could never come all the way back.

“I don’t think we came out the way we should have come out tonight,” said Concordia’s head coach Kevin Figsby. “For some reason we didn’t have that intensity in the first 20 minutes.”

Stingers starting goaltender Antonio Mastropietro had a short night as he gave up three goals on his first six shots. He was replaced by Loic Boivin who had a great game off the bench. Boivin saved 26 out of the 28 shots that he face and gave Concordia a chance to come back.

Once the Stingers stepped onto the ice to start the second period, the momentum changed. Etienne Archambault scored for the Stingers 43 seconds into the second and gave the home crowd life for the first time during the game. From then on, the Stingers took it to the Gee-Gees and out shot them 22-20 in the final two periods. Alexandre Monahan scored a shorthanded goal late in the second period and then Youssef Kabbaj scored three minutes into the third to cut the deficit to two.

“I am proud of the way the guys bounced back, I am proud of the intensity that we showed in the second period,” said Figsby. “For 40 minutes we were the better team on the ice.”

Although that was as close as it got for Concordia, there was reason for optimism. Most teams would have given up after falling behind 4-0, but the Stingers fought hard and made a game of it. If it was not for Concordia’s slow start, it would have been an entirely different game.

“It’s young in the season,” Figsby said. “We got to learn as a young team to play consistently for 60 minutes, we didn’t do it tonight and it hurt us.”

 

The team has a week to rest before playing a home-and-away double-header with the RMC Paladins. The Stingers will play host first on Friday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Ed Meagher Arena. Both teams will face off again on Saturday at RMC at 7 p.m.

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Stingers defeat defending champions McGill in home-opener

Photo by Marie-Josée Kelly
Photo by Marie-Josée Kelly

The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team came out on top of a high-scoring affair, winning 6-5 in their home-opener on Friday against the defending national champions, the McGill Redmen.

The Stingers set the tone early in the game at the Ed Meagher Arena , as right winger Etienne Archambault was given a two minute penalty and a 10-minute game misconduct for leveling a Redmen player less than one minute into the game.

After nearly seven minutes into the first period, while Archambault was still serving his misconduct, the Redmen opened the scoring on a goal by center Jonathan Brunelle. The Stingers responded at the end of the first period with a few chances of their own. Archambault took a drop pass from his teammate with a little more than three minutes left in the period. Redmen goaltender Hubert Morin was sharp and made the save.

With less than two minutes to go, Stinger George Lovatsis equalized the score after tucking the puck into the side on a rebound scramble in front of the net.

“We took a penalty [in the first period] and we lost a player for 10 minutes, and that kind of upset our lines,” explained coach Kevin Figsby. “I think that gave the Redmen an advantage […] but by the end of the period, it was still 1-1.”

The Stingers took their first lead of the game at 17:25 of the second period on a shorthanded goal by Lovatsis, his second of the night.

The Redmen tied the game up soon after when defenseman Hugo Laporte blasted a shot past Stingers goalie Nicholas Champion from the blueline.

After two goals from each side, the Stingers regained the lead once again at 6:16 of the third period. They hung onto it until the end of the game. Youssef Kabbaj made it 4-3 Stingers when his wrist shot from the point went in five hole.

Redmen winger Justin Ducharme was sent to the penalty box during the third for roughing after the whistle, and the Stingers took full advantage of the handicap. Alexandre Monahan passed it up the wing to an open Kyle Kelly who scored to give the Stingers a 5-3 lead.

After Archambault gave his team a three goal lead five minutes later, the Redmen got goals from Brunelle and Marc-Olivier Vachon in the last three minutes. However, the Stingers were able to hold off their rivals and win.

“Offensively, we did everything we needed to do,” said Lovatsis. “We just need to tighten up defensively.”

As a whole, coach Figsby believes this win is a sign of things to come.

“You saw the grit and the determination and I think our team will have this season,” he said. “We just played the defending national champions and we beat them on home ice to start the season with our first win. I’m very pleased with the effort of all our players tonight.”

 

Concordia will travel to Ottawa for their next game against Carleton University on Friday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m.

 

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Stingers left to reflect on what could have been

Captain Eric Bégin has played his last game in a Stingers uniform. Photo by Navneet Pall
Captain Eric Bégin has played his last game in a Stingers uniform. Photo by Navneet Pall

An exciting season came to its heartbreaking conclusion on Saturday afternoon for the Stingers men’s hockey team, who will be watching the CIS post-season.

Facing the Carleton Ravens, and needing a single point coupled with a Queen’s loss, the Stingers were blanked 7-0 by a Ravens team that had already locked up a playoff spot in the OUA East.

Though Queen’s lost on Saturday against Nipissing, they still held the tie-breaker over Concordia, which was goal differential in the two teams’ head-to-head match-ups. Concordia defeated Queen’s 6-1 earlier in the year, but a 9-2 loss was what inevitably gave Queen’s the final playoff berth.

Missing out in such a close fashion makes it easy to nitpick every goal or loss, but a few games stand out more than others for Stingers Coach Kevin Figsby.

“There’s probably three games this season I’d like to have back,” said Figsby, identifying a particularly frustrating December loss to Ottawa where the Stingers had their seemingly tying goal disallowed. “There were a few games this year where I thought the players didn’t compete as hard as they needed to and I told them going into those games that those are the types of games that bite you in the ass. And we got bit in the ass, and that’s the sign of a young team.”

Unlike the veteran teams it faced down the stretch, Concordia was stocked with first- and second-year players, many of whom felt the weight of the playoff
pressure.

“When you come into this league as a 20-year-old, you’re facing guys [who have been in the league for five years], that have been where you are, so there is a learning curve there,” said Figsby.

He is also trying to not get frustrated by the fact that Concordia would have qualified, quite easily, for the playoffs if they were in the OUA West. He does think, though, that it is time for the OUA to look at making some changes to the present system that was created when the landscape of OUA hockey was much different.

“The part that’s frustrating is to see how balanced the league has become, and see no changes to allow for the balance,” said Figsby. “The structure was created [to allow for weaker teams to compete], but we’re well past that.”

The end of a season for any team, especially at the collegiate level, often means saying goodbye to some familiar faces. For Figsby, missing the playoffs is as much disappointing from a personal level as a competitive level.

“The disappointing part is that we’re not going to be together everyday,” he said. “It’s the most disappointing because you come in and there’s a group of guys that are committed to each other and when the season ends you know some guys aren’t coming back and you’re not going to see them.”

If Concordia can keep the core of its team together, it will be a dangerous squad next year, especially if it can improve defensively and the three rookie goalies develop after playing a full season.

Figsby did mention, though, that a few players are in talks with professional clubs, primarily in Europe, but would not release the players’ names at this stage of negotiations.

It will undoubtedly be a long off-season for Concordia, but if Figsby can land some of the recruits he has his eyes on, and the team keeps its core together, McGill may not be the only team in this city with championship expectations.

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Stingers lose ground in battle for playoff spot

Peter Karvouniaris and the Stingers are sitting in the final playoff spot in the RSEQ. Photo by Navneet Pall

Concordia’s men’s hockey team played its fifth game in eight days on Saturday which didn’t end in the Stingers’ favour, losing 5-4 to the Carleton Ravens.

Peter Karvouniaris and the Stingers are sitting in the final playoff spot in the RSEQ. Photo by Navneet Pall

“We’re in a race for the playoffs, we needed those two points,” said captain Eric Begin. “We played good, but not good enough, I guess.” Begin scored a goal and added two assists and is leading the country in points by a defenceman.

The first period brought solid defensive play by Carleton, along with two quick goals. After some strong physical play from Begin, Concordia responded with a goal of its own, from the hands of budding star Etienne Archambault.

“[Archambault] has come in here, and he’s worked as hard as I can ask him to work,” said coach Kevin Figsby. “He’s got [six points in five games] and that to me bodes well for the future.”

Carleton also opened the second period scoring, but Concordia yet again responded quickly, adding another goal a minute and a half later. Michael Stinziani, leading scorer in the CIS, took the comeback into his own hands, skating down the right side of the ice with tremendous speed, and sending the puck into the top corner of the net making it a 3-2 game. Charles-Antoine Messier tied the game for Concordia on a power play. The tie was short lived, though, as Matt Stanisz scored to put Carleton back in front. The Ravens also scored with 15 seconds left in the period, to head into intermission with  a two goal lead.

The third period brought more solid effort by the Stingers, and outstanding goaltending from first-year Peter Karvouniaris. He stopped several sure goals on a Carleton five-on-three, allowing Concordia to score a fourth goal on a two-man advantage of its own. But, despite a hard-fought third, the home team just couldn’t get the tying goal past Ravens goalie Matthew Dopud.

“I’m really proud of our team today,” said Figsby. “That’s our fifth game in eight days, and we’ve got nine injured players right now. For us to stay on the game plan the way we did for 60 minutes today and battle as hard as we did, I’m proud. We’re upset we lost, we’re going to be upset any time we lose, but I’m proud of every kid in that dressing room for the effort they put in.”

The last few games will also test Concordia’s strength, as they are slated to take on Ottawa, UQTR, second-ranked McGill twice, and Carleton again.

Begin is confident in the talent of the team, and says this will bring them success. He also suggested the return of key players to the lineup, a welcome change that could potentially come as early as Wednesday.

The Stingers’ next game is Wednesday, Jan. 25 on the road against UQTR at 7 p.m.

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