Rosalie Begin-Cyr – The Concordian

Concordia Stingers athletes to keep an eye on once varsity sports are back

While we haven’t been able to enjoy varsity sports in Quebec this year, we’re still hopeful for things to resume next fall. With that said, there are some Concordia Stingers athletes we should keep an eye on when sports are back.

Sami Jahan is probably the men’s basketball team’s most promising player. In his rookie season last year, he finished 10th in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec’s (RSEQ) points per game ranking with 13.4. Jahan showed that he can be a reliable player offensively every game, and fans should be excited to see him at work in his second campaign.

The women’s hockey team has everything they need to be a RSEQ championship team. Two players to watch for next year are second-season player Emmy Fecteau and third-season player Rosalie Bégin-Cyr.

Fecteau joined the team last year and immediately made an impact. She’s a talented offensive player who can score important goals late in a game. Fecteau finished eighth for points scored in her first season with the Stingers. For Bégin-Cyr, she concluded last season first for goals and points scored among all RSEQ players.

In football, Jeremy Murphy is someone you might want to look at when the next season starts. In his rookie season last year, Murphy scored four touchdowns in eight games, and finished fourth in receptions per game.

What’s sure is that all Stingers athletes will be ready to show us their best when things get back to some kind of normality.

Graphic by Rose-Marie Dion

Head coach Julie Chu still happy with the team’s performance

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team lost another tight game against their rivals, the Université de Montréal Carabins Friday night. The Carabins won 4-3 in double overtime at the CEPSUM arena.

There were a lot of broken plays in the first period, which was not expected between these two top teams.

“We have to start on time,” said Stingers head coach Julie Chu. “We got a good second and third.”

After Carabins’s Annie Germain opened the scoring early in the second, the Stingers answered 35 seconds later with a goal from Rosalie Bégin-Cyr, giving them confidence for the rest of the second period. Forward Claudia Dubois scored on a power play after a nice set-up from her teammates, Claudia Fortin and Amélie Lemay.

Montreal scored a goal in the first five minutes of the third period, tying the game 2-2. Less than two minutes later, Concordia’s Maria Manarolis scored the go-ahead goal, setting the table for a high-intensity ending as there was a lot of speed.

Forward Claudia Dubois scored a goal in the game. Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

Both goalies had to make key saves, but Stingers’s goalie Alice Philbert had no chance when she allowed the Carabins’s third goal off a screened shot by Jessica Cormier. Both Philbert and Aube Racine didn’t allow another goal until overtime.

There were many scoring chances in the first five minutes of four-on-four overtime, but there was still no winner. The game went into double overtime, played three-on-three. The Stingers had their chances, but Carabins forward Estelle Duvin got the final word with the game-winning goal.

Despite the loss, the Stingers were happy about their performance. “I think we didn’t play a full 60 minutes,” said forward Audrey Belzile. Fortin also noticed the slow start, but liked how her team fought back.

“We battled—I mean, it’s not a lack of effort,” Fortin said. “These are tough games and we are not depressed in the locker room right now. We are on the right way.”

Coach Chu also believes in the learning process of her young team. “We are still growing and we are going to become the team that we want to,” she said.

The Stingers are now looking forward to their next game this Sunday, as they will host the Ottawa Gee-Gees.

Main photo by Gabe Chevalier.