Tag: women’s hockey

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Convincing first win of the season

Women’s hockey team set the pace against the Carleton Ravens

There’s nothing like the comforts of home to help a team get back on track. In their home opener on Sunday, Nov. 2 at the Ed Meagher Arena, Concordia’s women’s hockey team beat the visiting Carleton Ravens 4-2 to capture their first win of the season.

Having lost their first two games of the season, the Stingers came out ready to prove that their squad was better than their record indicated. Concordia jumped on the board within the first two minutes and would not give up the lead for the rest of the game. Stingers center Alexandria D’Onofrio notched her first goal of the season and beat Ravens goaltender Tamber Tisdale to give the home team the early 1-0 lead. Thanks to Concordia’s relentless attack, Tisdale’s workload was about to get a whole lot heavier.

Just under seven minutes into the game, the maroon and gold scored their second goal of the game off the stick of Danielle Scarlett on a Stingers power play. By the end of the first period, the Stingers had fired 11 shots at their opponent’s goal.

The second period was defined by the constant parade of players heading to the penalty box. In the second, there were a total of nine two-minute minors between the two teams. Just over four minutes in, the Ravens capitalized on one of their four power play opportunities in the period. Carleton forward Sidney Weiss put the visiting team on the scoreboard and cut Concordia’s lead to just one. To the home crowd’s delight, that’s as close as the Ravens came to ruining the Stinger’s home opener.

Midway through the period, Concordia regained their two-goal advantage off a shot by Devon Thompson, giving her team a 3-1 lead. By the end of the second period, the Stingers had momentum and were outshooting the Ravens 19-11 in the contest.

Concordia’s final goal came from center Alyssa Sherrard with 12 minutes left in the game. The fifth-year veteran scored her second goal of the season and gave the Stingers a commanding 4-1 lead. Although the Ravens would respond shortly after with their second goal of the day, the game was already decided.

While she wasn’t tested very much in the first two periods of the game, Concordia’s goalie Briar Bache had to be sharp for her team in the final period of play. The Ravens refused to quit and put up a fight until the very end in Sunday’s matinee. The Ravens took it to the Stingers and outshot them 15-7 in the third. But Bache stood tall until the final whistle and ended the day with an impressive 24-save performance.

With the win, the women’s team improved to 1-1-1 on the season and moved into third place in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) division.

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Concordia coaching staff welcomes a winner

Women’s hockey team adds four-time Olympian Julie Chu as an assistant coach

What does an Olympian and professional hockey player do with her four Olympic and nine World Championship medals?

“I go to bed with all of them,” chuckled Julie Chu. “No, that would be creepy.”

Chu, 32, was named an assistant coach for Concordia’s women’s hockey team late last month, and she brings along quite the pedigree.

Growing up in Fairfield, Connecticut and learning to lace up her skates by the time she was eight, Chu could never have imagined where hockey would take her.

“Mostly because girls’ hockey was non-existent when I started to play,” said Chu. “I was the only girl on a boys team and often could go through an entire season without seeing another girl hockey player.”

Learning to play hockey with her brother and his friends, hockey was a pastime, albeit, one that she was very good at. Then when Chu was 16-years-old, women’s hockey was recognized as an Olympic sport and she knew what she wanted to do.

“[In 1998], I watched women’s hockey become an Olympic sport and my world changed,” said Chu. “ Suddenly, I could have dreams of going to the Olympics. And fortunately, with a lot of hard work and many things falling into place, I have been able to participate in four Olympic games.”

Since she was 20, Chu has been an Olympic athlete. That statement alone is an unbelievable accomplishment, one that Chu does not take for granted.

“It’s been an incredible journey that sometimes I can’t believe I have been so fortunate to experience,” said Chu.

Two of her favourite moments as an Olympian occurred back in 2002 at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The first was when she pulled on her jersey with “U.S.A” scrawled across the front for the first time. Years of vigorous work and daydreaming about this moment had finally paid off. The second was when she took part in her first opening ceremonies.

“I have always been a fan of the Olympics and watching as the athletes marched into the stadium has always given me goosebumps. So being able to do it myself was an unbelievable experience,” said Chu.

By the end of her most recent Olympic adventures, in Sochi’s 2014 Winter Olympics, Chu was given an honour that even she did not expect. The day after team U.S.A lost to Canada in the gold medal game, Chu found out that she had been nominated by her fellow Olympians to be the flagbearer for the closing ceremonies.

“It’s been months since the Olympics and I still can’t process it. I’ve always thought it would be incredible to carry my nation’s flag, but it wasn’t something I aspired to [do], because it wasn’t really on my radar of possibilities,” said Chu.

While representing her country in Salt Lake City, Turin, Vancouver and Sochi, Chu learned to hone her craft. For that, she attended Harvard from 2002-07 and played for the Crimson. The prestigious university was much more than a place to earn a degree and play hockey. Harvard taught Chu life lessons that she carries with her to this day.

“The thing I learned most at Harvard was our team concept of ‘team first.’  It is the idea that each one of us as individuals has an important role on the team,” explained Chu. “It’s a culture that acknowledges the importance of individual roles, but puts the emphasis on the team success. I think it’s a mentality that can be used in all areas of life.”

During her five years at Harvard, Chu would become the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer and eventual captain of her Crimson team. After graduating in 2007, that’s when Chu took to the idea of coaching as a possible career. That year Chu took an assistant coaching job with the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs and realized that, even after her playing days are over, hockey will be a big part of her future.

“There were not many days that were actually work, because I was enjoying myself so much,” said Chu.

Between her own playing career, multiple coaching stints and training for her Olympic squad; Chu wanted a place to settle. She had been training in Montreal over this past summer and reached out to Les Lawton, Concordia’s women’s hockey head coach.

“I wanted to work with a team that was eager to learn and willing to work hard.  The women’s team here is definitely committed to getting to the next level, which makes coaching fun,” said Chu. “For me, I just want to bring great energy to the team atmosphere and share what I’ve learned in my years playing with the national team or coaching on various teams with the players.”

Understandably overshadowed by her Olympic success, Chu also donned her American jersey at the World Championship level and is currently playing for the Montreal Stars in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League.

While she’s not sure about competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, Chu is definitely looking forward to her time as an honourary Concordia Stinger.

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On the road with the Stingers

Our reporter hops on the bus with the women’s hockey team to Ottawa

It was 3 p.m on Friday, Oct. 25. The bags were packed, the bus was loaded and we were headed to face the Gee-Gees from the University of Ottawa. Last weekend I had the privilege to join the women’s hockey team on a road trip and got to experience what it was like to ride the bus with Concordia’s athletes.

They spent most of the trip talking, surfing the web with the bus’ built-in wifi and watching movies. After a 20-minute documentary on the Montreal Stars, a local women’s professional team, the team voted on the next movie. They chose to watch 13 Going on 30, an old chick flick starring Jennifer Garner.

By the end of the movie we had arrived in Ottawa, and then team was all business. The Stingers quickly got changed into their warm up clothes and dived into their routine, mostly standard warm up drills of running, jumping and stretching. Following their standard on-ice warm up, last minute tape-jobs and pep talks, the Stingers were ready.

The first period got off to a great start for the Stingers as they pushed the pace of the game. With six minutes left in the period, the Stingers capitalized on a power play when Alyssa Sherrard tucked the puck past the Gee-Gees goalie to give the Stingers the 1-0 lead.

In the second period, after a bunch of penalties by both teams, neither team could take advantage of their power play opportunities. Solid goaltending on both ends of the ice kept the period scoreless until late in the second. Following a cross checking penalty against Ottawa, Concordia padded their lead. Stingers center Cassiel Lalonde-Lajeunesse took a great shot and gave Concordia the 2-0 lead.

The game plan for the third period was simple: preserve the lead. However, it didn’t start out that way. Within 18 seconds, Ottawa had cut Concordia’s lead to 2-1, thanks to a goal by Violaine Houle. After that, the Stingers went back to attacking the Gee-Gees net looking for a third goal to regain their two-goal lead. The Stingers got another power play advantage, but couldn’t beat Ottawa goalie Caitlin Fowler. She stood tall in net and stopped every shot she faced on the power play. The game went back-and-forth as both teams pushed hard to get goals on the board, but this match became the battle of the goaltenders.

Fast-forward to the end of the period with just two minutes left in the game. Stingers player Marie-Joelle Allard got called for a questionable hit to the head. Concordia’s captain Danielle Scarlett contested the call with the referee but the official did not change his mind.

Unfortunately, with just 23 seconds on the clock, the Gee-Gees finally capitalized on a power play. Ottawa forward Carol-Ann Upshall fired a shot that went top-shelf and into the back of the net, tying the game at 2-2.

As the game went into overtime, both teams were looking for that goal that would end the game. Both teams pushed hard and got plenty of shots on net. Near the end of the period Concordia seemed to dominate but, once again, couldn’t beat Fowler.

The game continued into a shootout with best-of-five shooters. No player on either team scored until the third round when Upshall scored again for the Gee-Gees. Sadly, that’s all it took. The shootout finished 1-0 for the Gee-Gees and the final score was 3-2 for Ottawa.

After the game assistant coach Mike Mcgrath was proud of his team for the great effort.

“We played great and we totally deserved better. It was a physical game and I still don’t understand that mystery call, but we kept strong and showed how strong we can be,” said Mcgrath.

Stingers goalie Katherine Purchase was happy with her performance, her first in a Stingers jersey.

“I played pretty good the first two periods and I feel I got cold in the third period. I was a little nervous but it was good to get some experience,” said Purchase.

Despite the loss, the trip back was a positive one. Waiting for us on the bus was some pasta with garlic bread. The mood was upbeat and relaxing. Food makes everything better, even a tough loss.

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Caroline Ouellette returns to Concordia for friendly game

Photo by Brianna Thicke

The university brings back Olympian to help develop women’s university hockey in Canada

Photo by Brianna Thicke

Members of the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team returned to Ed Meagher arena on Saturday afternoon. But this time it wasn’t a usual Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) team wearing the visiting colours.

Former Stinger and four-time Olympic gold medalist, Caroline Ouellette, and some of her Montreal Stars teammates teamed up with the Stingers for a friendly game against Director of Recreation and Athletics, Patrick Boivin, and some of his friends, along with Adam Nugent-Hopkins and Kyle Armstrong from the men’s hockey team.

Saturday marked the first time Ouellette was at Concordia since the university renovated the arena back in the summer. The Stars forward played for the Stingers in 2001 and coached the team last year, but spent the past year with the Canadian national team. Ouellette captained Team Canada to a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

This event was to celebrate her career as an athlete, and to raise awareness for women’s hockey programs in Canada, said Boivin.

“She’s the most decorated athlete and ex-Stinger we have,” he said. “Alexandre Bilodeau [comes to Concordia]. He’s a student at JMSB. But he never actually played for us.”

“[We’re] raising awareness for women’s hockey and the role we can play as a university in women’s hockey.”

Boivin said that it’s important that women hockey players know that if they want to go to university and continue playing hockey, that they don’t feel they have to go to the US to do so, because they have some good programs right in their own backyard.

Boivin also added that in the future, he hopes to organize other friendly games and tournaments to help with the development of the women’s hockey program.

The game itself was free and anyone was welcome. The women’s side took the game 7-6, with Ouellette scoring a hat trick, and two assists. It was a back-and-forth contest, and each team took the lead several times in the high scoring affair.

There was an injury scare in the third period. When Boivin’s squad scored to take a 6-5 lead, Stars netminder Catherine Herron stretched out her leg to try to make the save. She went down as the goal-horn went, favouring her outstretched leg. After medical staff tended to her for several minutes, she was able to stay in the game.

After the game, Ouellette met the fans who showed up to the game in the Concordia gym, taking pictures and signing autographs with her Stars teammates.

This isn’t the first time the Stingers have hosted the Stars. Twice this season they played a league game at Ed Meagher arena.

“We’ve built a relationship with them [the Stars],” Boivin said. “We’ve had a lot of our girls who’ve played for us and go on for the Stars afterwards.”

Though the game was free, both teams was accepting donations from spectators, with all proceeds going to a scholarship fund for future players.

 

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Many positives this season for Stingers hockey

Photo by Brianna Thicke

The Concordian looks at what the men and women’s teams need to do to improve next season

Men’s hockey team

The men’s hockey season was filled with obstacles to overcome. The team was hit very hard with injuries, the most notable being their first-line winger Jessyco Bernard and alternate captain Youssef Kabbaj. Although teams never like to use injuries as an excuse, it made success much harder to come by for the Stingers. The defensive core was severely victimized by injuries, with only one defenceman playing in all 28 games.

Photo by Brianna Thicke

The Stingers had a very young team this year, with 13 first-year players on the roster. After making it to the post-season for the first time in three years, the team’s lack of experience may help explain an early exit from the playoffs against the heavily favoured McGill Redmen. A team with so many new players will also have a difficult time creating chemistry, something that will develop as the players continue to play together in the coming years.

The team came close to defeating the Redmen in the first game of their playoff series, but a few breakdowns in a matter of minutes cost them dearly. The Stingers kept the second game close until the midway point of the game, when the Redmen’s offensive skill took over the game and buried the Stingers. The difference in both skill and experience was clear between the two teams.

The team also said farewell to their beloved captain George Lovatsis, who reached his maximum five-year eligibility. The veteran winger was an undeniable leader of the team, and his departure will be noticed. With such a young team, leadership is a valued commodity. Lovatsis brought an incredible amount of leadership with him wherever he went.

Although the season was a challenging one, there were still many positives that can be taken out of it. Star forward Olivier Hinse was a consistent bright spot throughout the season, finishing third in the Canadian Interuniversity Sports league (CIS) with 18 goals. Hinse also led the team with 34 points, while also bringing leadership and energy each and every game. Starting goalie Antonio Mastropietro was a workhorse for the team, playing in 20 of the team’s 28 games. On most nights, Mastropietro gave the Stingers a chance to win.

Moving forward, the team will only get better as the younger players gain experience. Although losing Lovatsis and his leadership is a difficult pill to swallow, the team will continue to thrive under the leadership of Hinse, Kabbaj, Bernard and Kyle Armstrong. The Stingers have a very hopeful future ahead of them, and the Stingers will become more experienced and competitive as a group.

 

Women’s hockey team

The women’s hockey team finished with their best record in four years, but it was still a difficult season. Finishing the season with a 5-15 record, the Stingers struggled to produce offensively. Although the team played better than their record gives them credit for — seven of their losses were by one-goal margins  — a lack of execution and consistency hurt their chances to succeed in the postseason.

In their playoff series with the McGill Martlets, the Stingers lost by a score of 3-2 in a very close game one. Although the team played well in that game, they were thrashed in the second by a score of 10-2, ending their season in a disappointing fashion. Inconsistencies cost the team in the end.

The 10-2 loss was also the last game for four of the veteran Stingers, most notably their captain Erin Lally. Although this leaves the team with a huge loss of both experience and leadership, it is an opportunity for younger Stingers to step up and become leaders. The team can definitely build off a frustrating season. They know their final record is not a fair reflection of how they played, and they will be looking to better that next year.

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Falling to the mighty in second leg of postseason

Photo by Brianna Thicke

It was not a storybook ending to the careers of defencemen Gabrielle Meilleur, and Mary-Jane Roper and forwards Erin Lally and Jaymee Shell. The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team were beaten by the McGill Martlets 10-2 on Sunday, Feb. 23 at Ed Meagher Arena. The loss completed McGill’s sweep of the Stingers in the best-of-three series in the first round of the playoffs.

Photo by Brianna Thicke

The Stingers and Martlets began the first period by trading possession, with a few scoring chances developing for either team. The Stingers broke the deadlock at the 14:15 mark of the period, as forward Alyssa Sherrard snuck behind the defencemen and scored on a breakaway.

McGill kept pressing for the remainder of the first period, and eventually tied the game up on the power play with less than a minute to play. Martlets defenceman, Brittany Fouracres, redirected Katia Clément-Heydra’s point shot, which fooled Stingers goaltender, Carolanne Lavoie-Pilon.

The Martlets scored 30 seconds into the second period on a wraparound by Clément-Heydra. Although the Stingers never let up, McGill scored another goal two minutes later, as forward Gabrielle Davidson backhanded a perfect shot over Lavoie-Pilon’s shoulder to make it 3-1. The Martlets scored four more goals before the end of the period.

The Stingers continued to fight into the third period, but the Martlets scored three more goals within 30 seconds of one another, midway through the period. The Stingers scored soon after to make the score 10-2, with Sherrard skating behind the net and passing out front to a wide open Danielle Scarlett.

Head coach Les Lawton felt that the Stingers played very well against the McGill powerhouse, but perfection would have been needed to beat them.

“When you look back, we really lost our opportunity on Friday night [in a 3-1 loss]. […] We are such a young team, we have to learn from our mistakes, and we have to learn to bounce back from our mistakes. That can be hard for a young team.”

Lawton also said that although this is a disappointing end to the year, there are encouraging signs for next season.

“We are really excited about our future, as we’ve got 12 first-year players that really brought some good work ethic and passion to our team. We’re very excited for the years ahead,” he said.

It was an emotional end to the game as the four veterans playing their final game in a Stingers uniform were surrounded and congratulated by their teammates. Five-year veteran Mary-Jane Roper leaves the team with nothing but happy memories of her time as a Stinger.

“Not many girls across Canada make it five years and graduate. A lot of people quit on the way through, and the only thing that helps you get through that is the support system,” she said. “Being a Stinger is about being part of the big family, and Les [Lawton] is great for that. He’s always there if you need something, especially in your first few years.”

 

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Stingers’ struggles continue at home

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team suffered their third-straight loss on Saturday afternoon, when they hosted the McGill Martlets at Ed Meagher arena. Despite their valiant effort, the Stingers lost 5-1 and now sit at 5-12 on the season.

For the first period, the Stingers held their own against Canada’s top-ranked Martlets squad. Concordia’s cross-town rivals are a perfect 16-0, but after the first, the game was tied 1-1.

McGill opened up the scoring just two minutes into the game with a goal by Martlets forward, Gabrielle Davidson. Davidson was a handful for Concordia’s defence all game as she had two goals and an assist.

The Stingers bounced back, though, and managed to tie it halfway through the first with a goal by Stingers forward, Alyssa Sherrard. It was Sherrard’s fourth of the season and was assisted by linemate Tracy-Ann Lavigne. The shots were seven apiece for the two teams heading into the first intermission, and the Stingers were giving the Martlets all they could handle.

The second period was a turning point in the game as the Martlets started to run away with it. McGill forward, Chelsey Saunders, scored just 38 seconds into the second frame, putting Concordia back on their heels.

Six minutes into the second, Stingers defenceman, Gabrielle Meilleur, got called for hooking and left the Stingers shorthanded. Just a minute and a half later, the Stingers were penalized again. This time, Stingers defenceman, Mary-Jane Roper, was given two minutes for interference. Concordia managed to successfully kill off both penalties, but the back-to-back penalties hurt Concordia’s rhythm.

Concordia was pinned in their own end for four minutes while the Martlets peppered the Stingers’ goaltender, Carolanne Lavoie-Pilon. McGill outshot Concordia 10-5 in the second period, and after the two penalties, Concordia struggled to find their legs. The Martlets extended their lead with a late goal in the second period by forward Katia Clement-Heydra, making it 3-1.

The third period was much of the same for the Stingers. They were outshot 9-4 in the final period and never threatened McGill’s lead. The Stingers pushed hard and did not give up until the final whistle, but they were simply outplayed on Saturday.

The Martlets made it 4-1, eight minutes into the third, with a power play goal by McGill forward Leslie Oles.

Oles, a West-Island native, is considered one of Canada’s great young women prospects.

Every time Oles was on the ice, it seemed that she controlled or affected the play in some way. She was buzzing in the offensive zone all afternoon and whenever she was on the ice, the Stingers defence took notice. Davidson scored her second, and final, goal of the game for McGill late in the third period to make it 5-1.

The Stingers have now dropped seven of their last eight games and have fallen to fourth in the five-team Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) division.

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Stingers suffer worse loss of season vs. Carabins

Photo by Brianna Thicke

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team lost their first game of the 2014 season 8-1 to the Montreal Carabins on Sunday. Carabins forward, Ariane Barker, scored four goals and led her team to victory, handing the Stingers their worse loss in over a year.

Disorganization was the killer for the Stingers, as they took eight minor penalties and suffered for it. The Carabins managed five power play goals, notably two to end the first period and one to start the second for a 4-0 lead, putting the game completely out of reach for the Stingers.

“Nothing was working,” Stingers left winger, Audrey Morand, said of the performance. “Our forecheck wasn’t working, our zone coverage wasn’t working. We were all very passive while the other team was really aggressive. We just didn’t show up.”

Stingers head coach, Les Lawton, was quick to echo Morand’s remarks, saying that it was uncharacteristic of his team to put in such a poor effort, since they’re usually the ones outworking the other teams.

“To beat that team we need good goaltending, we need to be disciplined, we need to play well in our end of the ice and we have to establish a forecheck,” he said. “That was our goal going into the game and we didn’t do any of that, so hopefully we learn that when we don’t do the things that we do well, we’re gonna have games like this.”

This marked the third time this season that the Stingers have met the Carabins, the first two meetings both ended with 2-1 result in favour of the Carabins.

The Stingers will host the Carabins this Thursday, once again at the Ed Meagher Arena, and Morand notes that this is a great opportunity for the Stingers to get revenge for the lopsided loss.

“We’re going to put this loss behind us and use it as motivation for Thursday’s game since we’re getting the chance to get revenge in a back-to-back situation,” she said.

Lawton was also looking forward to Thursday’s rematch.

“Going into the third, we wanted to make a bit of a statement towards our game on Thursday, but we’ll be a completely different team on Thursday I can guarantee you that,” said Lawton. “Our players are really disappointed in their performance and hopefully we can bounce back from that and get right back on track.”

Despite the loss, the Stingers still sit in fourth spot in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) standings and are currently en route to making the playoffs after a two-year absence.

“I’m disappointed, we wanted to take a step forward today and we didn’t,” Lawton said.  “It’s not the way we wanted to start our second half of the season but I’m still confident we’re going to do some good things and I really like our team character. We’ve got a really good bunch of girls who are working extremely hard both on and off the ice and I’m confident that they’re going to rebound from this.”

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Concordia plays hard but can’t beat York

Photo by Brianna Thicke
Photo by Brianna Thicke

After a six-week break, the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team got back into action in the 34th annual Theresa Humes Women’s Hockey Tournament, but lost 3-2 to the York Lions on Friday, Jan. 3.

The game started off well as both teams got serious chances to open the scoring. The game had a good flow as there was no whistle for the first 10 minutes of the game. With three minutes left in the first period, Concordia took a late penalty when right winger Jaymee Shell was called for interference.

York responded one minute later on the powerplay when forward Kiri Langford got a pass from defenceman Lindsay Brook and got a squeaker past Stinger goaltender Carolanne Lavoie-Pilon.

With 46 seconds left in the first period, Concordia got into more penalty trouble when Alyssa Sherrard got called for roughing.

Not even 20 seconds into the Lions powerplay, York forward Rianna Langford got called for tripping. The period ended with York up 1-0.

The second period started with some 4-on-4 play and York scored 35 seconds into the period when defenceman Kristen Barbara got a quick pass from Kiri Langford and got a good shot that went five-hole through Lavoie-Pilon, doubling their lead to 2-0.

Nine minutes later, Concordia got another penalty when left winger Audrey Morand got called for tripping. Luckily the Stingers were able to kill off the penalty and a couple of minutes later got a chance to go on the powerplay when York forward Rianna Langford got called for slashing. Concordia capitalized on the powerplay when defenceman Gabrielle Meilleur got a good shot past York goaltender Megan Lee. Not even a minute later, Concordia tied the game at two when Shell tipped in a shot into the back of the net.

As the Stingers looked to score the game-winning goal to ice the game, they got a chance when York got called for another penalty to Rianna Langford for hooking.

Concordia played a solid power play but couldn’t solve the York goalie. Not even 30 seconds after the York penalty was called Concordia got a penalty when defenceman Emily Even was sent to the box for tripping.

One minute later Concordia got another penalty when centre Jesse Keca got called for cross checking. This penalty ended up costing Concordia the game as York went to work on their powerplay and got the tie breaker when defenceman Sarai Whitty got a shot off Lavoie-Pilon’s helmet and into the back of the net.

Concordia tried to get back into the game but couldn’t get the equalizer back. The game ended with a final score 3-2 for the Lions.

“I think today we were a bit rusty after a six-week layoff,” said Stingers head coach Les Lawton. “[But] it was a good way to get back and we are just using this game as a springboard to get back into action.”

 

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Stingers dominant in second game at Theresa Humes Tournament

Photo by Brianna Thicke
Photo by Brianna Thicke

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team won their first game of 2014 at the annual Theresa Humes Women’s hockey tournament on Saturday, Jan.4, beating the St. Thomas Tommies 3-2 on home ice.

After outshooting the Tommies 12-0 through the first half of the first period, Concordia opened the scoring 12 minutes in when left winger Audrey Morand skated in on her own and got a shot past St. Thomas netminder, Kristin Wolfe. Six minutes later, Concordia doubled their lead as centre Alyssa Sherrard got another fast shot into the back of the net.

With four minutes left in the first period, St. Thomas got a penalty when defenceman Michelle Savoie was called for interference, but the Stingers couldn’t capitalize on the man advantage and went into the second period with a 2-0 lead.

Eleven minutes into the second period, Concordia got their first penalty of the game when centre Valerie Wade got called for tripping, but St. Thomas failed to get a shot on Stingers goalie, Briar Bache, during the power play. But after Tommies defenceman Amy Duffield got called for hooking and forward Kelty Apperson was sent to the box for for slashing, the  Stingers were able to make it 3-0 on the 5-on-3 advantage when left winger Kerianne Schofield got a good shot into the back of the net.

St. Thomas got a puck past Bache on their third shot of the game reducing the Stingers lead to 3-1 after 40 minutes.

St. Thomas was looking for the comeback heading into the third period as they began taking more shots at the net. With about six minutes left in the game, St. Thomas got a power play goal from forward Teah Anderson after Stingers centre Alexandria D’Onofrio was called for roughing. St. Thomas was pressuring for the equalizer but failed to score and the game ended with a final score of 3-2 for the Concordia Stingers.

Stingers head coach Les Lawton was proud of the way his team played in this game.

“It was a pretty solid effort and I am very proud of the way we played and I am looking forward to the game tomorrow vs. Queens,” he said.

“The girls played amazing today,” added Bache. “I liked how we remained focused and the way we were outshooting them, we played a lot better than yesterday where I found we were rusty and it proves how hard work pays off.

 

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Stingers fall to undefeated Martlets

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team fell to 1-5 on the season with a 5-1 loss to the undefeated McGill Martlets on Friday night.

The Martlets dominated the Stingers territorially,holding a 35-15 shot advantage.

Stingers’ head coach Les Lawton said that he wasn’t disappointed with the team’s efforts on this night, saying the loss was due to a 10-minute span in the second period when the Martlets scored three goals. Lawton also singled out goaltender, Carolanne Lavoie-Pilon, and defenseman, Gabrielle Meilleur, for their strong games.

McGill forward Katia Clement-Heydra opened the scoring for the Martlets 30 seconds into the second period. The Stingers were able to tie the game, thanks to a goal by centre Alyssa Sherrard. However that was the closest the Stingers would get, as the Martlets exploded offensively about midway through the second period. Martlets’ forward Gabrielle Davidson scored three goals in six minutes, registering the natural hat-trick and giving her team a 4-1 lead. Clement-Heydra scored her second goal of the night late in the third period to give her team a 5-1 lead.

The Stingers were strong on special teams throughout the first half of the game, and that’s what kept them in it, but it was ultimately their downfall in the second half of the game. The Stingers’ penalty kill was strong in the first period and a huge reason why the game was scoreless after one. Their power play produced the game tying goal early in the second. The Stingers, however, let in the power play goals in the second half of the game and were unable to score on their three following power play opportunities. Lawton noted that he felt the special teams were average on this night and there is room for improvement.

This marked the fifth time in six games that the Stingers failed to score more than one goal, the only exception being in their 6-4 win over the Carleton Ravens earlier this month.

The Stingers have had trouble scoring goals, but Stingers defenseman Carol-Anne-Gagné kept a positive attitude, saying that the team played very well.

“Before the game the girls were all ready and I think playing against a big team like this is a really good challenge for our team,” she said.

Despite the loss, Lawton expressed some optimism going forward.  “We’re a very young team and I think we’re going to do very well.”

Gagné added that playing against a team of McGill’s caliber will help the Stingers improve in the future.

“We have really good chemistry,” Gagné said, adding that the team’s 1-5 record does not reflect their performances.

“We’ve lost many games by a score of 2-1 and we’re constantly improving as a team, and we’re just going to continue getting better. I have a good feeling going forward.”

The Stingers next play on Sunday, Nov.24 against the Carleton Ravens in Ottawa.

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Sports

Stingers say goodbye to four players

Just as every season goes by, student athletes also come and go each year. This year, the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team had to say goodbye to Emilie Bocchia, Veronique Laramee Paquette, Mallory Lawton and Laurie Proulx-Duperre, who hung up their skates after illustrious careers with the maroon and gold.

These girls have varied experience, from playing two seasons, all the way up to five. Some have had number changes and others kept the same one throughout their time with the Stingers. In the end, there is no doubt they will have left an impact on this now, much younger Concordia team.

Alternate captain Bocchia, for one, was unable to grasp at the notion of her career being over.

“It feels like it’s not over yet, I’ve reached my pinnacle,” said Bocchia, who played four years, and wore number 26 throughout. “I had a lot of fun being a part of this team. These are memories that won’t be forgotten.”

For Laramee-Paquette, she was only eligible to suit up for two seasons with Concordia after having played in the United States prior, but she still relished the opportunity.

“I’m now ready for a new challenge,” added Laramee-Paquette, following the team’s final regular season game against McGill. “I didn’t expect to finish my hockey career here in Montreal, but I’m glad I got to. It was truly a good life experience.”

Mallory Lawton has had Stinger blood in her way before her career with Concordia began in 2008, so her departure was emotional. She was named captain of the team prior to the start of this past season, and she wore the ‘C’ proudly on her jersey.

“I’m not yet ready to give it up, it still hasn’t sunk in,” explained Lawton. “I would’ve preferred a better ending, but the program [at Concordia] is so prestigious, the experience itself was so worthwhile.”

The lone defender in the crop of retirees, Proulx-Duperre played her five years at Concordia establishing herself as a leader amongst blueliners.

The departures signify that change for the Stingers hockey squad is close. While head coach Les Lawton has already made one signing, Dawson College’s forward Jesse Keca, there are a few empty spaces on the roster.

Players who missed the majority of the season with an injury will almost act as new recruits. Forward Erica Porter missed the first half of the season, and Danielle Scarlett missed the entire season.

When training camp opens in the summer it’ll be interesting to see what will become of the team who only managed two victories throughout the 2012-13 season.

 

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