Tag: women’s hockey

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Concordia finishes the weekend with two losses

The first big weekend of November resulted with the women’s hockey team collecting a single point out of a possible four. They dropped a 4-1 decision to the Ravens Saturday evening at Carleton, and lost 4-3 in overtime to the Ottawa Gee-Gees the following afternoon at home.

The Stingers started Saturday evening’s game strong, with the offense getting four shots in the first three minutes against Ravens’ goaltender Eri Kiribuchi. Her counterpart for the Stingers, Carolanne Lavoie-Pilon, was equally up to the task turning aside several in-close chances. Lavoie-Pilon finished the evening with 28 saves.

“It really was a hard game for everyone, nothing seemed to be going right,” explained Lavoie-Pilon. “We kept giving them space, and tonight, we didn’t play as a team.”

Late in the second with the Ravens leading 3-0, the Stingers’ powerplay went to work. Despite having difficulties on the advantage early in the season, sophomore forward Audrey Morand tucked one past Kiribuchi to reduce the deficit to 3-1.

“After we scored we seemed to gain momentum,” said Morand following the game. “But we weren’t capable of putting things together and didn’t play our system.”

Sunday afternoon at Ed Meagher Arena, the Stingers were hungrier. However, their special team woes continued, as they were unable to capitalize on four powerplays in the first period alone. Miscommunication led to some turnovers, which almost turned costly. Concordia goaltender Chelsey Hodges was busy, finishing with the afternoon with 38 saves.

The second period seemed to start with a bang. With Gee-Gees defender Genevieve Legault in the box for hooking, the Stingers powerplay went to work. Jaymee Shell got the puck and flipped it over Ottawa goaltender Cassie Seguin for her second goal of the season.

Just over two minutes later, again deep in the Ottawa zone, Emilie Bocchia stripped the Gee-Gees defense of the puck and fed a wide open Veronique Laramee-Paquette who made no mistake scoring from a backhand. This gave the Stingers a 2-0 lead just over four minutes into the second frame.

“The way we went into the second was as if we were a completely new team,” said Hodges. “Everyone was amazing and everything was working.”

The Stingers continued a strong period until just after the 13-minute mark. With Gee-Gees captain Fannie Desforges in the box for hooking, the Stingers powerplay line tried to break out from behind Hodges’ net when a misplay of the puck by led to Gee-Gees’ Alicia Blomberg taking the puck and scoring, reducing the lead to 2-1.

“I think in order to succeed players need to sacrifice themselves,” explained captain Lawton. “I guess you have to be fearless and know that it’s helping the team.”

Just under five minutes into the third, the Stingers were attacking again. Lawton was in possession, and with the Ottawa goaltender down and out of position, she lifted the puck just enough to increase their lead to 3-1.

Ottawa reduced the lead to 3-2 at 16:22 of the third period when Janie Paquette scored from the slot.

The Stingers took some bad penalties in the minutes that followed. Laramee-Paquette took a delay of game penalty with the team already down one player. Ottawa pulled their goalie to play a six-on-four battle, which paid dividends when captain Desforges tied the game at three goals apiece with 40 seconds left on the clock.

“It seemed as if we were giving up too many chances,” said Hodges. “It looked as if although we had a lead that we had already lost focus.”

Overtime was a back-and-forth affair with neither side getting many good chances, until in the last minute before shootouts. Ottawa’s Desforges was fed another pass, left alone inside the hash-marks and made no mistake shelfing her second of the afternoon and giving the Gee-Gees the improbable comeback victory.

“It’s certainly a big disappointment for everybody; we played stupid and made bonehead plays” said Concordia coach Les Lawton. “It’s as if we’re afraid to lose, we need to fight harder, but the attitude is negative and we don’t go for the jugular. Keep it simple.”

“I thought we played well, but didn’t play a full 60 minutes,” said Stingers captain Mallory Lawton. “We took a couple penalties late that were costly.”

The Stingers will hit the ice twice next weekend, including a home game against the Montreal Carabins on Friday. Concordia will then head to McGill to face the number one ranked Martlets on Saturday afternoon.

 

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Concordia loses to McGill after allowing two late goals

Playing their second game in 18 hours, the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team had come off their first win of the season, a tough fight, winning on the road against the Ottawa Gee-Gees 3-2 in a sudden-death shootout, winning in the ninth round.

McGill started the game with a power play goal by Melodie Daoust, barely three minutes in. Less than 10 seconds later on the next faceoff, the puck went deep into the McGill zone and goaltender Andrea Weckman misplayed the puck, landing right in front of the net. After a couple of whacks, rookie Kim Boismenu potted the puck into the empty cage, tying the game less than three minutes after the start.

Midway through the first, on a Concordia powerplay, McGill took over the puck and Bianca Della Porta spotted an open Erika Pyke who gave them the lead. A little more than a minute later, Leslie Oles gave McGill a two-goal lead with her first of three on the afternoon.

Stingers goaltender Carolanne Lavoi-Pilon seemed off her game, but quickly got back on her feet, finishing with 39 saves.

“It’s always hard (versus McGill), but you learn to challenge the player with the puck and follow them, give them a mental read,” said Lavoi-Pilon. “Once you have that down, then it feels easier with the reflexes. You have the fire to stop everything.”

Midway through the second period, Concordia was playing with immense pressure. McGill was unable to capitalize or get their plays together, and the Stingers got one back when the top line of Emilie Bocchia, Alyssa Sherrard and Veronique Laramee Paquette connected yet again with Laramee Paquette netting her fourth goal of the year.

Seven minutes into the final period Sherrard connected off a back-door pass behind the net from Bocchia, tying the game at three and sending the fans at Ed Meagher into a frenzy.

“Lately we’ve been too passive, but today we were aggressive, fighting for loose pucks, won battles,” said Bocchia, who had two assists on the afternoon. “Tying the game and creating turnovers was excellent.”

Very late in the game, with the crowd on their feet, a faceoff in the Concordia defensive zone was won by McGill’s Daoust who passed it to teammate Katia Clément-Heydra who spotted an open Oles who wristed a goal past Lavoi-Pilon with only 1:55 left in the game. Fourty-eight seconds later, she completed her hat trick, jumping into her teammates arms as they avoided a near upset.

“We played with a lot of emotion – two games in 18 hours,” said Stingers head coach Les Lawton. “We still battled hard for 58 minutes, I’m very happy with the effort of all the girls.”

 

The Stingers will have another double-header next weekend. They head to Carleton on Saturday for a 7 p.m. game before returning home to Ed Meagher Arena on Sunday to face the Ottawa Gee-Gees at 3 p.m.

 

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Concordia’s women’s hockey team handed third straight loss

Stingers centre Alyssa Sherrard (11) and Carleton Ravens forward Sadie Wegner (44) face off. Photo by Alyssa Tremblay.
Stingers centre Alyssa Sherrard (11) and Carleton Ravens forward Sadie Wegner (44) face off. Photo by Alyssa Tremblay.

The Concordia Stingers lost 3-1 in a tight game on Saturday afternoon against the Carleton Ravens at Ed Meagher Arena.

The first period saw the Stingers go down after a controversial call by the referee. At 15:18, Ravens defenseman Kelsey Vander Veen shot at a scramble in front of the Stingers net. The puck did not seem to have crossed the line, and the goal light did not go on. However, the referee credited the goal to Vander Veen, which gave the Ravens the 1-0 lead.

“I thought [the call] was a little bit unfair,” Stingers captain Mallory Lawton said. “We have people who sit [behind the net] to put the goal light on and the goal light never went on.”

Just before the first period ended, Stingers defenseman Margaret Hotte was boarded and injured her ankle. She left the game with the help of a trainer and did not return.

In the second period, Concordia pressured Ravens goalie Tamber Tisdale to try to tie the game. Left winger Veronique Laramee Paquette took a nice cross-pass from right winger Erin Lally with just under six minutes to go in the period, but she couldn’t find the back of the net.

The Ravens doubled their lead when a weak wrist shot by forward Ainslee Kent from the side of the net managed to go past Carolanne Lavoi-Pilon at 7:12 of the second period.

But with one minute left in the period, Laramee Paquette blasted a shot past Tisdale to cut the Ravens’ lead to 2-1.

The third period was quiet, until 16:36, when defenseman Laurie Proulx-Duperre was sent to the penalty box for roughing. Frustration ensued for the Stingers and a short scuffle broke out.

Just after play continued, the Stingers found themselves down two players when defenseman Mary-Jane Roper was sent to the box for four minutes for a hit to the head from behind, destroying the Stingers hopes to tie the game.

At 19:17, the Ravens put the game away when Alexandra Yallouz scored into the empty net.

“I thought we worked hard,” said head coach Les Lawton. “Obviously we’re having a hard time putting the puck in the net. It’s a real tough loss for us because […] we’ve been working hard. Hopefully we could get it together for next weekend.”

 

Concordia travels to Ottawa to face the Gee-Gees on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. before returning home to play McGill at Ed Meagher Arena on Sunday at 3 p.m.

 

 

 

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Stingers drop first road game of the season

Following a week of strong practices and rigorous workouts, the Stingers women’s hockey team lost a hard-fought battle at the hands of the Montreal Carabins Friday.

After a theatrical opening ceremony, with guest Michel Lacroix, voice of the Montreal Canadiens, there was a ceremonial puck drop between both captains, Mallory Lawton from Concordia and Kim Deschênes from Université de Montréal.

A few roster changes were in effect, as Stingers’ head coach Les Lawton opted to start goaltender Carolanne Lavoi-Pilon, who had 15 saves in a relief effort against McGill the week before.

Like the week before, the Stingers had trouble getting out of the gate. Carabins third-year forward Josianne Legault stripped Stinger defense Jillian Ferguson of the puck, feeding an open Ariane Barker for the game’s first tally 1:13 into the game.

“It’s early in the season, and a real learning time for the girls,” said coach Lawton. “It’s a good thing we have great help and leadership from a different voice of someone of such high caliber (Olympic-gold medalist and assistant coach Caroline Ouellette).”

Lavoi-Pilon, making her third career CIS start, brushed off the shakiness of the first shot, and bounced back strongly, making many big saves in close from the strong, and much bigger Carabins squad, turning aside 42 shots on the evening.

Late in the first frame, Carabins’ Betty Jouanny squeaked one past Lavoi-Pilon to double their lead before the first intermission.

The second period started with an unusual delay of game penalty assessed to the Stingers when they allegedly didn’t come out to the bench and on the ice on time, and Université de Montréal captain Kim Deschênes quickly made it 3-0 with her first of two of the game.

Just a minute later, however, Concordia assistant captain Erin Lally was sent a perfect feed for a clear breakaway on Montréal goaltender Elodie Rousseau-Sirois, when she was hauled down. The referee raised her arms and indicated the ‘most exciting play in hockey’; a penalty shot.

With cheers roaring from the bench, Lally broke in, with a clear idea of where she was heading with the puck, and backhanding it to make it a 3-1 game.

“It was awesome!” Lally said after the game about her penalty shot goal. “I’ve had a lot of practice. I watched the goalie, then just knew.”

Just as Concordia rookie Tracy-Ann Lavigne’s penalty was expiring midway through the frame, fourth-year defense Mary-Jane Roper was assessed a minor for tripping – the Stingers penalty kill worked hard, and managed to kill them both.

And at the 16:26 mark of the period, the Stingers’ aggressive forecheck and battling paid dividends when veteran Veronique Laramee-Paquette jumped into the play and shoveled the puck over the Carabins goaltender, reducing the deficit to just one goal.

Early in the third, Roper was assessed a questionable penalty call behind the net. Carabins captain Deschênes gave her team the insurance marker they needed.

“It was a really good team effort, the communication is paying off,” said goal-scorer Lally. “We want to be the team that everyone hates to play.”

Stingers assistant coach Caroline Ouellette was pleased with the girls’ effort.

“We are really getting better, we fought back hard,” said Ouellette. “We are getting better coverage, with solid play at all ends. We just need to be sharper.”

 

 

 

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Stingers drop home-opener to rivals

Sporting a revamped look with many new faces, new jerseys, and a new team, the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team took to the ice Saturday afternoon at Ed Meagher Arena, dropping 8-1 at the hands of their cross-town rivals, the McGill Martlets.

With many alumni on hand to take in the season opener, the Stingers dressed seven rookies, including goaltender Chelsey Hodges, making it her first career CIS league start.

“It’s really exciting, but I was very nervous,” said Hodges, who allowed six goals on 19 shots. “Finding out I’m starting [the game], I was happy to hit the ice.”

The Martlets, no longer nationally ranked first, still had the Stingers number roaring out of the gate scoring on a shot just under Hodges’ blocker 55 seconds into the tilt.

Hodges got back on her feet quickly, stopping close chances by the Martlets potent offense.

“I said I needed to focus and go on,” said Hodges. “I knew that McGill was strong, but to keep the work ethic, and continue to play hard.”

However, barely six minutes into the first, Concordia rookie defender Danielle Leonard took a holding call, which McGill quickly responded with forward Melodie Daoust scoring from the circle just under Hodges’ glove, doubling their lead. Daoust led the day in points scoring one goal and four assists.

The Martlets added another tally on the main advantage, going two-for-four on the day, before the period was out, leading 3-0 through the first 20 minutes.

In the second, the Stingers seemed more aligned, with stronger player coverage and efficiently breaking up the Martlets’ passing.

Recently-named captain Mallory Lawton missed a close chance in the opening minutes after a scramble in front of McGill goaltender Taylor Salisbury was covered.

At 4:25 of the second, McGill’s top line struck again with forward Katia Clément-Heydra getting her first of two on the night with helpers from Daoust and Leslie Oles. The line combined for four goals and seven assists on the afternoon.

Midway through the frame, with Martlets defender Stacie Tardif in the box, the Stingers had a very strong power play, easily cycling the puck back and forth.

“We are a good mix of young and old, a little inexperienced playing with four rookies on defense,” said captain Lawton. “We just have to fine tune our offence and defense and we’re sure to make it closer.”

After the Martlets made it 6-0, Stingers head coach Les Lawton decided to rest Hodges by replacing her with Carolanne Lavoie-Pilon.

“We’re a young team, and we’ve got work to do. We need to put our nose to the grind,” said Lawton, starting his 31st season behind Concordia’s bench. “We need to work on consistency, but it’s still very early.”

Late in the period, Concordia had another chance on the advantage and this time, they capitalized. Stinger Erin Lally found an open Jayme Shell at the side of the net, sending Salisbury sprawling but coming out empty, and Shell getting her first goal of the season.

McGill added a shorthanded goal in the last minute of the period, making it 7-1.

In the third, McGill added their final goal of the afternoon when their top line connected again.

Despite the loss, the team sees good things for the upcoming season.

“I’m disappointed in the score, but definitely not the effort,” said Lawton. “If we continually work hard, chase the other teams, and build stronger as a team, we definitely have a shot at the top three.”

 

Concordia has an upcoming double-header weekend when they play an away game at U de M on Friday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. and return to home ice to face off against Carleton on Saturday, Oct. 20 at 2:30 p.m.

 

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Stingers drop eleventh in a row

Crossing a black cat? Walking under a ladder? Breaking a mirror? Who knows what the Stingers women’s hockey team did, but the bad luck continued for the team, which lost its eleventh straight game last Sunday.

With the 3-0 shutout to Carleton, Concordia remains last in the RSEQ and the team is mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

“That was just a disappointing effort,” said Coach Les Lawton. “I thought we went through the motions a little bit, it was very disappointing considering the goaltending that we usually get. The goals they scored, I thought, were goals that could have been stopped and we didn’t capitalize on our chances. I’m not pleased with the way we played.”

The first period started with a lot of back-and-forth play with each team trading chances.

Concordia found some energy at the ten-minute mark, applying pressure on Ravens goaltender Tamber Tisdale. The Stingers created second and third chances around the net, but were unable to get a shot past her. Despite good chances from both teams, both goaltenders stopped the shots directed at them, keeping it 0-0.

Carleton opened the scoring early in the second, only four minutes in as Ravens forward Kristen MacDonald made it 1-0.

Concordia forward Emilie Bocchia had a good chance to even up the score as she was alone to face Tisdale, but Carleton’s goaltender made the save. Inspired by the save their netminder made, the Ravens scored another goal a minute later, as defence Kelsey Vander Veen made it 2-0.

Carleton’s forward Sadie Wegner was the one who made it 3-0 with five minutes to go in the second period after Concordia missed a great chance to pull within a goal.

“It was a two-nothing game and we had a beautiful three-on-one play that we moved the puck properly and we hit the goal post and a few moments later they put it in the back of our net, that was the turning point,” said Lawton.

The Ravens were on a mission in the third as they blocked shots and cleared the rebounds from the crease, protecting their goaltender’s shutout.

Carleton’s defenceman Kelsey Vander Veen was called to the box for hooking, giving a chance for Concordia to come back in the game. Even though the team had some good chances, they couldn’t capitalize on them as Tisdale made sure the back of her net remained untouched.

“I was really happy with the way our team competed today,” said Ravens head coach Shelley Coolidge. “We did a really good job on our forecheck, creating chances early on in the first and that seemed to get the ball rolling for us. Our goaltender played well, our defence did a good job eliminating second chances, I really was happy [with] the way we played in all zones.”

Concordia’s team can’t say the same about its play and will soon be watching the playoffs rather than participating in them.

 

Concordia’s final home game is at 7:30 p.m. this Friday against the Ottawa Gee Gees, before playing its final game of the season Sunday at 2 p.m. against McGill at McConnell Arena. 

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Not so great eight for Stingers

Forward Valerie Watson celebrates the game winning goal for Ottawa against Concordia on Sunday afternoon. Photo by Navneet Pall

The frustrating season continued for the Concordia women’s hockey on Sunday afternoon at Ed Meagher Arena.

Forward Valerie Watson celebrates the game winning goal for Ottawa against Concordia on Sunday afternoon. Photo by Navneet Pall

The Gee-Gees came to town hoping for results similar to the last time the two teams faced off; a 4-3 loss for the Stingers, the eighth in a row, has left them six points out of the playoffs with only five games to go.

“We had our moments, I thought, but overall we weren’t really satisfied with our full 60 minutes,” said Stingers head coach Les Lawton. “We have to realize that we have to play with a little more passion and a little more intensity at the important times of the game.”

The Stingers started the first period by getting outplayed in their own zone as forward Alyssa Sherrard took a penalty for a hit to the head. Concordia managed well on the penalty-kill with some good saves from goalie Marie-Pier Rémillard, keeping the game 0-0.

After trading a few penalties, Ottawa opened the scoring with two minutes left in the first as forward Dominique Lefebvre put one behind Rémillard.

Concordia tied it up with one minute to go in the period as forward Emilie Bocchia scored her first of three goals.

Picking up from where she left off, Bocchia scored her second off her own rebound only a minute and a half into the second period.

Ottawa forward Asha Kauffeldt had a great chance on a breakaway midway through the second, but Rémillard stood tall and kept her team’s lead.

With forward Jaymee Shell in the box for elbowing, Concordia couldn’t hold off the Gee-Gees powerplay as Fannie Desforges scored on a wrap-around, making it 2-2.

“We came out strong but we let down at times and penalties really were an issue for us,” said Stingers captain Alynn Doiron.

The third period started with a lot of back and forth action that had both teams trading chances. Ottawa came out on top with the momentum as Janie Paquette made it 3-2 at the 17:21 mark of the third period.

After the goal, Concordia seemed to struggle in its own zone, giving pucks away and making turnovers. Forward Maggie MacNeil was called for a body check at 11:39, and Veronica Lang went to the box for tripping one minute later, giving Ottawa a 5-on-3 opportunity.

Gee-Gees forward Valerie Watson made it 4-2 a few moments after the beginning of the 5-on-3, scoring from the slot on a wrist shot that went five-hole as Rémillard had her vision blocked in front.

Bocchia completed her hat trick with four minutes to go in the third, but the Stingers, even with the goalie pulled, weren’t able to come back in time. The loss put a damper on Bocchia’s accomplishment.

“Don’t give me too much credit on that, I really wanted to win this game,” she said. “My line worked hard and I just wished I had one more.”

Concordia now sits in last place in the RSEQ conference, six points behind Ottawa.

The Stingers’ next game is Saturday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. on the road against Carleton.

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Slumping Stingers can’t hold leads

Carabins' players celebrate one of their five goals. Photo by Navneet Pall

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team knew it had to win games against teams it had beaten in the past if it was to climb out of the basement of the standings.

Carabins' players celebrate one of their five goals. Photo by Navneet Pall

The women could handle a 4-0 defeat two weeks ago to run-away leaders McGill, but the other games would have to be capitalized on.

The losses last Friday and Saturday thus came as a hard pill to swallow as the Stingers remain at the bottom of the league.

Though Concordia scored first in both games, the Stingers were unable to hold onto leads against the Montréal Carabins and the Ottawa Gee-Gees.

In the Friday night game at Montréal, Audrey Gariepy scored first, but the Carabins came back with five straight goals.

Second place Montréal is a team the Stingers had beat once and lost to twice in the first half of the season. It is a team that coach Les Lawton knows his team can and needed to beat if they are to challenge for second place.

If Friday night’s loss was a tough pill to swallow, Saturday’s was a shot of gasoline.

Ottawa and Concordia were tied in points going into the game, but Ottawa topped Concordia 4-2, further dismantling the team’s ambition of moving up in the standings.

The Stingers scored first when Emilie Bocchia converted a first period power-play goal, her second in as many games. Ottawa tied it up, but Concordia came out in the second period blazing. Catherine Rancourt put one in 52 seconds into the second period retaking the lead.

It was all Ottawa from then on, however, as the Gee-Gees scored three straight goals to win the game.

The women now sit at the bottom of the standings with six points, two back of Ottawa, though the Stingers have a game in hand.

The Stingers’ next game will be at home against Ottawa on Sunday, Jan. 29 at  3 p.m.

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McGill continues to impress with solid win over Concordia

The McGill Martlets gave themselves a little cushion atop the university women’s hockey standings with a decisive win over the Concordia Stingers on Sunday. McGill is now three points ahead of second place Université de Montréal.

For Concordia, it was a tough loss that started out all wrong.

A mere 38 seconds in to the game, McGill’s Leslie Oles scored putting the Stingers on their back foot for the fourth straight game.

The Martlets dominated the opening frame outshooting the Stingers 12 to two, scoring twice, and leaving the Concordia women wanting.

The second goal of the period came just after the eight-minute mark by Martlet Kim Ton-That.

Concordia was desperate to halt a recent skid of three straight losses including one to Carleton less than 24 hours earlier, and came out of the gates in the second period fighting.

The team’s leading scorer, Véronique Laramée-Paquette, started the charge back with a goal 16 seconds into the second period on a pass from Hayley Boyd.

The goal brought the Stingers’ bench to its feet, as sticks started smacking the boards.

“I thought once we got down there for a moment we really picked ourselves back up,” said Stingers captain Alynn Doiron. “I think the team this year is so much better than all the other years I’ve played because we’re so determined to come back and really strong mentally,” she said.

While the Concordia women were fired up in the beginning, they couldn’t hold the momentum as a soft shot through the five hole of Marie-Pier Rémillard by McGill’s Jordanna Peroff killed the Stinger buzz three minutes later.

Peroff scored her second goal of the night when she streaked down the left wing and put one behind Rémillard again with a slick wrist shot to make it 4-1.

McGill converted on a quick power play goal after a checking to the head penalty by Meghan George, and scored again to end the period 6-1.

“We’ve got to step it up a notch,” said Martlet captain Cathy Chartrand. “It’s still a game, and there’s still 40 minutes to go, and we have to play a structure like we’ve been practicing, and I think that’s what we did.”

A period that had started off so promisingly for Concordia was not to be.

The Stingers got a late consolation prize in the form of a power play goal with five minutes remaining in the third period, from Audrey Gariepy off a set-up by Meghan George to end the game 6-2.

Concordia’s captain was optimistic in the face of defeat.

“Our team showed a lot of determination even if the score didn’t show how we were playing,” said Doiron. “It was good to see us win the last period and finish the first half of the season on a good note.”

For McGill, the season just keeps getting better.

“We’re working every day each practice to get better as a team,” said Chartrand. “I think since the beginning of the year we’ve been improving a lot. We just try to get better as a team every day. Hopefully we’re going to get there.”

Concordia is now in a tie for last place in the RSEQ.

 

The Stingers face off against McGill again on Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

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Stingers go down in defensive struggle

Despite a solid effort by the Concordia Stingers, the women’s hockey team fell 2-1 to the Université de Montréal Carabins at home on Sunday afternoon.

The Stingers dominated puck possession in the first period, sustaining tremendous pressure and outshooting the Carabins. Still, it was Montréal who got on the board first, finding the back of the net through the five-hole of Stingers goalie Marie-Pier Remillard-Paquette. The goal was the result of Montréal’s first threatening rush, eight minutes into the period.

Moira Frier (90) can't quite jam home a loose puck in 2-1 loss. Photo by Anthony Isabella

Concordia also played a strong defensive game early on. In the first period, Alexandra D’Ambrosio saved a potential two on one rush for Montréal, after chasing down a loose puck before the Carabins could gain possession.

Concordia’s Audrey Gariepy tied the game with just over a minute left in the first period, just after Concordia’s power play expired. Both teams were unable to capitalize on the power play throughout the game.

“I wasn’t happy with our forecheck today,” said head coach Les Lawton. “Going into the game, we wanted to establish a forecheck, and we never really established one. We’ve got to get more pucks to the net.”

To open the second period, Stinger Veronique Laramee-Paquette made a nice solo effort to create a scoring chance on the Carabins net-minder. The effort, however, was unrewarded and the game remained tied.

Remillard-Paquette brought some stellar goaltending to Concordia, continuing her strong work throughout the second period, stopping all shots fired at her. Montréal flexed its offensive prowess in the second period, generating more chances than Concordia.

The Carabins also killed off a short five-on-three.

“We did a great job with our penalty kills, and our goaltending was solid,” said Lawton.

The third period saw the Stingers play more defensive hockey, and spend more time in their own zone. Both teams exchanged chances throughout the period, with a stretch of four-on-four play opening the game up. Both teams’ goalies made some formidable saves, though, to keep the game tied.

It was a tightly contested game and was a matter of which team would blink first.

Unfortunately for the Stingers, it was them.

As the game drew to a close, the Stingers gave up a partial break. The end result was a snap shot finding its way past Remillard-Paquette and into the back of the net.

It would prove to be the game winning goal in the 2-1 Stingers defeat.

“The bottom line is, we didn’t create enough chances for ourselves,” said Lawton. “It was a disappointing loss in the sense that we didn’t get a point out of it, but I thought it was a pretty even game.”

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