Stingers 5, Martlets 2: First Period Fortune Leads to Victory

Penalties Raise Alarms, but Sound Scoring Wins Game

SportsConor Tomalty — Published November 13, 2022 3 minutes

Concordia dominated puck possession at the start of the game, which forecasted the lopsided first period. McGill neglected to fill passing lanes and the Stingers took advantage, creating numerous odd-man rushes. 

The Stingers opened the scoring nine minutes into play when forward Megan Bureau-Gagnon collected the puck behind the Martlets’ net. She executed a wrap-around and tucked the biscuit past the out-stretched leg of McGill goalie Sarah Carmichael. 

Concordia persisted, peppering Carmichael with a plethora of blasts from in tight. The broken ice completely shattered with less than six minutes remaining in the first period. The scoring onslaught that ensued snowballed into a total Martlets meltdown. 

Stingers’ forward Chloé Gendreau pulled the puck to her backhand and potted it past Carmichael following a two-on-one fastbreak. Defenceman Alexandra-Anne Boyer then gained possession near the Martlets’ blue line and floated a backhand shot that Carmichael misplayed, deflecting off the goaltender’s glove and into the goal. Finally, with mere seconds left in the same frame, Stingers’ forwards Emmy Fecteau and Jessymaude Drapeau connected in the offensive end, marking a fourth goal past the sprawling Carmichael. The period horn blew with Concordia decisively winning 4-0. 

Despite the early-game excellence, Stingers head coach Julie Chu emphasized the importance of remaining sharp to her team. 

“The focus is to be great,” said Chu. “We’re really proud that we had an awesome start and awesome first period, but we always have to reset [and say] let’s earn the next twenty [minutes].,”She disclosed her will to foster habits for her team to develop, allowing for a solid play through the entire 60 minutes of each game.

The four-goal damage dropped the curtain on Carmichael’s night. McGill’s head coach swapped backstops at the start of the second period, electing for Sophie Lajeunesse to take centre stage between the pipes.  

Lajeunesse breathed new life into the goalie position, redirecting 15 of the 16 shots she faced. The sole blemish came five minutes into the second frame when Boyer rifled a wrister from the same spot as her first goal, nailing the top-right corner of McGill’s net. This marked Boyer’s second goal of the match.  

“That first [Boyer goal] was out of the blue. We had no idea what was going on,” said Stingers captain Olivia Hale. “I turned to someone and said, ‘how did she score that?’ They answered the backhand, everyone went wild. It was awesome.” Hale further praised  Boyer’s ability to stay poised along the blue line. 

Excitement petered out in the third period. The Martlets’ nullified the shutout in the second after a deflection goal tipped in their first score of the game. The team understood the daunting task of attempting to make up the 5-1 deficit with 20 minutes left to play. 

McGill elevated the intensity while Concordia mistakenly and continuously aided their opponents by racking up penalties. The Stingers totalled eight infractions on the night, five of which came in the terminal period. Despite the ten minutes of powerplay chances, the Martlets only obtained one additional goal from forward Stephanie Keeper’s snapshot. An unlucky endeavour for McGill, as they lost to their cross-town rivals 5-2. 

“I think in the third period, we got a little bit away from the game and the habits we want to build on,” said coach Chu. “Mismanaging the puck and obviously taking penalties, we've got to be conscious of that.”

The Stingers now make the trek to Bishop’s University, where they prepare to face the Gaiters on Sunday, Nov. 13. Puck drop is set for 3:30 p.m..