A Bright Future

Rookie-Heavy Stingers Impress Despite Loss Against Powerful UdeM

SportsYacine Bouhali — Published October 23, 2012

In a game where odds were stacked against them, Concordia’s women’s hockey team played with poise and passion, but came short of spoiling the Université de Montréal season opener, heading to the locker rooms under a 4-2 scoreboard.

Playing with nine rookies on the roster, the Stingers seemed disorganized in their own zone during the game’s opening minutes, and they paid the price early.

Only 1:13 into the game, Carabin forward Ariane Barker opened the scoring when she finished off a beautiful play orchestrated by linemate Josianne Legault. Before the end of the first period, Betty Jouanny doubled the lead for the home team, who also led in shots on goal 21-8 after the first.

In a strange decision right before the beginning of the second period, the referees penalized the Stingers for delay of game because the squad was late coming back on the ice after the first intermission.

Things got worse for the Stingers when the Carabins quickly took advantage of that penalty and added to their lead. Just 26 seconds into the second, Kim Deschênes gave a three-goal lead to the Carabins.

A minute later, however, the momentum completely changed.

Tripped on a breakaway, Stingers right-winger Erin Lally was awarded a penalty shot. The Calgary native didn’t miss her great opportunity to bring the Maroon and Gold back into the game. The Stingers bench erupted when Lally found the back of the net with a beautiful deke that simply dazzled the Carabins goaltender.

“I always watch what the goalie is doing,” said Lally. “If she’s too far out of her crease then I’m gonna deke her.”

Lally’s penalty shot goal gave a huge boost to the Stingers, who played the last two periods with confidence.

“We started to believe that we could score more goals and the girls were simply on fire,” said assistant coach Caroline Ouellette.

Showing cohesion and leadership, Concordia won most of the one-on-one battles and spent the majority of the second period in their rivals’ zone.

“We started to believe that we could score more goals and the girls were simply on fire.”
—Assistant Coach Caroline Ouellette

Goaltender Carolanne Lavoie-Pilon gave the Stingers even more reason to be confident, making several big saves that kept her team in the game.

Before the second intermission, Véronique Laramée-Paquette brought yet more hope to the Concordia squad when she scored on a one-timer from Alyssa Sherrard.

But during the opening seconds of the third period, the Stingers were once again penalized for being undisciplined and, as before, the Carabins made them regret it. With a brilliant individual effort, star player Deschênes scored her second power-play goal of the game and gave back a two-goal lead to UdeM.

Hoping to cut the lead, the Stingers played their hearts out after that goal. Coach Les Lawton pulled his goaltender during the last minute to give his team every chance to make a comeback, but it was too little, too late—the Stingers lost a hard-fought game.

Coach Lawton, who is in his 31st season as the Stingers coach, was satisfied with how his team played.

For a team that played with only 11 forwards and whose defensive squad is mainly composed of rookies, Lawton’s satisfaction with the team’s performance is justifiable.

Not to mention that starting goaltender Lavoie-Pilon, who is still considered a rookie because she did not play a single game last year.

“It’s a real learning time for us and we got one of the best players in the world that is helping us right now,” said Lawton, referring to Ouellette, his assistant coach. He noted that the three-time Olympic gold medallist has brought leadership to the coaching staff.

“The players are buying more into it when it comes from someone of that calibre,” said Lawton.