Carabins Sail Into Second Round

Stingers Women’s Hockey Eliminated

SportsDavid S. Landsman — Published March 2, 2015 | Updated March 3, 2015 at 12:00am

“I thought it was definitely one of our best efforts all season,” said head coach Les Lawton. “We just had trouble battling back after finding ourselves behind early – we still never gave up though.”

The Stingers fell behind early. It was just under four minutes into the game when Carabins captain Janique Duval took a wrist shot that bounced off Concordia goaltender Katherine Purchase’s glove, off the crossbar and into the goal.

A few minutes later, they found themselves shorthanded for an extended amount of time when alternate captains Alyssa Sherrard and Erica Porter were assessed penalties 61 seconds apart.

The Carabins powerplay was able to tally another goal, increasing their lead to two when forward Marion Allemoz got her team’s first powerplay goal of the series.

The second period saw a reawakened Stinger team that played with determination. They had a chance when the Carabins got chirpy and took two penalties 24 seconds apart. The Stingers powerplay was solid, but they couldn’t find the back of the net.

Forty minutes in, it was still 2-0 Montreal, despite the shots being 24-18 Concordia.

With the score 3-0 late in the game, Concordia still continued to push hard to the net, creating chances and trying to get at least to get back into the game.

With 3:39 left in the game, Porter found an open Marie-Pier Cloutier who walked in alone and buried a shot five-hole to give Concordia short-lived hope.

However, it was in the final minute where the real hostilities took place. With 10.8 seconds left, Concordia drove to the net and forward Audrey Morand lunged at Rousseau-Sirois and was sent to the penalty box.

Seconds later, veteran defender Gabrielle Meilleur joined her and in the final second, Sherrard had had enough before she was sent to the dressing room.

It was a curtain call and final lap for five members of the Maroon and Gold: Sherrard, Porter, Morand, Meilleur and team captain Danielle Scarlett, all of whom had illustrious careers with Concordia.

“It’s something that happens every year, but it’s always tough to see them go,” said Lawton of the departed Stingers. “We do have a great group of recruits coming in, but it’s still never really easy.”

All in all, the Stingers team as a whole, up and down the lineup showed a lot of improvement over the course of the season, finishing with a record over .500 (8-7-5).

They also finished third in a conference with the two best teams in the entire Canadian Interuniversity Sport – and also beating them each once, including snapping long losing streaks against them – McGill Martlets (57), Universite de Montreal Carabins (18).

They were also recognized for their hard work with six nominations for Reseau du Sports Etudiants au Quebec awards and with head coach Les Lawton winning the coach of the conference.

“We made tremendous strides this season, something to be very proud of,” said Lawton. “We learned how to win together and it shows great promise for the upcoming future.”