Concordia 3, McGill 1: Stingers Men’s Hockey Team Takes Game One

Stingers Take a Crucial One-Game Lead Over Their Rivals

SportsMiriam Lafontaine — Published February 28, 2018

In the first period, things weren’t looking good for the Stingers. McGill had 16 shots in the frame, but goalie Marc-Antoine Turcotte was a wall in net.

Things started to level out half way through the period, continuing until, with much surprise, Stingers forward Raphael Lafontaine scored their first goal with two minutes left in the period. The Stingers got their third shot soon after, but Louis-Philip Guindon was able to keep up.

McGill’s strong start didn’t last long, though. The Stingers were significantly more productive on the offence than in the first period, getting a power play half way through the period. This offence paid off, and with three minutes left in the period, forward Charles-Eric Legare beat Guindon off a McGill turnover to double the lead.

With a two goal lead, the Stingers had to maintain it. Luckily, Turcotte was unbeatable.

What was different about the offensive chances either team had was that McGill’s were much more dangerous. Concordia made the most of the few chances they had, and knew they could lean on their goaltending to keep them out of trouble. Whenever there was a lapse in the Stingers defence, they could rest easy knowing that Turcotte was behind them to back them up.

McGill’s two power plays gained through the third period were just not enough for them to pull ahead. The Stingers pulled through with their two goal lead, and pucks were flying. Just when McGill thought they had scored their first goal in the last three minutes, the team was called for goalie interference and the goal was called back.

But with 39 seconds left in the game and the McGill net empty, defender Nikolas Brouillard scored to cut the lead in half. But it was too little, too late, and Concordia captain Phil Hudon sealed the deal with an empty-netter, eight seconds before the final buzzer.

Unsurprisingly, Turcotte was named the game’s first star.

With the game in hand, the teams now turn their attention to game two, which is set for Friday night, 7:30 p.m. at Ed Meaghar arena. With a win, Concordia would punch its ticket to the OUA finals. A loss would force a decisive game three.