Concordia 3, Carleton 1: Men’s Hockey Books Ticket to Division Finals

Stingers Sweep Third-Best Team in the Country in Massive Upset

SportsMaxime Cadotte — Published February 23, 2020

“We played a really good game. They came out strong, but we had to seal it at home and we did,” said head coach Marc-André Elément.

The teams were neck-and-neck after one period of play, as chances were almost equally distributed between them, with Carleton shooting eight times to Concordia’s six.

“We had an okay first. It wasn’t our best first. I think we were sitting back a little bit,” said forward Tyler Hylland.

In the second period, both teams cranked up the intensity, but it was Concordia that struck first on the powerplay.

A shot by Bradley Lalonde was saved, but the puck rebounded to Gabriel Bilodeau, who buried it to give the Stingers a 1-0 lead.

Concordia was not done there, as Félix Lauzon did an amazing job on the forecheck to turn the puck over and pass it to Jean-Philippe Beaulieu, who scored to make it 2-0.

The two would connect again minutes later. Another turnover, created by Lauzon, led to a second goal for Beaulieu, extending the Stingers’ lead to 3-0 and sending the Ed Meagher Arena into a frenzy.

Elément thanked the fans for all the support during the game.

“Stands should be always packed like that, not just in the playoffs. It’s such great hockey, and I’ve got to thank all the people that came tonight. They gave us a lot of energy,” said Elément.

“It looked like the ice was kinda tilted in their end. The puck was not getting out, and we had a bunch of chances,” said defenceman Carl Neill after the game.

Solid goaltending

Two dangerous turnovers by the Stingers led to scary moments in the second period, leading to two great chances for Carleton.

However, Concordia goalie Kyle Jessiman shut the door both times as he made an incredible leaping save, followed by a miraculous stick save a couple of minutes later.

“At that point, it is all instincts and [hoping] for the best,” said Jessiman, reflecting on those saves.

“Jessiman was unreal. Kept us in the game,” said Elément. “If you want to win, you need your goalie to make the big stop, and he made the key saves.”

The beginning of the third period did not go as planned for Concordia as they were forced to kill a two-man advantage less than a minute into the frame. Yet, the Stingers managed to kill both penalties.

Carleton’s forecheck ended up paying off later on as they managed to get a rebound goal, courtesy of Samuel Meisenheimer, to cut the lead to 3-1. That was all it would amount to, with Jessiman stopping 30 of the 31 shots he faced to give Concordia the victory.

“I think if we just keep being consistent and keep playing 60 minutes like we have been doing in the first two rounds, I think we will have success,” said Neill.

The Stingers will now have to wait for their next opponent as they face off against the winner of the series between the University of Ottawa and the Université de Québec à Trois-Rivières.