Concordia 6, Nipissing 4: Late Stingers Surge Puts Concordia on Top

Three Quick Goals Gives Concordia Win Despite Penalty Trouble

SportsDawn Kagan-Fleming — Published December 2, 2017

“We were aware we played a pretty crappy second [period],” said Stingers’ forward Phil Hudon. “It was just a question of getting everybody back to basics. We started really strong so our goal was to get back to that form.”

Concordia had an ideal start to the game. Forward Massimo Carozza scored on what was the team’s very first shot of the game, followed by a Philippe Sanche goal midway through the first period on the power play.

“We were controlling the game five-on-five, our power play did a good job also,” said Concordia head coach Marc-André Element after the game. Of their nine power play chances, the Stingers converted two.

The Stingers, however, became a bit too comfortable with that lead. The Lakers seemed to wake up after the second goal, forcing their way into Concordia’s zone and actually outshooting them through the rest of the first frame.

“It’s pretty common in hockey when you get an early lead. You tend to sit back a bit and let the other guys play into the game they want to play,” said Stingers’ defender Carl Neill. “It’s something we definitely have to work on.”

Throughout the game, penalties would be a major issue as the Stingers racked up 12. While the team would keep Nipissing off the board at even strength, the Lakers managed to score four goals on the power play.

“I like playing an aggressive game and being in their face,” said Element. “The penalties that were from being hard on the forecheck, I can live with those. But the soft penalties, we need to work on that.”

“He’s one of the top players in the country. Every night you know he’s going to work and show up,” said Element of his forward. “He’s maybe the smallest player in the league but he plays the hardest. He’s amazing to watch.”

Sanche scored two goals, both of which were assisted by Beauregard and Neill—who would each finish the game with four assists.

Another highlight for the Stingers was rookie Carozza. He opened the scoring in the first period, and would do the same in the third. He scored his second of the game midway through the frame to give his team a 4-3 lead, and some much needed momentum.

“We wanted to turn things our way and not play with fire the rest of the [third] period, and things turned out the right way,” said Neill, smiling.

Sixty-Seven seconds later, forward Antoine Masson scored a goal that was followed up less than a minute later by a Charles-Eric Legaré score.

The Stingers managed to flip their poor second period on its head to get their 11th win of the season, and their third straight. They won’t have to wait long to potentially extend that streak to four games, as they’ll face the Laurentian Voyageurs tonight at the Ed Meaghar Arena.