Concordia Stung by Redman

SportsBenjamin Price — Published February 15, 2011

Three goals within 10 minutes effectively nipped this final in the bud within the first period, as the McGill Redmen comfortably offed the Concordia Stingers at the Ed Meagher Arena to lift the Corey Cup on Sunday.

The Redmen came racing out at the start of the first to find the Stingers looking sluggish and somewhat disorganized at the back.

Some clumsy play early on gave the Redmen a double power play.

Despite an assault upon Stinger Raffaele D’Orso’s net, Concordia held on and showed some of the resilience they would have to call upon later if they were going to come away with anything from this final.

Two more power plays would follow in a first period clearly dominated by the Redmen. Their speed and slick passing brought them to a 3-0 lead at the end of the first. D’Orso made a number of critical saves to keep the Stingers from falling even further behind.

The Stingers were hungry to start a comeback in the second period. Stinger defender Eric Begin fired a slapshot through a crowd past the McGill goalie Hubert Morin for a sensational goal.

The Stingers had come back in the second period with a new attitude. The defence was better organized and the boards rattled as play moved swiftly from end to end with both goalies getting a decent workout.

Morin in particular made a huge save, denying Concordia the chance to catch up, but it was Redmen defender Vincent Bourgeois who made the most critical stop of the game by throwing himself full stretch onto the ice to stop an almost certain goal in the 15th minute.

Chances were disappearing faster than the Stingers could make them. Concordia began to wane. McGill forward Christophe Longpre-Poirier compounded the misery of the hosts as he nailed the coffin shut with a solid fourth goal in the 16th minute.

The third period began much like the second, but it was clear that the Stingers were beginning to slow down in face of the huge task now presented to them.

Even at the best of times in the second period, they rarely dominated the Redmen’s area, and their chances from the game’s fifth goal onward were slowly reduced to outnumbered breakaway counter-attacks which quickly broke back down into the renewed Redmen pressure.

The McGill players took advantage of the drop in tempo, but to their credit they maintained the focus needed to keep control of the game.

Aside from some sloppy attempts on the Stinger’s goal that should have given them an even greater lead, they completed the final in style as the deserving winners.

This article originally appeared in Volume 31, Issue 23, published February 15, 2011.