Men’s Hockey: Bounce-Back Win for Stingers

Concordia Thrashed Royal Military College 7-1 at Ed Meagher Arena

SportsSafia Ahmad — Published November 27, 2016

“I was finding the right spot at the right moment and the puck was coming to me,” said the captain. “Some nights that happens I wish it could happen more but it was great.”

“He played well, he deserves it,” said Stingers head coach Marc-Andre Element. “And I think it’s just gonna be a confidence booster for him.”

The Stingers opened the floodgates early in the first period when rookie forward Vincent Watt scored his first goal of the season. RMC tied the game at one-a-piece but that would be the only shot that would get through Stingers back-up goaltender Miguel Sullivan, who made 17 saves.

“He played well,” said Element. “It’s a tough game for him, he doesn’t really see a lot of shots so he had to stay focused so he did a good job.”

It was hard in a different way for RMC netminder Austin Hannaford, who faced a total of 58 shots in the night. He faced 19 shots in the first period, 23 in the second and 16 in the third.

Charles-Eric Legare scored in the second and Hinse added his second and third goals of the night. The Stingers continued to pad their lead in the third when Anthony De Luca scored his 13th goal in 15 games. Hinse capped the night off with his fourth goal. He has now scored 12 goals in the regular season.

While the game showcased a strong offensive effort from the Stingers, it was also a display of aggressive play and indiscipline. Both teams took a total of 25 penalties. RMC had the edge with 16. Concordia forward Francis Brunelle was handed a game misconduct penalty for a hit to the head.

For Element, it was important for his players to stay focused in the game despite this.

“It’s a physical league,” he said. “It’s a tough league. The guys responded well, they were focused, they were mentally ready to have a physical game.”

Stingers rookie forward William Couture left the game in the third period. The former Rimouski Oceanic player had an apparent knee injury after being hit by an RMC player.

RMC have now lost seven games in a row and sit at the bottom of Ontario University Athletics’ Eastern Division with seven points in 16 games.

Meanwhile, the fifth-placed Stingers were looking to bounce back after losing to Carleton 4-0 on Friday night.

“I think we just worked hard,” said Hinse. “Last night [Friday] we had a letdown, I think we wanted to bounce and skate hard, work hard, finish our checks, and it worked offensively. When you pay the price off defensively, that’s where you get success offensively so that’s what worked I think.”

The Stingers are back in action on Dec 2 when they play the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa.