Montréal 2, Concordia 1 (3OT): Stingers Women’s Hockey Drop First Game of the Series in a Marathon Affair vs Les Carabins
Annie Germain Plays Hero for Les Carabins With a Two-Goal Performance
Concordia’s women’s hockey team dominated game one of their opening playoff series against the Université de Montréal Carabins, but missed opportunities and quick whistles led to their defeat.
“I thought our girls played well,” said head coach Julie Chu. “We didn’t have a lot of luck on our side too. We hit three posts behind the goaltender. And those are things that we’ll have to find a way to be able to bury them when it’s when the time comes as well.”
The first 60 minutes were completely in favour of the home side, putting up more than 40 shots on Montréal’s Maude Trévisan.
The keeper was the first star of the game, coming up with more than 55 saves to steal game one for the Carabins. She was also helped by her teammates, as they built a wall all game, blocking a ridiculous amount of shots.
When Trévisan was beat, her posts came in handy, with Claudia Dubois ringing one off the crossbar, notably in double overtime.
In the second period, the captain directed a shot on net which disappeared between Trévisan’s pads for a second, only to pop out in the middle of the crease.
Dubois jumped on the puck to push it in the empty cage, but a quick whistle from the referee stopped the play before she was able to get the puck past the goal line.
“Yeah, it’s hard to say everything happens quickly,” said Chu. “We don’t have video review. So we can’t say if it is a goal or if it isn’t a goal. So it’s a little bit tougher to be able to do that. So I think for us, the number one thing is to rest, recover and make sure that we get going.”
Concordia’s lone score came off the stick of rookie forward Emmy Fecteau. She finished off a Rosalie Bégin-Cyr effort, flipping the puck just past Trévisan for her first Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec playoffs goal.
Fecteau looked like anything but a rookie in her first outing in the RSEQ playoffs. True to her usual self, she pressed the opposition deep in their own with some relentless forecheck. Her energy was contagious and her linemates were just as intense in the Montréal zone.
“I think her whole line five on five with Emmy, Rosie and Audrey-Anne Rodrigue were really strong for us,” said the head coach. “They did a lot of offensive push. They had a lot of jump all game long and overtime did a good job as well.”
Concordia’s heavy pressure and domination lead to a flurry of scoring chances throughout the game, but their struggle to find the back of the net, combined with an outstanding performance by Trévisan, eventually proved costly.
Stingers’ goalie Alice Philbert was just as good as Trévisan in the loss. The veteran was cool and composed in the high-flying overtime period, denying Montréal’s multiple 2-on-1’s in overtime.
It took a perfect shot from Annie Germain late in the third to tie things up. The forward placed the puck in the bottom corner, just past Philbert’s left leg.
The Montréal forward got another chance on a turnover at the beginning of the third overtime. Germain wasted no time heading for Philbert’s net, beating her with another laser just above her blocker for the game-winner.
Chu’s squad will get a day off on Friday, but they’ll be back in action for game two on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the CEPSUM. The best team in the country will put its season on the line in hopes of avoiding an ending like last season’s.
