Playing Timid

Women’s Hockey Blow Lead Against Ottawa

SportsYacine Bouhali — Published November 5, 2012

“Today, we just played stupid,” said a disappointed head coach Les Lawton after Sunday’s game. “Bonehead,” is the word he used to describe the way his team played with a two-goal lead—one they enjoyed until there were just six minutes left on the clock.

Playing their second game in less than 24 hours, the Stingers came out flat during the first period. The undisciplined Ottawa Gee-Gees found themselves shorthanded three times in the first, but Concordia failed to capitalize on any of those chances.

“Our power play was horrible; it looks good in practice, but when we get to a game, it seems like we do things that we don’t practice,” said Lawton about a power play unit which scored only once in 10 opportunities.

The Stingers’ only power play goal came from Jaymee Shell who opened the mark in the early minutes of the second period. After being denied twice by Ottawa’s goaltender, she finally found the back of the net on her third attempt.

That goal gave a boost to the Maroon and Gold, who doubled their lead two minutes later. Véronique Laramée-Paquette took advantage of a defensive turnover created by her teammate Emilie Bocchia, and with a backhand shot she scored her fourth goal of the season.

Leading 2-0, the Stingers were rewarded another power play. But instead of giving themselves a comfortable three-goal lead, they allowed Gee-Gees forward Alicia Blomberg to score a shorthanded goal that brought her team back into the game.

After two periods of play, Concordia was leading 2-1.

In the third, the Stingers worked hard to regain their two-goal lead, paying off for captain Mallory Lawton who scored what was supposed to be the insurance goal. But with less than six minutes left, Janie Paquette spreaded doubt through the Stingers’ bench by diminishing their lead to one.

During the final moments of the game, the Stingers were disorganized and undisciplined. With three minutes left, they took two penalties. Ottawa couldn’t ask for better comeback conditions; they pulled their goalie and scored the game-tying goal with less than a minute left in regulation.

By the time the overtime clock started ticking down, the damage was already done to the Stingers’ momentum. On a one-timer, Ottawa’s Fannie Desforges scored the decisive goal, giving her team an unexpected win.

“Our play is just inconsistent, and the mental part of our game is very, very weak,” said Lawton after the tough loss. “I don’t know if it’s the mental part of our game or if it’s a lack of preparation on the coaches’ part but that’s something we have to figure out, hopefully sooner than later.”

Next weekend, the Stingers will play the two top-ranked teams in the league, Université de Montréal on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and McGill on Saturday at 3 p.m.