Stingers 10, Ravens 1: Stingers men’s hockey team buzzes to victory
Stingers dominate Ravens in home opener, improve record to 3-0-1
The Stingers were on fire at Concordia’s Ed Meagher Arena on Sunday, Oct. 13 as they took 48 shots on net against the Carleton Ravens.
“I’m happy that things went our way and I think the guys played well,” head coach Marc-André Elément said. “We just wanted to keep putting pressure on them and I think the results showed for themselves.”
Just under five minutes into the game, Stingers forwards Mathieu Bizier and Charles Savoie each scored back-to-back goals to give Concordia a 2-0 lead. The Ravens responded physically, but the Stingers had had enough and tripped Ravens forward Scott McKenzie. McKenzie went flying into the boards and appeared to have pain in his lower body. He did not return to the game.
Carleton did not register a shot on goal for nearly ten minutes, but defenceman James Mayotte managed to cut the deficit in half in the first period. The Stingers added two more goals to take a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes.
To start off the second period, the Ravens replaced starting goalie Tye Austin for Steven Bacovsky in hopes of saving the game. The Ravens came back strong, shooting some powerful shots on net, yet did not manage to score.
Despite the Ravens finding a rhythm, it was the Stingers who capitalized in the second period, adding four goals and taking an 8-1 lead into the third period.
The start of the third period was relatively quiet until Stingers forward Loïck Daigle scored to make it 9-1. While many were expecting the scoring spree to continue throughout the third period, it did not. Instead, both teams were in the penalty box more often than not. Whether it was for slashing, tripping, hooking or roughing, the game had it all.
With nine minutes left of the third period, Stingers rookie Charles Savoie jumped on his opponent in Concordia’s defensive zone. This led to a physical fight between the players on the ice, leading Savoie to the penalty box for a two-minute minor.
With just fifteen seconds left in the game, defenceman Sean Larochelle found himself directly in front of the goalie, scoring the 10th and final goal for Concordia.
While Sunday’s game was intense, Bizier explained that this was just a step towards something special.
“[The win] is a good building block for the next games and for the rest of the season,” he said. “We’re building well right now and if we keep the same energy and the same game plan, we’re going to be good.”
This win improves the Stingers’ record to 3-0-1 in the new season. They play their next home game against the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m.
