Stingers 2, Carabins 0: Concordia finishes regular season undefeated
The Stingers are the first U Sports women’s hockey team to go undefeated since 2013
After a 2-0 win against the Université de Montréal Carabins on Feb. 16 at CEPSUM, the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team has finished the 2023-24 regular season with a perfect 25-0-0 record.
The Stingers are the first U Sports women’s hockey team to complete an undefeated season since the McGill Martlets in 2012-13. Including preseason tournaments, the Stingers have only lost two games since September 2023.
Pressure has been mounting since the win streak began, though head coach Julie Chu maintained a pragmatic outlook throughout the season. She often told The Link that the team was staying in the moment and taking it one game at a time rather than getting caught up in the flawless record.
The effect of that attitude on the team was visible—each game this season featured intense, focused hockey from the Stingers, including their final regular season game against Université de Montréal.
The Stingers kept it exciting for their finale, with forward Chloé Gendreau scoring the first goal of the game just two minutes into the first period. The goal, a clean tap-in off assists from forward Justine Yelle and defender Béatrice Caron, remained the only goal scored by either team until halfway through the third period, when Yelle extended the lead to 2-0.
Gendreau’s goal marks her 26th point of the season, making this her most productive year at Concordia thus far. It’s also her most involved; for the first time, the third-year forward played all 25 games of the season, putting her slightly above a point-per-game scoring pace.
“Chloé is a very surprising player,” said Stingers captain Emmy Fecteau after the game. “She works hard, but she doesn’t know that she’s so talented. She’s really humble, and she’s so skilled [...] She impresses me every day.”
There was palpable stress in the arena as Carabins fans watched the Stingers maintain their 1-0 lead throughout the game; the stands erupted every time the Carabins got a breakaway. Stingers goaltender Arianne Leblanc, however, put on a clinic to keep her shutout.
Leblanc has been praised by coaches and teammates throughout the season, and it’s easy to see why. The first-year goalie has shared the crease with second-year Jordyn Verbeek all year, with both of them putting up unbelievable numbers. Leblanc finished this regular season with a .946 save percentage and four shutouts across thirteen games.
As a graduating senior, this season was Fecteau’s last with the team. At the end of pre-game warmups, Fecteau and fellow senior Rosalie Bégin-Cyr knelt together in front of the net, the last two players on the ice.
“Rosalie and I have played together since we were eight,” said Fecteau. “It’s been seven years that [we've been] roommates, so we spend more time together than with our families. It’s a special year for us, maybe the last year that we play together [...] Little moments like that, we try to enjoy them as much as we can.”
The Stingers will face the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in the first round of playoffs. The first game of the series will be held on Feb. 22 at Ed Meagher Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.
