Stingers 2, Gaels 1: Concordia’s late comeback stuns Queen’s
Two late goals lift Stingers to crucial first win in best-of-three series
The Concordia University men’s hockey team rode a stunning comeback from a late one-goal deficit to take down the Queen’s University Gaels in Game 1 of their Ontario University Athletics (OUA) semifinal best-of-three series on Wednesday, March 5 at Ed Meagher Arena.
Stingers head coach Marc-André Elément praised his squad for its resilience just days after closing out a three-game series against McGill.
“We learned a lot in the season to stay composed when there's some big hits during a game, and that's just maturity,” Elément said. “If you want to win you need to have the playoff mindset, and I think the guys have it right now.”
The Stingers needed every ounce of resilience to take down the Gaels on Wednesday night. A physical matchup heated up early, as both teams went on the power play within the first ten minutes of the game. However, only Queen’s capitalized on its man-advantage, as Gaels alternate captain Nolan Hutcheson jumped on a rebound to wrap the puck around Stingers goaltender Nikolas Hurtubise for an early 1-0 lead.
Despite the deficit, the Stingers grew into the game as the minutes passed. Forward Nicholas Girouard relayed the importance of Concordia’s focus on its own play.
“It's all about character,” Girouard said. “In our first game against McGill we were getting bad penalties and we lost 6-1. It kills our momentum. So we just try to stay disciplined and keep our head in the game.”
Throughout the second period and into the third, though, the Stingers’ scoring opportunities started to slip away. Despite controlling possession, Concordia couldn’t force the puck through a Gaels defence that hunkered down after taking an early lead.
But games change on a dime, and Stingers defenceman Sean Larochelle provided the turning point. As the game entered the final four minutes of play, he found a pocket of space as forward Mathieu Bizier slipped behind the Gaels net. When Larochelle received Bizier’s wraparound pass, he didn’t miss, firing a shot into the corner to finally break through and tie the match.
With his fourth goal of the playoffs, Larochelle passed Bizier for the team lead, just three days after the former’s hat-trick against McGill. Larochelle emphasized the Stingers’ attention to the margins as a catalyst for their success.
“The message between the periods is really to stick on the details,” Larochelle said. “The forecheck, having a good stick on the puck, and crashing the net is what we talk about, so we try to stick to that.”
With Queen’s reeling, Concordia used the momentum to cement the turnaround. In a similar fashion to the equalizer, Girouard freed himself in the slot to again receive Bizier’s pass from behind the net with just 49 seconds remaining. In the blink of an eye, Girouard hammered the puck past Gaels goaltender Christian Purboo for the game-winning goal.
Girouard kept his focus on the team’s resilience as the key to victory, especially with a quick turnaround before the Stingers’ trip to Kingston, Ont. for Game 2.
“The mission is just to never give up,” Girouard said. “At the end of the game like that, they're tired. They make mistakes and that's where we get our goals and that's why we won the game.”
Concordia’s playoff run continues as the Stingers visit the Gaels at Jock Harty Arena in Kingston for Game 2 of the semifinal series. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.
