Stingers 3, Ridgebacks 1: Stingers Win Provides Huge Playoff Implications

Concordia Men’s Hockey Earn Key Victory against Ontario Tech

SportsMatt Piscina — Published January 25, 2023 3 minutes

Coming into this game, the Concordia Stingers and Ontario Tech Ridgebacks were neck and neck in the standings, separated by just one point.

The first period saw the Stingers get the opening goal of the game. Captain and forward Phélix Martineau received a no-look backhand pass by winger Isiah Campbell to make it 1-0 Conordia.

In period two, goaltenders Jonathan Lemieux of Concordia and Leif Hertz of Ontario Tech steered aside every shot they faced. Despite both teams having power play opportunities here, neither could find the back of the net.

This staunch goalie play persisted until the third period came around. Ontario Tech saw themselves on a five-minute power play after Concordia defenseman Christopher Inniss was ejected on a major penalty for charging. On the ensuing power play, Ontario Tech’s forward Andrew Suriyuth buried a cross-crease pass to even the game at one.

Once the penalty concluded, neither team saw many offensive opportunities despite a heightened pace. “We didn’t panic,” said Stingers’ head coach Marc-André Elément referring to the five-minute penalty. “We came back after that goal [on the penalty kill].”

With about ten minutes remaining, Stingers’ forward Nicholas Girourd found the puck on his stick behind the net and banked it off Ridgebacks’ Hertz’s pad, making it 2-1 Concordia.

Once Concordia retook the lead, Ontario Tech’s offense responded by taking every opportunity to shoot the puck. Stingers’ goaltender Jonathan Lemieux made some solid, essential saves to keep them ahead.

With about five minutes left in the game, Stingers’ forward Charles-Antoine Paiement found a loose puck and potted it past the sprawling Ontario Tech netminder to make it 3-1 Stingers.

In the end, the Stingers held on to win by a final score of 3-1. Knowing how high the stakes were coming into this game, Stingers’ head coach Marc-André Elément was pleased with his team’s performance. “It was two good teams playing each other, and we came out with a win so that’s huge,” Elément shared postgame.

These two teams will meet once again on Jan. 27, this time on the road for the Stingers. “We’re going to keep the same game plan and we’re going to look at some stuff that we can improve [on]. Two great teams playing each other, it’s always a fun battle,” said head coach Elément ahead of their rematch with Ontario tech.

Concordia is now second place in the Ontario University Athletics East Division standings. The Ontario Tech Ridgebacks and Concordia Stingers will meet again on Jan. 27 in what will be another huge test for the Stingers headed into the final stretch of the regular season. Puck-drop is set for 7 p.m.