Stingers 4, Martlets 1: Stingers win season opener
The Stingers start their season at home with dominance
The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team defeated the McGill Martlets 4-1 during their first game of the 2023-24 regular season on Oct. 12 in the Ed Meagher Arena.
“I think heading into this one we felt really good about where we’ve progressed already, knowing that it’s still game one,” said Stingers head coach Julie Chu. “So there’s going to be a lot of progression still from now until where we want to get to at the end of the season.”
The arena was filled with fans who buzzed with excitement for the start of the season. The Stingers started the first period strong by creating scoring opportunities. They put pressure on the Martlets, as they kept the puck on their side of the ice for the majority of the period.
Stingers forward Jessymaude Drapeau notched the first goal of the game. Fellow forward Léonie Philbert beat McGill to the puck, then passed it off to Drapeau, who drove it toward the net and scored a wrist shot four minutes into the game.
“I’m really excited to get back to work. It was a really good game,” said Drapeau post-game. “Obviously, we wanted to win today, and we started with a bang, so that’s really nice.”
At the 16-minute mark, Stingers forward Émilie Lavoie scored Concordia’s second goal when she deflected a shot by Stingers defender Leah Kosowski.
With a two-goal lead, the Stingers were confident heading into the second period. They extended their lead with a power-play goal scored by forward Chloé Gendreau 11 minutes into the period. However, Martlet’s forward Mika Chang responded quickly. She scored McGill’s sole goal after a penalty was given to Stingers forward Caroline Moquin-Joubert for hooking.
Concordia regained their momentum shortly after when Lavoie scored her second goal of the game to close the second period.
Martlets goaltender Jade Rivard-Coulombe held off the Stingers for the remainder of the third period, stopping all seven shots she faced. The Stingers outshot the Martlets 38-14 in the game. As the third period remained quiet, the Stingers cruised to a 4-1 victory.
The Concordia women’s hockey team will play their next regular season game on Oct. 21 at Bishop’s University at 7 p.m.
“I think Bishop’s this year is going to be a great team. We will have to battle, and I think we’ll be ready,” said Lavoie post-game.
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