Stingers 5, Martlets 0: Concordia opens home conference play with a shutout

The Stingers dominated their rivalry matchup to ease into the season

SportsSamuel Kayll — Published October 27, 2025 0 minutes

After a tense season-opening win against the Université de Montréal Carabins, the Stingers breezed to victory against their crosstown rival. Head coach Julie Chu noted the energy in the team and the crowd for the home opener.

“I thought we had a great crowd today,” Chu said. “Our players were excited about it leading up to this game, and McGill's a great team, so we wanted to come play some great hockey, and we're really happy with our 60 minutes.”

The first period saw the Stingers put their early stamp on the game. Forward Courtney Rice rang up Concordia’s first goal with a quick move and blocker-side snipe past Martlets netminder Jade Rivard-Coulombe, and winger Émilie Lavoie fired in a shot from the face-off circle to make it 2-0 after a McGill penalty. 

In the second period, Stingers forward Zoé Thibault found herself in the perfect position to slot home a bobbled puck directly in front of the net. Then, in the third, winger Rosalie Parent’s long shot fell again for Thibault to clean up past Rivard-Coulombe for the fourth Stingers goal.

Thibault acknowledged the goals, but also made sure to shout out her teammates. 

“It's always fun to contribute, but it's teamwork,” Thibault said. “People got us on the power play and blocked big shots in our zone, and our goalie made big saves. It's a team effort, but we came out on top, so it was fun.”

Parent’s assist marked her first point of the year. She emphasized the bitter taste in the team’s mouth after their 2024-25 season ended in the semifinals of the national championship.

“Helping the team is the goal of every win,” Parent said. “We weren't satisfied with the results we had last year, so we want to show up and prove to the league that we're the best.”

Forward Émilie Lussier finished off the game with a backhand flip to score the fifth Stingers goal and complete the rout. Chu outlined the team’s goal of finding production from every level. 

“We always try to focus on one shift at a time. Can we generate momentum?” Chu said. “Sometimes that leads to us being able to score. Sometimes it just leads to a hardworking shift. So all of them helped to get us to where we want to go at the end of the game.”

Overall, Concordia finished 3-for-5 on its power play chances. Goaltender Jordyn Verbeek took home the shutout with 16 saves.

Concordia won 2-0 in their second matchup with the Martlets on Oct. 26. The Stingers now turn towards a marquee Halloween game against the defending Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec champion Bishop’s University Gaiters, who ended the Stingers’ run of conference titles last March. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at Ed Meagher Arena.