Stingers 5, Redbirds 4: Concordia completes comeback, eliminates McGill
An enthralling matchup came down to the wire, where Concordia pulled away
The Concordia University men’s hockey team finished off the McGill University Redbirds by a score of 5-4 in Game 3 of their Ontario University Athletics (OUA) quarterfinal series on Saturday, March 1. With a 2-1 series win, the Stingers advanced one round closer to the Queen's Cup Championship.
Concordia avenged its loss to McGill from a season before, when the Redbirds knocked the Stingers out of contention for the Queen’s Cup in a 2-0 series win. Concordia head coach Marc-André Elément commended his players for a tough rivalry win.
“There was a lot of learning,” Elément said. “McGill had a good team. But we battled until the end and we managed to get that win. So we're excited to move on to the next round.”
While the first two games of the series were blowouts, Saturday’s matchup was a tense, hotly-contested affair. Concordia got the scoring started on forward Julien Anctil’s point shot just 37 seconds in, but McGill centre Mikisiw Awashish found winger Charles-Antoine Dumont to tie the game on a rebound. Stingers defenceman Sean Larochelle secured a lead for Concordia at the first intermission with a power play dagger into the side netting off an assist from Anctil.
Larochelle expressed his satisfaction with the success of Concordia’s schemes, which developed throughout the series.
“Just putting it on net, that was the objective,” Larochelle said. “McGill is a team that blocks a lot of shots. We saw that in the past two games. So we just put it on net, and it found a way through. So we’re pretty happy.”
The second period, however, tipped momentum towards the Redbirds. Dumont repaid Awashish by assisting the latter’s goal to start the frame, knotting the match at 2-2. When Larochelle snatched Concordia’s lead back on another point shot, centre Mathieu Gagnon tied the game for a third time on a one-time finish in the slot. Then, Dumont and Awashish linked up again, collectively assisting on forward Xavier Fortin’s goal to give McGill its first lead of the night, 4-3.
Larochelle acknowledged the unpredictable nature of the matchup, giving McGill props for a hard-fought bout.
“From the start, we knew they're a tough team to beat. They play a simple but hard game,” Larochelle said. “So we had a plan, and we executed. So we're pretty happy about that.”
In the third period, Concordia’s resilience showed up in all its glory. Forward Mathieu Bizier couldn’t beat McGill goaltender Alexis Shank on a driving wrist shot, but Anctil pounced on the rebound to tie the game at 4-4. Then, with five minutes remaining, Larochelle nabbed his hat trick and the game winner on an inch-perfect shot from the faceoff circle.
Bizier applauded his teammates for the spirited comeback.
“We have a lot of character in that locker room,” Bizier said. “It wasn’t easy, but we pulled through. So I’m super proud of this team.”
As Concordia prepares to face Queen’s University in the OUA East final, Elément knows the job isn’t over. But he also recognizes the magnitude of the victory.
“The guys are going to enjoy it tonight,” Elément said. “Then we'll be back as the coaches looking at some film tomorrow. And the guys are going to be back on the ice on Monday and we'll get ourselves ready.”
Concordia’s first matchup with the Queen’s Gaels will take place at Ed Meagher Arena at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5.
