Stingers 7, Carabins 2: Concordia hockey makes it nine straight
The Stingers romped over their rivals with a flurry of second and third-period goals
The Concordia University Stingers women’s hockey team extended its reign at the top of the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec conference with a 7-2 victory over the Université de Montréal Carabins on Nov. 22. Concordia remains undefeated with a record of 9-0-0, while Montréal’s record fell to 4-2-2.
In the first period, a Carabins attack ended with forward Mya Dion slipping the puck around Stingers goaltender Jordyn Verbeek to break the deadlock. Concordia forward Zoé Thibault equalized with a tough sharp-angle finish with five minutes to go, and the first frame ended at 1-1.
Stingers head coach Julie Chu explained the atmosphere at the first intermission.
“We went in and said, ‘OK, what did we like?’ And everyone was pretty silent,” Chu said. “And so I think that everyone knew that they had a lot more in their tank and had a lot more to give.”
The Stingers started the second period guns blazing. Alternate captain Jessymaude Drapeau pounced on an errant Carabins pass and found forward Courtney Rice for a go-ahead one-time finish just 55 seconds in. When the Stingers went on the power play a minute later, Drapeau fired in a dart from the faceoff circle to make it 3-1. Then, defender Camille Richard gathered a drop pass just outside the red line and blasted the puck past Carabins goalie Maude Desroches, completing a furious Stingers rally of three goals in five minutes.
Stingers forward Émilie Lussier added the team’s fourth goal of the period with a wrist shot over Desroches’s glove, and Concordia took a 5-1 lead into the second intermission. Drapeau acknowledged how the team rose to the occasion after a tense first period.
“We weren’t happy with how we started the game,” Drapeau said. “[Chu] came in, she told us what we needed to hear, and we really stepped up our game. We knew that we needed to be better, and that's what we did in the first couple of shifts.”
The onslaught continued in the third, as Concordia attacker Émilie Lavoie slipped in a rebound off Desroches’s pad. Lussier added her second of the evening with a finish from the faceoff circle on the power play to hammer the Carabins’ coffin shut. Montreal added a consolation goal on attacker Wikona Laloche’s one-timer, but the game was already out of hand.
With two goals on the night, Lussier now sits tied for the U Sports league lead in goals, with 10. Chu spoke to Lussier’s versatility and experience leading a balanced Stingers attack.
“She's a tremendous player, and it's fun because she works really hard every single day. I think you can see it in the way she plays,” Chu said. “She's developed a really good 200-foot game and she's good in the [defensive] zone, but she definitely has the offensive ability to read when to jump and when to create space for herself.”
Drapeau, with two assists, is tied for the Quebec lead alongside teammates Léonie Philbert and Megan Bureau-Gagnon.
“It's so fun to have many players who can score, pass and shoot, so I trust all of my teammates,” Drapeau said. “I know I can give them the puck and they're gonna shoot it hard to the net and try as hard as they can to score.”
Concordia defeated Montréal for the second time in three days on Sunday, Nov. 24 by a score of 5-0. The Stingers record now stands at 10-0-0.
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