Stingers 7, Paladins 0: Stingers Swarm Paladins, Win Season Opener

Men’s Hockey Team Off to Strong Start to the Season

SportsJared Lackman-Mincoff — Published October 19, 2022 2 minutes

“We knew that they played last night, so it was very important for us to put the puck behind their [defensemen] and execute a good forecheck and I think we had success with that,” said Concordia Stingers head coach Marc-André Elément following the win.

The Stingers got off to a roaring start. They went ahead 2-0 after four minutes of play thanks to goals from forward Gabriel Proulx and defenseman Sean Larochelle. Despite the quick goals against, Paladins goalie Michael Davis kept RMC in the game. The first period ended 2-0 for the Stingers.

Concordia would add a pair of power-play goals in the second period. Winger Maxim Trépanier scored on a 5-on-3 power play, two minutes into the second period. Forward Alexander Katerinakis added another tally on the man advantage seven minutes later. Édouard Charron added a short-handed goal and the Stingers went into the second intermission with a 5-0 lead.

Winger Isaiah Campbell added two more power-play goals in the third period, and the Stingers won 7-0. Campbell finished the game with two goals and two assists, all coming on the man-advantage.

“I think we moved [the puck] really well,” Campbell said about the Stingers power play. “We got some shots on net, kept it simple, and it led to some big goals for us.”

It was a complete domination for the Stingers, outshooting the Paladins 54 to 17. This was mostly due to the Stingers’ whopping 14 power play opportunities. But Stingers goalie Jonathan Lemieux still had to make some quality saves. He finished with a shutout in his first career start.

Lemieux was still quick to praise his teammates.

“I think the guys played well. They made my job a lot simpler tonight,” Lemieux said.

Coach Elément is hopeful that a season-opening victory will do wonders for his troop.

“We’re a young team so it’s always good to start with a win,” he said. “The young players, they saw a lot of things today, so it’s great to have the win tonight.”

The Stingers were in action again 24 hours later, falling to the McGill Redbirds 5-3. Concordia’s record now stands at 1-1-0. The Stingers will be back in action on Thursday, Oct. 20 against McGill once again. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m..