Stingers 7, Redbirds 3: Stingers blow out McGill to win Corey Cup
Concordia men’s hockey team wins 11th straight game
The Concordia Stingers men’s hockey team beat the McGill Redbirds 7-3 in the annual Corey Cup game at Ed Meagher Arena on Nov. 10.
The McGill Redbirds came out firing, scoring early in the first period and putting the Stingers in a rare deficit. Concordia defenceman Sean Larochelle tied the score halfway through the opening frame, and from then on the Stingers didn’t look back.
Forwards Isiah Campbell, Julien Anctil, Charles Savoie and Daniel Agostino all found the back of the net. Captain Gabriel Proulx added two tallies of his own.
The Redbirds added a couple of goals throughout the game but couldn’t muster up a comeback. They scored their third and final goal shortly after Redbirds head coach David Urquhart called a timeout late in the third period.
Nonetheless, the Corey Cup has returned to Concordia.
“I like that we stayed composed,” head coach Marc-André Elément said postgame. “I think we had some breakdowns in our game, but you know what, we managed to win that game. Our goaltending played really well and it was huge.”
Stingers goaltender Nikolas Hurtubise stopped 22 of 25 shots in the game. He is currently sporting a .930 save percentage and has a 1.63 goals-against average in 11 starts. He is around the top of every goalie metric in the league, with almost double the amount of games played compared to the best-performing goalies in the league.
The Concordia Stingers have now swept the season series over their biggest rival, winning all three matchups this season.
“It’s amazing,” Campbell said. “With the rivalry and everything going on that happened last game, it’s definitely a great feeling, and it’s only up from here.”
There was a lot of physicality in the Stingers and Redbirds’ previous Nov. 8 game at Place Bell. Defenceman Christopher Inniss laid a late hit on a defenceless McGill defender late in the third, which was not well received by McGill and led to multiple scrums.
This win has also improved the Stingers record to 11-0-1 on the season. The team’s only loss came in overtime in the season opener on the road against the Queen’s Gaels.
“We have a really good team, good chemistry and leaders,” Elément said. “The guys are just finding ways to win games, but also finding ways to battle and block shots and everything.”
The team’s chemistry and leadership is not only evident to the head coach but also to the players.
“I think we’re just more of a team this year,” Campbell said. “We stick together. Even outside the rink, we’re kinda together. We’re active in the group chat and we have each other's back all the time. So I think this year’s group has been the right direction for this program, and I think only good things are ahead.”
The Concordia Stingers lead the Ontario University Athletics conference in several team statistics this season. They lead the conference in goals scored with 54, and fewest goals against at 20. Their 14 powerplay goals and .930 save percentage also top the conference.
The Concordia men’s hockey team will look to improve its win streak to 12 against the Ottawa Gee-Gees on Nov. 14. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at the Minto Sports Complex.
