Stingers 7, Warriors 2: Concordia clamps down Waterloo
The Stingers dazzled end-to-end in their first regular season win of 2025
The Concordia University Stingers men’s hockey team secured its first regular season win of 2025 with a 7-2 victory over the University of Waterloo Warriors on Saturday, Jan. 11 at Ed Meagher Arena.
Concordia held onto its lead atop the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East by improving their record to 17-1-2, four points above second-place Queen’s University. Waterloo fell to 6-9-3, eighth in the OUA West.
Stingers head coach Marc-André Élément acknowledged the importance of the team’s first victory after the restart.
“It was an important game for us tonight, to win and get those two points,” Élément said. “Now we have to keep that streak going on the winning side.”
Concordia forward Daniel Agostino opened the scoring with a gloveside tap-in nine minutes into the first period. Then in the second period, winger Isiah Campbell broke away from the Warriors defence and used a nifty backhand finish to double the lead. When the Stingers went on the power play three minutes later, Campbell combined with Vincent Nardone to set up forward Nicholas Girouard for Concordia’s second goal of the period and third overall.
With key starters Mathieu Bizier and Simon Lavigne away with Team Canada at the Fédération internationale du sport universitaire Games in Italy, Agostino praised the team’s depth and ability to seamlessly fill roles on the ice.
“As soon as big players are out of the lineup everyone needs to step up,” Agostino said. “I just stuck to what I’m good at, stuck to the basics, playing physical and getting to the net.”
Forward Adamo Santia pulled a goal back for Waterloo, but Nardone restored the three-goal cushion on a give-and-go with Blake Richardson at the start of the third period. Warriors centre Liam Fedak cut the lead again with a top-corner chip over Concordia goalie Jordan Naylor’s pad, but it would be the wake-up call for a furious final five minutes for the Stingers.
First, forward Charles Savoie smacked in a rebound with 4:39 remaining. Captain Gabriel Proulx hammered in the team’s sixth goal off a cross from forward Alexandre Nadeau, and Nadeau finished off the scoring with a goal of his own with under 30 seconds remaining.
In all, Concordia finished with 41 shots on goal to Waterloo’s 23. Naylor, starting the second game of a back-to-back in place of starter Nikolas Hurtubise, made 21 saves.
Naylor celebrated the team’s chance to face adversity, especially after a two-game losing streak entering Saturday’s game.
“We have so much confidence in the dressing room, so I think it’s good to go through a little bit of adversity sometimes,” Naylor said. “I think in the long run it’ll be a good thing for us.”
In a physical matchup featuring plenty of shoves and hits away from play, the Stingers didn’t back down. Élément underlined the team’s focus on getting physical with the larger Warriors.
“We just wanted to be involved in the physicality—if you’re not involved, you’re going to get abused, you’re not going to perform,” Élément said. “They’re a big team with some big bodies on the other side. And I think our guys really responded to the physicality of the game.”
Agostino found himself at the centre of the action multiple times, but the 5’7” winger never shied away from a big hit, tangling multiple times with 6’9” Warriors winger Aaron Davidson.
“When you see a smaller guy playing like that it motivates everybody to do the same,” Agostino said. “My energy bounces around the room and everybody just follows.”
Concordia now prepares for a marquee rivalry matchup with the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at the Colisée Jean-Guy Talbot. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.
