Stingers 8, Thunderwolves 2: Concordia fill up Lakehead’s net

Stingers men’s hockey collect triumphant victory thanks to 40-shot effort

SportsConor Tomalty — Published November 21, 2023 2 minutes

“I think we played well tonight,” said head coach Marc-André Elément, matter-of-factly. “We stuck to the game plan and it showed on the scoreboard.”

The offensive outbreak was slightly delayed in the first period, as both teams circulated the puck well but could not get many shots through traffic. After the ten-minute mark, however, Concordia commenced with the offensive onslaught, starting with Stingers captain and centre Phélix Martineau deflecting in a point shot from defenceman Simon Lavigne. Centre Loïck Daigle and defencemen Kyle Havlena and Samuel Desgroseilliers potted home three additional goals, giving Concordia a 4-0 lead heading into the first intermission. 

The Thunderwolves did not hide their frustration entering the locker room between periods. Sticks were smashed against the end boards, doors slammed closed and disappointed demeanours were painted across the players’ faces. 

Lakehead would eventually trump Stingers goaltender Nikolas Hurtubise’s shutout with a goal from forward Keighan Gerrie. Concordia’s dominance would not be dismissed, however, as forward Isiah Campbell scored consecutive goals and gave his team a 6-1 lead after two periods.

“We play the same type of game, even though we are very different sizes,” said Martineau post-game when asked about playing alongside Campbell. “An easy bread-and-butter game, so I think that matches well together. When we are on our game, we have good success together.”

The final period was a delay of the inevitable win for Concordia. Stingers centre Mathieu Bizier scored twice before Thunderwolves winger Joe Mack scored his team's second mark of the game. As the final buzzer sounded, Concordia had sealed an 8-2 victory. 

Lakehead is one of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) teams that hails from the western conference. COVID-19 restrictions no longer impact the schedule format, meaning that the Stingers have returned to playing every OUA west team once throughout the season. “It’s fun seeing different teams and different cities, the guys are happy about it,” said Elément. “It’s a lot of preparation, we don’t know the teams that well.” 

The Stingers will head to McGill University next and face off against the Redbirds in their matchup on Nov. 23. The puck is set to drop at 7 p.m.