Stingers Show Great Potential

Poor Martlet Goaltending Contributes to Near-Comeback

SportsBoris Degas — Published October 12, 2011

Concordia’s women’s hockey team gave the McGill Martlets a run for their money last Friday, but couldn’t complete the comeback as they were downed 7-5 at McConnell Arena.

Things were looking grim for the Stingers going into the second intermission; the game appeared to be all sealed up as the Martlets had already taken an imposing 5-2 lead.

This was before the Stingers awoke in the third period, spicing things up by potting three goals in the final act. However, the late effort wasn’t good enough for the Maroon and Gold, as they couldn’t shut out the McGill offense, struggling to gain momentum after each of their own goals.

“We never got any momentum to our playing, we’d score a goal and they’d come back right after that,” admitted ConU’s head coach Les Lawton. “Mentally, we were pretty soft.”

The closeness of the score didn’t reflect the action, though—the Stingers were outshot by the home team 44-17. They were able to stay in it thanks to a surprisingly poor performance by Martlet goaltender Marie-Pier Remillard-Paquette, who finished with only 12 saves.

“Our goalie’s been a little under the weather lately. She was having a hard time tonight,” said Martlet head coach Peter Smith.

“They’re a pretty solid team and we’ve got a lot of work to do, but I think if we can get a little more cohesion at our end of the ice, you never know what could happen.” Stingers head coach Les Lawton

McGill sophomore forward Leslie Oles, however, was a great asset for her team, as she recorded a hat trick. The Stingers had a more balanced offensive contribution, getting singles from centres Alyssa Sherrard and Audrey Gariepy, right-wingers Catherine Rancourt and Erin Lally, and left-winger Moira Frier.

Despite the loss, the Stingers showed some promise, especially at even strength. Lawton believes his squad might have a shot at taking down the seemingly untouchable Martlets down the road this year.

“Time will tell,” said Lawton. “They’re a pretty solid team and we’ve got a lot of work to do, but I think if we can get a little more cohesion at our end of the ice, you never know what could happen.”

Lawton wasn’t the only one impressed with the Stingers in the loss.

“I knew Concordia was going to be better than last year,” said Smith, who recorded his 301st victory behind the McGill bench.

The Stingers will travel to the University of Ottawa Oct. 15 to take on the Gee-Gees. The puck drops at 2:00 p.m.