Women’s Hockey: Stung by the Martlets

SportsSafia Ahmad — Published November 9, 2015 | Updated November 9, 2015 at 11:22pm

“We played well, but we only played 40 minutes when we should have played 60 minutes,” said Stingers forward Sophie Gagnon. “We gave them space and they took advantage of it.”

The Martlets were coming off a 4-3 loss to the top-ranked Université de Montréal Carabins the night before. Despite having played back-to-back games, the Martlets outplayed the Stingers with their grit and speed.

“I think we rebounded from yesterday’s tough loss and came out and gave everything we had,” said Davidson. “We capitalized on our opportunities.”

McGill head coach Peter Smith, however, wasn’t completely satisfied with the win.

“We didn’t think that game had a lot of flow to it,” said Smith. “There were a lot of penalties, particularly in the second period.

Meanwhile, the Stingers weren’t pleased with their play within the first 20 minutes of the game, as they allowed the Martlets to enter their zone with speed and were pressured. As Concordia entered their offensive zone, the team couldn’t win their battles along the boards and gain many scoring chances. The Stingers only had three shots in the opening period.

The Martlets found themselves up 1-0 after the first-period goal from Daoust.

“We over-respected them,” said Stingers interim head coach Julie Chu. “We weren’t rushing to our spots, we weren’t confident with the puck. We were letting them have more space. When you let a fast team have more space, they get their speed up pretty quick.
When you take away their space, they can’t generate that speed.”

“Our first period was the worst one,” said Stingers forward Tracy-Ann Lavigne. “It is what set us back. We got it together afterwards, but we weren’t able to get the job done.”

Concordia tried to bounce back with 12 shots in the second. With speed and forechecking, they forced McGill into taking four penalties. However, McGill’s Davidson intercepted a pass at the blueline and scored a shorthanded goal, making it 2-0 for the Martlets.

“I think having that 2-0 gap, rather than that 1-0 gap, always helps.” said Martlets assistant captain Brittney Fouracres. “It settles your team down a bit so you can play with a little bit more confidence in your own zone.”

With a 1:37 left in the second period, Concordia went on the powerplay after McGill’s Marie-Philip Lavoie took a hooking penalty.The Stingers thought they had scored a power play goal after putting the puck past goaltender Kayla Loberg, who couldn’t hold on to it. However, a premature whistle by the referee cost the Stingers the goal.

“It’s tough,” said Stingers coach Chu. “The ref was trying to do her best job she can. It’s her job to blow the whistle, and unfortunately the puck was still loose and we still poked it in. It’s an unfortunate break, but I like the mentality of our team.

“Because we didn’t get that goal, we still kept pushing. We didn’t end up putting up a goal, but we were really swarming and really pushing.”

The Stingers haven’t tasted victory in three games. Playing the complete 60 minutes with a sense of urgency will be key to finding the path to victory.

“We got to make sure for that first period, [that] we push,” said Chu. “There’s a lot of great teams in our league and we have to have the confidence that when we step on the ice, we’re going to be able to execute again, against any of the teams.”

The Stingers will face a tall order this coming Friday, as they will face the top-ranked Carabins at the Ed Meagher Arena.

“We have to compete the 60 minutes and be all over them,” said Gagnon. “We can respect them, but we have to fight, win our battles, and be intense.”