'Every game, we're progressing'

It was an auspicious end to the regular season.

Heading into the playoffs, the Stingers men's hockey team was able to draw on the confidence earned from a big victory over their crosstown rivals. 

Last Friday, the Stingers beat the Redmen 4-2 at the Ed Meagher Arena to claim the 29th annual Corey Cup. 

“We wanted to send a message and I think we did,” said head coach Marc-André Element, talking about the win. “We knew that maybe we were going to face these guys in the playoffs, so we were prepared. Now our guys are ready and know we can beat them. It’s all positive for the playoffs.”

Concordia’s Corey Cup victory put a stop to McGill's five-game winning streak over the Stingers and also served as a playoff preview as the two teams get set to meet in the OUA East best-of-three quarter-finals for the third straight year.

The Redmen dropped to 16-8-3 in Corey Cup play and the result evened the all-time series between the archrivals at 96-96-14.

The Stingers, who had a 41-27 edge in shots, led 1-0 after the opening period and 3-1 after two. Rookie Stinger goaltender Miguel Sullivan of Petit-de-Grat, N.S., made 25 saves, while four different forwards scored for the Stingers: Julien Rainville-Avon, Raphael Lafontaine, Jessyko Bernard and Alex Soumakis.

When Element took the job as interim head coach in August, he started training camp early and made some changes.

“I wanted to get the guys on the ice as much as possible before the season started,” says Element, previously a Junior A coach who played for Concordia for five years. “I made a lot of changes, so we had tough decisions to make. Now, I’ve got 14 first-year players, so I had to relieve some veterans. Every game, we’re progressing. I’ve never had a team with this much chemistry. We’re a big family now and I’m really happy about it.”

But it didn’t happen over night. Coach Element had to stress a higher level of commitment, plus a stronger work ethic in the gym, on ice and in the classroom.

“Those things are key,” he says. “I think I changed that culture, little by little.” He made ground on a road trip with the team to play in Sudbury and North Bay in the fall, then at a January tournament in Fredericton at the University of New Brunswick.

“Small moments like that — spending New Year’s Eve together — build chemistry and team spirit,” says Coach Element. “For the playoffs, we keep focusing on discipline, commitment and work ethic. The guys are really excited, ready and motivated.”

The Stingers will face McGill in the second playoff series game on Friday, February 19, at 7:30 p.m. in Concordia's Ed Meagher Arena. 

Coach Julie Chu: women’s hockey

After a rough first half of the season, reflected in their 6-12 record, the Stinger’s women’s hockey team went into what acting head coach Julie Chu calls a “rebuilding process”.

“We just couldn’t score, even though we absolutely dominated in at least four of those fall losses. We outplayed the other team but we couldn’t score and the other team won by 1-0 or 2-1. But, ultimately, this allowed us to refocus and regroup in December.”

It worked. In their first game back after Christmas, at the Teresa Humes Tournament, the Stingers scored 12 goals — after scoring only 11 goals in 12 previous games. Then they went 3-1 in the first three games back.

“Now we’re focusing on the last two regular-season games this weekend. Friday, we play McGill, then there’s a home game against the University of Montreal. But ultimately, we’re preparing for our first round of the playoffs.”

“We’ve grown a lot,” says Coach Chu. “The key is not to overload the players at this point, make sure the practices aren’t too long, but efficient, and make sure we’re fine-tuning some of our systems as a team. We also need to make sure the girls get the rest they need, knowing that it’s mid-term time as well, which is always a challenge.”

The Stingers will begin the first round of the playoffs, a three-game series against Université de Montréal, on Thursday, February 25.
 

Coach Rastko Popovic: men’s basketball

It has been a rocky road to the playoffs for the Stinger’s men’s basketball team.

“We had a good start in September, with seven straight victories in non-conference games,” says head coach Rastko Popovic.

However, the young team has struggled a bit with consistency in league play. “We started with two victories and four losses, but then we won seven straight games,” says Popovic. “Then we just lost to McGill last Saturday for our first loss in the last eight league games.”

So far, the Stingers’ record is 9-5 this season. Coach Popovic thinks his team should finish the season in second place, behind McGill.

“We have two more league games to go, and if we win one of those, we’ll finish second going into the playoffs, so Saturday’s game at Bishop’s is an important game for us and it motivates our team. Bishop’s isn’t an easy place to go and win. They have big crowds and they enjoy home-court advantage.”

Yet, the Stingers have beaten them twice in three games this year.

“So it’s a winnable game for us. That’s our focus.”

The Stingers will face the Bishop’s University Gaiters on Saturday, February 20 at 8 p.m., in Lennoxville.

Playoffs start March 11.
 

Coach Tenicha Gittens: women’s basketball

At the beginning of the season, the Stingers left too many games on the court. That’s how head coach Tenicha Gittens described it, before adding that they learned from it and got progressively better throughout the year.

“We didn’t see the wins at the beginning of the conference, but when you really want to see the wins is now, in February and March,” says Gittens. “That was the goal and we’re doing it. I’m stressing the game plan and sticking to it. The players have grown closer and we’re coming together as a unit. We beat Laval last week and they’re number eight in the country. We beat UQAM already. The only team we haven’t beaten in our conference is McGill.”

The Stingers are in the playoffs, in fourth place, set to face McGill, the number one team in the province, on March 10.

“McGill has won three or four years in a row,” says Gittens. “They’re the ones to beat.”

But before then, Gittens hopes to improve upon her team’s 5-9 record by winning the remaining two games in the conference. On Saturday February 20 at 6 p.m., they play Bishop’s in Lennoxville, then they travel to UQAM on March 3 for a 6 p.m. game against Les Citadins.

“Bishops is at the bottom of the conference, but they’re tenacious and they haven’t won in a while, so they play like they’ve got nothing to lose,” Gittens says. “We have to come prepared, regardless of their record.”

Check out the Stingers February and March game schedules.