The Concordia Stingers are back at the top of the university women’s hockey mountain.
Sunday night at Merlis Belsher Place, the Stingers beat the Toronto Varsity Blues 3-1 in the final of the U Sports women’s hockey championship. The victory marks the second time in three years that the Stingers have won, and it is the fourth time the team has won the championship in team history.
The Stingers won the 2022 title by defeating the Nipissing Lakers 4-0 in the final at a tournament held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Last year in Montreal, the Stingers lost 4-3 in overtime in the U Sports title game against the Mount Royal Cougars.
“I think it’s the best way to end your career as a university athlete,” said fifth-year Stingers forward Rosalie Bégin-Cyr. We have a great team, and I think that’s what we expected.
“We wanted to finish better than last year, so it was perfect. »
The Stingers got off to a great start in Sunday’s final. Just 69 seconds into the game, forward Émilie Lussier collected the rebound of her own shot on the left side of the Varsity Blues goal. She quickly fired a second shot to give her team a 1-0 lead.
At 8:19 of the first period, Stingers third-year forward Jessymaude Drapeau skated just under the line of a denied clearance to the right side of the Varsity Blues net. Drapeau, who would later be named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, deflected the puck from that spot to make the Stingers’ lead 2-0.
The Stingers then solidified their lead by making it 3-0 on a power play goal from Bégin-Cyr 5 minutes 10 seconds from the end of the third period.
With 46.8 seconds remaining in the game, defender Emma Potter scored for the Varsity Blues to make it 3-1.
The Varsity Blues were playing in the U Sports championship game for the first time since losing in the 2003 championship final. Varsity Blues head coach Vicky Sunohara felt her players could hold their heads high as they reached the championship match.
“I am very proud of our team,” she said. We fought all season. Being able to play for a gold medal is very special for our program. »
Jordyn Verbeek stopped 19 shots to earn the victory in net for the Stingers. Erica Fryer stopped 22 shots for the Varsity Blues.
The Stingers entered the tournament as the top seed after going a perfect 25-0 in the regular season and winning the RSEQ title. Stingers head coach Julie Chu was proud of her team’s progress in 2023-24.
“Winning is definitely something we don’t take for granted,” Chu said. We know there are some great teams here at nationals.
“For us, this is a great success. This is something we are very proud of. If we had lost today, there would have been a lot of pride in this locker room and a lot of pride in how far we have come to be the team we are today, in victory and in defeat. »
The Montreal Carabins beat the Warriors 2-1 after winning the shootout 1-0 in the bronze medal game.