The Concordia Stingers women’s team hockey has a full head of steam heading into the best-of-three Quebec championship series with the McGill Martlets beginning this Thursday night.
The Stingers took down the defending national champions, the Montréal Carabins, in two straight semifinal games last week and now they’ve set their sights on defeating their long-time rivals, the Martlets.
McGill finished first in the RSEQ conference with a 16-4 win-loss record and are currently No. 4 in the U SPORTS women’s hockey rankings. The Martlets had to go to a third-and-deciding game to eliminate the fourth-place Ottawa Gee-Gees in their semifinal series.
Concordia, who posted a 10-9-1 record for third place in the regular season, is charging into the finals hoping to capitalize on the momentum of their dominant performance last week. The Stingers will look to second-year forward Claudia Dubois to pave the way. The Chicoutimi, Que. native is the leading scorer in the conference playoffs. She collected five goals and two assists in two games.
The Stingers’ defence will have to contend with a heavy-hitter from McGill. Mélodie Daoust, who was just named the 2016-17 outstanding player in the RSEQ, also picked up seven points. She had two goals and five assists in the Martlets’ three semifinal games.
The goaltending matchup will also be something to keep an eye on. Concordia’s Katherine Purchase posted a 2.00 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage in the opening round. McGill’s Tricia Deguire boasts a 1.59 GAA and a .935 save percentage.
Also of note, McGill has dominated the last decade of playoff competition between the two teams. The last time the Stingers took a post-season game from the Martlets was in the league finals in 2005. On March 6 of that year, Concordia won Game 3 of RSEQ championship by a 2-1 score.
When:
Thursday – 7 p.m. –Concordia @ McGill (Away)
Saturday- 2 p.m. – McGill vs. Concordia (Home)
Sunday – 2 p.m. – Concordia @ McGill – if necessary (Away)
Where:
Home: Concordia’s Ed Meagher Arena, 7200 Sherbrooke St. W.
Away: McGill’s McConnell Arena, 3883 University St.
Tickets:
$8 for adults, $5 for students/seniors (Home)
$10 general admission at McGill
Concordia Concessions: Beer, hotdogs, chips and more
Home Webcast: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/cumo/
Road Webcast: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/mcgill/
