The Concordia Stingers lost an intense defensive battle 2-1 to the UNB Reds in the opening round of the U Sports men's hockey national championship in Charlottetown, P.E.I. on Thursday night.
The game was about what you would expect when the two best defensive teams in the country go head-to-head. There was only one goal scored in each period and the shots on goal were minimal. UNB out shot Concordia 25-14.
The Reds’ Cody Morgan opened the scoring at 10:06 of the first period. Concordia captain Phélix Martineau tied it up with a power-play goal at 10:20 of the second frame. UNB put the game away at 4:58 of the final stanza on a marker by Simon Pinard who was selected as the Reds’ player of the game.
Stinger goaltender Jonathan Lemieux turned away 23 of 25 shots and was named the Concordia player of the game. Samuel Richard stopped 13 of 14 shots for UNB.
The Stingers have been eliminated from the tournament. The Reds will face the UQTR Patriotes in the semifinals on Saturday.
The last time the Stingers reached the championship tournament was in 2018. They also faced UNB, a perennial powerhouse in U Sports men’s hockey, losing 8-1 in the quarterfinals.
