by John Austen

The Concordia Athletic Complex is a little quieter these days, since the men’s hockey team succumbed to the same fate as both the women’s and men’s basketball squads and was bounced from playoff contention.

Coach Kevin Figsby and his hockey Stingers knew that beating the powerful Trois-Rivières Patriotes in a best-of-three playoff series would be difficult, but figured they had a chance after only losing game one 2-1 on the road. Playing back at the Ed Meagher Arena on March 2, the Stingers were obliterated 8-2 by the Pats, who scored five goals on the powerplay.

“We were down 4-0 early in the first period and three of their goals were with the man advantage,” said Figsby. “We didn’t exactly benefit from good calls.”

Referee Eric Charron gave out 50 minutes in penalties overall, 34 minutes to Concordia.

“When you play those guys, you can’t get behind the eight-ball like that and expect to come back,” Figsby said. “Overall, our season has been very satisfying, though. When we started, we said it would take a couple of years to rebuild the hockey program, and I’d say we’re on track to doing that.”

Defenceman Patrick Pelchat and Geoff Comeau scored the only goals for Concordia in front of 450 boisterous fans.

Men’s basketball

The men’s basketball team may have a lot of talent in 2001 but it didn’t translate into victories at the right time. The Stingers were upset 70-65 by the Laval Rouge et Or in the Quebec Conference sudden-death basketball final, played March 1 at Concordia Gym.

What makes the loss even more disappointing is the fact that Concordia had handled Laval 70-58 and 68-65 in two regular season matches.

“It’s great to beat Concordia — it’s definitely an upset,” said Laval coach Jacques Paiment. “I have a lot of respect for Concordia and their coach [John Dore]. Our players played very well and deserve it I think.”

The Stingers led through much of the game and held a 38-34 lead at halftime. Laval eventually went ahead 66-60 and the Stingers never recovered.

Réal Kitieu led Concordia with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots. James Aubourg followed up with 13 points, while Shawn Critchlow chipped in with 12 points.

Women’s basketball
For the second straight year, the women’s basketball team were dumped in the semifinals of the Quebec Conference championships. The Bishop’s Gaiters played spoilers, beating Concordia 51-42 in the sudden-death match on February 28.

Allstar guard Marie-Pier Veilleux scored 10 points and had four boards in a losing cause for the Stingers.

The Stingers had split with Bishop’s during the regular season, losing 66-64 on November 10 and winning 50-46 on January 27. Both the Stingers and Gaiters had losing records during the regular season.

Cagers receive honours

In the good news department, representatives of the Stingers men’s and women’s teams took six all-star spots and both the top defensive player awards when the QSSF announced its annual honours earlier this month.

On the women’s side, Veilleux was a first team all-star and the conference’s best defensive player. Centre Kristina Steinfort and forward Jessica Manchester were named to the second all-star team.

Three members of the men’s team were also acknowledged. Kitieu, the leading rebounder and shot blocker in the CIAU, was a first-team all-star. Forward Wayne Alexander was a first team all-star and the conference’s outstanding defensive player. Guard Gavin Musgrave was named to the second all-star team.