by John Austen

Stinger winger a scoring machine
Concordia left wing Chris Page has became the first Stinger in more than a decade to score 25 goals in a regular season hockey schedule. The 24-year-old Drummondville native scored 25 goals and added 17 assists for 42 points in 24 regular-season OUA games.

The last Stinger to eclipse the 25-goal mark was centre Richard Laplante, who notched 28 goals in 23 games in the 1988-89 season. Laplante was a three-time OUA all-star, a Guy Lafleur Award winner and 1988 Concordia Male Athlete of the Year. He went on to enjoy a 12-year professional hockey career in Italy, Britain and Austria.

Page is also making his mark. In three seasons with the Stingers, he has scored 57 goals and 56 assists for 113 points in 88 career games. But 2002-03 was his best campaign to date. He was the seventh-leading scorer in the CIS and the second-leading marksman in the OUA. He was named QSSF Player of the Week on Nov. 18.

The history major played in the QMJHL with Baie Comeau before joining the Stingers.

Quiet times at arena
Despite Page’s heroics, the Stingers failed to make the playoffs for the second straight year.

The Lady Stingers were also upset by the Ottawa Gee-Gees in a one-game sudden-death playoff and were eliminated from the playoffs, making the Ed Meagher Arena a rather quiet place these days. McGill and Ottawa are now playing for the championship, with McGill taking a one-game-to-none lead into game two tomorrow night.

The Stingers finished the QSSF season in second place with a 14-6 win-loss record. The Gee-Gees took third spot in the five-team conference with a 9-11 record. Top players for Concordia this season included centre Dominique Rancour, the leading scorer in the QSSF with 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points in 20 games; and centre Marie-Claude Allard, a 2002 All-Canadian who collected 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points.

Football team honours stars
The Concordia Stingers football team gathered to celebrate the highlights from the 2002 season at its annual banquet recently at the John Molson reception hall in Montreal. Graduating seniors addressed their teammates for the last time and individual honours were handed out.

Popular running back Jean-Michel Paquette received several acknowledgements. The fourth-year administration major was the Stingers’ leading rusher, receiver and returner. He collected three major trophies: the Warrior Trophy as team MVP, the George Dixon Memorial Trophy as offensive MVP and the award for special teams player of the year.

First-year linebacker Mickey Donovan was named the MVP defence and awarded the Pat Davis Trophy for rookie of the year defence. Other honorees from the defensive unit were: safety David Aiken, Russ Blackwell Memorial Trophy for most dedicated player; Ryan Woosley, outstanding defensive lineman, and cornerback Chris Giguère was the top academic on the team.

Also honored were: quarterback Jon Bond, Pat Davis Trophy for rookie of the year offence, and Brad Collinson, outstanding offensive lineman.
The football team continues to gather regularly for winter workouts. The 2003 season will kick off with the Stingers hosting the Bishop’s Gaiters on Sept. 6.

Con U wrestlers qualify
Five Concordia student athletes are heading to Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., where they will compete in the 2003 CIS Wrestling Championships this weekend.

The wrestlers qualified by finishing in one of the top two spots in their weight classes at the AUS/QSSF qualifying tournament hosted by University of New Brunswick in Fredericton last Saturday. On the women’s side, Martine Dugrenier, 70 kg., finished first in her division. She is the defending CIS gold medallist.

On the men’s side, Tony Ronci, 65 kg., and Tyler Marghetis, 76 kg., finished first in their weight classes. Elvin Dewarder, 57 kg., and Jason Chen, 72 kg., finished second in their divisions. Chen is a three time medallist at the nationals, having won a silver in 2000 and bronze medals in 1998 and 2001.

The wrestling team is coached by Victor Zilberman, the long-time mentor and Concordia Sports Hall of Famer. Under his guidance, Concordia wrestlers have won more than 30 gold medals at the university national championships.