Stingers roundup

By John Austen

There’s a buzz around Concordia these days … and we’re not just talking about the Stingers’ lovable mascot.

Concordia’s intercollegiate teams are flying high and trying to position themselves for the playoffs, which get under way in a matter of weeks.

Leading the charge is Coach Les Lawton and his women’s hockey team which heads into the final week of play in the QSSF conference with a regular season championship in its sights.

The team has been in first place all season with 25 points and a very impressive 11-1-3 win-loss-tie record in 15 games. The McGill Martlets are close behind in second with 23 points in 15 games.

The teams will face off against each other at Concordia's Ed Meagher Arena on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The rivals have met four times this season with the advantage going to Concordia. The Stingers have two wins, a loss and a tie. They have outscored the Martlets 10-5 in the four meetings. McGill will have to defeat Concordia by six goals to win the season series.

The first-place team earns a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The second-place team will play a best-of-three series versus the third-place Ottawa Gee-Gees. A best-of three QSSF championship series begins Feb. 27.

The Stingers end the regular season with a match against the hapless Carleton Ravens at home Sunday at 3 p.m. The Martlets also wrap up the season on Sunday with a game against Ottawa.

The national championship will be held March 11-14 at McGill. The Martlets as hosts and the QSSF champions will both have berths at the nationals.

Figsby’s boys win two

The men’s hockey team got a needed boost last weekend, picking up a pair of key wins to move them into third place and the final playoff position with four games remaining on the schedule.

The Stingers find themselves with 19 points in 20 games, while the fourth-place Redmen have 17 points and have also played 20. The two teams will play each other in the last game of the season on Feb. 21 at McGill.

“We’ve had key injuries but the guys are confident and playing as a unit,” said coach Kevin Figsby. “We know what we have to do to make the playoffs.”

The Stingers hammered the Ryerson Rams 8-1 last Friday night before a narrow 5-4 win over Toronto on Saturday. Both games were played at Concordia.

From football to rugby

If you’re good at football, why not try rugby as well?

First-year running back Courtney Bishop of the Concordia football team attended Rugby Canada men's under-19 national team training camp last week in Vancouver.

He was one of more than three dozen athletes trying to earn a spot on the 26-man team that will represent Canada at the Under-19 World Championships which will take place in South Africa from March 27 to April 12.

Canada's U19 team is currently ranked fifth in Division B. Should Canada pull an upset and win its division it will be promoted to Division A at the next world championship.

Bishop, a Toronto native, won a gold medal at the nationals last summer as a member of the Ontario U18 team.

Athletes of the Week

Frédéric Faucher of the men's hockey team and Anne-Catherine Leduc of the women's basketball team were named Concordia Stinger athletes of the week for the period ending Feb. 8.

Faucher, a 21-year-old rookie left wing, scored four goals and an assist in the two weekend wins. He scored a hat trick, including the game-winning goal, in the game against Toronto. He also had a goal and an assist in the romp over Ryerson. Faucher is an Exercise Science, Athletic Therapy major at Concordia.

Leduc, 24, collected 24 points and 10 rebounds in two games last weekend. She had 18 points and five rebounds in the Stingers' 61-58 loss to the No. 10-ranked Laval Rouge et Or last Friday. She also picked up six points and five rebounds in her team's 69-65 victory over the McGill Martlets last Saturday. Leduc is a psychology major at Concordia.