Stingers roundup

By John Austen

Stingers, McGill to open 2005 football season

A rematch of the Dunsmore Cup will highlight the opening week of the 2005 Quebec University Football League season.

Action begins Sept. 2, when the defending national champion Laval Rouge et Or meet the Montreal Carabins in a rematch of the league championship game, while cross-town rivals McGill and Concordia battle at Molson Stadium.

Another inter-city rivalry concludes the first week of play, when the Bishop's Gaiters host the Sherbrooke Vert et Or in a Labour Day match-up on Monday, Sept. 5.

League commissioner Tom Allen announced that for the fourth consecutive year, the QSSF and Atlantic University Athletic Conferences will interlock on two weekends.

On Sept. 24, the Sherbrooke Vert et Or will host the Mount Allison Mounties and the McGill Redmen entertain the St. Francis X-Men, while the Montreal Carabins travel to Wolfville, N.S. to take on the Acadia Axemen and Laval heads to Halifax for a date with the St. Mary's Huskies.

Sherbrooke travels to play St. FX X-Men, while Concordia is on the road against Mount Allison during the second week of the interlock, which will be held Oct. 22. The rest of the interlock schedule has Bishop's hosting Acadia Axemen and Montreal receiving St. Mary's.

Allen said all six institutions were in favour of continuing to televise league games. Negotiations with RDS have been positive, with an agreement expected in the next couple of weeks. Last season 12 conference games were televised, including the playoffs.

The commissioner also announced that the league is seriously considering placing a bid to host the 2007 and 2008 Vanier Cup games. The 2005 Vanier Cup is slated to be played in Ontario, while the University of Saskatchewan will host the 2006 final.

The Stingers open their home season Sept. 10, when the Bishop's Gaiters visit Concordia Stadium.

Brassard, Lepage are top athletes

Janie Brassard of the women's hockey team and Patrick Lepage of the men's hockey team team have been named the Sir Winston Churchill Pub athletes of the week for the period ending Jan. 16.

Brassard, a third-year left wing with the No. 3-ranked Stingers, was instrumental in helping her team collect two wins last weekend. She had a solid outing in the Stingers' recent 4-1 victory over the McGill Martlets. Then with three goals and two assists she was the top scorer in an 8-0 victory over the Carleton Ravens. The Hull native is studying Leisure Sciences at Concordia.

Lepage, a rookie goaltender with the Concordia Stingers, played 65 minutes and turned away 32 of 35 shots in a 3-3 tie against the UQTR Patriotes in Trois-RiviËres last Friday. The 22-year-old native of Rivière-du-Loup is a Human Relations major.

Jonathan Gautier of the men's hockey team team and Dominique Rancour of the women's hockey team were named athletes of the week for the period ending Jan. 9.

Gautier, a third-year centre with the Concordia Stingers, scored three goals and added two assists to lead his team to an 8-4 come-from-behind victory over the RMC Paladins. His pure hat trick included the winning goal. He also won 22 of the 32 faceoffs he took in the game. The 23-year-old native of Laval is a Human Relations major.

Rancour, a fourth-year centre with the No. 4-ranked Stingers, was instrumental in helping her team finish second in the eight-team Concordia Theresa Humes Women's Hockey Tournament. She was in on five of Concordia's seven goals over the three games. Dominique scored two goals and added three assists. She is studying Human Relations and Education at Concordia.

Correction

Regarding the Roundup on Jan. 13, Stingers hockey star Yannick Noiseux was unable to go to the training camp for the University Games in Innsbruck because his exams could not be switched. As a result, the head coach had to cut him from the team.