Concordia Conquers CIAU

By Sam Laskaris
For Hipcheck Magazine: Volume 2, Issue 2
March/April 1999

Members of the Concordia Stingers women's hockey team are twotimers--as
in two-time Canadian national varsity champs.

The Stingers captured their second consecutive Canadian Interuniversity
Athletic Union (CIAU) title with a 2-0 victory over the Alberta Pandas
on Feb. 28 at Toronto's Varsity Arena.

"We didn't play as well as I thought we would in the final game," said
Concordia coach Les Lawton. "But we're certainly proud about coming out
with the gold medal."

The Stingers, who had captured the inaugural CIAU women's tourney on
their home ice in 1998, certainly got a scare in their opening match at
this year's six-team event. Concordia edged the host University of
Toronto Varsity Blues 3-2 in a contest decided by a shootout.

"Some of the players sat back, luckily we had a day off to reflect and
maybe put it behind us," Lawton said amidst the Stingers' celebrations
following the gold-medal game. "That seems like it happened quite a
while ago though."

Besides its win over U of T Concordia had just one other round-robin
match. The Stingers qualified for the goldmedal game after thumping the
St. Francis Xavier XWomen 10-0. Alberta advanced to the championship
final by winning its round-robin tilts by identical 3-2 counts over
Montreal's McGill Martlets and Waterloo's Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks.

In the final, Concordia and Alberta played through a scoreless opening
period. The Stingers then got what proved to be the winning goal in the
second period from Annie Boucher and an insurance marker early in the
third from Deana Huyghebaert.

"I just think we had a little bit more depth and we were able to push
them a little harder than they've been pushed in the tournament," said
Concordia captain Kari Colpitts, a fifth year accounting student who
played her final university match. "We have four lines and we just
rolled them. Nobody got tired and fresh legs were always out there."

Colpitts added that the Stingers' shootout win against U of T was
perhaps a blessing in disguise. "It put a little shock into all of us
and kind of woke us up," she said. "And I think it gave us the
confidence knowing we could go in, and no matter what was happening at
the end of the day, we could pull it out."

Concordia prevailed in the final in large part due to the play of
goaltender Jessika Audet. Though she only faced 15 shots, Audet, who was
selected as her team's MVP in the final, did make several splendid
stops, including a nifty leg save in the dying moments of the game after
she had lost her goal stick.

"I think that's what every goalie dreams of," she said of her goose egg
in the final. "I was happy to pull it off."

While they were still celebrating their second CIAU crown, the Stingers
were also forced to start thinking about the possibility of a three-peat
on home ice, as Concordia has recently been awarded the 2000 CIAU
tournament.

Information Box:
          CIAU All-Canadians
   Goal
        Robyn Rittmaster, Calgary
        Kim St. Pierre, McGill
   Defence
        Genevieve Fagnan, Concordia
        Sandra Hustler, Windsor
        Leanne MacDonald, St. Francis Xavier
        Colleen Sostoric, Calgary
   Forwards
        Lisa Backman, Wilfrid Laurier 
        Urszula May, U of T 
        Caroline Proulx, UQTR 
        Lori Shupak, Alberta 
        Corrine Swirsky, Concordia
        Brandy West, Regina

Photo Caption:
Concordia Stingers celebrate second straight title



Page 2:

"We're going to be setting our sights on that soon," said Concordia
right winger Corrine Swirsky, who was selected as the CIAU's most
outstanding player for a second straight year. "But we're going to savor
this one for a while first."

Audet had a similar line of thinking. "We're not going to stop," she
said. "We're going to keep going for (national titles). But it won't be
easy because every team is getting better every year."

Though they didn't prevail in the final, the Pandas were thrilled with
their play at this year's national tourney. A year ago Alberta placed
fifth at the CIAU championships and were a far better team this time
around.

"I'm just so proud of our team," said Pandas' coach Howie Draper. "I
know we showed everybody we can compete at any level. "I think up until
this point (our conference) Canada West wasn't getting as much respect
as we should. And I certainly feel that we've earned that this weekend."

1999 CIAU runner's-up Alberta Pandas

The Pandas also ended up having the tournament's MVP; rookie center Lori
Shupak copped that award.

Tournament All-Star Team Goal Keely Brown, U of T Defence Leanne
MacDonald, St. Francis Xavier Genevieve Fagnan, Concordia Forwards
  Julie Hornsby, McGill Anne Rodrigue, Concordia Krysty Lorenz, Alberta

Stingers buzz Panda net in Canadian varsity final

"It would have been great to.win it as a team," Shupak said when asked
whether her MVP status was any consolation for winning silver. "We go
everywhere together. There's not one person that can stick out. I think
it would have been greater to win as a team."

Shupak also realized what the Pandas' performance will do for western
Canadian squads. "We've done so much for western hockey," she said. "And
we're just going to keep building. The west is going to catch up. No, we
have caught up!"

At last year's CIAU tournament, Alberta was trounced 7O by Concordia in
a round-robin match. It should be noted though, that when the Pandas
faced the Stingers a year ago, Alberta was playing its second match that
day on just three hours rest.

Meanwhile, Toronto's Varsity Blues, silver medalists in '98, had to
settle for third place this time around. U of T edged Wilfrid Laurier
I-0 in the bronze-medal match. And in the fifth-place game, McGill
downed St. Francis Xavier 5-2.

A general consensus among some of the participants was the tournament
format could benefit from a revamping, which would include cross-over
games following roundrobin action.

"It's a better way to market the tournament," Lawton said. "You look at
Toronto and as hosts, they were basically out of it on the first day.
And they were one of the better teams here. I think that hurt their
marketing plan. And to see a skilled and good team out of it, it hurt
the tournament."

Draper had mixed views about this year's setup. He was glad teams
weren't forced to play two games in one day.

"The ideal scenario is certainly where you can have a cross-over at the
end of pool play," he added. "That way you just make sure you have the
two top teams playing off against each other. I certainly think the two
top teams were playing off this weekend so it worked out fortunately."

Sam Laskaris is a Toronto-based freelance sportswriter