University of Toronto Varsity Blues goaltender Erica Fryer, middle, stops a shot from Concordia University Stingers forward Emilie Lavoie (88) during the second period of USports University Cup women's university hockey final in Saskatoon, Sask., Sunday, March 17, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu
SASKATOON – The Concordia Stingers are back on the mountain top of U Sports women’s hockey.
On Sunday night at Merlis Belsher Place, the Stingers beat the Toronto Varsity Blues 3-1 in the final of the U Sports women’s hockey championship tournament.
The win marked the second time in three years the Stingers have captured the U Sports women’s hockey crown, and it is the team’s fourth U Sports women’s hockey championship win in team history.
The Stingers won the U Sports title in 2022 downing the Nipissing Lakers 4-0 in the event’s final, when the tournament was held in Charlottetown, P.E.I. Last year, the Stingers fell 4-3 in overtime in the U Sports title game to the Mount Royal Cougars, when the tournament was held in Montreal.
Concordia also captured the U Sports title the first two times it was contested in 1998 and 1999, when U Sports was known as the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CIAU). The first win in 1998 also came against the Varsity Blues by a 4-1 score, when the Stingers claimed the national title as host squad.
In Sunday’s final, Emilie Lussier, Jessymaude Drapeau and Rosalie Begin-Cyr scored for the Stingers. Emma Potter replied for the Varsity Blues.
Jordyn Verbeek stopped 18 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Stingers. Erica Fryer turned away 22 shots in net for the Varsity Blues.
The Stingers were the class of U Sports women’s hockey in 2023-24. They entered the championship tournament as the No. 1 seed having posted a perfect 25-0 regular-season record and captured the RSEQ title.
The Varsity Blues were making their first appearance in the U Sports title game since losing the 2003 championship final 5-4 in overtime to the Alberta Pandas, when the championship tourney was held in Regina.
Toronto went into this year’s tournament as the sixth seed. The Varsity Blues placed second in OUA East at 19-8-1 and fell in the OUA final 2-1 in overtime to the visiting Waterloo Warriors on March 9.
The Montreal Carabins slipped past the Warriors 2-1 after taking a tiebreaking shootout 1-0 in Sunday’s bronze-medal game.
Sunday’s consolation final saw the Canada West Conference champion and second-seeded UBC Thunderbirds down the host and eighth-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies 4-1.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2024.
