Sam Reynolds

Sam Reynolds

It was a great weekend for McGill’s swim teams, as both the men and women swam to first place finishes in their respective divisions at the second Quebec Cup competition of the season. This marked the first time the McGill teams have swept a conference competition in eight years.

Head Coach Peter Carpenter got even more than he had hoped for from both his men’s and women’s teams.

“I was pleasantly surprised.  I know we have a very special group this year, but it wasn’t until this past Saturday that I saw how great they could really be,” Carpenter said.  “The team spirit that the team has is really overwhelming, and the atmosphere was great.”

The Redmen cleaned up the men’s division, earning 59 more points than second place finisher Laval. Veteran Steven Biebly and rookie Marc-Andre Benoit, who each earned four gold medals in individual and relay competitions, led the team. Biebly repeated his efforts from the first Quebec Cup and was once again named male athlete of the meet.

On the other side, the women faced stiffer competition, as McGill squeaked by Laval to earn first place honours. The Martlets’ gold medals came courtesy of Sophie Overney-Ragan and her impressive 50 metre fly time, as well as from their 4×50 freestyle relay team, and their 4×50 IM squad. Carpenter lauded the team effort that led the girls to victory. “On the women’s side, they won by committee.  Our girls just swam amazingly as a team, and managed to win two out of three relays.  That was just huge,” he said. “It was a very rewarding day.”

With the strong effort this weekend, five more McGill swimmers qualified to compete at the CIS championships in March. After only two conference meets, McGill has eight swimmers heading to nationals. Carpenter sees the win as a sign of good things to come.

“I knew that winning the men’s side of the meet was a good possibility, but I certainly never thought that we might be able to win by 59 points,” Carpenter noted. “For the women the mountain was even higher. They needed to beat two very strong teams in UL and UdeM, and they managed to do it. I feel that the athletes have put themselves in a great situation to try and challenge for the provincial crowns this year, but there is still a lot of work to do, and they know it.”

The men’s and women’s swim teams will both head south for exhibition meets against Yale and Brown, before heading to Sherbrooke to compete in the third Quebec Cup on Nov. 12.

Ryan Reisert

Ryan Reisert

Love Competition Hall may be McGill’s home court, but it didn’t feel that way this past weekend. Hoops fans from six other schools invaded the gym to cheer on their teams in the 17th annual McGill Redbird Basketball Classic. While McGill fans were few and far between, numerous supporters of the St. Francis-Xavier X-Men showed up and left happy as the X-Men took the men’s title, defeating all three teams they played. In the women’s tournament, the Regina Rams took home the honours with a 2-1 record.

Although this was only a preseason tournament, both the Redmen and Martlets learned that they have a lot of work to do if they want to compete with Canada’s best in the regular season. The Redmen dropped all three of their games, while the Martlets salvaged only one victory over the Brock Badgers.

The Redmen were without two familiar faces throughout the tournament, which may have contributed to their poor display. Head Coach Dave D’Aveiro was on leave after being selected to work as an assistant coach for Team Canada at the Pan-Am Games in Mexico. Assistant coach John Dangelas filled in for D’Aveiro. McGill also felt the loss of Simon Bibeau, who sustained a season-ending knee injury in practice.

“We’re trying to work things out now, ever since we lost Simon for the season,” Coach Dangelas said. “We just have to continue to work to get better, watch lots of film, and figure things out to make strides in the right direction.”

The Redmen were unhappy with their performances on Friday and Saturday night as they lost to McMaster and St F.X. by scores of 68-52 and 90-71. On Sunday afternoon, McGill played the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and put in their best performance of the weekend in a hard fought 64-59 defeat. Second-year McGill forward Tristan Renaud-Tremblay was named to the tournament all-star team after averaging 15 points and six rebounds over the course of the weekend.

The Martlets were more successful, winning their tournament opener 64-60 over Brock. Third-year shooting guard Marie-Eve Martin led the way with 14 points in just 20 minutes on the court. Martin noted that the Martlets did many things right in their three games.

“Overall, I think we got better as a team, we’re all thinking positive[ly],” Martin said. “[But] we lost a big player against Regina.” That big player was fourth-year power forward Anneth Him-Lazarenko, who, despite her injury, was named a tournament all-star. The Martlets weren’t as successful in their final two games and fell 82-74 to Regina and 55-52 to the Carleton Ravens despite a furious second half comeback. Head Coach Ryan Thorne was impressed by his team’s performance against some of the nation’s best. “We set up our preseason to play Top-10 teams, and that’s who we played,” Thorne said. “We can play with any team in the country.”

Both the Redmen and Martlets will now head south of the border to continue their exhibition schedules. The men will face tough competition against Cincinnati, a six-seed that made it to the round of 32 in last year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The women travel to Ithaca, NY to face the Cornell Big Red who finished 6-22 overall in 2010-2011. Both teams open their regular season on Nov. 10 against Concordia.

For

If someone told you that police forces should cease to exist because in a few occasions, they have arrested the wrong person, would you join a picket line in front of a police station? No, you wouldn’t, simply because you know that the police are designed to punish offences despite the small drawbacks that can occur in the process.

The same logic can be applied to fighting in hockey. The first and foremost reason that fighting came to exist in the game of professional hockey, according to Ross Bernstein in his book The Code: the Unwritten Rules of Fighting and Retaliation in the NHL, was to protect teams’ key players. Over the years, teams have employed enforcers to protect their star players from the Matt Cookes to the Tie Domis of the game. The threat of having to fight Dave Semenko kept Wayne Gretzky safe, opening up the game and allowing him to play unfettered by fear of cheap shots. Fighting in hockey is not meant to be brutal and unwarranted, but is instead synonymous with protection and solidarity.

So, if fighting is removed from the game, how are players meant to dissuade cheap shot artists from filling their star players’ heads with flying elbows? Rob Ray, a former NHL enforcer, said it would be “a big mistake” to outlaw fighting. “You need to have that fear: If I hit someone wrong, someone’s going to come after me,” he said. “Without it, you’d have far more head shots and hits from behind.” Ray isn’t the only player who believes it either, as many players, including Gretzky, have lauded the role of the enforcer on their teams.

Yet in an era when head injuries are of primary concern for both fans and players, how does fighting stack up? The main argument against fighting is that it’s a leading cause of concussions in the NHL. Well fear not, my fisticuff-enjoying friends, because last March, the league released the results of a two-year statistical study of NHL concussions.  According to the study, 44 per cent of the concussions incurred during the 2010-2011 season resulted from legal hits, 26 per cent from accidental hits, 17 per cent from illegal hits and eight per cent from fighting, with the cause of the remaining five per cent undetermined (which is probably legal speak for “Matt Cooke”). So, if you want to ban fighting because of head injuries, you’re going to have to ban legal hits and accidental hits from the game first, which is pointless.

Fighting should remain a part of the NHL.

– Christopher Nardi

Against

Fighting is a controversial subject in hockey. Some see it as part of the game and believe a fight can inspire a team, but what fighting takes away from hockey seems to have a larger impact than the occasional joys it might bring.

Hockey is about using skill, technique, strategy, and determination to rise above the other team. Without fighting, would outcomes be significantly affected? Unlikely. Undoubtedly there is a difference between men’s and women’s hockey. Women’s games lack a physical aspect, but they are still aggressive and are more focused on the technical aspects of the game—strategy and skill. This is not to say that men’s hockey games have less skill, but for some men, fighting can become a distraction that can deter from the enjoyment of the game. Roster spots that could go to skill players are reserved for goons who can barely skate.

In recent years the NHL has made major strides in cracking down on illegal hits. In particular, this season, Brendan Shanahan has made it clear that the league no longer tolerates illegal hits by doling out countless “Shanabans.” Supporters of fighting argue that enforcers protect star players, but in reality, the rules exist to punish offenders and these players take up roster spots that could go to skill players.

In addition, there are major injury consequences of fighting; players who fight run the risk of getting hurt. Those coaches who send their enforcers out to fight are complicit in these injuries.

This issue cannot be discussed without mentioning the events of this past year. Wade Belak, Rick Rypien, and Derek Boogaard all passed away, leading many to link fighting and the enforcer role with depression and substance abuse. As sad as these cases are, they are prime examples of what can happen to someone who assumes the enforcer role on a team. Not only does this lead to tragic outcomes for the individual and their families, but the morale of hockey also suffers. Without fighting, it’s possible these tragedies may have never occurred.

Fighting appeals to the commercial aspect of hockey. Some fans may argue that the game is more exciting if they can expect certain players to start fighting. This has a greater impact off the ice, as it will make more people watch the game but for reasons not directly related to the actual game—the wrong reasons. If you’re looking for a fight, watch the UFC. Fans should understand there is more to hockey than just fighting.

For the benefit of the game, the NHL should ban fighting.

–Rebecca Babcock

Winner: For

Fighting creates excitement for many fans and generates needed revenue for the league. It may seem barbaric and lead to injuries, but the stats show that fighting poses a lesser risk to players’ health than even regular hitting. Stars like Sidney Crosby are less likely to be targeted if the goons that injure them fear retaliation from enforcers. Until illegal hits are completely eliminated, fighting must remain a part of NHL hockey.

Sam Reynolds

Sam Reynolds

UQTR was in town this past Sunday night to battle the Martlets in a crucial game for the women’s soccer team. McGill was looking for revenge, as the Patriotes won decisively 3-0 the last time these two teams met on Sep. 30.

McGill succeeded, overcoming an uninspired effort to better the visitors by a score of 1-0. The victory can be credited to the golden boot of fourth year captain Alexandra Morin-Boucher, who potted the lone goal, her team-leading seventh of the season, in the 68th minute of play off a blistering unassisted right-footed strike.

With only two games remaining in the season and only four playoff spots up for grabs, the win was huge for the third place Martlets, who clinched an RSEQ post-season berth with the victory.

But despite the result and the guarantee of a chance for provincial hardware, there is little McGill can take from this match going forward, as the quality of play was often low and inconsistent on both sides of the ball. This was particularly prevalent from the outset, as the first 25 minutes yielded only two shots for the Martlets. This remarkably low offensive production seemed to lull the crowd of 55 that assembled at Molson Stadium. The first half concluded similarly, with extended midfield challenges and turnovers dissipating all hopes of a goal.

With the threat of a nil-nil draw looming, the Martlets started to show some urgency in their play during the second half. The pace and precision improved substantially until the prized goal was scored. It came about in a harmless fashion, as a rare UQTR offensive was stymied by a booming clearance from the Martlet back line. However, this clearance proved to be all that striker Morin-Boucher would require, as she shouldered her way past her mark to claim the bouncing ball, gaining the position she needed to blast the ball past the helpless Trois-Rivières’ keeper Stephanie Rousseau. Following the goal, the Patriotes did everything they could to find an equalizer in the waning minutes of the match, but to no avail.

Despite the lack of quality scoring opportunities for the Martlets, they found a win and thus improved to 7-3-2 on the year. McGill ends its campaign with a pair of road games on Oct. 28 and 30 against Montreal and Concordia respectively, before squaring off in the provincial semi-final scheduled for Nov. 4.

Ryan Reisert

Ryan Reisert

The McGill Redmen suffered their first loss of the 2011-2012 season on Friday night, falling to the UQTR Patriotes in overtime by a score of 4-3. Despite getting a point in the loss, the second-ranked Redmen were outplayed for the majority of the game and scored two goals in the final four minutes to force the extra frame.

McGill got on the board early, as rookie Guillaume Langelier-Parent knocked home a rebound just 2:53 into the game. The Redmen held the lead until the eighth minute of the second period when UQTR’s Michel Ouellet tied the game at one. Ouellet netted his second goal of the night at 8:51 of the third and Félix Petit added another just two and a  half minutes later as UQTR moved ahead 3-1. The Redmen clawed back with just over four minutes remaining, getting goals from captain Evan Vossen and sophomore defenceman Vincent Bourgeois in a span of 1:49 to force overtime. The comeback would fall short, however, as UQTR’s Félix Lefrancois beat Redmen goalie Hubert Morin with 50 seconds remaining in the extra period.

With the victory, the Patriotes improved to 5-2 on the season and moved into first place atop the OUA East Division. Despite being outshot 30-29 on the evening, UQTR played an excellent defensive game, keeping McGill to the outside of their zone, and allowing very few quality scoring chances. Though the game was back and forth in the first period, the Patriotes controlled the majority of the play and looked especially sharp after drawing even in the second.

Although they rallied late to steal a point in the losing effort, the Redmen were far from satisfied with their performance. “We stopped moving our feet,” McGill Head Coach Kelly Nobes said after the game. “We have to put together 60 minutes against a good team like that. We made a comeback there in the third, but I didn’t think we deserved to win.”

McGill’s top line of Francis Verrault-Paul, Alex Picard-Hooper, and Andrew Wright consistently controlled the puck in the offensive zone, but failed to generate anything substantial. “We’re successful when we get the puck down low and start using each other,” Wright said, who echoed his coach’s words, adding, “We weren’t moving our feet like we normally do, and for that reason we weren’t getting open and we weren’t getting clear shots. I don’t think any team could keep up with us if we play a full 60 minutes.”

The strength of this Redmen team is their speed and forechecking, but they have yet to establish either over the course of a full contest so far this season. Their depth has been a large factor in the team’s 4-0-1 start, despite the lack of consistency. McGill dropped their second OT decision of the weekend by a score of 3-2 at Concordia’s Ed Meagher Arena but they will get a quick chance to avenge the defeat Friday, Oct. 28 when the Stingers pay a visit to McConnell Arena.