“It was almost like a goal we had set at some portion of the year, to be that team that ultimately knocked them off.”
Sometimes, the lowest of lows follow the highest of highs. The Montreal Canadiens know the feeling all too well. Just one year after making the Stanley Cup Finals in 2021, the storied franchise flailed to a last-place finish in the National Hockey League.
And just like the Canadiens, who were tasked with a burgeoning dynasty in the Tampa Bay Lightning in those finals, the Gee-Gees women’s hockey team were taking on a powerhouse in the RSEQ semi-finals in the undefeated Concordia Stingers on Feb. 24.
The Gee-Gees handed the Stingers their first loss of the season in Game Two, backed by a 58-save Carey Price-like performance from former Gee Aurélie Dubuc. Dubuc, who took the 2023-24 season off to focus on school, was called in as an emergency backup for the series after starter Mahika Sarrazin was injured.
But in Game Three, the hopes of a David vs. Goliath-esque upset against the nationally top-ranked Stingers was put to rest. After the Gees failed to score on a pair of early breakaways, the Stingers began scoring and they did not stop.
The Julie Chu-led Stingers ended up putting 13 goals in total in the back of the Gee-Gees net, which was shared by Dubuc and first-year Gee Lauren MacKay. Leading the Stingers in the win was third-year forward Chloé Gendreau, who racked up two goals and five points. Jessymaude Drapeau finished with a hat trick, while six other Stingers scored multiple points.
The series wasn’t the first time this year that the Gee-Gees had challenged the Stinger’s perfect season. Back in November, the Gees had led the Stingers during a game at Minto, before ultimately falling to the team in double-overtime. More recently, the Gees had pushed Concordia to overtime for a second time, before Drapeau ended that game with a goal just 15 seconds into the extra frame.
Gees co-coach Greg Bowles talked postgame about what made the 8-17 Gees the team to finally beat Concordia. “I think we matched up well, our strengths complimented their weaknesses,” said Bowles.
“I think the biggest difference between the first and second game, was in the first game, it was almost a sideshow, we got so nervous about being up. In the second game, we were no longer surprised. We were doing it, and we had the confidence to say, ‘this isn’t by fluke, this is where we’re meant to be, let’s finish this dang thing’.”
Bowles also called Dubuc, who played to a 2.13 goals against average and .926 save percentage last season with the Gees, a perfect candidate to join the Gees after Sarrazin went down. “We had no choice but to tap into any number of potential eligible goalies, and to have one that was the least disruptive to our chemistry and our team environment was to bring back somebody that had played for us before. To have her quickly knock the rust off and be that good in Game Two just speaks to her ability.”
Bowles took over as Gees co-coach alongside former Canadian Olympian Jennifer Wakefield after former head coach Stefanie McKeough joined the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Boston franchise in October, after just six weeks after being named Gees head coach.
Joining the two on the bench in January was Hanna-Riikka Turpeinen, a former Finnish player who moved to Ottawa in 2015 and then began coaching for the Ottawa Lady Senators.
Bowles identified Wakefield and Turpeinen as key cogs in the Gee-Gees organization during the turmoil. “[The coaching changes] are a lot for any 18–24-year-old to deal with. So to have [Wakefield] come in and contribute, and add foundation like she did, and then ultimately having [Turpeinen] join us in January, that’s just in line with what [the U of O] is doing from a coaching excellence perspective.”
The Gees, who will see multiple veterans graduate this year, will be banking on younger players to lead the program next season. Leaving the Gees due after five seasons are defender Mikaila Kraczynski and forward Katherine Birkby.
Bowles identified other players leaving the Gees after graduating from the U of O, among them Kate McLean, Alèxe Clavelle, Shelby Calof, and Ariane Minville. “The one thing I want to say about that group was that they have promoted positive change like no group I’ve ever seen,” Bowles said.
“The transition that people like Birkby and Kraczynski have led us through is program-defining. And I select those words very, very purposefully. They are the epitome of leaving a program in a better place than how they found it.”
Bowles singled out Birkby, a rare 100-game Gee-Gee, as a great leader for the team. “In Game Three, we were down a whole lot to a whole little. And Birkby was playing like it was a one-one tie. [Her] legacy is just one she will leave for all who follow, and that’s just sensational.”
But Bowles is confident that the team’s foundation, paired with a strong recruiting class, will help the Gee-Gees going forward. “We have some very strong younger players, whether it’s [Maëlle Laplante], [Alyssa Biesenthal], or [Keara Merriman], who we didn’t see much of this year. Even some second-year players, like [Reece Mepham], they’re growing up.”
“And then, we have a sensational young group of recruits coming in next year that we’re really excited about. We are definitely in a rebuild, but it’s going to be fun knowing that they’re walking into a really positive culture and a program that is no longer trying to seek their identity.”
