The York University Lions men's hockey team finished off the fall term on Saturday afternoon, taking the ice against the No. 2 ranked team in the country, the Concordia Stingers, at the Ed Meagher Arena in Montreal. York was looking to rebound from a 7-3 loss on Friday night in Laval to the McGill Redbirds and close 2024 on a winning note, while aiming to hand Concordia its first regulation loss of the season.

The visitors got on the board first at the 5:42 mark. The Lions navigated a three-on-three in the Stingers zone, and the puck found Keeton Oakley t who fired it home from the top of the left circle. Oakley's fifth goal on the year gave York a 1-0 lead.

The Stingers responded with 4:29 left in the first on the power play. Sean Larochelle's shot from the high slot was tipped home by Mathieu Bizier's past Alex Chu, drawing the Stingers even. The score remained knotted up at 1-1 after 20.

The Stingers took the lead at the 6:02 mark of the second period. After the Lions had a chance at one end, Concordia's Mikael Huchette came back in transition and fed Charles Savoie, whose shot went bar down on Chu. That made it 2-1 Stingers, a lead they would carry to the third period.

York couldn't capitalize on an early third-period power play, and that is when the floodgates opened for the Stingers. Concordia scored four goals in the first ten minutes of the period. The outburst gave the Stingers a 6-1 lead, and they would add two more to earn an 8-1 victory.

LOOKING AHEAD:

The Lions will ring in 2025 in Thunder Bay, going up against the Lakehead Thunderwolves on January 4. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm.