MONTREAL, Que. - The purple and gold came out of their final game before the holiday break with another victory over a nationally ranked team as Ventislav Shingarov put up a record-breaking 66 saves in a 5-4 Golden Hawk victory against the #9 Concordia Stingers.

Laurier's Sam Rhodes opened the scoring on the power play 6:25 into the first period with a beautiful shot from the slot. 

M?? P1 - Sam Rhodes rips one to give the Golden Hawks the lead!@LaurierHockey | 1@the_stingers | 0#SoarAbove | #CONvsWLU pic.twitter.com/lY4F5bR4rq

— Laurier Golden Hawks (@WLUAthletics) December 2, 2023

Six minutes later, Bryce Sutherland snapped his 10-game goal-less drought and extended the Golden Hawk lead on a wrap-around attempt. The goal was the first year's fourth of the season. 

M?? P1 - Bryce Sutherland completes the wraparound to put the purple and gold up by a pair!@LaurierHockey | 2@the_stingers | 0#SoarAbove | #CONvsWLU pic.twitter.com/pDjLOOlhM9

— Laurier Golden Hawks (@WLUAthletics) December 2, 2023

The Golden Hawks would hold the 2-0 lead until 2:09 into the second frame. Samuel Desgroseilliers put a shot off the bar and in from the slot to cut into Laurier's lead. Concordia's Loick Daigle scored to tie the game just a minute later. 

The purple and gold responded with a pair of goals late in the second to re-establish a two-goal lead. Thomas Lenart fed Jaiden Reimer on a two-on-one chance to give the lead back to the Golden Hawks. 

Evan Benwell then scored the insurance marker with a beautiful breakaway goal. 

M?? P2 - Evan Benwell scores a beauty on the breakaway to give the Golden Hawks some insurance!@LaurierHockey | 4@the_stingers | 2#SoarAbove | #CONvsWLU pic.twitter.com/qrRk7LDZvp

— Laurier Golden Hawks (@WLUAthletics) December 2, 2023

The Stingers struck last in the second period as Nicholas Girourd found the back of the net the score back to within one.

The Stingers amassed a whopping 33 saves in the second period. They also piled 21 shots on Shingarov in the first period, forcing Shingarov to save 51 saves on 54 shots through just two periods. 

A blocked shot enabled Sam Rhodes to activate his wheels through the neutral zone, giving himself enough time to rifle home his second goal of the game. 
 

M?? P3 - Sam Rhodes scores his second of the night??@LaurierHockey | 5@the_stingers | 3#SoarAbove | #CONvsWLU pic.twitter.com/tyz3RkQwlk

— Laurier Golden Hawks (@WLUAthletics) December 2, 2023

However, this was not enough to put the Stingers away. They pushed back hard, determined to make a comeback and Samuel Desgroseilliers scored to pull Concordia back within one.

Fortunately, the Golden Hawks were able to hold on and come out of a hard-fought game on top of the Stingers 5-4. 

PLUS + A Night for the Record Books 
Rookie goalie Ventislav Shingarov set a new record for most saves in a game by a Golden Hawk netminder, shattering the previous record of 55 held by Golden Hawks Hall of Famer Ryan Daniels. The record now stands at a mind-boggling 66 saves. 

He made plenty of solid saves to keep the Stingers off of the board and was the biggest reason for the Golden Hawks' victory. 

PLUS + Win 
Wins are always great. With the victory over Concordia, the Golden Hawks have won two of their last three games. Both wins came in games where the purple and gold put away 5 goals against ranked teams. 

UP NEXT 
The Golden Hawks head into the holiday break sitting in 9th in the OUA West with a record of 5-13. Sam Rhodes leads the team in scoring with 9 goals and 5 assists for 14 points in 18 games. 

The purple and gold look to build off of these last couple of games after the break and force their way back into a playoff spot.