By Mikayla Guarasci
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s hockey team fell 4-1 to the Nipissing Lakers in their home opener at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) on Saturday afternoon.
Their opponents made the trip from North Bay Ont., for a 2022 first-round playoff rematch, a game in which the Lakers were also victorious. Nipissing went on to finish second in both the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship and the U Sports national championships.
“We know Nipissing is a very skilled team,” said Bold head coach Lisa Haley. “They are very well coached, they’ve got great systems and we know it’s important for us to execute what we need to do.”
The first half of the opening period saw big chances from both teams, but no one was able to get on the board. Bold forward Gaby Gareau had a dangerous scoring chance, but her shot went off the post.
The Lakers turned it up in the second half of the period, scoring three goals in just over four minutes of play, taking advantage of a TMU defensive breakdown. Madison Laberge made a highlight-reel move and went top-shelf over Bold goaltender, Jayden Lawson. Nipissing forward Katie Chomiak added two goals, with one coming on the power play, to give the Lakers a 3-0 lead to end the first period.
In the first period, Lawson saw 14 shots from the Lakers, while the Bold were only able to get four shots on Lakers goaltender Chloe Marshall.
“We got a little bit sidetracked, a little loss of focus,” said Haley about her team’s first-period breakdown. “Sometimes you can get away with that, but against a team this good with that much firepower, you tend to pay the consequences.”
Early in the second period, fifth-year forward Brooklyn Gemmill took a shot from outside the blue line and it slipped past Marshall but was immediately waved off as the play was deemed offside. It was the beginning of stronger offensive pressure from the Bold.
“The first five minutes [of the game], we really came out and then we just took a dip,” said Gareau. We just weren’t connecting like we needed to, we regrouped after the first period, and in the second, we came out even better.”
While TMU had 13 shots in the period, they were unable to get on the board. Nipissing added nine shots in the second period, but Lawson stood tall for the Bold. The teams headed into the final period with the Lakers still leading 3-0.
The third period saw continued pressure from the Bold and two successful penalty kills. With 3:05 to go in the third, Lakers forward Maddison Stitt took a double minor spearing penalty, putting the Bold on the powerplay for the remainder of the game.
Gemmill took advantage of the power play and scored a marker to get the Bold on the board with just over a minute to go in the game. The excitement was short-lived as the Lakers were able to add a short-handed, empty-net marker from Malory Dominico to seal the win over the Bold.
Marshall made 26 saves for the win, while at the other end, Lawson made 28 saves for the Bold.
“We need to just come out of the gate hard,” said Gareau. “As soon as that puck drops, no rest, just go at it.”
The Bold will look to regroup after a challenging game and get ready for their next opponent, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. These teams met in the pre-season, with TMU winning 3-2.
“[University of Toronto] is another team that is consistently one of the top teams in the OUA, we definitely have our work cut out for us,” said Haley. “I see us as the underdogs against them and that’s fine. We’ve got to earn our stripes. We are going to walk in there with a game plan that if we can execute, we will give ourselves a chance.”
UP NEXT: TMU Bold will take on the University of Toronto Varsity Blues at the MAC on Friday, Oct. 28. Puck-drop is set for 6 p.m.
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