By Jack MacCool
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) women’s hockey team fell 1-0 in overtime to the University of Waterloo Warriors on Friday at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
It was a goaltending battle Friday night as TMU’s Lauren Griffin and Waterloo’s Kara Mark combined stopped all 55 shots during regulation. It wasn’t until overtime that either goalie would be beat, as the Warriors improved to 7-0 and the Bold 2-5.
The opening minutes of the game saw the Bold put on the backfoot by the Warriors, as they cycled the puck around the TMU zone. Just before the 16 minute mark, a giveaway behind the net gave Waterloo a wicked opportunity to open the scoring, but Griffin made a tremendous save to keep the game at zero.
That shot would be the only one the Warriors got for quite some time as the next few minutes saw the Bold turn up the intensity. Despite a flurry of chances as well as a power play, the Bold were not able to beat Mark. The Bold held a 6-1 shot advantage through nine minutes of play.
The rest of the first period consisted of mostly domination for TMU as they hemmed Waterloo in their own end for minutes on end. Despite this, the Warriors were able to generate some good chances of their own as time ticked down in the first.
After the success of the Bold in the first, Waterloo opened the second with strong control of the puck, getting a number of scoring opportunities early. Both goalies were heavily tested to that point with TMU leading 16-9 in the shot department through 25 minutes of action.
With 12 minutes to play in the second, TMU got its best chance of the game when Bold forward Dani Fox went coast-to-coast, undressing multiple Warriors before putting a shot on net that was stopped. Emily Baxter had a chance at potting the rebound but was unable to make solid contact with the bouncing puck.
The remaining portion of the second saw Waterloo shrink the shot discrepancy between the two teams, nearly scoring on a number of opportunities. Griffin continued their strong play for the Bold making a number of impressive saves including stopping a penalty shot from Waterloo at the 5:54 mark of the frame.
With just over two minutes to play in the second, the Bold were granted the man advantage when Gaby Gareau was dragged down while making a play towards the net. Despite a couple of chances coming on the power play, the goaltender battle continued as Mark turned away any and all TMU attempts. At the end of two, the score remained 0-0.
The beginning of the third was hectic as both teams generated chances at a high rate to begin the period. By the 13 minute mark, the Warriors had evened the total shots at 23 apiece.
Shortly after, an errant pass found itself on a Warrior stick in front of the TMU goal, and when the shot came, Bold forward Cailey Davis made a heroic diving block to keep the score 0-0.
With just over two minutes to play in the game, TMU defencemen Abby DeCorby was called for holding. A strong penalty kill from the Bold meant that this game would need overtime to decide a winner.
After sixty minutes of scoreless hockey, overtime would need just 50 seconds to see a goal when Waterloo’s Madison Pritchard beat Griffin blocker side to win it for the Warriors.
UP NEXT: The Bold will head to Ontario Tech University Nov. 12 to take on the Ridgebacks. Puck-drop is set for 3 p.m.
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