By Dexter LeRuez
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s hockey team took to the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) on Thursday beating the University of Waterloo (UW) Warriors 5-2 in a scrappy affair.
Thursday’s game was a chance at revenge for the Bold. Back in October, the Warriors gave TMU their first and to this point only loss of the season.
“I think we had a chip on our shoulders,” said captain Jesse Barwell. “We knew they were gonna come hard and they always play well against us. Last year in the playoffs it was the exact same thing. We were just prepared, prepared well and came out and put them away.”
The Bold didn’t underestimate the Warriors this time. TMU took just 12 minutes to score their first goal of the game. First-year forward Connor Bowie took advantage of a Warriors tripping call and gave TMU the lead.
The Bold extended their lead as forwards Jackson Doherty and Barwell both found the back of the net to put TMU up 3-0 after one period of play.
It wouldn’t be until three minutes into the second period when the Warriors answered back with a goal from fourth-year forward Chase Campbell.
The rest of the second period was scrappy, as both teams got physical and engaged in multiple scuffles.
TMU forward and Ontario University Athletics (OUA) points leader Kyle Bollers saw the worst of it, taking a high stick and a crosscheck to the head, neither of which was called by the officials.
“It’s something we can’t control. I think for us we want to do a better job staying disciplined. We allowed them to throw us off our game a little bit with the rough stuff between whistles,” said head coach Johnny Duco.
Bollers went off the ice to be checked out by TMU’s medical staff but returned a few minutes later.
Despite the scare, Bollers had a good night, receiving the Student Athlete Excellence Award for his community service and getting two assists to put his point total at 20 on the year.
After a spirited second period, the Warriors bounced back in the third frame. Waterloo first-year Simon Rose scored one minute into the period to bring the Warriors one score away from tying the game.
However, the Bold pulled away from Waterloo. Barwell scored two more goals in the period to give himself a hat-trick on the night.
Barwell has been on a tear recently. In addition to his three goals tonight, the captain scored two goals during Sunday’s game at Lakehead.
“Covid was a bit rough and I think this year everyone is in shape and everyone has been skating a lot longer,” said Barwell. “So we are in the flow, we are in the rhythm.”
The Bold has been hot ever since their loss to Waterloo back in October. The Bold has now won five straight and are now 8-1-0 after Thursday’s win, pushing them into sole possession of first place in the OUA West division.
“Good teams find a way to win,” said Duco. “I felt like we came out in that third period and played the way we are capable of and pretty much shut them down.”
UP NEXT: TMU will host the Laurier Golden Hawks at the MAC on Nov. 12. Puck-drop is set for 2:15 p.m.
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