By Rob Vona
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s hockey team held off the University of Toronto Varsity Blues for a 1-0 win to force a Game 3 in the first round of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoffs.
Bold goaltender Kai Edmonds turned away all 27 shots to secure his first career playoff shutout.
“He was our MVP tonight,” said Bold head coach Johnny Duco on Edmonds following the game.
The Bold got out to their first power play of the game just 37 seconds in, after Varsity Blues defenceman Ryan Barbosa was assigned two minutes for interference.
One shot on goal and a breakaway save from Edmonds highlighted the game’s first man advantage as the two sides began to ramp up the physicality.
After the Bold failed to capitalize on their second power play in the first six minutes of the game, a rush from TMU forward Ryan Fellows and defenceman Evan Brand resulted in a Kevin Gursoy goal, as his shot from the slot found the back of the net after a broken play.
“It’s easy to get up for games like this,” said Gursoy. “The energy gets a little higher on meaningful games like this.”
After the Bold fought off their first penalty kill, defenceman Ryan Wells was sent to the box for hooking which sending the visiting squad to their second penalty kill of the game—one that bled into the start of the second period.
TMU escaped the penalty kill unharmed yet again as they were sent to their third power play of the game after Varsity Blues forward Owen Robinson was called for tripping.
A mishandled puck by goaltender Jett Alexander resulted in a scramble in front of the net. Failure to capitalize on the blunder saw the lead remain at 1-0 halfway through the second frame.
The visiting Bold took over the game in the second, dictating the pace for the majority of the period thanks to aggressive forechecks from forward Daniel D’Amico as well as two timely saves from Edmonds, including a sliding stop to turn away a backdoor shot.
The first two periods expired as the Bold held on to their one goal lead.
“[I’m] really proud of the way the guys stuck with it, it wasn’t pretty at times but that’s playoff hockey,” said Duco.
A shot from TMU defenceman Elijah Roberts was steered away by Alexander as he kept his team in it with a handful of saves early on in the final frame.
The home team began to tilt the ice as they owned possession in the final frame looking to tie the game up. A physical third period featured a flurry of blocked shots from the Bold as time expired to leave Varsity Arena with the win, forcing a win-or-go-home Game 3.
Coach Duco explained that he expects Game 3 to be a physical and emotional game and that the team needs to be prepared to perform at the highest level.
Gursoy, the lone goal-scorer said that the team is in high spirits and feeling good after coming away with the win on the road and to put it simply, they “gotta win” tomorrow.
“[We had] a little bit of a hiccup the other day but we’re looking for redemption going back home,” he said.
UP NEXT: The Bold will host the deciding Game 3 tomorrow in a win-or-go-home scenario for both teams. Puck drop is set for 4 p.m.
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