By Ben Barzo
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s hockey team climbed up to third in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East division after defeating the Ontario Tech University Ridgebacks by a score of 3-1 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) on Friday night.
The Bold looked to remain hot after their historic seven-goal game against the Western Mustangs as they took the ice against their divisional rivals.
Early in the first, the game turned into a stalemate with each team managing to earn a couple of scoring chances apiece that ultimately led to nothing.
First-year TMU goaltender, Alexia Stratos, stood tall throughout the first as she held off Ridgeback shots until the Bold were able to net the first goal of the game with under two minutes left in the period.
It was fifth-year forward Olivia Giardetti that capitalized on the fast break opportunity.
Giardetti credited her teammates as the reason she was able to continue her scoring form after a recent line change.
“We play really well together,” said Giardetti. “No matter who I play with and what their different styles are, I feel like I really feed off their energy.”
TMU’s head coach, Lisa Haley, said she was impressed with the way her team has come out of the gate ready to play in the last two games.
“After we fell asleep against Brock in the first shift of the game and they scored on us, we realised how important every minute of the game is,” added Haley.
The momentum didn’t bleed over into the second however, as the Ridgebacks equalized a mere fifteen seconds into the period.
The goal seemingly swung the momentum in favour of Ontario Tech but it was Stratos again who made a couple of important stops to keep the game tied.
Eventually, the Bold managed to maintain heavy pressure and created a flurry of shots that ended in the first-ever OUA goal for first-year defender Lauren McEachen.
“I’ve been looking forward to this all season,” said McEachen. “I’m really glad it came at a time when we needed it.”
Heading into the final frame, the Bold came back from the dressing room holding a two-goals-to-one lead and looking to secure their first home win in over a month.
Both teams struggled to find any real chances until midway through the final period when Alexia Ursua put back the loose puck during a scramble in front of the Ridgeback’s net.
Ursua’s goal gave the Bold a two-goal lead that proved to be more than the Ridgebacks could handle as TMU finished strong and coasted to the finish line.
The team seems to have already moved their focus towards tomorrow’s matchup with the University of Toronto (U of T) Varsity Blues who are ranked second in the nation.
Haley made note that the Varsity Blues have impressive depth but the team remains confident in their ability to compete.
“They’re a really good team but they only have one player in the top twenty of scoring which goes to show that team’s depth,” said Giardetti. “I think our team has a lot of good depth too, so tomorrow is going to be two good teams going at each other.”
UP NEXT: TMU takes on U of T at Varsity Arena on Feb. 4. Puck-drop is set for 7 p.m.
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