By Damian Smith
After a month-long break, the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s hockey team was back in action Saturday afternoon. The Bold slotted a 4-1 win against the York Lions at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
A 25-save win for first-year netminder Shannon Harris brought the Bold to their second win in the last four games. Despite some penalty trouble in the first half of the match, TMU head coach Lisa Haley was content with the team’s performance when they played at even strength.
“I feel all four of our lines and all of our [defence] were rolling really well tonight,” she said. “I thought we had really good chemistry within our lines.”
The Bold got in penalty trouble early in the first period, starting off with a double minor penalty to second-year forward Gaby Gareau a minute in. Despite the Lions holding the puck in the Bold’s zone, the home side managed to prevent any shots from hitting Harris.
Just midway through the period, fifth-year defender Tori Butler took another penalty to put the Bold back on the penalty kill. TMU successfully killed the penalty once again and could focus back on offence.
With over five minutes left in the period, third-year defender Megan Breen took the opportunity to fire a shot from the right point. The puck beat second-year Lions goaltender Emma Wedgewood clean, putting the Bold up by one. Despite the seeing-eye shot hitting the back of the net, Breen was pleasantly surprised with her first goal of the season.
“I saw it hit her hand and it caught me off guard a little bit,” she said. “It was a little bit of a delayed reaction.”
The Bold would continue to limit high-danger opportunities and headed into the first intermission with the lead.
“I think last semester there was not a lot of trust between us”
The Bold came out in the second looking to add more to the scoreboard.
Momentum started to swing in the home team’s favour following a powerplay opportunity. Although they didn’t capitalize on the man-advantage, they held the puck in the Lions’ for the majority of the powerplay.
Shortly after the man-advantage ended, the Bold kept throwing pucks on net at even-strength. Fourth-year forward Mia Morano fluttered a shot in the slot, which was blocked away by Wedgewood, but redirected of the foot of third-year forward Cailey Davis and into the net.
Davis has scored both of her goals this season against the Lions. The Sutton, Ont. product has a personal connection to York that extends beyond her Ontario University Athletics (OUA) career, making it a game she always has marked on her calendar.
“It’s funny, both my parents played hockey at York,” she said. “So, every time we play them I have so much excitement because of their history.”
The Bold continued to put the pressure on, including putting more pucks on net. Through the first eight minutes of the second period, TMU managed to throw 12 shots at Wedgewood.
There was a clear message for the Bold squad to not let off the gas from the coaching staff in the first intermission.
“Keep pushing,” Breen said about the conversations in the dressing between the periods. “We said we need those shots to keep going and we were going to minimize the shots they got, we wanted to push the offence.”
With 8:07 left to go, Lions third-year forward Abbey McMillan went to the penalty box for tripping, putting the Bold back on the man-advantage.
Halfway through the powerplay, Breen weaved around Lions third-year forward Julia Cuccia and ripped it past Wedgewood to put the Bold up 3-0 with seven minutes on the clock.
A late penalty to second-year TMU forward Emma Macgregor would put the visitors back to the powerplay. Up at the left point, Lions second-year forward Alexa Giantsopoulos would wind up for a slap shot, with a clear shooting lane to the net. The Markham, Ont. forward would beat Harris clean, putting the Bold lead back at two and giving the Lions some hope going into the second intermission.
“Hopefully, we can keep the train pointed in the right direction and keep it on the rails”
The penalties continued for the Bold in the third, with Breen headed off the box with 11:26 left to go.
Near the end of the penalty, third-year forward Payton Kerr took a chance shorthanded streaking down the left side of the ice. On her forehand and in stride, she shot the puck right over the shoulder of Wedgewood, restoring TMU’s three-goal lead midway through the third period. Kerr’s shorthanded marker was TMU’s fourth of the season, tying York for the most in that department among teams in the OUA.
Despite some shots against in the later stages of the third period, Harris locked it down in the crease. As the first starter for TMU in 2024, Harris went 25 for 26 in the save department. Haley praised the young netminder’s stout performance.
“Some of the strengths that Shannon brings are on the mental side of the game,” said the Bold bench boss. “I think she is pretty calm and has a good amount of self-confidence in herself and you could see that out there tonight. Although she is young, she has done a lot of solid things here.”
With the win over York, Harris improved to a .927 save percentage through her first six games of the season.
After struggling throughout the fall, the Bold look to continue their start in the new year in the games to come.
Haley reflected on how one of the youngest teams in the OUA looks now compared to the first half of the season, where they had the worst record in the conference with a 2-13 record.
“I think last semester there was not a lot of trust between us,” she said. “Hopefully, we can keep the train pointed in the right direction and keep it on the rails.”
UP NEXT: The Bold will remain on home ice for a little longer and will host the Waterloo Warriors, who currently hold a three-game winning streak, at the MAC tomorrow at 2:15 p.m.
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