By Angus Blacklock
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s hockey team were defeated 4-1 by the McGill Martlets at the Mattamy Athletics Centre (MAC) on Saturday afternoon.
The Bold continued their pre-season campaign with a friendly against McGill, who are on a four-game road trip to start their pre-season. The Martlets play in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec division and have not played the Bold since Oct. 5, 2019 in Montreal.
TMU came into the encounter on the heels of a 2-1 win against the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks on Friday, while McGill were reeling from a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the University of Toronto Varsity Blues.
Hungry for their first pre-season win, McGill started the first period strong and firing on all cylinders. Their best chances saw graduate student Catherine Foulem’s attempt hit the woodwork and second-year forward Taylor Garcia stood up by third-year Bold goaltender Alexia Stratos.
Stratos was kept busy by McGill as they continued to dominate the start of the first period. She came up big with a stop on another close chance for Foulem as the Bold sought to get organized.
Ten minutes into the game, McGill were given a power play when first-year defender Taliya Hildebrandt was penalized for holding. But it was then TMU’s turn for the player advantage when second-year defender Meganne Chailler was given a two-minute penalty for slashing.
TMU Bold’s first big opportunity of the match came at the end of the first period when first-year defender Nahvin Bal’s shot was well-stopped by second-year goaltender Jade Rivard-Coulombe. Bold first-year forward Ava Caputo also had a good shot blocked towards the end of the opening frame.
Just like the first period, the Martlets started the second period on the charge, with Stratos’ stop on fourth-year forward Mika Chang bringing a buzz from the small crowd at the MAC.
McGill were rewarded for their strong start when Garcia deked through the zone and beat Stratos through the five-hole to break the deadlock six minutes into the period.
They doubled their lead seven minutes later. Jordyn Watson’s thumping shot was too powerful for Stratos as the puck found the back of the net.
The momentum remained in the Martlets’ favour from there. The Bold were penalized for two minutes as third-year defender Lauren McEachen was called for hooking and the Martlets took advantage.
Third-year forward Blake Lavoie fired home a shot from the top of the faceoff circle to give McGill a 3-0 lead, which they maintained to the end of the period.
In the third period, a similar story played out early. Just like the other two periods, McGill started stronger than the Bold, creating more chances and testing Stratos in goal.
TMU were then dealt a big blow with two penalties in quick succession as both graduate student Emily Baxter and third-year forward Gaby Gareau were punished for tripping. Despite the disadvantage, they were finally able to capitalize.
Fresh out of the penalty box, Baxter played the puck to fourth-year defender Megan Breen who raced in and scored a shorthanded goal past Rivard-Coulombe.
A tripping penalty to second-year defender Mia Giles looked like a chance for the Bold to bite into the Martlets’ lead once again but they were unable to convert.
McGill extended their lead with two minutes left when Garcia swiped home a shot from close range for her second goal of the afternoon.
The loss brings the Bold’s pre-season record to 1-2 with two games remaining against more familiar Ontario University Athletics opponents. They host the Western Mustangs on Friday and then will travel to Oshawa, Ont., on Oct. 4 to face the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks.
UP NEXT: The Bold will play their final home game of the pre-season against the Western Mustangs on Friday, Sept. 27 at the MAC. Puck-drop is set for 6 p.m.
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