By Harsh Kumar
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s hockey team defeated the Queen’s University Gaels 3-2 in a shootout at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) on Friday evening to bring their pre-season to a close.
The Bold completed a comeback thanks to a shootout winner from fourth-year forward Connor Bowie, sealing a winning record for the pre-season.
The Bold entered the game having won their last two games after dropping their first two pre-season affairs, while the Gaels came in undefeated and looking to keep their short pre-season streak alive.
The Bold went with last year’s starting goalie Kai Edmonds for the tilt as they hoped to build momentum for the regular season, which starts on Oct. 4.
The Bold came out with a strong start in the first period, cycling in the offensive zone for minutes at a time. However, they were unable to produce any high danger chances as the Gaels kept much of the Bold’s play to the outside.
As seems to often be the case with the Bold and Gaels, the intensity was high. This was the case for much of the first period with frequent battles along the boards and physicality after every whistle.
It would be Queen’s to open the scoring eight minutes in with a shot from above the circles scored by fourth-year defenceman Jack Duff.
Eleven minutes into the period, second-year Gaels forward Daniel Michaud scored on a power play to extend their lead 2-0 following an interference by first-year Bold forward Tyler Savard.
The rest of the period saw more back-and-forth action and the Bold continued to push to get on the board. They ended the period without a goal despite leading the shots 15-12.
The Bold started the second on a high note, taking the majority of the possession and shots. Fourth-year Gaels goalie Christian Purboo would continue to make timely saves including a big breakaway stop on third-year Bold forward Will Portokalis to keep Queen’s lead at two.
Alongside an inability to capitalize at that point came some penalties to slow the Bold down. A roughing call against third-year Bold defenceman Evan Brand gave the Gaels a chance to extend the lead halfway through the period on the power play, though the Bold kept things close with a strong kill.
That was followed by a too-many-men call against the Bold, which they also killed off.
Nevertheless, the Bold powered through. With just under a minute left in the second period, the Bold got one on the board thanks to a wrist shot by third-year forward Jaden Condotta. That brought the second period to a close with the Bold down by one.
The third period began with a fast pace with both teams laying big hits along the boards and generating dangerous scoring chances on both ends but the goalies kept their heads up to keep it a one goal game.
The Bold continued to generate chances off the rush but the Gaels defence was able to contain TMU’s chances by getting their sticks in the way and breaking up the play.
About six minutes into the third period, a power play opened a chance for the Bold to break open the dam. A wrist shot by first-year Bold forward Julian Fantino found its way past Purboo, tying the game at 2-2.
Halfway through the third period, a Gaels powerplay gave the visitors a chance to regain their lead but the Bold penalty kill continued to do their job.
As the third period slowly wound down, both teams exchanged looks for the go-ahead goal but the defence on both sides was able to break up any high danger chances.
Regulation ended with the score tied at 2-2, leading to 3-on-3 overtime.
The abundant open ice led to scoring chances but also more chaos. Not too long after Bold goalie Kai Edmonds robbed the Gaels forward on a 2-on-1 play off the rush, both teams were handed a penalty due to fighting in front of the Bold crease. After that, the Bold were given a golden ticket in the extra frame with a double-minor high-sticking call given to first-year Gaels forward Ethan Larmand handing them a four-minute power play.
Coming up short on that opportunity with the man advantage meant a shootout was needed to decide the winner of the pre-season battle.
Bold graduate student Kevin Gursoy scored on the first shot but fourth-year Gaels forward Holden Katzalay extended the shootout with a backhand shot past Edmonds. Bowie then tucked his attempt through Purboo to give Edmonds a chance to seal the deal. His poke check on Michaud wrapped up the Bold’s pre-season with a win.
UP NEXT: The Bold begin their regular season on the road against the Carleton University Ravens on Friday, Oct. 4 at the Carleton Ice House. Puck-drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
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