By Emerson Williams
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s hockey team fell short losing 6-1 to the Queen’s University Gaels on Saturday afternoon at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
In their previous game against the Brock Badgers yesterday afternoon, the Bold secured a 3-2 overtime win. Today, the loss came down to a lack of team identity.
“[This] game was a little harder, it didn’t come as easy…we weren’t able to get ourselves back on track,” said head coach Lisa Haley. “We compounded our own mistakes and took ourselves out of the game.”
TMU’s first period started off strong with second-year defender Jayden Fox getting the game’s first shot on net—a wrist shot from just inside the blue line. Quickly, second-year Gaels’ forward Sienna Bullen retaliated with a similar shot, five feet from the Bold’s net.
Keeping the flow of shots going, second-year Bold forward Kayla Kondo achieved the first clean breakaway of the game, careening up the ice, only to be stopped by third-year Gaels’ goaltender Emma Tennant.
“We compounded our own mistakes and took ourselves out of the game”
Trouble continued for the Bold when third-year forward and team captain Emily Baxter received the first penalty of the game for tripping first-year Gaels’ defender Melissa Parton. The Bold would pay the price as fifth-year Gaels’ forward Logan Biggs tipped in a slap shot from the blue line. Just like that, the Gaels led the Bold 1-0 thanks to a power play.
The Bold struggled to recover, falling victim to poke checks from Queen’s defenders. Trying to gain possession in the Gaels’ end, third-year Bold forward Gaby Gareau was tripped at the boards, closing the period off with a penalty for fourth-year Queen’s forward Carys Collie.
After intermission, things fell apart for the Bold, according to third-year defender Lauren McEachen post-game.
“We came out with the same mentality [as our previous game] and then by the end of the first, we kind of lost that grind that we had,” said McEachen. “We didn’t take what we needed to do for a reset.”
The game’s second period opened with a loss at the faceoff for fourth-year forward Cailey Davis. Struggling to fend off Gaels forwards’ first chance of the period, Davis and McEachen fell together on top of third-year goaltender Alexia Stratos. Still, Stratos recovered swiftly for a save, stopping fourth-year Gaels’ defender Sara Di Filippo from forcing the puck into the net’s corner.
However, Stratos wasn’t able to keep the Bold net clear for long. In a breakaway for Biggs, Stratos was backed out of her crease and into the Bold’s net, giving second-year Megan Hirschfeld space to score her first goal of the season, off the rebound. Soon after, fourth-year forward Sophie Hudson followed-up on the action with a lifted shot, just outside Stratos’ crease.
The Bold attempted to catch up to the Gaels 3-0 lead by relying on their aggression. Graduate forward Mia Morano landed a penalty for cross checking shortly after an interference call on Hudson.
The Bold then attempted to give the Gaels’ a taste of their own medicine. Kondo, screening Tennant, seized three rebound opportunities with no success. But fourth-year defender Sarah Campbell capitalized for the Gaels’ chance to score, taking the pass from Hirschfeld off the faceoff and barrelling it into the Bold’s net for a 4-0 lead.
Fifth-year Gaels’ forward Alyson Reeves was hungry for more, sniping the puck into the top corner of the Bold’s net shortly after. It wasn’t long before fourth-year forward Kelsey Dunn got in on the action with her own snipe, just past Stratos’ heel where Biggs tipped it in. The Gaels led the Bold 6-0 at the end of the second.
Starting off the third, Haley made some last minute changes to the lineup, hoping to shake things up. One of those changes was pulling Stratos and supplementing third-year goalie Lauren Griffin.
“I don’t hang anything on [Stratos]. That second period was tough. We kind of hung her out to dry, so I’m not going to leave her in there when we’re not going to compete in front of her,” said Haley. “Griffin hadn’t played yet this weekend and there’s been times where [they’ve] really stood up for us and made a difference.”
After Di Filippo received a penalty for head contact in a scuffle with Baxter, the Bold were able to keep the puck out of their own end at the start of the third. Bold’s Breen showed off her range, taking a shot from just past the blue line towards the Gaels’ net while McEachen gave the crowd a glimpse of her slapshot.
Still, no numbers were on the board for the Bold and setbacks continued to follow. With a collision between third-year Bold forward Ahalya Julien-Medeiros and fifth-year Gaels’ defender and team captain Charlotte Melindy.
Melindy was down on the ice, sitting still before being ushered off by the coaching staff. Both Julien-Medeiros and first-year forward Katie Leroux served time in the penalty box. Biggs sat opposite to them, serving two minutes for roughing.
Tensions continued to heat up when Parton smashed Baxter into the boards, knocking her down. Parton received a two-minute penalty for boarding.
On the power-play, first-year Bold defender Dayle Chinnick sought redemption. Snagging possession in the Gaels’ corner, Chinnick went out in net, deked around Tennant and scored not only the team’s first goal of the game, but her first goal as an Ontario University Athletics athlete.
“It did feel good in the moment. It was definitely nice to not let them walk away with a shoutout,” said Chinnick post-game. “We have more to offer next game and we’re going to bring it.”
UP NEXT: The Bold will take on the University of Windsor Lancers at the Capri Recreation Complex in Windsor, Ont. on Nov. 15. Puck-drop is set at 7:30 p.m.
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