By Harsh Kumar
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s hockey team beat the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks 4-1 on Saturday evening at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC), matching their seven win total from last season.
The Bold were looking to pick up a win following a 4-0 loss against the Carleton Ravens in their winter homecoming game. The Ridgebacks were one point ahead of them in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) standings.
“Yesterday we were kind of OK with just dumping it and not really getting opportunities in front of the net,” said Bold forward Payton Kerr. “We were all down on ourselves after that, we wanted to come back stronger.”
The Bold did just that, improving their record to 7-11, good for fourth place in the OUA East with eight games remaining in the regular season.
The first period started off slow with both teams holding possession—the first shot came about four minutes into the game. However, the Bold kept pushing from there, dominating the shots on net.
First-year Bold defender Dayle Chinnick scored the first goal of the night and her second of the season halfway into the first period. The wrist shot slipped past the Ridgebacks goaltender to give the Bold a 1-0 lead.
Thirteen minutes into the first period the Bold got their first power play due to a cross-checking penalty. After a few attempts, the Bold extended their lead to 2-0, thanks to a backhand close to the net from first-year forward Ava Caputo. With her second goal of the season, the Bold earned another tally from a rookie.
“First [goal] at home, it’s exciting being in front of a home crowd. I’m grateful; it was a good experience,” said Caputo.
The Bold held onto their lead, closing out the period with a notable 14-4 advantage in shots.
Things continued in the Bold’s favour early in the second period, as they earned a power play just 25 seconds in due to a hooking penalty. Following a few high- danger shots, with the advantage winding down, the Bold notched their second power play tally of the night with a wrist shot from the side of the net by Kerr, extending the lead to 3-0.
“I think [the key was] just being connected as a group in zone and knowing how they are going to rotate and some of the patterns that we were trying to run. We executed on a few of those,” said Bold head coach Lisa Haley of the power play.
From there, penalties continued to shape the second period.
The Ridgebacks hoped to respond and get on the board with their first power play off of a hooking call against third-year forward Emma Macgregor, but Ontario Tech’s penalty kill remained resilient. In similar fashion, the Bold found themselves short-handed a few minutes later due to a tripping call on second-year forward Megan Bergmanis, but the score still favoured TMU.
Penalty troubles continued for the Ridgebacks as the Bold were given their fourth power play of the night, until graduate Bold forward Mia Morano was sent to the box on a boarding call, leading to a minute of four-on-four hockey.
The Bold once again ended the second period in a strong position, leading 29-9 on the shot counter and sitting on a three-goal lead.
“The first thing on the agenda was just the [competition] level, especially defensively. And [to] have a little bit more of a smothering mindset and compete for every inch,” said Haley.
The Bold started the third period looking to hold down the fort. While the Ridgebacks tried to push for their first goal, the Bold defence went into lockdown, doing their best to keep the Ridgebacks on the outside and limit their chances.
Many of the Ridgebacks’ rushes were shut down in the neutral zone as the Bold established a strong transition game.
Late penalty trouble proved somewhat of a hurdle, but an escapable one for the Bold. With about eight minutes left in the game, graduate Bold forward Emily Baxter was sent to the box for tripping, but the penalty kill once again kept the Ridgebacks off the board. About four minutes later, the Ridgebacks took a timeout before going back on the power play due to an interference call on third-year Bold defender Ahalya Julien-Medeiros.
On that advantage, the Ridgebacks were able to get their first goal of the night on a cross ice wrist shot by first-year Ridgebacks forward Avery Dowson, ending third-year goaltender Alexia Stratos’ hopes for a shutout.
“We were happy with the way the [penalty kill] came together. [We] would have liked to shut the door on the last one, but it is what it is,” said coach Haley.
Kerr got her second goal of the night on an empty netter to seal the game with a final score of 4-1, putting the Bold back in the win column as they prepare for a three-game road trip to close out January.
UP NEXT: The Bold hit the road to take on the Brock Badgers on Jan. 24 at Canada Games Park. Puck-drop is set for 6 p.m.
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