By Eliza Nwaesei
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s hockey team took command over the Nipissing Lakers in a 5-1 Valentine’s Day win at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) on Friday evening.
The Bold came head-to-head with the Lakers in their first game of a double-header, looking for another level after a narrow 2-1 victory against the Waterloo Warriors last weekend.
In the Bold’s last ten games, including this game, they have had one loss, marking a successful run approaching the end of the regular season and going into playoffs. With the win, the Bold clinched first place in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) West division and a first-round OUA playoffs bye.
“The team is playing with a lot of confidence right now,” says Bold head coach Johnny Duco. “I think they believe in themselves, whether we’re up or down or in a tight tight hockey game.”
The Bold wasted no time setting the tone, winning the opening face-off as first-year Bold forward Jordan D’Intino carried the puck straight into the Lakers’ defensive zone. TMU came in with heart and relentless intensity, but Nipissing—despite losing seven of their last ten games—wasn’t about to roll over.
The Lakers fought hard to clear the puck, displaying some tactful aggression. But the Bold kept the pressure on, refusing to let Nipissing take hold of the puck, as they looked to spark some offensive chemistry early on.
The Bold laid on shots with the first big opportunity coming from a dual effort. Third-year Bold forward Ian Martin fired a shot off the goalie’s pads, setting up a rebound. Third-year forward Will Portokalis tried to seal the deal but third-year Lakers goaltender Zach Roy made a diving save to keep the puck out of the net.
The Bold kept the love and the shots coming. D’Intino’s next attempt took a lucky deflection towards the net, while Martin fired another shot, forcing Roy to make a dramatic diving save. Feeling the heat, the Laker’s netminder had to stay on his toes as TMU dominated the shot count 8-1 after seven minutes. Roy was a notable star of the game with 34 saves.
Things flipped with two shots from second-year Lakers forward Charlie Johnson against third-year Bold goaltender Kai Edmonds, however both did not come to fruition and were saved by TMU’s trusty netminder.
Moments later, a penalty was called on second-year Lakers defenceman Chase Lacombe for tripping, setting up TMU for their first power play success of the game.
In the last 15 seconds of the power play, Portokalis received a crisp pass from D’Intino and cut in from the right side, driving toward the crease. With a quick pullback, he maneuvered around the goalie and shot the puck just over Roy’s head, sending it into the net.
Portokalis said he aimed high with his shots throughout the game as the Bold noticed both Lakers’ goalies were “pretty small”.
In a back-and-forth battle for possession, the puck repeatedly came loose and changed hands before TMU gained control, setting up a shot by third-year defenseman Jaden Condotta, but Roy reacted quickly to make the save.
Before the game, Condotta was awarded the #4 Award, which is awarded annually in memory of former Ryerson Ram John Saunders, to the TMU Bold’s most valuable defenceman. The award was presented to him by John’s former teammates and recognizes Condotta’s efforts as a defender this season.
Throughout the game, TMU continuously tried their best at capitalizing off of rebounds, forcing Roy to work overtime. Duco said the Bold can continue to work on getting to loose pucks in front of the net quickly.
“For us there is certainly another level of urgency we can have on rebounds and chances around the net,” said Duco. “Early on in the game it wasn’t great, but as the game went on I thought we got a lot more urgent in sprinting to spots and being in those areas around the net.”
The Lakers started the second period on the power play, with a minute left in a roughing penalty to Condotta, but couldn’t capitalize. The Bold, meanwhile, kept firing, dominating the shot count 20-9 and keeping the pressure on. With the game still tight, the tension was building.
With a quick pass, fourth-year Bold forward Aleks Dimovski found third-year defenceman Evan Brand at the top of the right circle. The towering defenceman sent a snipe Roy thought he had secured, but as he brought his glove down too quickly the puck slipped free and flopped back into the net. This marked third-year defenceman Evan Brand’s first ever OUA goal and gave the Bold a two goal lead.
“At first I didn’t see it go in, I didn’t know if it went in at all or where it was, but once I realized the referee pointed saying it was a goal, I was like, ‘Let’s go,’” said Brand. “It felt great to get that into the net.”
Three minutes left in the period, fifth-year Bold defenceman Matthew Barnes took a penalty for roughing. This gave the Lakers a power play chance and position to score, but the Bold held firm, maintaining possession and keeping the puck out of their zone. TMU’s strong face-off wins played a big role, boosting their offensive chances and increasing shots on goal throughout the game.
“Possession is huge, a goal we set out every game is we want to be above 60 per cent in the face off circle,” said Duco. “The guys did a great job with that and it allows you to dictate the pace when you have the puck.”
That control was evident by the end of the period, as TMU’s strong offensive push resulted in a dominant 29-14 advantage on the shot counter.
The third period opened with a parade to the penalty box, but despite power play chances for both teams, there were no goals. That changed when first-year Lakers forward Luke Strickland was called for high-sticking, setting up TMU’s second power play goal.
Condotta launched a slapshot from the blue line that Roy got a piece of with his pad, but second-year forward Daniil Grigorev swooped in to poke the rebound home.
As the Bold carried a 3-0 lead into the midway point of the period, the whistles kept blowing. With TMU shorthanded after a Condotta tripping call, Portokalis stole the puck, raced down the ice alongside first-year forward Spencer Shugrue, and roofed it past Roy for a shorthanded goal.
“I knew I was on a two-on-one with [Shugrue], but I saw that corner open, so I was like ‘I got to go for this one,’” said Portokalis.
However, just as the Bold were stealing hearts, the Lakers turned things around. Second-year forward David Campbell capitalized on a rebound, sending a slapshot past a stretched-out Edmonds to finally put the Lakers on the scoreboard.
Even with a three goal lead, TMU wasn’t done making sparks fly. Right after a power play expired, Condotta fed a pass to fourth-year forward Kevin Gursoy, who hammered a one-timer into the net. Fourth-year Lakers defenceman Payton Vescio slid in to block the shot, but came up empty.
TMU finished with a dominant 39-21 edge in shots, leaving a strong impression with just one regular-season game before their scheduled date with the playoffs.
UP NEXT: For the final regular season game, the Bold will face the Nipissing Lakers at the MAC on Feb. 15. Puck-drop is at 2:15 p.m.
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