By Olivia Byrne
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s hockey team took down the Nipissing Lakers by a score of 4-1 on Saturday afternoon at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC), surpassing last season’s seven-win total during their annual Do It For Daron (DIFD) Game.
Heading into the anticipated annual event, the Bold were looking to pick up a win following their 6-2 loss against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Thursday.
DIFD is a youth-driven campaign that focuses on having open and honest conversations about mental health. The campaign was founded in honour of Daron Richardson, who died by suicide in 2010 when she was just 14 years old. The Bold have been hosting the event since 2020.
“This is my fifth year, we have been doing this fundraiser for all of my years here, it’s really important for me as it brings awareness to mental health,” said graduate forward Mia Morano. “ It’s very important as a student-athlete to be able to focus on your mental health and juggle it with athletics at the same time.”
The Bold faced a tough challenge coming into the game, taking on the Lakers, who sit atop the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East and were ranked ninth in U Sports as of Jan. 27. Nevertheless, they prevailed with a win over a tired Nipissing team from a 6-2 loss to the Varsity Blues on Friday.
“We’ve been on the tough side of the schedule in the past, so I think this really worked to our advantage,” said Bold head coach Lisa Haley.
The first period started off slow with both teams holding possession, trading just a few shots in the opening minutes. Five minutes into the first period, the Bold got their first power play due to a slashing penalty against fifth-year Lakers forward Malory Dominico but despite applying ample pressure, could not capitalize.
Shortly after coming off the power play, the Lakers were able to strike first on a quick-fire shot by first-year forward Jill Hennessy, her 11th goal of the season. Hennessy currently sits tied for third in the OUA in goals.
The penalties for the Lakers were persistent, and with an interference penalty, TMU earned a chance to turn the momentum in their favour. Once again, pressure at the net and a few cross-ice passes were not enough to hit the back of the cage.
Despite their endurance, the Bold were down 1-0 at the end of the first period.
“I think [there was] just a little bit of soul searching and holding each other accountable. Honestly, we had a game plan going into the game and we kind of missed the boat on it a lot in the first period,” said Haley. “We just reinforced what success looks like for us, and our style of play, and it seemed like we found it in the final twenty.”
Things began to turn in favour of the Bold early into the second period, as they earned a power play five minutes in with a hooking call against Dominico.
With the advantage winding down, fourth-year defender Megan Breen evened things up for TMU. Breen ripped a wrist shot into the top corner for her third goal of the season, tying up the game at 1-1.
From there, the Bold grabbed hold of momentum, with help from third-year goaltender Alexia Stratos. Although the Lakers outshot the Bold, Stratos stopped all but one of their 39 total shots on goal.
The Bold continued to increase the pressure in the Lakers’ end. With five minutes remaining in the second, fourth-year forward Payton Kerr scored with an impressive behind-the-net goal, banking the puck off of fifth-year Lakers goalie Chantelle Sandquist for her eighth goal of the season. The goal gave the Bold a 2-1 lead, which they never looked back from.
As the period began to wind down, first-year defender Taliya Hildebrandt received a hooking call, sending the Lakers to the power play. With good penalty killing from the Bold, the period ended and the Bold maintained their lead.
Facing a notable 26-18 deficit in shots, the Bold’s penalty kill remained resilient early into the third. Just two minutes after the Lakers had the advantage, they now found themselves down a player, as fourth-year forward Aki Fujimori was sent to the box for body checking.
Not even a minute later, with Bold forwards rallied around the Lakers’ net, Breen capitalized on a perfect opportunity to snipe her second goal of the game past Sandquist, extending the TMU’s lead to 3-1.
“It feels great. My goals would not have gone in if it weren’t for the rest of the team doing what they were doing. Great screens in front and I was just able to shoot it and get it in,” said Breen, who finished with four points in the game.
The Lakers were up in shots, but down in goals. With six minutes to go in the third period, the Lakers pulled their goalie for a player advantage. However, a quick turnover resulted in Morano gaining control of the puck at the blue line, flicking it down the ice and into the empty net, turning the scoreboard to 4-1 for TMU.
Six minutes left into the third, third-year defender Ahalya Julien-Medeiros was sent to the box for hooking, sending the Lakers back to the power play.
Thanks to some great Bold defence and a few saves from Stratos, TMU killed the penalty and the game was over.
“We really capitalized on our opportunities,” said Haley. “[Nipissing] is a team that loves to have the puck, so we tried to keep it away from them as much as we could.”
A great game for a great cause, in loving memory of Daron.
UP NEXT: The Bold hit the road to take on the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks on Feb. 7 at Campus Ice Centre in Oshawa, Ont. Puck-drop is set for 7 p.m.
Leave a Reply