By Francesco Cautillo
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s hockey team came up short in a 3-2 loss against the University of Toronto (U of T) Varsity Blues on Wednesday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC), losing the first game of the best-of-three Ontario University Athletics (OUA) semi-final series.
After completing a sweep of the Lakehead Thunderwolves with a 3-0 victory on March 1, the Bold sent themselves through to the OUA West division final for the second consecutive year. Taking on their cross-city rivals, the U of T Varsity Blues, they were up for a tough test to earn a place in the Queen’s Cup final.
Head coach Johnny Duco said the Bold knew their subway series opponents were a good team and well-coached.
“They got the best of us tonight. That’s why it’s a series. So we know we gotta punch back now,” said Duco.
The Bold find themselves in familiar territory, as they went down a game in last year’s semi-finals against the Brock Badgers before winning the series with 5-1 and 2-1 victories. Fourth-year defender Joe Rupoli said the team’s veterans learned from that experience, which led to a Queen’s Cup loss to the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes.
“[In a] best of three series in the OUA, you’ve got to turn the page right away and get back to it,” he said.
The first five minutes were evenly matched, with TMU emphasizing possession with the dump-and-chase method and U of T storming with physicality and speed on offence.
Third-year goaltender Kai Edmonds was woken up with four quick shots on goal from the Varsity Blues. With U of T’s physicality taking over, the Bold defence were forced to take a lot of icings, allowing the Blues to create more momentum with some offensive zone faceoff wins.
Rupoli said the Bold were prepared to fight through lots of hard checking and clashes on the boards.
“Our last series really prepared us for that. We had a long travel day before our first road game, and Lakehead threw a lot at us physically,” he said. “This series is the same thing. Both physical teams and just finishing our checks and trying to skate through pucks and win their battles.”
The pressure ultimately proved fruitful after fourth-year Blues forward Owen Robinson opened the scoring with a shot to the top right corner, which toppled off the glove of Edmonds and into the net eight minutes into the frame.
The Bold went in to search for a response and were granted a chance after a penalty to U of T for interference.
The Varsity Blues’ physicality continued to hurt them after goalscorer Robinson took a cross-checking penalty, putting TMU on the 5-on-3 for 30 seconds. However, the Varsity Blues’ penalty kill was able to prevail, leaving the Bold in need of new ways for offensive pressure.
After a physical and aggressive first period from both teams, the referees were having discussions with players. In the Bold’s last meeting against U of T on Feb. 6, multiple suspensions were handed out, which seemed to be the spark that carried over to ignite the intensity of this matchup.
The Bold were getting outshot, outhit and outplayed, leaving Bold fans hoping for an inspirational talk from Duco going into intermission.
“You’re going to win with really good defence, sharp goaltending, sharp special teams and finding ways to chip in offensively,” said Duco post-game. “I think if we commit to that, we’ve got all the pieces to get it done. We’re going to have to commit to that for 60 minutes. It’s going to come down to playing hard defensive hockey.”
The Bold attempted to match the Varsity Blues’ physicality early in the second, but the TMU bench was feeling the force and injuries ramped up. After taking a stick to the torso, fourth-year forward Jackson Doherty left the ice in pain, walked back to the dressing room and didn’t return.
The penalty problems escalated for U of T, as a high-sticking call granted TMU another chance to even up the game. Third-year Blues goaltender Rayce Ramsay stepped up to the challenge by saving multiple dangerous shot attempts.
The penalties continued as both teams exchanged slashing penalties and took turns putting their special teams to the test. In the end, the two Toronto sides missed out on their power play chances.
Nevertheless, U of T found a way to double their lead. Second-year U of T forward Julian Recine capitalized on a bouncing puck, catching TMU’s defence with Edmonds fixed on the play as he poked the puck across the line. The Bold were in the hot seat now, as they were down by two with six minutes left in the second frame.
Lots of questions, not enough answers. That was the main feeling in the quiet stands at the MAC as the Bold went to the dressing room.
First-year forward Slava Melikov gave the Bold faithful some hope after a breakaway chance early in the third period, but was stopped by the Varsity Blues’ defence. End-to-end action followed with Edmonds making a desperation save to keep it a two-goal game.
The Bold found themselves on another penalty kill after a clear tripping call to first-year forward Spencer Shugrue. Despite some scary defensive moments, the Bold were able to fend off the pressure.
The Bold continued to utilize the dump-and-chase method, yet weren’t able to generate a lot of opportunities as the Varsity Blues kept them outside the slot. They were being precautious with not opening up too much ice for the Blues to capitalize.
“I think it’s playoff hockey. You don’t want to shoot yourself in the foot, you want to manage the puck. You want to make it hard on them in the series,” said Duco.
Hopes of a third period comeback were in the air at the MAC as the Bold piled on the shots late in the game. They found an answer with a goal from fourth-year forward Aleks Dimovski, earning a roar from the crowd.
Even with the home fans, the shot tally and the momentum in their favour–with just three minutes remaining in regulation–TMU were still down by one.
With under two minutes left to play in the third period, the Bold got even. First-year forward Jordan D’Intino levelled the score after ripping a shot off the post from the top of the faceoff circle.
The Bold tied the game hoping to send the match into overtime, with momentum and emotion on their side. However, Robinson quickly crushed those dreams. As the Bold defence got lost tracking a puck in the corner, the Varsity Blues’ top scorer in the regular season became wide open and wasted no time, firing a one-timer past Edmonds to give U of T the lead with under a minute remaining.
Rupoli said the result came down to “just little things at the end of the game.”
“A couple little bounces don’t go our way. It’s those small little plays. So we’ve learned from this, and we’re going to move forward and have a good game on Friday,” said Rupoli.
With the 3-2 loss, the Bold now face a do-or-die situation in their next game to keep their OUA title and U Cup qualification hopes alive.
UP NEXT: The Bold look to make a comeback in Game 2 away at Varsity Arena. Puck-drop is set at 7 p.m. on March 7.
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