By Victoria Cha

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s hockey team out-strut the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees with a commanding 5-1 win at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) on Sept. 20. 

The last time the two teams battled on the ice was during the 2024 University Cup (U Cup) Championship semi-finals, where TMU fell 3-4 to Ottawa—with the latter going on to become the U Cup champions.

After their electrifying homecoming win on Sept. 18, the Bold were hoping to come back strong against the Gee-Gees, who head coach Johnny Duco said left his team with “a bad taste in our mouth” back in March. 

“[The win] feels great. As a group, to find a way to win and get a little bit of redemption, that goes a long way for the belief in our room,” said Duco. 

The game saw a strong start from Ottawa, with them finding their way to TMU’s zone and attempting a shot within the first 30 seconds. 

The Bold found their footing soon enough and the ice quickly became the surface for a game of cat-and-mouse. The teams went back and forth, showing equal strength in both offence and defence, with both goaltenders facing moments of pressure. It took almost seven minutes for a whistle to be blown and give the arena—if not the players—a breather.   

With five minutes left of the first, graduate student Aleks Dimovski drew a tripping penalty—Ottawa did not waste time to start their power play. Though they didn’t hesitate to make shots from all areas, none got past fourth-year goaltender Ryan Dugas. 

The high tensions at the MAC finally swelled when fourth-year Bold forward Will Portokalis made a shot attempt that was met with aggression between the two teams. A minor scrum resulted in roughing penalties for Gee-Gees defenders second-year Cam Gauvreau and third-year Vincent Maisonneuve, and first-year Bold forward Carter MacAdams.

Now on a power play, TMU established formation quickly, trying to capitalize on the man-advantage. The Bold were not able to cash in on their scoring attempts, one of them being a slap shot by second-year forward Slava Melikov that landed straight into the glove of third-year Ottawa goaltender Franky Lapenna. 

The second frame began with a double-minor penalty from Melikov for slew-footing right as the first period had reached its end. 

TMU kept their focus, determined not to let the four minutes they were down a player give Ottawa a chance to equalize.

Coming out of a penalty kill, first-year TMU forward Chase Lefebvre approached the right side and sniped a shot straight into the back of Ottawa’s net, with Lapenna unable to even try to block its journey past him.   

The Bold were able to get into the Gee-Gees’ heads more as the game progressed. Still dominating on offence, Melikov managed to score a second goal for the Bold off a rebound from fourth-year forward Ian Martin. 

The Gee-Gees started getting sloppy, missing passes and rebound chances, unable to send the puck into the empty slots of Dugas’ net. 

TMU entered another power play after first-year Ottawa forward Maxime Séguin was sent to the penalty box for a hooking violation. Things were not looking good for Ottawa, and that was proven to be true when second-year defender Joseph Ianniello made a shot from the blue line, lazering the puck into the net and bringing the score to 3-0. 

Coming out of the second period, TMU began on a power play, as Gauvreau received a cross-checking penalty in the closing seconds of the previous frame. 

Power plays would become the theme of this last stanza as TMU and Ottawa entered a period of constant scrums, whistle blows and penalties.

On a four-on-four, first-year Gee-Gees defenceman Alexis Daviault approached the net and flung the puck up and through Dugas’ left side, finally getting Ottawa on the board. 

Shortly after, fourth-year Bold defender Liam Ross and second-year Gee-Gees forward Mitchell Martin stopped the game with a sprawl on centre-ice, resulting in a roughing penalty for Ross. 

With 55 seconds left of Ross’ penalty, Daviault received one himself for a holding violation. With the man-advantage, Martin was able to weave the puck through Ottawa’s defenders and send the puck to MacAdams, who scored TMU their fourth goal.

Less than a minute remained in the game when Lapenna was pulled from his net, allowing first-year forward Gavin Grundner to slide the puck down the ice and score a fifth goal.

The ring of the final buzzer brought out one last fight between the teams, ending what was a 60-minute match of high pressure and intensity.

Duco says his young team is gradually forming their dynamic. “We’re really becoming a team, we’re starting to become a family and play in the way that I think we all envisioned we could be at some point down the road this year,” said Duco. 

UP NEXT: The Bold will return to the ice for their face-off against the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers at the MAC on Sept. 26. Puck-drop is at 6:00 p.m.