By Francesco Cautillo

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s hockey team won their exhibition game 2-1 against the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks on Sept. 12 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC). 

This matchup marks the first game of the new school year for the Bold, with their Ontario University Athletics (OUA) regular season officially starting on Oct. 2 against Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks. 

The Bold came off an impressive 2024-25 season during which they booked themselves a ticket to Ottawa where they played in the University Cup, facing off against seven other top Canadian teams and placing fourth in the nation. Bold head coach Johnny Duco finds himself with a younger roster this year, with a total of 15 new players.

“We’ve been to three of the last four national tournaments,” stated Duco. Despite the rumours of the program “rebuilding,” Duco still believes that the team has “some unfinished business.”

The starting lineups included some healthy scratches such as fourth-year goaltender Kai Edmonds and fourth-year forward Connor Bowie. When asked about managing this youthful team, Duco mentioned that there’s going to be a “learning curve,” adding that “we’re fortunate to have such awesome veteran players.”

The first five minutes of the game started off slow, with both teams trying to find their strides after a long offseason. Shots and odd man rushes sparked for Ontario Tech but the Bold responded with adaptive defence. 

TMU began to gain some confidence in the offensive zone around the ten minute mark in the first period, with emphasis on their shots in close. Despite a young goalie depth chart for the Ridgebacks, second-year Beckett Langkow looked confident in between the pipes.

On the other hand, the Bold utilized veteran fourth-year goaltender Ryan Dugas in net, allowing them to be more versatile and experimentive on defence.

The first period ended as equal as possible, with a scoreless twenty minutes and the shots deadlocked at eight a piece.

The Bold carried on their control of the offensive zone into the second period, but struggled to get shots off from dangerous areas. Ontario Tech continued to press the Bold possession, testing their physicality in this tight competition. 

TMU opened the scoring halfway through the game with thirteen minutes left in the second, marking the first goal of their preseason. First-year forward Adam O’Marra buried the puck low after a rebound shot from first-year Gavin Grundner.

The Bold had a chance on the power play following the goal, after second-year defender Alex Park drew a tripping call in the Ridgeback defensive zone. However, the Bold struggled on the man advantage, going so far as drawing their own penalty.

Ontario Tech responded with a goal in the tenth minute of the second period, as second-year forward Ludovic Dufort scored top corner and capitalized off TMU’s hooking call. 

Both teams used this scoring opportunity to rotate their goalies. Duco decided to put in second-year Sergei Litvinov, who quickly gained confidence thanks to the support of his defenders.

Despite this matchup being a preseason exhibition match, the provincial rivalry was definitely at play. Goalscorer O’Marra picked up a hooking call for the Bold. Fights broke out as both teams drew up a roughing penalty shortly after.

As the second drew to a close, it was clear that the offseason rust had been shaken off and the MAC was in for a competitive third stanza.

After stopping an Ontario Tech breakaway early in the period, the Bold countered with a two-on-one, where first-year forward Carter MacAdams confidently sniped home a top corner goal to put the Bold up by one.

Duco described this as the Bold’s “winning culture,” adding that “you got to dig in and be gritty.”

After giving up the go ahead goal, the frustrated Ridgebacks drew a charging penalty, giving TMU their second powerplay chance of the night.

Emotions ran high for their opposition, but the Bold kept a cool head by taking hits and putting on the pressure. With only five minutes left in the game, the Bold had a big defensive challenge ahead of them as the Ridgebacks forced more offensive shots.

TMU was able to close out the game with a 2-1 win, marking a positive start for the Bold and the first home win of the season.

UP NEXT: The Bold prepare to hit the ice again against the Queen’s Gaels Sept. 13 at the MAC. Puck-drop is at 2 p.m.