By Matteo Giuliano

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) women’s hockey team picked up their first win of the year in a scrappy 2-1 victory over the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks on Friday night. Following a 2-1 loss last Saturday to Ontario Tech in Oshawa, Ont., the Bold were able to take the rematch at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC). 

Heading into the game, the Bold were looking to snap a five-game losing skid, with four of the five losses coming in one-goal games. 

Tonight, they were on the right side of a tight one-goal game. “We’ve been working hard to get this result tonight,” said Bold head coach Lisa Haley. “We’ve been close a few times. Punching through tonight felt good.” 

​The Bold kicked off the game with a strong start to the first. First-year defender Maddy Collins hit the crossbar off a shot from the top of the circles and later on, fifth-year Ontario Tech goaltender Zoe McGee made a fantastic save off fifth-year Bold forward and captain Cailey Davis on a shorthanded breakaway.

Both teams traded chances throughout the period, but good goaltending by both McGee and first-year TMU goaltender Sydney Pyburn kept the contest scoreless. 

Following the high-intensity period between the two teams, they seemed to settle into the game in the second frame, with neither team creating many chances. The Bold’s power plays continued to struggle, but third-year Bold forward Alizee LeBlanc found a way to score her first goal of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) regular season.

A shot at the crossbar sent the puck straight down the goal to give the Bold the lead with just over a minute left in the second. 

“I knew it went in, but I didn’t think that the [referee] knew it went in. I was really excited, especially because we’ve struggled to score, especially against this team,” LeBlanc explained. 

Pyburn came up big again just before the final buzzer of the period with two saves right in front of the net to maintain the team’s lead. 

The third period took time to build momentum but the Bold extended their lead with just under nine minutes left in the game. Third-year forward Kayla Kondo scored her first of the year with a deflection right in front of the net off a shot by Collins shot from the top of the circles. 

Ontario Tech answered shortly after with a rebound goal off a two-on-one to cut TMU’s lead in half but the Bold were able to lock it down from there for their first victory of the year.  

Although LeBlanc’s goal was the highlight of the game, Pyburn came up huge throughout the game for TMU. Haley, who was very happy with Pyburn, said, “I thought that [Pyburn] was seeing the puck well, tracking the puck well and made a lot of great saves for us.” 

Pyburn thought that battling Ontario Tech recently helped her prepare for the game. “I think playing against them before, I was able to determine what lines were their stronger lines.” 

With Pyburn stopping 24 of 25 shots, she continues an exceptional start to the season for herself. 

The team’s power play is going to need to improve going forward, as they’ve gone one for 21 to start the season. Regardless of these struggles, TMU continued their tight defensive play, which led them to their first victory of the season. 

UP NEXT: The Bold have a quick turnaround as they go on the road today against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues at 7:00 p.m.