By Santiago Ortega

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s hockey team secured an imposing victory against the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday afternoon by a score of 7-1, their highest goal total in a game since the 2024-25 season.

The win jumps TMU to seventh place in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) West division, passing Laurier who came into the game two points ahead of them.

With the season not off to the start the men had hoped for, TMU head coach Johnny Duco praised the team for executing their chances on the night.

“I thought our level of execution was excellent today. When you execute, and you bring your effort, you give your chance against anybody,” Duco said. “It’s nice for the guys to be rewarded for all the hard work they’ve been putting in and put up a nice big score there.”

The scoring started early for the Bold. Just 23 seconds in, third-year TMU forward Slava Melikov drove into Laurier’s zone and gave a pass to second-year forward Gavin Grundner waiting on the left post. He found just enough space to put the Bold ahead early.

“When we score an early one in the first shift there, that builds confidence for our line and, as a team, we just kept going with that,” Grundner said.

Eight minutes later, second-year forward Tanner Scott received the puck off a faceoff win and took it past the net before delivering a back-pass to second-year forward Lachlan Wells. Wells made a move around third-year Laurier goaltender Tristan Malboeuf and beat his right side to double TMU’s lead.

It would only take two more minutes for the Bold to find a third. Grundner took the puck behind the net before setting up second-year forward Carter MacAdams in front of the net. His wrister became the third shot to go past Malbeouf’s right, giving the Bold a commanding lead early in the game.

It would be MacAdams, however, who got a tripping penalty with five minutes left in the first. Ten seconds later, first-year forward Jack Rimmer forced the Bold to play five-on-three, picking up another tripping penalty. 

The heavy man disadvantage would prove too much for TMU to hold off. After passing the puck around the slot, second-year centre Ty Petrou received it from third-year defender Joshua Kavanagh at the top-right of the slot and fired a slap shot past first-year Bold goalkeeper Charlie Robertson to give the Golden Hawks some momentum before the end of the first.

The offence continued into the second period. Fourth-year Bold forward Daniil Grigorev took a shot from the point five minutes in that wound up in the back of the net to reestablish the Bold’s three-goal lead.

Unrelenting in their attack, it wouldn’t be long before the Bold found their fifth of the game three minutes later. After MacAdams carried the puck past Laurier’s blue line, he found Grundner all alone next to the left post. His one-timer met twine at the back of the net to give the Bold a commanding 5-1 lead.

The Bold would still not be slowed down. During a four-on-four with six minutes left in the second, it would be Grundner again who passed it to fifth-year defender Brendan Tomilson charging into Laurier’s zone. Left one-on-one with the goalkeeper, Tomilson deked to his right before placing TMU’s sixth of the night through the five-hole.

The assist gave Grundner an OUA-career high in points, with two goals and two assists in the game. He praised his linemates’ strong performances for helping him reach that new milestone.

“Playing with good linemates, [MacAdams] and [Melikov], there. I got set up for some pretty easy tap-ins there, and I made them worth it, and then made some nice passes that our teammates buried.”

Strong on both sides of the ice, TMU only allowed two shots on goal during the entirety of the second period. Duco praised Robertson for his performance in practice all week that translated to his performance Saturday afternoon. 

“[Robertson]’s coming off an injury and we watched him all week in practice look tremendous…He’s a calm presence. Really proud of the way [he] battled this week and gave us a chance.”

A third period with less offensive action instead saw 52-combined penalty minutes, including four ten-minute misconducts given out with less than a minute left in the game.

Tomilson would finish the scoring for the night, as with three minutes left and a Golden Hawks player leaving the box for a penalty, he fired a wrister from the slot to score TMU’s seventh of the game.

Duco noted that the team must take this momentum into tomorrow’s game, with the Bold winless so far this season in the second game of back-to-backs.

“It’s back to 0-0 tomorrow, and we’ve got to be able to do it again and execute at a high level,” Duco said. 

“It’s about sticking together, and continuing to push forward and improve. I’m proud of the way we did that here today.”

UP NEXT: The Bold take on the Waterloo Warriors on Sunday at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. Puck-drop is set for 2:15 PM.