By Ariyana Richardson

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s hockey team recorded a 3-2 win against the York University Lions in their first preseason game at the Mattamy Athletic Center (MAC) on Sunday.

After dropping two preseason and two regular-season games to the Lions last year, this matchup gave the Bold their first opportunity to establish a new tone ahead of the season.

“How we played today is the floor, and we need to play to the ceiling…every week we get an opportunity to take another step toward that,” said TMU head coach Lisa Haley.

Though the Bold initially controlled puck possession during the opening minutes, York’s second-year forward, Ginger Fast, opened the scoring in the eighth minute when a tripping penalty was given to first-year TMU forward, Jeevin Khehra. A subsequent York power play put the Bold behind by one.

In the tenth minute, the Bold swooped in on another power play opportunity. Effective teamwork between Khehra and fourth-year forward Neely Van Volsen created an opening for first-year forward Anna McKee to land TMU’s first goal, evening the score at 1-1.

“I base my game off my speed, quick feet, and resilience, and I’m going to bring rocket-like shots from Ridley [College] to here [TMU],” Khehra said.

The second period was marked by multiple penalties as both teams struggled to capitalize on their power play opportunities.

As the second period approached its 18th minute, York received two penalties, leaving TMU with a 4-3 power play and eventually a 5-on-3 power play.

By the end of the second period, the teams were left tied 1-1, with TMU having totalled 10 shots on goal in comparison to York’s 17.

Early in the third period, Fast scored again, giving the Lions a quick lead. York swiftly consolidated their offence, to which TMU responded with equal intensity. 

“I think we finally got desperate enough…[York] scoring the goal to take the lead was probably the wake-up call our group needed,” Coach Haley said.

With just three minutes left in the period, second-year forward Jade Leblanc tied the score back up to 2-2.

Boosting the Bold’s morale with momentum, McKee broke the tie in the 18th minute, notching her second goal of the game and sealing TMU’s first preseason win, 3-2.

“I was really trying to nail it down and just score a spicy goal, and that’s what I wanted to do, and I did it,” McKee said. “We had some flaws and mistakes that we’ve seen, and we are going to work on them through the week in practice”.

UP NEXT: The Bold will journey to North Bay, Ont., to face the Nipissing Lakers on Sept. 18 at the Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens. Puck-drop is set for 6 p.m.