By D’Arcy Bagley

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s hockey team couldn’t overcome the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, falling 4-2 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) on Friday night. 

The loss marks the Bold’s sixth consecutive defeat to Ottawa, continuing a difficult stretch against the Gee-Gees after an 8-1 loss on Oct. 31.

“We played this team a few weeks ago, and we felt that we didn’t give them our best game, and [we] were pretty motivated today to come out and have a strong start,” said TMU head coach Lisa Haley. 

Despite the teams’ front-running momentum on display last week, they’ve yet to secure a win this season when making up a scoreboard deficit—and tonight was no exception.

Power plays were abundant throughout the first frame, with Ottawa earning the first one of the night. TMU kept up their hot start on the penalty kill, as fourth-year Bold forward Alizee LeBlanc was able to create a wrap-around chance off of a Gee-Gee turnover. 

After lots of back-and-forth play, the period ended scoreless, but the Bold’s control of the neutral zone allowed them to set the pace in an impressive first 20 minutes. 

The second frame began with limited chances for both teams, as neither could build a sustained offensive zone possession. TMU continued applying pressure against Ottawa, leading to a mini-breakaway for second-year forward Alex Dusome.

Midway through the period, rookie Bold forward Anna McKee broke through the Gee-Gees’ defence and fired a snapshot past the glove of third-year Ottawa goaltender Lauren Mooney. 

McKee credited her hard work and said she’s “been putting in 100 per cent every practice,” which has helped her score in each of TMU’s last two games.

Over the next few minutes, the Gee-Gees began to flip the momentum of the game as TMU’s fourth penalty proved costly, and fifth-year Ottawa forward Alexa Pongo tied the game with a point-blank shot. 

After 40 minutes, the teams were still tied up, leading to a contentious third frame for both sides.

TMU started the period slightly passive, giving Ottawa an early power play opportunity. Despite not scoring on the advantage, the Gee-Gees’ sustained pressure led to fifth-year Ottawa forward Alex Ferguson’s second goal of the season in the frame’s seventh minute. 

Shortly after, TMU committed another penalty, which Ottawa third-year forward Gillian Warren took advantage of, roofing one into the net to pull her team to 3-1.

The Bold seemed to run out of steam down the stretch, and the high-flying Gee-Gees’ offence started to take control of the game. 

With under five minutes to play, it became crunch time for TMU as Dusome answered the call with her first career Ontario University Athletics goal. 

In an attempt to tie up the game late, the Bold pulled their goalie, but it only amounted to an empty-netter scored by Ottawa’s third-year Ella Humphrey to seal the deal 4-2 for the Gee-Gees. 

“I think we bent a little bit in the third, unfortunately…And they got some pretty good looks,” said Haley.

UP NEXT: The Bold will lace up their skates tomorrow night to face-off against their city rivals, the York University Lions. Puck-drop is at 7:15 p.m.