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THE OFFICIAL HOME OF TMU Bold
THE OFFICIAL HOME OF THE TMU Bold HOME OF THE TMU Bold
A Queen's and TMU player skate towards the end boards.
Photo by Josh Kim
2
Winner Queen's QNS
1
TMU TMU
Winner
Queen's QNS
2
Final
1
TMU TMU
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Queen's QNS 0 2 0 2
TMU TMU 0 0 1 1

Game Recap: Hockey (W) |

Queen's tops Bold in regular season finale

TORONTO - The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women's hockey team dropped their final regular season game 2-1 to the Queen's Gaels on Saturday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. 

An early second-period blip by the Bold resulted in two goals in the opening 61 seconds putting TMU down by a pair. Despite a goal in the third period from first-year defender Ahalya Julien-Medeiros, the Bold could not claw back.

"Another one-goal situation for us and it does come down to those little plays. Tough to come back and try to climb into it down two, but I'm proud of our push," said Bold head coach Lisa Haley.

"It was a hard-fought battle. Not the way we wanted it [to end], but that's okay," said fifth-year Bold forward and team captain Madison Lalonde. "We have our heads held high going into the playoffs." 

TMU was celebrating Senior Night to honour the graduating players from the program. Erika Crouse, Claire Banks, Dani Fox, Brooklyn Gemmill, Olivia Giardetti, Alexia Ursua and Lalonde all took part in the pre-game ceremonies with their respective families as they depart from the team at the end of this season. 

"I just tried to soak up every moment I could," said Lalonde. "I was like 'Oh, I'm not going to cry,' but the emotions are high and everyone was like 'Holy —, this is what it really looks like.' It's something that is really hard to describe honestly because you never think you're going to hit this point until you do and then you just try to enjoy it all. 

"Sometimes I blacked out today and that's okay. I'll reflect later and remember some of it."

"We're really going to miss them in the coming years. They definitely set the bar high," added Julien-Medeiros. "Us first, second, third and fourth years have some boots to fill."

The night was a special one for Gemmill, Giardetti and Lalonde especially as they have been with the team for nearly six years — dating back to the 2017-18 season. 

"It all started with them back in 2017-18. We got our first playoff win in the history of our program and haven't looked back, making the playoffs every year since," said Haley. "That just speaks to what they have brought to our team right from the day they walked through that door." 

"They have definitely left a tremendous legacy while they've been here." 

"I've been fortunate enough to be a part of some big historical moments here," added Lalonde. "I'm hoping to continue that through on my way out and just be a mentor to some of the younger girls on the team and let them know to soak up every moment. I always say 'Oh, it's been so long,' but it really goes by too fast."

When the puck was dropped, the opening period was a battle between goaltenders early as Gaels' Vanessa Campeau and the Bold's first-year Lauren Griffin traded blows. TMU had two power play looks before the midway mark of the period, but could not capitalize as Campeau made several crucial saves. 

Nonetheless, the Bold kept peppering Campeau with offensive chances, but the Gaels netminder stayed sharp — keeping the game locked at zero heading into the intermission. 

In the second, the Gaels responded early and often — striking twice 61 seconds into the frame. The first came from a loose puck in the goal crease that was lost by Griffin and kicked into the net by the goaltender. Sarah Campbell was credited with the marker. 

23 seconds later, Alexandra Maw found herself open in front and buried the puck into the net to double the Gaels' lead. 

"Got a little bit too ahead of ourselves, especially on that second goal," said Haley. "We talk a lot about protecting our house and being really good in the slot and in our own end, but there were some loose sticks."

The Bold pushed to put one on the board, but the Gaels responded with offensive pressure of their own. Griffin made numerous stops on Queen's scoring opportunities to keep the TMU deficit at two going to the third. 

"[Griff] was playing awesome and giving us every chance we needed," said Haley. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to reward them."

TMU came out of the locker room firing in the third as the blue and gold looked to put themselves back in the fray. Midway through the frame, while on the power play, a shot from the point from Julien-Medeiros bounced off a Queen's defender skate in the slot and past Campeau to cut the Queen's lead in half — her first goal at home of the season. 

"It was a surreal moment. I have no words for it honestly. It was a first one and, hopefully, there's more to come," said Julien-Medeiros.

"She got a really great career ahead of her here at TMU. We're excited to see where she has come already in her first year. She's not done yet, hopefully, she'll have a great playoff run for us as well because she's certainly hitting her stride right now," added Haley. 

With the goalie pulled, the Bold nearly found the equalizer as defender Megan Breen was found in the slot, but Campeau flashed the leather once again to seal the victory for the Gaels. 

As a result of the loss, the Bold are now locked into a playoff matchup against their crosstown rival the Toronto Varsity Blues.  

The Blues swept the season series between the two sides, including a 5-1 win over the Bold this past Thursday, as they have lost only four times this season — twice each in regulation and overtime. 

"They're one of the top teams in the country. They have had a tremendous regular season themselves. We are going to have to have a short memory from what happened Thursday night and realize that everyone is back to 0-0 and we start fresh," said Haley.

"I don't think they respect us too much considering the outcomes that have arisen, but we're looking forward to it," said Lalonde. 

TMU will open their first-round matchup sometime next week as the OUA women's hockey playoffs are scheduled to begin on Feb. 22. 

"It's going to be pretty intense," added Julien-Medeiros. "It's going to be tough, but with this team and this group we're going to get at them and build off each other."

"We kind of want to shut them up a little bit," added Lalonde.
 
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