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TMU Athletics & Recreation

THE OFFICIAL HOME OF TMU Bold
THE OFFICIAL HOME OF THE TMU Bold HOME OF THE TMU Bold
Connor Bowie points at camera after scoring goal
Photo by Curtis Martin
2
McGill MCG
4
Winner TMU TMU
McGill MCG
2
Final
4
TMU TMU
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
McGill MCG 0 0 2 2
TMU TMU 1 2 1 4

Game Recap: Hockey (M) | | Mario Russo

Bold soar past Redbirds, cruise to historic homecoming win

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men's hockey team downed the McGill Redbirds 4-2 to secure their first–ever homecoming victory in the Bold era.

The Bold picked up cerebral performances from Kevin Gursoy, Evan Brand and Connor Bowie in the win. Goaltender Kai Edmonds slammed the door shut on the Redbirds on the back of two opening shutout frames to help lead the blue and gold to a homecoming win. 

"We wanted [tonight's game] to be our pace, and our pace for sixty minutes," said head coach of the Bold Johnny Duco after notching another preseason win. 

The Bold came out of the gates galvanized by the homecoming crowd and picked up the game's opening tally as a result. 

Brand etched his name on the scoresheet just minutes into the first frame, beating the McGill netminder between the legs and sending the Bold faithful onto their feet in a hurry. The sophomore's unofficial first career OUA goal stood as the lonesome tally of the period, but far from the only action between the pipes. 

Edmonds puzzled the Redbirds' offense throughout the opening 20 minutes of play, turning aside all 13 of the visitor's shots and blanking their man-advantage with a trio of saves below the blue paint. 

TMU gifted their netminder some goal support late in the middle frame, striking the back of the Redbirds' goal twice in the span of a minute. Ian Martin set the Bold's surge into motion with a slick finish just outside McGill's crease to put his side up by two. 

"You're only as good as your veterans and returning players, you need them to continually - year in and year out - take steps forward," said Duco. 

Bowie capped off TMU's goal rush just 58 seconds later to grab a 3-0 lead heading into the second intermission. Gursoy picked up his second helper of the evening on Bowie's tally, while Brand added another point to his nightly tally to highlight a dominant showing from the Bold's second-year forward group. 

"When [Bowie] takes the puck to the net with authority, he's next to impossible to stop," mentioned TMU's head coach following the win. 

"The more he gets confident, [the more] he's going to do things like that," Duco added. 

McGill's Eric Uba gave his side some life in the opening stages of the third period, breaking Edmonds' shutout bid and bringing the visitors within striking distance of TMU. The road back would get much more difficult for the Redbirds as the period rolled along, meeting its biggest obstacle seven minutes into the frame with Gursoy reacquiring the Bold's three-goal lead. 

The Redbirds would snatch one back later in the frame but never seemed to grab any further momentum from the Bold after that, sending the TMU faithful home on a high with the 4-2 win. 

The awe of the home crowd hovered around the perimeter of the MAC all night long. The lyrics to Neil Diamond's hit "Sweet Caroline" never sounded so loud or better personified the line "Good times never seemed so good." The visitors' penalty box caged a living nightmare for the opposing players to walk into as banging hands constantly familiarized themselves with the broad glass. The TMU players brought the energy and the 2,750 fans in attendance (the largest Bold attendance ever recorded) lifted the group over the line. 

A memorable homecoming no doubt. 

"Any time you get that many students hype us up like that, it's going to be pretty fun," mentioned Bowie. 

Both sides will be back in action Satursay afternoon at 3:00, dueling it out at the MAC in exhibition play.
 
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