Hockey (W) 2/28/2024 10:00:00 AM Mario Russo

Alexia Stratos: Running with the opportunity

By the end of January, the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women's hockey squad's playoff hopes were dead to rights amidst their second seven-game losing skid of the season.

With five games remaining and the Bold gasping for air at the bottom of the OUA East division standings, TMU's head coach Lisa Haley privately met with her squad in search of a miracle to get the Bold back into the postseason hunt.

Knowing the next trio of games against Ontario Tech and York would make or break their shot at playing a playoff game in February, the players responded to their coach's desperate demand the only way they knew how; jokingly and with the utmost solemnity.

'Why don't we put [Alexia] Stratos in,' they egged on as the smiles across their faces leaped in unison.

Stratos - a second-year netminder and the only registered player on TMU yet to play a game in the season - walked into the Bold's private meeting expecting nothing to change in her ice time with the final stretch of the campaign drawing near and a pair of must-win games against Ontario Tech on the horizon.

The Bold contingent had been voicing their tongue and cheek remarks on Stratos at every turn since coming back from winter break and up to that point, were unsuccessful at influencing the decision of Haley.

That all changed following the team's private meeting, with Stratos getting the nod in the second of the team's two upcoming contests against the Ridgebacks.

"They finally broke her," joked Stratos in reference to the decision of her head coach (Haley).

Despite finally getting a long-awaited start in her second year, being included in the team's plans wasn't always a possibility for Stratos, causing an uphill battle for her to face since day one of the season.

Just getting the chance to practice with the squad became an opportunity that failed to materialize as the weight of a busy semester and a job placement often left the Early Childhood Studies major away from the rink for extended periods of time throughout the fall.

"During the middle of the first semester, I thought there was zero light at the end of the tunnel," mentioned Stratos.

Slowly starting to feel isolated from the team, Stratos turned to her friends, family, and coaching staff in search of support, looking to help maintain the optimism between her ears that rapidly started to fade away after every missed practice.

Yet even as the sentiments of those around her heartened her spirits, the real motivator for Stratos rested in the slim chance of getting between the pipes for the blue and gold at some point throughout the season.

That chance finally came on February 3rd against the Ridgebacks.

Battling with inexperience, rust, and a little bit of nerves, Stratos' first start in nearly a year went exactly how many would expect, surrendering a pair of goals on the first 13 shots she faced before steering aside 16 more attempts in the second and third periods.

The end result, a win to keep the Bold alive in the OUA playoff race and a memory that the Markham, Ontario native will never forget.

"I was so happy and everyone was so happy for me," said Stratos while recalling the scenes of her season debut.

"Everyone was crying in the [dressing] room - as silly as it sounds," she added.

Alexia Stratos Spotlight Celebration — *^{Stratos and her teammates celebrate after a win on home ice. Photo by Curtis Martin.}*

The second-year went on to start in each of the final three games of the season and finished the campaign with a trio of wins and an overtime loss to the Varsity Blues in the season finale.

Allowing just five goals on 95 shots, Stratos proved her value to the Bold in a time where many goaltenders - experienced or not - would crumble under the brightest lights in which a season has to offer.

Yet just having the opportunity to get into the action was all the motivation Stratos needed to make sure the lights stayed on for not only herself, but her team as a whole.

Positioning herself in the limelight the way she did ended up to be the only option Stratos had left with the way TMU's crease had been operating all season.

Having watched her fellow Bold netminders Shannon Harris and Lauren Griffin trade places in the crease since the start of the season, Stratos understood not only the value of that opportunity, but realized just how quickly that chance can come and go.

"If you're given the opportunity, run with it. If you're not running with that opportunity, it's going to someone else."

The pressure to perform with internal competition breathing down her neck never seemed to bother Stratos while owning the crease merely a fortnight ago.

Playing with house money quickly turned into the young netminder playing for keeps, all without the risk of losing everything with one bad bet.

"I didn't feel any pressure on my shoulders," mentioned Stratos in light of her late-season surge. "It was kind of like I [had] nothing to lose."

It really all came down to hard work and the placing of blind trust into that process for Stratos - who is valued as one of the hardest working talents in which the Bold have to offer.

"If I worked hard enough, I would get that spot," said Stratos. "Hard work gets rewarded. That's the way it's always been on this team."

While many opted to rest throughout the winter break leading up to her eventual start, Stratos trained harder than ever to regain her form after missing out on the majority of the fall season.

Entering the winter semester with a friendly class schedule and time back on her side, all that stood in the way of Stratos was the chance to perform. She did all of that and more while running away with an opportunity - one that just months before was thought to have never come.

With her second season with the Bold all wrapped up, Stratos will have to wait the duration of the offseason spell before potentially getting her next start between the pipes.

Fortunately for the second year, seven months between starts doesn't seem too far out of reach anymore, but rather a place all too familiar and all the more rewarding.

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Players Mentioned

#32 Shannon Harris: G; 5' 5"; 1

#33 Lauren Griffin: G; 5' 4"; 2

Players Mentioned

#32 Shannon Harris
: 5' 5"; 1
: G

#33 Lauren Griffin
: 5' 4"; 2
: G

Players Mentioned

#32 Shannon Harris

#33 Lauren Griffin

Players Mentioned

#32 Shannon Harris

#33 Lauren Griffin