TORONTO — The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men's hockey team lost 4-3 to the Lakehead University Thunderwolves in a fight until the end.

Tonight marked the return of Daniil Grigorev, who returned from injury. Last season, Grigorev posted 29 points —16 goals and 13 assists — and was a welcome return as he figures to be a key piece in the lineup.

The first period started with high intensity from the Thunderwolves. The Bold, known for their speed, came face-to-face with a team that matched their pace. 

Three minutes into the period, the Thunderwolves put their first goal on the scoreboard. After a fall from Chase Lefebvre, Lakehead found themselves up a man in the offensive zone and after a few passes between teammates the puck found the back of the net.

The Bold felt a bit smaller on the ice today, with the Thunderwolves dominating in a lot of areas. After a penalty call on Lakehead's Naaman Hofer, the Bold were in a position to score and they did. 10 seconds into the power play, Will Portakalis, assisted by Lefebvre and Joseph Ianniello, sent a puck flying from the top of the left circle and through the pads of Lakehead goaltender Christian Cicigoi.

The tied match did not last long. A couple minutes later, the Bold ended up down by two after Lakehead scored back-to-back goals within 18 seconds of each other.

The last big opportunity came with a scramble in the blue paint but the Bold could not get the puck past Cicigoi. 

In the second period, the Bold suffered from a few bad turnovers in the offensive third, however, they stepped up defensively. The team played a lot more aggressively on defence, only allowing Lakehead to have four shots on goal through the second frame. However, despite delivering in the defensive zone, they were unable to change the score.

Overall the first two periods did not display the Bold at their best.

"There was not a whole lot of urgency to start the game and we talked about it all week and we were pretty dialled in I thought, coming out fast and playing hard and we just didn't have it," said head coach Johnny Duco. "We came out sloppy and sluggish, we lost races and we weren't sharp."

The middle frame ended with Lakehead up 3-1 and the two teams tied 15-15 on shots on goal.

The third period saw a shift from TMU. 12 minutes in Lakehead brought the score up to 4-1 but the Bold fought back in the last six minutes. Those minutes saw the Bold score two goals. Spencer Shugrue scored his first goal of the season to bring the Bold within two. Then Portokalis, assisted by Marko Djordjevic and Hunter Donohoe, scored the third goal of the game after TMU pulled  goaltender Kai Edmonds in a last-ditch effort. 

The Bold couldn't find the last goal to tie the game and  the match ended with the Thunderwolves winning 4-3.

"Our last six minutes were great," said Portokalis. "If we play our last six minutes for 60 minutes, it would be a different outcome."

The Bold will play the Guelph Gryphons tomorrow on Saturday Nov. 8. Students can watch the game for free with their OneCard.