TORONTO – 352 days ago the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) men's hockey team had their hearts broken in double OT at the hands of the UQTR Patriotes in the Queen's Cup final on home ice. A different result would have seen TMU accomplish something its men's hockey program had never seen, a championship at Canadian University Hockey's highest level. It's been nearly a year since that heartbreak. Yet as the 2024-25 postseason ramps up the Bold have put themselves in prime position to avenge their loss and claim the program's first OUA gold at the 113th Queen's Cup.

"It comes down to our work ethic," said head coach Johnny Duco on the final day of the regular season. "How bad do you want to win your race? How bad do you want to take a hit to make a play? All those things, they can hurt, and sometimes they don't feel great, but leaving disappointed and losing feels worse."

Entering the 2024-25 season, there were several major questions that needed to be answered. The 2023-24 squad was perhaps the most talented in program history, but had a large number of graduating seniors, most of whom were major contributors to the offense. If the Bold were to return, they'd need both new recruits and old faces to step up.

The redemption season got off to a rocky start. The Bold struggled to a 1-5 record out of the shoot, a far cry from where they finished the season. TMU rebounded, going 7-2 over their next nine games, before cooling down. They finished the first half of the season above .500, at 9-8-1.

The season's second half saw the Bold put it all together. TMU opened the second half with a 4-3 win over Brock on home ice, the first win of an undefeated January. The Bold rattled off five wins in the first month of 2025, and added an 8-2 drubbing over Wilfrid Laurier before finally dropping a contest. The hot start in 2025 was part of a seven-game win streak that saw the Bold surge into control of the OUA West with a 15-8-1 record. The Bold lost just two games in the second half, against the University of Toronto and Nipissing University. The strong second half, which culminated in a 17-10-1 record, was reminiscent of the dominance displayed by last year's team in their run to the final.

However, despite similarities between the two squads, this year's team is led much more by committee. The Bold did not have a single player break 30 points this season, but they had six reach the 20-point plateau, including breakout star defenseman Jaden Condotta. The Bold had nine players reach at least 10-points, most notably Conor Bowie (10 goals, nine assists), who missed time to represent Canada in international competition, and Aleks Dimovski (five goals, nine assists), who finished last season with just five points. It was a year defined by the unheralded playing outsized roles and last season's role players becoming this season's leaders.

"[The key] was the coaches having lots of confidence in me," said Condotta of his offensive leap. "I worked at it all summer, got bigger, faster, stronger and I knew what I had to do."

The Bold's emergent depth scoring will figure to be another significant factor in their postseason success. Last season's post-season scoring was very top heavy, as Chris Playfair and Will Portokalis are the only returning members that recorded more than three points in last year's OUA playoffs. The Bold will need all four lines to contribute if they want to return to the Queen's Cup final.

This season, the Bold were once again led by Kai Edmonds between the pipes. The third-year netminder guided the Bold to 10 wins this season, posting a sparkling .917 save percentage. Another breakout star for the Bold was back-up goaltender Ryan Dugas. Dugas backstopped the Bold to 7 wins in Edmonds' absence and relief, posting a .923 save percentage. Despite a shaky start to the season, goaltending once again remained a strength of the Bold squad. In a three-game series when every goal's importance is amplified, there is no bigger spotlight than the one on the blue paint.

"We're a family," said Dugas. "We all support each other. We're all each other's biggest fans."

The Bold will meet the Lakehead Thunderwolves in the OUA quarterfinals. The Thunderwolves (15-13) advanced to the second round after defeating the Western Mustangs in three games. The Bold met Lakehead twice during the regular season, sweeping a weekend series in late October. TMU outscored Lakehead 11-4 during the two-game set, which was marred with penalties. The two sides combined for 104 penalty minutes during their regular season match-ups, including three 10-minute misconducts. The series, which begins Wednesday evening, promises to be exactly how you'd want playoff hockey: physical.

Equally important to goaltending in a short series is special teams. The Bold powerplay, which ranked sixth in the OUA (23.1%) was driven by Daniil Grigorev and Kevin Gursoy, who each recorded five powerplay tallies. Ian Martin, who recorded four of his 12 goals on the powerplay, represents another player who can solidify their breakthrough regular season with a strong playoff performance. 

The Bold penalty kill, which was heavily relied upon in the early stages of the season, looks to be another X-factor in the Bold's favour. TMU finished ninth in the OUA with an 82.5% rate on the penalty kill, but saw Will Portokalis record a pair of goals while shorthanded. Going up against a Lakehead powerplay that managed just a 16.1% conversion rate with the man advantage, a deciding factor in the outcome of the series will be whether regular season trends on special teams carry into the postseason. If they do, TMU looks to be in good shape.

Jordan D'Intino, after recording 21 points as an OUA rookie, appears to be the Bold's next offensive leader for seasons to come. Look for him to break out in his first postseason action with the Blue & Gold. Spencer Shugrue, another Bold rookie, had a great postseason with the Saskatoon Blades in 2022-23, nearly matching his regular season point total in 18 contests. If the defenseman turned centre can recapture that postseason scoring form, the Bold will be tough to beat down the middle of the ice.

The three game series begins on Wednesday, with puck drop from Thunder Bay at 7:00 p.m. The series shifts back to Toronto for game two and, if necessary, game three. Puck-drop for both games at the Mattamy Athletic Centre are scheduled for 6:15.

If the Bold are to get past Lakehead, they would face either Windsor (16-2) or Toronto (17-11) in the OUA West Final. In the OUA East Concordia (21-7), Queen's (22-6), Ottawa (19-9) and McGill (18-10) remain.

As the first seed in the OUA West, TMU will hold home ice throughout the OUA playoffs.

"It's a lot of fun and the guys look forward to it," said Johnny Duco of the home atmosphere at Mattamy Athletic Centre. "It's kind of like the sixth attacker and you feed off the energy."

Catch all OUA playoff games streaming on OUA.tv, including TMU's postseason opener against Lakehead University on February 26th at 7:00 p.m. TMU students receive free admission to all home games with their OneCard. Fans and alumni can find tickets online.