TORONTO — The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women's hockey team lost 5-2 against the Windsor Lancers in a physical game.

In the first period, early after the puck drop, Ahalya Julien-Medeiros produced the Bold's first quality scoring chance.

Julien-Medeiros sped into the offensive zone, sending a shot toward the net. The puck bounced off Windsor goaltender Rebecca Noble, and Julien-Medeiros raced for the rebound, but it was cleared by the Lancers.

Shortly after, the Lancers were able to swing things their way and opened the scoring.

A penalty to the Bold put them on the penalty kill, where they successfully cleared pucks, and goaltender Katie Frost stood tall against two net-front scrambles from the Lancers.

Windsor's man advantage ended when the Lancers received a penalty of their own, resulting in 4-on-4 play and eventually the Bold getting their first power play.

Despite a nice attempt from Abby Fletcher, they would not convert on the power play.

The remainder of the period featured scoring chances from both Jayden Fox and Ava Caputo, but no goals from the Bold.

The opening frame ended with the Bold down 1-0, but ahead in shots on goal, 12-10.

The Lancers were able to widen their lead early in the middle period and, six minutes later, found themselves up by three goals.

TMU struggled as Windsor put on the pressure — pressure that goaltender Katie Frost took in stride, making game-changing saves in the second half of the frame.

The momentum shifted in the final minute of the period.

Cailey Davis put the Bold on the board with 36 seconds remaining. Davis collected a puck that deflected off the skate of a Lancer and carried it into the slot before firing a shot past Noble.

Just 30 seconds later, Britni Yammine sent a shot toward the net, where Katie Leroux was positioned in front of the crease to deflect it home, quickly cutting the deficit to one.

"The response at the end of the second was great," said head coach Lisa Haley. "We wanted to try and get one before the period was up, and to be able to get right back into the conversation was a big boost for us. A word that you hear a lot in our room is attitude, and just bringing the right attitude to whatever moment."

Going into the second intermission, the Bold kept the game close, trailing 3-2.

In the final frame, TMU came with energy and intensity; however, two penalties called on the Bold resulted in a tough 5-on-3 situation, ending with the Lancers scoring their fourth goal of the evening.

"We felt like there was a lot of stick work early in the game that wasn't getting called, so you try to play to what the standard is and then it works against you," said Haley. "A real tough situation to be down three on five in a particular moment like that."

The Bold could not recover, falling 5-2.

TMU now turns their focus to an important matchup, where they will hold their Do It For Daron (DIFD) annual fundraiser.

"There's a lot of side parts to tomorrow's game," said Haley. "The DIFD game for us has been a cornerstone of the community engagement that we do. Once the puck drops, though, focus is inside the glass and trying to find three points against a team we are looking up at in the standings."

Next up, TMU will face the Nipissing Lakers on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 2:15 p.m. Students can attend the game for free with their OneCard, and fans are encouraged to wear purple.