The York University Lions men's hockey team kicked off the winter term on Thursday night, taking on the OUA West-leading TMU Bold at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. TMU has held the edge in the matchup so far this year, winning both previous meetings, but York enters the new year focused on turning the page and setting a new tone moving forward.
TMU opened the scoring early and leaned heavily on its power play in the opening frame. At 3:08, Daniil Grigorev converted on the man advantage, followed by another power-play goal from William Portokalis at 8:15, giving the Bold a quick 2–0 edge. TMU added a third at 14:32, when Gavin Grundner finished a passing sequence off feeds from Carter MacAdams and Grigorev, extending the lead to 3–0. York responded with its best shift of the period late, and, at 18:06, rookie Ryder Ringor buried his second goal of the season, snapping a shot past TMU netminder Kai Edmonds after a clean setup from Olivier Lamothe and Harry Clark, giving the Lions momentum heading into the intermission.
The Lions showed improved structure in the second period, generating sustained pressure and outshooting TMU 13–12 in the frame. However, the Bold scored the only goal of the period. Connor Bowie found the back of the net off a setup from William Portokalis at 4:10 of the middle frame, restoring TMU's three-goal cushion. The Bold took that 4-1 lead into the third.
TMU put the game away early in the third. At 3:23, former Lion Brock McLeod scored off a quick transition play, finishing a feed from Slava Melikov to make it 5-1. The Lions continued to push offensively, firing 10 shots in the final period, but were unable to beat Edmonds, who finished with 29 saves on 30 shots. TMU capped the scoring late at 18:29, when Marko Djordjevic converted off assists from McLeod and Hunter Donohoe, sealing the 6–1 result.
York had multiple opportunities throughout the night, but went 0-for-5, while TMU went 2-for-4. Lions goaltender Matt Tovell was solid in goal despite allowing all six Bold goals, making 36 saves on 42 shots.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Lions return home on Saturday night to host the Waterloo Warriors in their first home game of 2026. York will be seeking redemption after a tightly contested 4–3 loss to Waterloo on Nov. 7, a game that remained undecided until the final minutes. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm., as the Lions aim to bounce back in front of the home crowd. You can get your tickets here or stream the game live on OUA TV.
