The York University Lions men's hockey team made the short trip downtown on Friday night to face the TMU Bold at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
TMU jumped out to an early lead, striking twice within the first three minutes. Ryan Cooper opened the scoring just 1:28 into the game before former Lion Brock McLeod doubled the lead just 36 secomds later. The Lions responded midway through the period when Aiden MacIntosh found the back of the net at 7:38, finishing a play set up by Jag Phangura to cut the deficit to one. Bryan McAndrews drew the secondary assist on the MacIntosh's fifth.
Momentum, however, swung back quickly as TMU's Liam Ross restored the two-goal cushion at the nine-minute mark, sending the Bold into the first intermission up 3–1. TMU held a 17–6 edge in shots after 20 minutes.
The second period continued to favour the home side. Chase Lefebvre and Ross added back-to-back goals just over a minute apart, extending TMU's lead to 5–1. York refused to fold, though, finding some life late in the period when Hunter Brown buried his second of the season at 15:37 with the assists coming courtesy of Raphaël Denis and Phangura, trimming the score to 5–2 heading into the third.
York showed some pushback in the final frame, getting within two when Brandon McCartney scored at 7:18, converting a setup from Keeton Oakley, with Ethan Strik earning the second helper on McCartney's fourth of the campaign. The Lions generated some chances in the third but were unable to close the gap further, and TMU sealed the win with an empty-net goal from William Portokalis at 18:25, sealing a 6-3 Bold win.
TMU finished the night with a 42–20 advantage in shots, while Dawson Smith turned aside 36 shots in goal for York. The Lions went scoreless on their lone power-play opportunity, while TMU was also held off the board on four chances with the man advantage.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Lions return home on Saturday, February 7, to host the Guelph Gryphons at Canlan Ice Sports York in their first annual Honouring Culture: Indigenous Youth in Hockey Game. Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm.
Greybrook. Exclusive Sponsor of the York Men's Hockey Program. greybrook.com
