TORONTO, Ont. - All winning streaks must come to an end. Thursday marked the end of two for the Golden Hawks, who snapped their four-game heater with a loss to TMU, their first loss to the Bold in seven meetings.
A big second period swung the momentum firmly in the hosts' favour, as TMU netted three goals en route to a 7-1 victory.
The game started the Bold's way as well. Arizona Coyotes second-round pick Artem Duda connected with Russian countryman Daniil Grigorev for the opening goal just over a minute in.
Later in the period, TMU leading scorer Kyle Bollers turned the puck over in the offensive zone before hustling back to make a great play and break up a Laurier 3-on-1. It wouldn't matter, as the puck leaked out to Callum Chisholm at the point, who fired a shot tipped home by Nick Giunta.
The Bold would regain the lead with two minutes remaining in the period when Ian Martin found William Portokalis all alone in front, who redirected Martin's pass past Christian Propp.
With the score 2-1 to start the second, both teams came out with some energy. TMU would capitalize when captain Chris Playfair buried a rebound.
What had so far been a physical game got even more intense in the second period. TMU's Zach Roberts laid a hard hit on Caleb Petrie, which was answered seconds later when Thomas Lenart flattened Ryan Wells.
This resulted in a scrum featuring the closest thing to a fight you'll see in the OUA, as Petrie and Joe Rupoli engaged in an on-ice wrestling match. They were both assessed roughing minors and a 10-minute misconduct.
Those penalties were offsetting, but Laurier later committed two infractions in quick succession. Aaron Hyman scored on the 5-on-3 to make it 4-1. Then, a Kyle Bollers fanned shot landed on the stick of Connor Bowie for another powerplay goal.
For the first time this season, Manager of men's hockey operations and head coach Kevin Forrest made the decision to pull Christian Propp, with Ventislav Shingarov coming in in relief.
The Golden Hawks would get two powerplays of their own before the end of the frame, but their only goal was called back due to an early whistle. The Bold led 5-1 heading into the third.
While Shingarov made some tough saves, Laurier had no answer for a now rolling TMU squad. Rupoli and Martin scored to make it 7-1.
The loss drops Laurier's record to 8-12-2, and they remain one point behind Lakehead for seventh place in the OUA West and a spot in the play-in game. TMU, meanwhile, improves to 14-6-1 and ties Toronto for second in the division.
PLUS/MINUS
Minus – Special Teams
The powerplay has been an area of strength for the Golden Hawks this season – they rank third in the OUA at 23.8%. They were 0-3 tonight, with all three opportunities coming at pivotal moments in the game.
Meanwhile, the penalty kill surrendered three goals on five trips out.
Minus – Shots against
Laurier allowed the second most shots against per game heading into this contest, and the 42 shots they surrendered to TMU in this one certainly don't help that average.
To their credit, the Golden Hawks typically don't surrender many high-danger chances, meaning most of the shots they do give up are low-percentage tries from outside the slot. Moreover, they have an all-star goaltender in Propp and an excellent backup in Shingarov.
Tonight, however, the Bold were able to create offence both in quantity and in quality, and both Propp and the scoreboard felt the effects.
UP NEXT
The purple and gold will be back at home on Saturday, January 20 for a matinee against the Windsor Lancers. Puck drop is set for 3:30 p.m. at SunLife Financial Arena. Tickets are on sale now.
