After winning game one, the Badgers dropped games two and three against the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold, eliminating them from the OUA playoffs on March 3rd. Brock will play in the bronze medal game on March 9th against the McGill Redbirds.
The Badgers opened the scoring early on Feb. 29th getting the game’s first goal only five minutes into the start of the three-game series. Goal scorer Christophe Cote would be the beneficiary of a fortuitous bounce after a Ryan Thompson point shot rebounded right onto his stick, giving him a great look at the open net.
Though Cote’s goal remained the lone marker in the first period, Brock kept the run of play in the Bold’s end and looked as if they had scored early in the second period. However, Badger Justin Brack was called for goalie interference on the would-be goal, keeping the score at 1-0 and sending TMU to the powerplay.
Again, Brock’s opening goal continued to stand as the game’s only goal until the last minutes of the second period. At 16:40 in the period, a pass from Arizona Coyotes prospect Atryom Duda found Bold forward Daniil Grigoryev, who scored to tie the game.
Just like the first and second periods, the Badgers came out gunning for more and scored under two minutes into the frame. Jacob Roach carried the puck up the ice on a 2-on-1 rush and slipped a pass over to Tyler Burnie who fired it through the goalie to regain the lead.
The Badgers managed to hold the lead for the rest of the period before forcing the Bold to turn the puck over with their goalie pulled. Jordan Stock deposited the empty netter, securing the 3-1 game one win for Brock.
Though game two got off to a familiar start, the conclusion was not as fulfilling.
As had been the case in each of the periods in game one, Brock got on the attack early and were rewarded with a goal. Brack scored on the first shot of the game after receiving a pass from Riley Gannon right in front of the Bold crease, putting the Badgers up 1-0 just over three minutes into the first.
The lead would be short-lived however, as TMU would even the score a little over a minute later.
The early tie seemed to suck a lot of the wind out of the Badgers’ sails. Brock was outshot 5-12 in the first, and though they were able to escape the period without surrendering another goal, the levee soon broke in the second period.
Right off the bat, TMU’s Elijah Roberts scored to break the tie, and only seven seconds later, the Bold’s leading scorer Kyle Bollers added another, putting TMU up 3-1 with less than four minutes gone by in the second.
Midway through the third period, Bollers potted his second of the game, stretching TMU’s lead to three. Now down 4-1, Brock pulled their goalie with considerable time still on the clock. The Badgers were unable to close the gap and gave up an empty net goal at 17:48, sealing the deal on a 5-1 game two loss.
With their playoff hopes on the line, and both teams perhaps sensing the gravity of the situation, game three got started without any of the early-period goal scoring. Though Brack and TMU’s Kevin Gursoy put the teams on an early 4-on-4, neither side could break through on the scoreboard. Burnie and Roach would each take a penalty as well, though the Badgers were able to keep the puck out of their net despite being outshot 10-14.
Brock was awarded their first powerplay opportunity of the game early in the second and were able to make short work of it. Roach’s goal—his second strike of the playoffs—moved him into a tie for second in powerplay goals. Duda is among the four players tied with Roach and is also the leading scorer among OUA defencemen in the playoffs with six points in five games.
Just under 10 minutes into the second period, TMU’s Connor Bowie, the recipient of the high sticking call that sent Brock to the powerplay earlier, found the back of the net, tying the game again at one.
The tie game carried over throughout much of the rest of the game. The Bold took another high sticking penalty six minutes into the third, this time a double minor, yet the Badgers didn’t find the same luck this time around. With only two minutes remaining in a 1-1 game, Grigoryev’s shot snuck its way through heavy traffic in front of the Brock goal and past Badger goalie Connor Ungar who had thus far saved 33 of 34 shots. Unfortunately, the 35th would be the nail in the coffin, ending the Badgers’ playoffs in heartbreaking fashion.
On March 9th, Brock will play host to the McGill Redbirds in their final OUA game of the year. Though TMU vs. UQTR will undoubtedly be a thrilling Queen’s Cup final, Brock and McGill were the top seeds in the East and West respectively, setting up a high-stakes bronze medal game. As the top seeds, they’ll also both have a chance to compete in the U Sports national championship, which begins on March 14th.
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