TORONTO – Kevin Gursoy scored once and added a pair of assists as the Toronto Metropolitan University "Bold" doubled McGill 4-2 in men's preseason hockey before a sellout Homecoming crowd of 2,750 at the Mattamy Athletics Centre, Friday.
 
"We grow as a group by facing adversity in a game, especially in the preseason. It can be a good thing when you learn from it," said David Urquhart, in his third year as head coach of the Redbirds. "Today we faced some adversity while playing in front of sold-out crowd. It was a playoff type atmosphere which (translated to) more intensity in the game.."
 
TMU, which had a 38-26 edge in shots, led 1-0 after the first period and 3-0 after two. The Redbirds won the final frame 2-1.

"They scored an early goal but it was pretty much back-and-forth in the first period and I thought we controlled the pace of the play. We came out really well in the second, had two high-quality scoring chances on breakaways that we didn't convert," Urquart continued. "It was a good competitive game for us, the type of preseason game that was a little bit more wide-open than we'd like to see in the regular season. There were some odd-man rushes and it was a bit of a track meet at times, so that's something we need to tighten up. The effort and intent was there and we can tell that the team is playing hard for each other. There's a lot to build from and at this time of the year, we're really focussing on building some good habits. That's what helps establish longer term success."

McGill's Eric Uba, a junior forward from Kitchener, Ont., spoiled Kai Edmonds shutout bid at 3:21 of the final period, assisted by rookie rearguard Xavier Fortin.
 
The other Redbirds marker was tallied by Drew Bennett, a sophomore form Mount Pearl, Nfld. Rookie rearguard Thomas Belzile of Ste. Julie, Que., drew a helper on the play at 8:28 of the final stanza.
 
Edwards made 24 saves to collect the win for TMU, while McGill junior Alexis Shank of Laval, Que., was credited with 34 saves in a losing cause.

Rounding out the scoring for TMU was Evan Brand, Ian Martin and Connor Bowie.
 
The Bold was 0-for-3 on the power-play, while McGill was 0-for-2.
 
McGill (1-1) and TMU (1-1) will meet again in a Saturday (Sept. 23) matinee at 3 p.m. There will be no streaming broadcast  but live statistics will be available. That confrontation will be preceded by an alumni game between McGill and TMU hockey grads at 11 a.m.

Earlier in the day, the Redbirds spent time at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, where they took a plethora of photos, including a number of McGill artifacts which they posted on the team's Instagram account. The biggest thrill was perhaps seeing how many of the 16 McGillians they could find engraved on the Stanley Cup.

"We started the day at the Hall of Fame and part of this road trip is bringing the guys together as we prepare for the regular season," noted Urquhart.

SCORING SUMMARY
 
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Info Officer
McGill Athletics & Recreation
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
(514) 983-7012