TORONTO, ON – Flashbacks ran through TMU Bold men’s hockey head coach Johnny Duco’s mind throughout the OUA playoffs leading up to the 112th Queen’s Cup on home ice against the UQTR Patriotes.
For years, it’s been a similar script for TMU. Endless heartbreak, with talented, often finding regular season success but never being able to get over the hump and qualify for the final.
Yet, that all changed as teenage rookie Daniil Grigorev whipped a wrist shot over the shoulder of Brock goalie Connor Ungar late in a tied OUA West Final to push the Bold to a history-making season for the program.
TMU, formerly Ryerson, has never won or played in a Queen’s Cup Final but has one berth at the University Cup as OUA bronze medalists in 2022, where they finished fourth in U SPORTS, beating the top-seed UNB Reds in the quarterfinal.
Both teams in the 112th Queen’s Cup, as well as Brock and McGill, will compete at the 2024 University Cup hosted at TMU from March 14-17, with the OUA winner seeded between 1-3 and the runner-up in fourth.
For all the years Duco has watched student-athletes and staff walk through the Mattamy Athletic Centre and move onto greener pastures post-university, the Bold finally get to host a banner matchup on March 9, welcoming the back-to-back conference champions of UQTR.
“[The disappointment] is something we’ve tried to learn from, and leading up to it, you think of the tough lessons through the history of the program, and as a coach, use those to put us in the position where we’ve learned from those moments,” Duco said.
“We’ve got such a hard-working group this year. We’ve had more talented teams in the past, but this is the hardest working group. These guys want it, and they’ve earned this opportunity.”
Leading TMU is an evident “last-dance” feel within the core, a foursome that led the team to their U Cup berth as rookies in the post-pandemic abbreviated season of 2021-22, now buoyed by Russian starlets in Grigorev and Arizona Coyotes NHL prospect Artem Duda, who joined in January.
That core group, headlined by captain Chris Playfair and leading scorer Kyle Bollers and alongside Kevin Gursoy and versatile forward and defenceman Elijah Roberts, have established themselves on the ice and within the Toronto hockey community, working with community programs while often putting up impressive stats in a tough conference.
“You get emotional thinking about that group; they came in and made nationals and had some success, and now seeing them in year four take it a step further is special,” Duco said. “I’m proud of them and the impact those guys have had on the program. That’s kind of where my mind goes first.”
Bollers led team scoring in 2023-24, with 18 goals and 42 points in 28 games, and has stayed healthy throughout every contest. No doubt, a welcome rhythm after an injury-plagued finish to 2022-23, season where he battled through pain to win a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2023 FISU World University Games but couldn’t return for the OUA playoffs.
Similarly, Duda’s minutes have slowly ramped up after not playing competitively for nearly a year, while Aaron Hyman, Ryan Wells and Joe Rupoli bring veteran poise to the back end. Starting netminder Kai Edmonds has also found form in the playoffs, riding a .950 save percentage heading into the final.
UQTR seeking OUA threepeat, second U SPORTS title in three seasons
As TMU strives for a first title, it’s no foreign territory for UQTR, with head coach Marc-Étienne Hubert’s group looking to become the first team to win three straight conference banners since McGill’s run from 2010-2012.
The Patriotes enter the final making their first trip to Toronto since 2018 and feature a group with 11 rookies after winning the past two titles and the 2022 U SPORTS national gold medal with a veteran-laden squad.
Led by two-time OUA leading scorer Simon Lafrance and his 61 goals and 131 points in 92 career games, the Patriotes feature a potent offence and a veteran goaltender in Alexis Gravel, who has been critical in their previous titles. Rookies Edouard Cournoyer and the 2023 CHL Memorial Cup champion Pier-Olivier Roy have also pushed the group to stay in contention through a transitionary season.
“It’s going to be an emotional game with our group and playing with my brother [Felix Lafrance] this year as well. We don’t have the experience that we’ve had in the past, but they’re learning fast” Simon said. “Everyone is playing their best right now, which sets us up well for the Queen’s Cup and U Cup.”
In 2022, UQTR beat Brock in the Queen’s Cup before beating Windsor last season, playing the championship game on the road each season, with the final always hosted in Ontario. This year, however, they will remain in Toronto from the Queen’s Cup to the end of the University Cup on March 17, giving unprecedented consistency to their squad in the hopes of trophies number four and five in three years.
“I think Toronto and that building are the perfect place for the Queen’s Cup,” LaFrance added. “We must be ready to play to battle, and it won’t be easy. They have a great team. So it’s got to be fun to watch.”
Fans can tune into the Queen’s Cup on March 9 and the U SPORTS Men’s Hockey University Cup from March 14-17 live on cbcsports.ca, CBC Gem, and the CBC Sports app.