The Brock Badgers men's hockey team will have to fight to keep their season alive. 

In the opening game of a best-of-three OUA quarterfinal series, the No. 6 OUA West seed Badgers fell short 6-2 to the No. 2 West seed TMU Bold at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto on Wednesday, Feb. 25. 

"TMU hasn't played a game in two weeks," said head coach TJ Manastersky. "While for us, we just came back from a trip to Thunder Bay after playing 11 periods with Lakehead." 

First-year forward Keefe Gruener netted a goal, while third-year defender Jonah Boria recorded his first point of the playoffs, adding Brock's second of the night. 

In net, Ben Bonisteel, a second-year netminder, made 26 saves throughout the contest. 

TMU opened the scoring early in the affair, with Brock McLeod finishing off a breakaway chance just three minutes into the matchup for the only goal of the first frame. 

The second frame saw lots of action close to the goal, with the Bold outshooting the Badgers 13-8. TMU's William Portokalis capitalized on a power play early into the period to extend their advantage.  

The Badgers responded with a backhand shot from Gruener, squeezing through TMU's Kai Edmonds to cut the lead in half. 

However, the Bold closed out the period strong, striking twice in the final six minutes of the frame, to give them a commanding 4-1 lead heading into the final 20 minutes. 

The third period saw plenty of physicality from both sides, with Portokalis getting his second power-play goal of the night within the opening minute. 

Despite Boria's best efforts to spark a late comeback by poking the puck five-hole to pull the Badgers within reach, TMU added its sixth goal of the night late in the game to seal the victory. 

The two teams combined for 28 penalty minutes throughout the night, with the Bold's proficiency on the power play proving to be a key catalyst throughout the win.  

The hosts converted two of their three opportunities with a man advantage, with Brock unable to capitalize on their two power-play chances. 

The Badgers will return to Canada Games Park needing to win to keep their season alive. They will look to rebound in Game 2, with puck drop scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 28 at 4 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at University Tickets. 

"We will use the next two days to recover and reset, and we are excited to compete in front of our fans at home on Saturday and bounce back in this series," Manastersky said. "It was awesome that our administration organized fan buses tonight to support us and the men's basketball team at TMU."