Getting the better of the territory, TCOB now pushed for a quick followup, earning a series of penalty shots, but were held out by HSHC keeper Bryce Hirschberg and some committed defence.
HSHC had the chance to score an equaliser from a penalty late in the half, but defender Callum Wilbur was determined to keep them out and made sure they couldn't get a shot off.
Even losing Josh McDonell to a card late in the half didn't slow the momentum, while two HSHC also got carded in the match.
Eight minutes after resumption, Forward connected with a straight shot from a penalty corner for 2-0 and TCOB would not lapse for the remainder of the match, as conceding late fourth quarter goals was another Achilles heel last year.
The victory was a winning start for new permanent coach Colleen Baylis, partner of player Matt Perry, and she was pleased to see good hustle and commitment from the get-go.
"The whole part - the training and the games in the [preseason] HMI Cup, there's been a good feel.
"It's definitely a big change, people are excited to play."
With more numbers, Baylis said the team will try to change playing styles throughout games this campaign, breaking the games down into quarters, however she told them at halftime on Saturday it was best not to try yet as the execution was still a little off.
Cohesion will be the work-on because at Gonville the team rushed opportunities at times, leading to mistakes.
However, Baylis couldn't fault the commitment, praising the likes of the returning Bryce McKenzie for his workrate, while another veteran in Chad Warner had also returned hesitantly but was now loving the team culture.
TCOB will now have to see if they can take their form on the road, heading to the Twin Turfs in Palmerston North to meet Marist on Anzac Day.
It was not a good day in the women's grade as TCOB was hammered 8-0 by a very strong HSHC side at Gonville, while Collegians travelled to the Twin Turfs where they were beaten 2-0 by Palmerston North Girls High School.
'Techno' didn't know what hit them in the first 15 minutes as they found themselves 5-0 down against the rampant visitors.
"It's good players that are in the Junior Black Sticks squad and a handful of NHL players," said Techno senior player Kylie Penn.
"We did lots of running."
Unlike their male counterparts, the home team was missing a handful of players and moved Melissa Hylton back into goal, where she had a lot of work to do.
Penn said they were still confident of turning it all around.
"Next time the margin with the goals could be a lot better."
Playing their first game after defaulting the HMI matches, Collegians let in their first goal five minutes before halftime, then PNGHS scored again 10 minutes after resumption on a penalty. The second one was against run of play, coach Jan Dixon said.
The penalty was actually taken from the other side of the goal than Collegians were expecting and they didn't respond in time, she said.
Year 9 high school student Rebecca Baker had a good match, while Charlotte Dixon is back in goal for the season and her sister Sharece Dixon also played well.
Having lost six players from last year, Jan Dixon is bringing in young players from Collegiate and another from Nga Tawa to provide cover. First work-on will be much quicker changeover from attack to defence, she said.
Collegians and Techno will both play in Gonville this Saturday, meeting Massey and Marist respectively.
