Owen Kitzan – Sports Editor

Amongst a weekend jam-packed with Winterfest activities, some students took it upon themselves to help add to the magic of the event by hosting their own outdoor hockey tournament. For the second year in a row, fourth year students, Kai Luginbuhl and Owen Grand, built a rink in the backyard of the house they rent and hosted a tournament for the student body to get together and enjoy an afternoon together.

The tournament featured sixteen teams of two players across four conferences in a win or go home format. BU Club Hockey, the BU Lacrosse team, team Ottawa and team Toronto made up the conferences, with eight players from each category representing their respective sides. I was fortunate enough to participate in the event as a last second spare for team Ottawa in the event due to a dropout from one of their members. It was a day that to me symbolized BU culture, with varsity sports teams, club teams and students with no athletic affiliation at the school competing against each other to try and claim the title.

 Image courtesy of Kai Luginbuhl

Even more than the competition though was the aspect of community that shone through in the event, with hundreds of students coming out to spectate the event and cheer their friends on. It was an incredible atmosphere as a player with a wall of people surrounding you while yelling and screaming from all around making you forget how tired your legs were or how much your lungs may be burning. It was a day that encapsulated the culture BU has put in place perfectly, a small community who is passionate in everything they do, whether it be a football playoff game or a backyard hockey tournament.

While I was knocked out by the eventual winners, Max Harrison and Simon Vendetti, they managed to bring home the win for team Ottawa, offering me a bit of consolation. Despite Harrison and Vendetti bringing home the title, the true star of the show was Luke Richardson, who played fifteen consecutive games as the goaltender, taking very little rest time throughout, something that sparked a lot of admiration amongst his peers as they all tried to imagine themselves doing the same.

Many of the students responsible for both hosting and participating in it are looking at graduating this year, and hope the event remains as a winterfest tradition at Bishop’s. The tournament provided a great opportunity for people from all around the school to interact and engage in a day full of winter fun in a stressful time period for many with exams and practicums quickly approaching. Until next year BU!