Photos from the 2014 East vs West game by Keila MacPherson

There is a rivalry within the Trent Community, a rivalry that started with the founding of Trent; a rivalry between colleges. The five colleges that make up Trent (Champlain, Otonabee, Gzowski, Lady Eaton, and Traill) have always been competitive towards each other. However, there are only a few events throughout the year that allow the students to show their loyalty towards their respective colleges.

For the past four years the East vs. West hockey event has allowed students to cheer on their colleges and trash talk the others. What better way to keep the rivalry alive than through a hockey game.

The game is on January 23 at the Memorial Centre at 10pm; doors open at 9pm. Students buy tickets beforehand, and with the ticket comes with an East vs. West T-shirt. The Aria nightclub has been a supporter of the event since it began, and continues to support it by having the hockey game after-party at Aria.

What does this event mean to Trent University? It is extremely important to Trent in general as it brings the students together, getting them involved in school activities and experiencing Peterborough. It also allows the players who maybe aren’t involved in many extra-curricular activities to get involved.

It is one of the most exciting events of the year as students gather over hockey, and is a completely not-for-profit event raising money for a great local charity. It does not only mean a lot to Trent, but also to Peterborough, because it gets students off campus and into the city. Trent is a major portion of the Peterborough population, so any event that gets students to experience the city is a good event. And supporting local charities is always good for the city.

This is an event centred around the idea of community. Felicia Birmingham of the Otonabee College cabinet said it best: “It is one of the only events that incorporates all colleges… and all students, whether that is people planning the event, volunteering for the event, or just going to the game”.

The event was founded four years ago by Trent student John West-Carvahlo. He created this hockey game between rival colleges in an attempt to bring the Trent community together, and wanted it to be a fundraiser for local charities. For the past four years the East and West colleges have comprised a team to play against the other colleges in one of the biggest charity events for the school.

Though still competitive, the teams are not made up of only competitive players; instead having a first-come-first-serve sign up. This allows anybody who is able and wanting to play in the game. The game of hockey will always be competitive, but this centralizes it on the fun of the sport and coming together to cheer on your respective colleges. This is especially important considering the charity funded this year is the Kawartha Komets.

The Kawartha Komets is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2009 by Jack McGee. It helps people of all ages, from kids to adults, with physical, emotional, and neurodevelopmental challenges, to play the game we all love. The Kawartha Komets gives people with these challenges a safe and fun way to play hockey. To them hockey is not a competitive sport, but a simple pleasure—fun, and that is what the East vs. West hockey game is.

As mentioned before, although the game is a fun way to bring the school together and cheer on their colleges, there is still competitiveness in the game. The West Bank, Lady Eaton College and Champlain College, are the defending champions for the past two years so they are going into the game fairly confident.

According to Mike Kosciesza, they believe that they have the edge going into the game having won last year. “As far as the better team goes, I’d have to give the edge to West Bank because we’ve got the heart; we’re going to leave it all on the ice, and after last year’s win we showed Trent how to really celebrate”.

On the other side of the river we have the East bank, Gzowski College and Otonabee College, who have a lot to prove going into the game, having lost last year. However this doesn’t seem to faze Joey Di Cienzo of East Bank. “Obviously East bank is better. We are just a bunch of beauties who know the game and West Bank has the pressure of being the defending champs on their shoulders. I just don’t think they have the mindset to perform well under pressure”.

According to Di Cienzo the fact that West Bank won the past two years is their downside because they have a lot to live up to. All will be determined Friday night at 10 pm when the puck drops. Despite the playful banter between East and West Bank, both Joey and Mike recognized the importance of this event to Trent and to the students as it unites not only the colleges on each bank, but all four colleges as they come together to play a good game of hockey for a great cause.

The people responsible for planning this year’s game are Felicia Birmingham, Mikayla Peasey, and Maureen Langabeer, all affiliated with Otonabee College. All proceeds from the game go to the Kawartha Komets; that includes ticket sales, earnings from the raffle, earnings from the chuck-a-puck, and donations. This year they are also accepting used hockey equipment in good condition. Anybody who has hockey equipment in good condition can bring it to the Otonabee College cabinet, and it will go to the Kawartha Komets. For every piece of equipment you bring in you get a free raffle ticket. Though the main people planning the event are from Otonabee College, this event incorporates all colleges and has volunteers from every college. It is ironic that an event that stages a rivalry hockey game between colleges is what brings them together.

Tickets for the game are still on sale in Otonabee College and will continue to be up until the night of the game. They are $6, and that includes an East vs. West T-shirt. It is a great event to come out and support your college and fellow students and, if for no other reason, come to watch a good hockey game.