UTM men’s Tri-Campus hockey team plays for campus reputation
After a glorious win this season, the Eagles are ready to prove their place in the playoffs.
The University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) men’s Tri-Campus hockey team is in the midst of a successful but trying season. Brought into a system of play by coaches Phil Power and Peter Christopoulos, the team is currently preparing for the playoffs, where anything can happen.
From day one, Power and Christopoulos have been willing to put in as much effort and time as the team needs. When a team is presented with coaches who draw up plays, drive to the rink, design a winning structure, and put passion and energy into the game, the players are motivated to match that energy and strive for greatness in the form of a championship win.
Captain Hussam Abdulnabi, a PhD student who’s been on the team for several years, is an incredibly passionate and motivating force on the team. According to his teammates, Abdulnabi is always equipped with an uplifting speech and will do anything to get 100 per cent out of every person on the team. Coaches and captains set the tone for the season and play a huge role in the success of their teams.
The Eagles have something to prove. It’s a common misconception that UTM is a lesser campus than St. George when it comes to athletic talent. UTM might be smaller, but it deserves the same respect as the University’s other campuses. This is what the Eagles set out to prove in their games against the St. George teams.
In UTM’s first game against St. George Black, the status and reputation of the campus was put on the line. St. George Black is a fierce team that was a heavy favourite and a top contender for the championship win before the season began. However, on February 1, 2023, UTM beat St. George Black by a score of 3-2. This win jolted the team and made the players realize that if they can beat St. George Black, they can beat anyone—and if they can beat anyone, they can be champions.
As great as UTM is, no road to winning is smooth. On February 5, 2023, the Eagles held a private team meeting following a brutal loss to Scarborough in UTM’s first ever home game. This was a tough loss, and one that the team needed to learn from quickly. In that meeting, the players had a chance to share their thoughts and opinions on how to grow as a team, how to bounce back from such a loss, and what direction they want the team to move in. The players and coaches took the meeting to reset, recharge, and reload for the playoffs, which are scheduled to start in March.
As the season has gone on, it has become glaringly obvious that this hockey team has a great opportunity in front of it—to not only win and become champions, but to earn the respect of other campuses for the whole UTM community.
Sports & Health Editor (Volume 50); Locked on Leafs Columnist (Volume 48 & 49) — Omar is in his final year at UTM, working towards completing a major in CCIT and double minors in Political Science and Anthropology. Omar loves to keep up with various sports teams, his favourite being the Toronto Maple Leafs. When he isn’t stressing over exams or the Leafs, you can find him watching movies, looking at shoes he can only hope to afford, and trying his best to avoid parking tickets on campus.