On the evening of February 28th, Trent students and community members took to the stands of the Peterborough Memorial Centre to cheer on their respective sides of the Otonabee for the 13th annual East vs. West Charity Hockey Game.

Proceeds from the event were donated to Kids Against Hunger Canada (KAHC), a Peterborough-based charity that has been aiding in the fight against food insecurity for over 20 years. With the help of volunteers, sponsors, and donors, they have packed over 5.2 million nutritious meals that are delivered to children locally, within Canada, and across the globe.

Funds raised at East vs. West are going to support KAHC’s  upcoming 10th annual One Million Meals food packing event on April 11th, a day where local organizations and volunteers gather to help the charity reach their goal. They have packed 926,640 meals during One Million Meals events since 2016, making their objective more attainable than ever with community support and fundrasing.

Maple Leaf Dentistry also supported this cause through donating $15 from each digitally scanned mouthguard sold at the game to KAHC.

The night kicked off with the Faculty vs. Alumni hockey game. The first period started off slow, with both teams maintaining a strong defense, but ended with an Alumni goal by Craig Stoddart. The Alumni team dominated in the next two periods, scoring nine more goals on the Faculty’s net. Alumni players Joshua Glover and Dean Howley excelled, scoring four goals and a hat trick respectively. The only Faculty goal was scored by Arthur co-editor Louanne Morin’s father Eugene Morin, ending the game with a final score of 10-1 for the Alumni.

As for the main event, East Bank started off strong, with Adam Hayes scoring a goal just 11 seconds into the game. Scores remained relatively even throughout the first two periods, with both teams aptly defending their sides of the river. However, West Bank took the lead at the end of the second period, thanks to a goal from Natan Malanka.

The third period got heated, opening with two goals by West Bank before a fight broke out between West’s Liam Conway and East’s Bradley Rubino, resulting in a trivial five-minute powerplay for East Bank. A minute before the final buzzer, Callum Enright scored a goal for West Bank, closing the game with a score of 8-4 and solidifying a West Bank win.

West Bank player Ben Foster celebrated his team’s victory, advising the future East Bank team to “take that [loss] with a grain of salt and come back next year wanting it a little more. [You] didn’t hate to lose.”

“We knew that they had us beat on paper with talent, but we had the grit,” West Bank’s Assistant Coach Natthan Tanner told Arthur. “We had the grit, we showed them what’s up, and we came out on top.”

For more information on One Million Meals Peterborough, visit www.onemillionmealspeterborough.com.