March 16th, 2019 marked the 5th and last time I was a part of the Ontario Engineering Hockey tournament, and I can’t help but look back and appreciate the fact that this existed. Going back to 2nd year, in March there was this tournament that I looked forward to before the exam grind started and the school year ended. Every year, ~15 other engineering students from McMaster and I would organize a team and travel to one University or another to play some hockey during the day and have some fun during the night.
Throughout this time, I’ve won the tournament a couple of times, but that’s secondary to the friendships and connections I’ve made with my teammates — and those I played against. Having an organized tournament allowed me to meet people who love the game as much as I do but wouldn’t have met since they might have been in a different year, program, or university. I can honestly say that I believe I’ve gained some lifelong friends through being apart of the McMaster Engineering Hockey Team and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
Last year was the first time the unofficial tournament was brought into ESSCO, which I think is for the better. This should assist in creating a structure for the tournament and will ensure continuity for Engineering Hockey across Ontario. This is key, since as Engineers, we work pretty hard — so we also need opportunities to play hard in order to achieve a good balance. ESSCO hockey is something that will go a long way to support this for hockey playing engineers across the province.
Cheers,
Nick Aubry