Sports

<p>Ten minutes into her first shift of the last game of the pre-season in October 2019, then-rookie Abby Draper leapt in the air for the offensive rebound. In a matter of seconds, her rookie season ended before it even began. “It was excruciating pain,” said Draper. “I couldn’t bend or extend my leg at all.” [&hellip;]</p>

<p>It&#8217;s a dream of every soccer player to represent their country in the World Cup. For many, it becomes an emotional moment seeing the colours of their country’s flag soaring in the wind, as the national anthem plays throughout the stadium. But many athletes were robbed of the opportunity to celebrate their country this year due to [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The whistle blew and the crowd&#8217;s attention turned to the Fredericton Red Wings&#8217; defensive end. Tension flared as players and referees stumbled to the ground. The Miramichi Timberwolves lost their cool after a long night of the Red Wings exposing their defence with their speed, beating their opponents to almost every loose puck in the [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Brendan Murphy, a third-year St. Thomas University student and member of the Tommies&#8217; men&#8217;s volleyball team, said the first couple of years playing can be hard. For someone who doesn&#8217;t get as much playtime as most, the term &#8220;benchwarmer&#8221; may apply. But to Murphy, it&#8217;s something he can adapt to. &#8220;You just have to get [&hellip;]</p>

<p>After a gruelling off-season because of COVID-19, the St. Thomas University women’s volleyball team returned to practice. Entering the Lady Beaverbrook Gym at the bottom of College Hill in Fredericton, fourth-year player Jenicca Jean is met with health screenings. Jean and the rest of the team are given thermometers to check their temperatures. These health [&hellip;]</p>

<p>For student-athletes, sports play an integral role in their character development. The responsibility of balancing academic athletic life can be demanding. Still, these athletes look forward to each season with enthusiasm and adrenaline rushing through their veins. The pandemic has daunted the passion of many athletes because they aren&#8217;t able to play as freely as [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The Edmundston Blizzard started the overtime period with a 4-on-3 powerplay on Friday night at the Grant Harvey Centre. Applying pressure in the Fredericton Red Wings&#8217; defensive zone early, a close shot was deflected by goalie Morgan Kini&#8217;s left pad. The puck bounced to the side of the net where a Blizzard player was waiting, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Peter Murphy, Tommies&#8217; women&#8217;s hockey head coach, walks through the home of Tommies&#8217; hockey with a potential recruit. He shows her everything the Grant Harvey Centre has to offer — the locker room, weight room and of course, the ice. Only this time, the prospect isn&#8217;t actually in the arena. Murphy acts as a videographer, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Nikita McCartney, a fourth-year psychology student at St. Thomas University, is a role model for the STU women’s soccer program. She said she&#8217;s looking to repeat the feat of making history in her rookie season when the team made it to the Canadian Collegiate Athletics Association nationals. But this time, she will be spare-heading the [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The St. Thomas University men’s soccer team’s future is in jeopardy after a majority of players opted to stay in their hometowns due to COVID-19. Of the 21 players recruited by head coach John-Ryan Morrison, 15 are from outside of Atlantic Canada. Only two local players were scheduled to suit up in the green and gold [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The cheers, the jeers, the chants and the celebrations. Scenes of emotions escalating with every passing play, a bit of flair and every inch of success. This is the kind of atmosphere athletes live for. However, life inside the bubble is everything but the justified reactions of fans seated in the crowd. The pandemic brought [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Following an inaugural season cut short by COVID-19, the Fredericton Red Wings were in a tight spot. After getting ready for a playoff run by training, selling tickets and putting together marketing, months of preparation went down the drain. Roger Shannon, the Red Wings&#8217; president and governor, said the team fired its staff when COVID-19 [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Training sessions at St. Thomas University have a different vibe for the 2020-21 season. Instead of starting practice with a usual jog around the field, players began with screening questions to check for symptoms of COVID-19. Each player had to wear a mask while heading into practice at the Scotiabank South Field. Then, they were [&hellip;]</p>

<p>St. Thomas University men&#8217;s rugby captain Zach Klassen fades in and out of the grainy Teams call. His chosen background, an industrial office with huge blue lockers, occasionally chop off parts of his face and hair. Even in this low-quality reality, the grin on his face is clear as he discusses the informal nondisclosure agreement [&hellip;]</p>

<p>COVID-19 will not stop all fall semester sport teams from competing. St. Thomas University athletics will still hit the pitch despite the Atlantic Athletic Collegiate Association announcing the cancellation of its fall semester sports season back in June. Multiple teams will play in exhibition games, which don&#8217;t count towards ACAA league play. Mike Eagles, STU [&hellip;]</p>

<p>A Saint-Antoine hockey prospect, Yanic Duplessis, sent shockwaves through the hockey world after coming out as gay on the Atlantic Canadian FDS Podcast Network. Duplessis, 17, is a prospect in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, drafted by the Drummondville Voltigeurs in 2019. Duplessis said that the attention was unexpected. He said a reporter who [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Professional athletes have an immense platform that allows them the opportunity to mitigate many social issues. The platform is often used to raise political awareness, as we have come to notice in recent times. One of the most prevalent political actions taken by athletes today stems from the initial decision taken in 2016 by former [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Mar Sedji said she always felt like her skin colour determined who she was in the eyes of her teammates and opponents. The hooker of the St. Thomas University women’s rugby team said as a Black athlete, there’s an expectation for her to be tough, aggressive and a hard-hitting player. Sedji is the only Black player [&hellip;]</p>

<p>In June, the Atlantic University Sport and the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association, the governing bodies of St. Thomas sports belongs to, chose to cancel fall semester competition. Some teams last season did not even get the opportunity to finish their season, as COVID-19 hit and put the world on hold. For STU, this meant no [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Benson Garchinski of the St. Thomas University men&#8217;s volleyball team was heartbroken last spring when fans were escorted out of the Grant Harvey Center during team warm-ups. Garchinski said their head coach, Henri Mallet, told the team &#8220;some things&#8221; were happening and there would be no audience for their game. STU played the host role [&hellip;]</p>