---Gee Gees men’s hockey standout prepares for another big year

After a bittersweet finish to last season – unable to participate in the 2020 U Sports National Championships because it got cancelled by the coronavirus – Ottawa Gee Gees men’s hockey forward Yvan Mongo is highly motivated to bring his team back to glory.

For the Aylmer-native finance major, the only uncertainty about this season is when it will actually begin. On June 8, U Sports announced the cancellation of six different national championships and modified certain scholarship and eligibility regulations in response to COVID-19. In a press release issued by U Sports on the same date, the organization’s Chief Sports Officer Lisette Johnson-Stapley said the decision was for student safety, noting the uncertainty of travel restrictions and curriculum models on different campuses. “Taking into account the academic realities of university sport, we arrived at a point where a tough decision had to be made,” said Johnson-Stapley.

On the same date Ontario University Athletics (OUA) unveiled their own press release, effectively cancelling all OUA-sanctioned sports activities until December 31, noting that a first term return to play was not feasible according to health authorities. With the goal of resuming university sports programming in January 2021, OUA President and CEO Gord Grace said no decision had been made beyond the first term time frame, and that further decisions would be made later. Upon hearing this news, Mongo admitted to feeling frustrated, knowing that minor and pro sports are already well underway, while seeing two of his seasons of athletic eligibility shortened by COVID-19.

More anxiously awaiting the resumption of collegiate hockey than ever before, the thought of OUA not resuming its activities by the start of the second term would be a nightmare, Mongo said. The finance student remains hopeful that U Sports will find a way to compensate student athletes who weren’t able to perform as much as expected because of COVID-19.

“We all want to play,” Mongo said. “That’s why we play the games. I just think about everyone playing their last season. If you don’t get a chance to play, that would be absolutely devastating. I hope the league is going to give players an extra year of eligibility.” While understanding the reasoning behind the decision to temporarily cancel sports, the 23-year-old said he has been itching to play competitively again.

Living in Montreal during the off season, where he has been able to skate twice a week, Mongo noted that he wasn’t able to spend time with his team and meet his new teammates until last week when he joined them for workouts. Having difficulty dealing with the reality of the pandemic at first – staying at home and not socializing for extended periods – Mongo said the silver lining has been the extra time spent with his family, to reflect on ways to improve himself and the access to ice time.

Notching eight goals and 10 assists in 27 OUA regular season games last year, and on his way to third-best in the nation 17-7-4 record, a Queen’s Cup victory and a berth in the National Championships, the Aylmerite is preparing for his third season with the Garnet and Grey.

With a number of highly-touted fresh faces joining the program, after seeing several players from its original 2016 team when the program restarted from scratch, graduate last spring, Mongo is confident that the team will pick up on its already established winning culture.

“I expect a lot from our group,” Mongo said. “There’s a lot of young new guys. But most of our recruits played at a really high level. Some played major junior last year. So, I’m not worried about the new guys. I know they’re going to come in ready to play.

“We have great coaching,” he added. “So, I’m really confident that we’re going to be one of the best teams at the end of the season.”

Studying online for the time being, Mongo knows this year will be a different kind of challenge than he’s used to. But he intends to be ready for whatever he needs to face.

“I don’t really like doing school online,” Mongo said. “I prefer going to class and being there physically. It’s going to be a challenge. But I’m going to do my best. At the end of the day, if I put in the work, everything’s going to go well.”