To many of us, the cold weather of the winter season is a reason to tell stories about great toboggan runs, sitting by a warm fire sipping hot chocolate, or snowmen and snowball fights.
Many who live in Mississauga are unable to share any of those moments of nostalgia. Their goal is to fend off the biting cold in ill fitting jackets as they search out a place for a hot meal. On Fridays during the winter cold some of these people come to St. Mary’s Sea of the Sea Church basement in Port Credit for a meal consisting of soup, a main course, desserts, and followed with a warm beverage.
This year 120 care packages have been put together by the Minor Bantam Terriers. Fifty for women, 50 for men and 20 for children. The care packages are filled with new hats, mitts, socks, snacks, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, razors, deodorant, and soap. In addition to this there are used coats and sweaters for the guests.
It’s about more than hockey.
Some of those care packages will include toys donated by members of the Terrier’s hockey family. Since 2005 the Terriers have hosted a holiday pizza night for all of the players. It happens over two Mondays, but it’s more than free pizza and drinks. It started in the days when we paid admission to the rink. The deal was that on pizza night the Terrier’s covered the admission fees, provided pizza and soft drinks in return for a Christmas toy.
Over the last 14 years that has meant somewhere in the neighbourhood of 3,000 toys have been donated to the CP 24 CHUM Christmas Wish program. This year alone more than 380 gifts were donated.
It’s about more than hockey.
On an unusually warm Sunday afternoon late in November as the calendar turned towards the Christmas season 17 Bantam Terriers, dressed in their blue jerseys, were the centre of attention in Toronto’s Moss Park.
Winning. It’s a concept that dominates our society. Chess matches. Olympic competitions. School tests. It’s all about coming first. We talk about it and want it. Some victories are easy to determine because we rely on standings, or scores to provide a defined measurement of success. Then there are other victories, the ones that are decided by more subtle and often more meaningful ways. 
The Mississauga Terriers Bantam hockey team knows all about victories. Most of the group has been together for a number of years, and they’ve had their share of winning. They are undoubtedly a good hockey team, but they have shown they are far more than that.
On an unusually warm Sunday afternoon late in November as the calendar turned towards December and the Christmas season these 17 Terriers, dressed in their blue jerseys, were the centre of attention in Toronto’s Moss Park. 