Last month, on February 7th and 8th, the Osgoode Hockey team hosted the very first Osgoode Frozen Forum: Law School Hockey Championship. While there is an annual tournament at Queen’s in Kingston, this was the first ever law school hockey tournament in the GTA. There were eight school teams and two alumni teams that played, totalling over 200 participants. It was Osgoode Alumni who won the championship and raised the Korman Cup, sponsored by Korman & Company. Osgoode’s Captain Brandon Jang filled us in on just how incredible the tournament, the team, and the overall experience was.
Osgoode Hockey is a niche, but historic group of students. During the 2022-23 school year, a 3L student, Will Brown, ratified the team and the Osgoode Hall Athletics Association. Upon his graduation, Will passed the torch to Brandon and fellow teammate, Cameron Davie. Together, Brandon and Cameron cultivated an inclusive and welcoming hockey culture, ensuring the sport remained accessible to all while maintaining a balanced mix of competitive opportunities. In 2023, the team hosted a local PlayForMay Charity Cup. The PlayForMay Foundation is a cancer-research initiative started by Brandon and, over the last three years, he has raised over $50,000 through various sporting events. He started PlayForMay for his mom, May Jang, who battled cancer. Brandon was motivated to use sports as more than just a game. He wanted to use it as a tool to bring communities together to achieve good.
The following year, the team hosted another PlayForMay Charity Cup, but this time at the Toronto Marlies’ arena, growing the scale of their initiatives. To make the 2024-2025 season into something huge for the team, they began planning the Osgoode Frozen Forum. There was a lot of planning, some growing pains, and it was a huge team effort. Brandon shared that so much went into it and everyone played a role, whether it was by booking ice, organizing socials, or setting up on the day of. Everyone understood the vision and what this tournament would mean for Osgoode Hockey in their broader pursuit to establish their school as the central hub for law school hockey and sports. Brandon reflected on how he couldn’t have done it without Assistant Captain, Mike DiMambro – it was the synergy and shared vision between them that was able to bring this tournament to life. A big congrats to the entire team for pulling together such an incredible event within the Osgoode community!
The tournament was a huge success and the Osgoode team put in an incredible effort. They won their first game against UofT with a final score of 7-3. A great match for their “battle of Bay Street” schools. The Player of the Game, an initiative sponsored by Stikeman Elliot, was Osgoode’s assistant captain, Cameron Davie, with 2 goals. Their second game against Western, one of Osgoode’s biggest rivals, was also a win. From the defence to the forwards, Brandon described it as “one of the best games as a captain.” The team showed up and really gave it their all, believing in their strength and skills— and it paid off. Brandon was the Player of the Game and described it as a game he’ll never forget.
Ultimately, Osgoode lost in the quarter-finals, but they played incredibly hard throughout the weekend and put on a great tournament. They went in as an underdog and ended up winning against two very talented teams. As Brandon said, “It’s about more than law and more than hockey, it was the feeling of playing for your school on your home ice.” Hats off the Osgoode Alumni team for their success in winning the tournament. They were part of the reason the Frozen Forum was so successful—they came and supported, and many of the current Osgoode players look forward to playing with the alumni team. The tournament also featured a first-of-its-kind all-star charity game. Each team sent three players to a draft to make up two teams who played an exhibition match with a ceremonial face-off while repping special PlayForMay jerseys.
The team has been so impactful for many students, particularly Brandon. “I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of my teammates for their dedication and support. A special thank you to Cameron Davie, leading alongside you is something I’ll always remember, and I couldn’t have asked for a better friend and teammate.” With a lot of the team graduating this year, eyes will be on what comes next for Osgoode’s team. It has been such an important part of Brandon’s Osgoode career and it’s inspiring to think about what may come next for the team. He shared that he believes in them and that they’ll be able to carry the legacy forward.