U Sports men's ice hockey championship

The U Sports Men's Ice Hockey Championship, is a Canadian university ice hockey tournament conducted by U Sports, and determines the men's national champion. The tournament involves the champions from each of Canada's four regional sports conferences. The David Johnston University Cup is awarded to the winners.

U Sports men's ice hockey championship
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2023 U Sports University Cup
SportIce hockey
Founded1963 (1963)
Inaugural season1963
Organising bodyU Sports
No. of teams8
CountryCanada
Most recent
champion(s)
UNB Reds (9th title)
Most titlesAlberta Golden Bears (16)
Official websiteusports.ca/en/sports/basketball/m

The UNB Reds are the current champions for the 2022–23 season. The Alberta Golden Bears hold the record of 16 championship wins, as well as the record of 24 championship final appearances. The Toronto Varsity Blues hold the record of 5 consecutive championship trophy wins, from 1969 through 1973, but have not returned to the tournament since 1993, when they suffered the second most lopsided loss in a UCup final, 12–1. Alternatively, during their power years, winning 9 UCups in the 1960s and 1970s, the Blues were the victors in the overall most lopsided final, winning 16–2 in 1967. In the seven years from 2013 through 2019, only the Alberta Golden Bears (3 wins) or the UNB Reds (4 wins) won the championship. The currently dominant UNB Reds have won four of the last six UCups.

History

The trophy was presented to U Sports, then known as the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CIAU), for presentation to a national champion starting with the 1962–63 season, by Queen's University and the Royal Military College of Canada. These two schools, located in Kingston, Ontario, had been the participants in the first organized interuniversity hockey game, played in Kingston in 1885.[1] The cup is meant to recognize the overall contribution made to the game of hockey by outstanding university players.

The CIAU changed its name to Canadian Interuniversity Sport (renaming the trophy the CIS University Cup) in 2001, and again in October 2016 to U Sports (renaming the trophy the U Sports University Cup).

The original University Cup is located at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and does not travel publicly. A replica was created with a less ornate cup in 2006. Between 2006 and 2015, the trophy has been modified after several repairs - the metal bowl is now of simpler design, and mounts more flush to the main wooden portion. The two handles that used to be attached to the bowl, and frequently broke off, were removed. An additional black wooden ring was added to the bottom of the trophy in order to incorporate more school shields, as an engraved metal shield, with diagonal stripes in the winning school's colours, is added to the trophy every year.

On March 13, 2018, U Sports renamed the cup the David Johnston University Cup in honour of David Johnston, former Governor General of Canada.[2]

The 2020 championship was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic after two quarter-final games had already been played.[3] On October 15, 2020, the 2021 inception was also cancelled.[4]

With the completion of the 2022–23 championship, 27 different teams have played in the national championship final (however Sir George Williams University merged with Loyola College in 1974 to create Concordia University, so it could be described as 26 different teams). In all, 17 different teams have won the national championship.

The winningest coach is Tom Watt, whom, at the helm as the Toronto Varsity Blues, won nine University Cup championships between 1966 and 1977. Current UNB Reds coach Gardiner MacDougall sits second with eight UCup wins between 2007 and 2023, while Clare Drake is third, coaching the Alberta Golden Bears to six University Cup championships between 1964 and 1986.

Format

Pre 1998

A varying number of tournament formats had been used prior to 1998. Towards the end of this era, the common format was a 4-team single elimination event between the four conference champions: AUS (called the AUAA at the time - Atlantic University Athletic Association), CW (called the CWUAA at the time - Canada West Universities Athletic Association) and OUA East & West (called the OUAA at the time - Ontario Universities Athletics Association), with the Top 10 ranking determining the opponents in the semi-finals (1v4 and 2v3). In most cases, the semi-finals were on Saturday with the championship game on Sunday. Games were hosted at Varsity Arena in Toronto. In some events, the finals were at Maple Leaf Gardens[5]

1998–2014

Starting in 1998, the CIS changed the format of the University Cup tournament to a six-team/two-pool tournament that would be hosted by a CIS member institution/team rather than in Toronto at Varsity Arena. The host would automatically be included in the tournament leaving five spots for regional representatives. The three conference champions and OUA Queen's Cup Runner-up would automatically be included with the fifth spot as a rotating 'wild-card' team. The University of Saskatchewan Huskies won the bid to host the first three (3) tournaments: 1998, 1999 and 2000.

The wild-card selection was initially chosen based on a static rotation through each conference starting with the AUS in 1998 followed by the OUA and CW, repeating on a tri-year cycle. Due to the random nature of the host bidding process, some tournaments saw more local teams then expected when the host advanced as a conference champion. It was possible for CW or AUS hosts to have 3 teams from their conference or 4 teams in the case of an OUA host who was also a champion. To reduce the local bias, the rotation selection rule was changed prior to the 2009 season - the wild-card would now only come from a non-host conference while maintaining the rotation. In 2009 the OUA was the host conference (Lakehead University) and should have also been the original wild-card conference, instead the AUS provided the wild-card. This rule remained in effect until the format changed in 2015 to 8 teams.

2015–present

Starting in 2015, the tournament expanded from six to eight teams and moved from a two-pool format to a single-elimination competition (quarter-finals, semifinals and gold-medal final plus a bronze-medal game).

The eight teams competing include the four regional conference champions: AUS, Canada West, OUA West and OUA East (where the three men's hockey teams from the RSEQ compete). The remaining four teams are: the host, the Canada West runner-up, the AUS runner-up and the OUA 3rd-place finisher (bronze medalist). The 'natural' conference champions are seeded 1–3; AUS, CW and OUA Queen's Cup Champion (in ranked order). The OUA Queen's Cup Finalist is always seed No. 4. The remaining teams are seeded 5–7, all based on the pre-tournament Top 10 Ranking Poll with the expectation that the host is likely 8th.[6]

A joint bid from St. Francis Xavier University and Saint Mary's University was selected to host the first two events using this format; 2015 (St. FX as the host) and 2016 (SMU as the host). U Sports evaluated those two events and continues to use this tournament format.

Results

Cup champions
Year Champion Runner-up Score Host university Location
1963 McMaster Marlins (1) UBC Thunderbirds 3-2 Queen's & RMC Ontario Kingston, Ontario
1964 Alberta Golden Bears (1) Sir George Williams Georgians 9-1 Queen's & RMC Ontario Kingston, Ontario
1965 Manitoba Bisons (1) St. Dunstan's Saints 9-2 Manitoba Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba
1966 Toronto Varsity Blues (1) Alberta Golden Bears 8-1 Laurentian Ontario Sudbury, Ontario
1967 Toronto Varsity Blues (2) Laurentian Voyageurs 16-2 Calgary & Alberta Alberta Calgary, Alberta
1968 Alberta Golden Bears (2) Loyola Warriors 5-4 Sir George Williams,
Loyola & MacDonald
Quebec Montreal, Quebec
1969 Toronto Varsity Blues (3) Sir George Williams Georgians 4-2 Alberta Alberta Edmonton, Alberta
1970 Toronto Varsity Blues (4) Saint Mary's Huskies 3-2 UPEI Prince Edward Island Charlottetown, PEI
1971 Toronto Varsity Blues (5) Saint Mary's Huskies 5-4 Laurentian Ontario Sudbury, Ontario
1972 Toronto Varsity Blues (6) Saint Mary's Huskies 5-0 Bishops's & Sherbrooke Quebec Sherbrooke, Quebec
1973 Toronto Varsity Blues (7) Saint Mary's Huskies 3-2 Toronto Ontario Toronto, Ontario
1974 Waterloo Warriors (1) Sir George Williams Georgians 6-5 Toronto Ontario Toronto, Ontario
1975 Alberta Golden Bears (3) Toronto Varsity Blues 5-2 Alberta Alberta Edmonton, Alberta
1976 Toronto Varsity Blues (8) Guelph Gryphons 7-2 Toronto Ontario Toronto, Ontario
1977 Toronto Varsity Blues (9) Alberta Golden Bears 4-1 Alberta Alberta Edmonton, Alberta
1978 Alberta Golden Bears (4) Toronto Varsity Blues 6-5 Moncton New Brunswick Moncton, New Brunswick
1979 Alberta Golden Bears (5) Dalhousie Tigers 5-1 Concordia Quebec Montreal, Quebec
1980 Alberta Golden Bears (6) Regina Cougars 7-3 Regina Saskatchewan Regina, Saskatchewan
1981 Moncton Aigles Bleus (1) Saskatchewan Huskies 4-2 Calgary Alberta Calgary, Alberta
1982 Moncton Aigles Bleus (2) Saskatchewan Huskies 3-2 Moncton New Brunswick Moncton, New Brunswick
1983 Saskatchewan Huskies (1) Concordia Stingers 6-2 Moncton New Brunswick Moncton, New Brunswick
1984 Toronto Varsity Blues (10) Concordia Stingers 9-1 UQTR Quebec Trois-Rivières, Quebec
1985 York Yeomen (1) Alberta Golden Bears 3-2 Toronto Ontario Toronto, Ontario
1986 Alberta Golden Bears (7) UQTR Patriotes 5-2 Alberta Alberta Edmonton, Alberta
1987 UQTR Patriotes (1) Saskatchewan Huskies 6-3 Alberta Alberta Edmonton, Alberta
1988 York Yeomen (2) Western Ontario Mustangs 5-3 Toronto Ontario Toronto, Ontario
1989 York Yeomen (3) Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 5-2 Toronto Ontario Toronto, Ontario
1990 Moncton Aigles Bleus (3) Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 2-1 Toronto Ontario Toronto, Ontario
1991 UQTR Patriotes (2) Alberta Golden Bears 7-2 Toronto Ontario Toronto, Ontario
1992 Alberta Golden Bears (8) Acadia Axemen 5-2 Toronto Ontario Toronto, Ontario
1993 Acadia Axemen (1) Toronto Varsity Blues 12-1 Toronto Ontario Toronto, Ontario
1994 Lethbridge Pronghorns (1) Guelph Gryphons 5-2 Toronto Ontario Toronto, Ontario
1995 Moncton Aigles Bleus (4) Guelph Gryphons 5-1 Toronto Ontario Toronto, Ontario
1996 Acadia Axemen (2) Waterloo Warriors 3-2 Toronto Ontario Toronto, Ontario
1997 Guelph Gryphons (1) UNB Varsity Reds 4-3 Toronto Ontario Toronto, Ontario
1998 UNB Varsity Reds (1) Acadia Axemen 6-3 Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
1999 Alberta Golden Bears (9) Moncton Aigles Bleus 6-2 Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
2000 Alberta Golden Bears (10) UNB Varsity Reds 5-4 (2OT) Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
2001 UQTR Patriotes (3) St. Francis Xavier X-Men 5-4 Guelph, Laurier & Waterloo Ontario Waterloo, Ontario
2002 Western Ontario Mustangs (1) UQTR Patriotes 4-3 (3OT) Guelph, Laurier & Waterloo Ontario Waterloo, Ontario
2003 UQTR Patriotes (4) St. Francis Xavier X-Men 3-0 UNB New Brunswick Fredericton, New Brunswick
2004 St. Francis Xavier X-Men (1) UNB Varsity Reds 3-2 (2OT) UNB New Brunswick Fredericton, New Brunswick
2005Alberta Golden Bears (11)Saskatchewan Huskies4-3 (OT)AlbertaAlberta Edmonton, Alberta
2006Alberta Golden Bears (12)Lakehead Thunderwolves3-2AlbertaAlberta Edmonton, Alberta
2007UNB Varsity Reds (2)Moncton Aigles Bleus3-2 (2OT)MonctonNew Brunswick Moncton, New Brunswick
2008Alberta Golden Bears (13)UNB Varsity Reds3-2MonctonNew Brunswick Moncton, New Brunswick
2009UNB Varsity Reds (3)Western Ontario Mustangs4-2LakeheadOntario Thunder Bay, Ontario
2010Saint Mary's Huskies (1)Alberta Golden Bears3-2 (OT)LakeheadOntario Thunder Bay, Ontario
2011UNB Varsity Reds (4)McGill Redmen4-0UNBNew Brunswick Fredericton, New Brunswick
2012McGill Redmen (1)Western Ontario Mustangs4–3 (OT)UNBNew Brunswick Fredericton, New Brunswick
2013UNB Varsity Reds (5)Saint Mary's Huskies2-0SaskatchewanSaskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
2014Alberta Golden Bears (14)Saskatchewan Huskies3-1SaskatchewanSaskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
2015Alberta Golden Bears (15)UNB Varsity Reds6-3StFXNova Scotia Halifax, Nova Scotia
2016UNB Varsity Reds (6)St. Francis Xavier X-Men3-1Saint Mary'sNova Scotia Halifax, Nova Scotia
2017UNB Varsity Reds (7)Saskatchewan Huskies5-3UNBNew Brunswick Fredericton, New Brunswick
2018Alberta Golden Bears (16)St. Francis Xavier X-Men4-2UNBNew Brunswick Fredericton, New Brunswick
2019UNB Reds[lower-alpha 1] (8)Alberta Golden Bears4-2LethbridgeAlberta Lethbridge, Alberta
2020 Cancelled after first two (of eight) games due to COVID-19 pandemic[3]
2021 Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[4]
2022UQTR Patriotes (5)Alberta Golden Bears5-4 (2OT)AcadiaNova Scotia Wolfville, Nova Scotia
2023UNB Reds (9)Alberta Golden Bears3-0UPEIPrince Edward Island Charlottetown, PEI
2024
2025
  1. UNB Reds shortened their name from UNB Varsity Reds as of 2018

Appearances

These tables rank appearances in the final championship game.

The UNB Reds after winning the 2023 University Cup in Charlottetown, PEI on March 19, 2023

By team

Appearances by team
Appearances Team Wins Losses Win %
24 Alberta Golden Bears 16 8 .666
13 Toronto Varsity Blues 10 3 .769
14 UNB Reds[lower-alpha 1] 9 5 .643
7 Saskatchewan Huskies 1 6 .142
6 Moncton Aigles Bleus 4 2 .666
7 UQTR Patriotes 5 2 .714
6 Saint Mary's Huskies 1 5 .167
5 St. Francis Xavier X-Men 1 4 .200
4 Acadia Axemen 2 2 .500
4 Guelph Gryphons 1 3 .250
4 Western Mustangs 1 3 .250
3 York Lions 3 0 1.000
3 Sir George Williams Georgians[lower-alpha 2] 0 3 .000
2 McGill Team 1 1 .500
2 Waterloo Warriors 1 1 .500
2 Concordia Stingers[lower-alpha 2] 0 2 .000
2 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 0 2 .000
1 Lethbridge Pronghorns 1 0 1.000
1 Manitoba Bisons 1 0 1.000
1 McMaster Marauders 1 0 1.000
1 Dalhousie Tigers 0 1 .000
1 Lakehead Thunderwolves 0 1 .000
1 Laurentian Voyageurs 0 1 .000
1 Loyola Warriors[lower-alpha 2] 0 1 .000
1 Regina Cougars 0 1 .000
1 St. Dunstan's Saints[lower-alpha 3] 0 1 .000
1 UBC Thunderbirds 0 1 .000
118Total for 27 teams5959
  1. UNB Reds shortened their name from UNB Varsity Reds as of 2018
  2. Sir George Williams University merged with Loyola College in 1974 to create Concordia University.
  3. St. Dunstan's University merged with Prince of Wales College in 1969 to form the University of Prince Edward Island.

By team's province

Appearances by team's province
Appearances Province Teams Wins Losses Win %
31 Ontario 9 17 14 .548
25 Alberta 2 17 8 .680
20 New Brunswick 2 13 7 .650
16 Nova Scotia 4 4 12 .250
15 Quebec 5 6 9 .400
8 Saskatchewan 2 1 7 .125
1 Manitoba 1 1 0 1.000
1 British Columbia 1 0 1 .000
1 Prince Edward Island 1 0 1 .000
118Total for 9 provinces275959

The only province missing from this list, Newfoundland and Labrador, has only one U Sports member, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Memorial dropped their varsity men's hockey team after the 1981–82 season.

Location

By city

Tournament locations by city
City Hosted Most recent
Ontario Toronto, Ontario 14 1997
Alberta Edmonton, Alberta 7 2006
New Brunswick Fredericton, New Brunswick 6 2018
New Brunswick Moncton, New Brunswick 5 2008
Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 5 2014
Nova Scotia Halifax, Nova Scotia 3[lower-alpha 1] 2020
Alberta Calgary, Alberta 2 1981
Ontario Kingston, Ontario 2 1964
Quebec Montreal, Quebec 2 1979
Ontario Sudbury, Ontario 2 1971
Ontario Thunder Bay, Ontario 2 2010
Ontario Waterloo, Ontario 2 2002
Prince Edward Island Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island 2[lower-alpha 2] 2023
Alberta Lethbridge, Alberta 1 2019
Saskatchewan Regina, Saskatchewan 1 1980
Quebec Sherbrooke, Quebec 1 1972
Quebec Trois-Rivières, Quebec 1 1984
Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba 1 1965
Nova Scotia Wolfville, Nova Scotia 1 2022
Total for 19 Cities602023
  1. Halifax includes 2020, as it did host the teams and the first two (of eight) games before the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[3]
  2. Charlottetown does not include 2021, as the tournament was cancelled in its entirety, five months before its scheduled start, due to the COVID-19 pandemic[4]

By province

Tournament locations by province
Province Hosted Most recent
Ontario Ontario 22 2010
New Brunswick New Brunswick 11 2018
Alberta Alberta 10 2019
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan 6 2014
Quebec Quebec 4 1984
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia 4 2022
Manitoba Manitoba 1 1965
Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island 2 2023
Total for 8 Provinces602023

British Columbia is the only province to have a team play in the championship final (UBC Thunderbirds were runners-up in the original 1963 competition, nothing else since then), but to never host the championships. The other province missing from this list, Newfoundland and Labrador, had not yet hosted yet when it withdrew from varsity men's hockey after the 1981–82 season.

Awards

In addition to the University Cup, the Major W.J. "Danny" McLeod Award is presented following the conclusion of the tournament to the individual deemed Most Valuable Player.

Major McLeod was the overall athletic director at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), was the coach of RMC's ice hockey team, and simultaneously coached two Kingston teams in the Ontario Hockey Association the Kingston Frontenacs (Junior B) and the Kingston Aces (Senior A).[7] McLeod was instrumental in establishing the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CIAU) in 1961, operating the CIAU from his office at RMC as the first CIAU Secretary-Treasurer.[8] He helped create the national university ice hockey championship tournament, which was hosted by RMC for its first two years (1963 and 1964).

Major W.J. "Danny" McLeod Award winners[9]
Year Player Position Team
1963Bill MahoneyForwardMcMaster Marlins
1964Dave DiesDefencemanSir George Williams Georgians[lower-alpha 1]
1965no MVP selected
1966Tom PurserGoaltenderSt. Francis Xavier X-Men[lower-alpha 1]
1967(data, if any, unavailable)
1968Ron CebrykForwardAlberta Golden Bears
1969John Wright[lower-alpha 2]Toronto Varsity Blues
1970Chuck GoddardGoaltenderSaint Mary's Huskies[lower-alpha 1]
1971Ron HindsonForward
1972John Wright[lower-alpha 2]Toronto Varsity Blues
1973Gord Davies
1974Bernie WolfeGoaltenderSir George Williams Georgians[lower-alpha 1]
1975Dale HenwoodAlberta Golden Bears
1976Kent RuhnkeForwardToronto Varsity Blues
1977Rocci PagnelloDefenceman
1978Kevin PrimeauForwardAlberta Golden Bears
1979Dave Hindmarch
1980Chris Helland
1981Benoit FortierGoaltenderMoncton Aigles Bleus
1982Alain GrenierForward
1983Willie DesjardinsSaskatchewan Huskies
1984André HidiToronto Varsity Blues
1985Don McLarenYork Yeomen
1986Dennis CranstonAlberta Golden Bears
1987Marc GervaisUQTR Patriotes
1988Brian GrayYork Yeomen
1989Mark ApplewhaiteGoaltender
1990Rob DopsonWilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks[lower-alpha 1]
1991Denis DesbiensUQTR Patriotes
1992Garth PremakDefencemanAlberta Golden Bears
1993George DupontForwardAcadia Axemen
1994Trevor EllermanLethbridge Pronghorns
1995Dominic RhéaumeMoncton Aigles Bleus
1996Greg ClancyAcadia Axemen
1997Matt MullinGoaltenderGuelph Gryphons
1998Chris ZanuttoDefencemanUNB Varsity Reds
1999Cam DanylukForwardAlberta Golden Bears
2000Kevin Marsh
2001Alexandre TremblayUQTR Patriotes
2002Mike D'AlessandroGoaltenderWestern Ontario Mustangs
2003Éric DesjardinsUQTR Patriotes
2004Mike MoleSt. Francis Xavier X-Men
2005Ben ThomsonForwardAlberta Golden Bears
2006Harlan AndersonDefenceman
2007Yvan BusqueForwardMoncton Aigles Bleus[lower-alpha 1]
2008Ian McDonaldAlberta Golden Bears
2009Lachlan MacIntoshUNB Varsity Reds
2010Andrew HothamDefencemanSaint Mary's Huskies
2011Luke GallantUNB Varsity Reds
2012Francis Verreault-PaulForwardMcGill Redmen
2013Tyler CarrollUNB Varsity Reds
2014Derek HulakSaskatchewan Huskies[lower-alpha 1]
2015Kruise ReddickAlberta Golden Bears
2016Philippe HalleyUNB Varsity Reds
2017Philippe Maillet
2018Stephane LegaultAlberta Golden Bears
2019Alex DubeauGoaltenderUNB Reds[lower-alpha 3]
2020Not awarded, only two (of 8) games played due to COVID-19 pandemic[3]
2021No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic[3]
2022Alexis GravelGoaltenderUQTR Patriotes
2023Samuel RichardUNB Reds
  1. The Award winner was not from that year's Cup-winning champion
  2. John Wright is the only multiple-time winner of the Award (1969, 1972)
  3. UNB Reds shortened their name from UNB Varsity Reds as of 2018

See also

References

  1. "History". U Sports. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  2. "U Sports men's hockey trophy named after former Governor-General David Johnston". Retrieved March 13, 2018 via The Globe and Mail.
  3. "U Sports hockey championships cancelled due to COVID-19 outbreak". Sportsnet. March 12, 2020.
  4. "U Sports unable to offer national championships in winter 2021". usports.ca. U Sports. October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  5. "1996-97 Guelph Men's Hockey". Guelph University Athletics. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  6. "U Sports Playing Regulations: Men's Ice Hockey" (PDF). U Sports. September 2021.
  7. RMC Club staff writers (March 12, 2017). "Wall of Distinction: Tony Golab & Danny McLeod". e-VERITAS. Royal Military College of Canada Alumni Club. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  8. Cates, Darren (June 12, 2011). "'The Major' – A Founding Father – Receives Standing "O" at CIS Banquet". e-VERITAS. Royal Military College of Canada Alumni Club. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  9. "Major W.J. 'Danny' McLeod Award (Championship MVP)" (PDF). U Sports. March 17, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
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