The 50th instalment of the CIS championship took place from March 22-25 in Fredericton, New Brunswick. This will be the second year in a row that the very skillful and reigning champions, the University New Brunswick Varsity Reds, will host teams from across the nation.
The University of Calgary Dinos played their heart and soul out against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, but lost in a decisive heartbreaking game three in triple overtime and will not be returning to the tournament this year.
“It’s just the rotation of who gets the wildcard across the country. This year it was our turn to have just the one berth. That’s why that game was so huge,” said the head coach of the U of C men’s hockey team Mark Howell of the final game.
Joining the Huskies in the CIS championship is the McGill Redmen, who came in second last year, the Western Mustangs, the University of Moncton Blue Eagles, the University of Quebec Trois-Rivières Patriots and the UNB Varsity Reds. The Varsity Reds will enter the tournament as the favourite, followed by the Redmen in second and the Huskies as the third seed. The Redmen will be seeking redemption after being trounced 4-0 in last year’s final against the Varsity Reds. The Varsity Reds will be looking to repeat their win in front of their hometown crowd at UNB’s Aitken University Centre.
Queen’s University and the Royal Military College created the men’s hockey Cavendish University Cup in the 1962-63 season. The cup was meant to recognize the most outstanding hockey team and players who have made the most contributions in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport league. Upon the completion of the tournament last year, 26 different teams had competed in the tournament and 16 different teams had won the trophy since its inauguration. The University of Alberta Golden Bears have won the most championships with 13 wins in 18 tournament appearances. The University of Toronto Varsity Blues follow closely behind with 10 wins in 13 appearances.
There will be a lot at stake for the teams involved as they battle to become the top team in the nation.
The Redmen and the Blue Eagles face off in first game of the tournament at 2 p.m. Atlantic daylight time on March 22.