A capsule look at the eight teams competing in the U Sports men's hockey Final 8 in Toronto.
Teams are listed by seeding heading into the tournament. The tournament runs from Thursday to Sunday.
1. New Brunswick Reds
Scouting report: Second-year D Kale McCallum won the country’s defenceman of the year … Scored 5.73 goals per game in regular season. Next best was UBC at 4.50 … Defeated No. 7 Moncton seven times by a combined score of 35-5 with four shutouts in five regular-season outings and a two-game sweep in the Atlantic final.
Overall record: 35-0 (5-0 in playoffs).
Coach: Gardiner MacDougall, 24th year.
2. Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes
Scouting report: Won third straight OUA title with a 3-2 double-overtime win at TMU in the 112th Queen’s Cup final on Saturday … Simon Lafrance is back-to-back OUA East MVP, scoring 25 goals in 26 regular-season games … Third-year goalie Alexis Gravel, a Chicago 2018 draft pick, led the Halifax Mooseheads to the QMJHL 2018-19 final.
Overall record: 26-9-1 (5-2 in playoffs).
Coach: Marc-Etienne Hubert, 11th year.
3. British Columbia Thunderbirds
Scouting report: Won first Canada West title in 53 years with 2-1 series win against Calgary … Captain Chris Douglas had five goals in six playoff games, including two-goal outings in series-clinchers against Alberta and Calgary … Coach Sven Butenschon played for Germany at 2010 Vancouver Olympics and had NHL stints in Edmonton and Vancouver.
Overall record: 26-6-2 (4-2 in playoffs).
Coach: Sven Butenschon, 8th year.
4. Toronto Metropolitan University Bold
Scouting report: Second-year goalie Kai Edmonds has a 1.43 goals against average and .947 save percentage in six playoff games … Hard-working forward Zach Roberts, a fourth-year transfer from Guelph, is the son of former NHLer Gary Roberts … Have Russians Daniil Grigorev and Artem Duda, a 2022 second-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes.
Overall record: 23-10-1 (4-2).
Coach: Johnny Duco, 7th year.
5. Calgary Dinos
Scouting report: Making second successive University Cup appearance after winning first Canada West title since 1996 last year … Colson Gengenbach, one of a few Dinos not to play junior in the WHL, has 20 goals in 28 regular-season games and four more in five playoff outings … His linemate is former Maple Leafs pick Riley Stotts.
Overall record: 24-7-2 (3-2 in playoffs).
Coach: Mark Howell, 15th year.
6. McGill Redmen
Scouting report: Last won University Cup in 2012 … Lost to UQTR 2 games to 1 in OUA East final, but rallied to beat Brock 5-2 in OUA third-place game in Thorold, Ont., coach David Urquart’s hometown … Defenceman Scott Walford, a Montreal Canadiens 2017 third-round pick, was an OUA East all-star with teammates William Rouleau and Eric Uba.
Overall record: 25-7-2 (4-2 in playoffs).
Coach: David Urquart, 3rd year.
7. Moncton Aigles Bless
Scouting report: Haven’t won the University Cup since 1995 and making first appearance since 2012 … Second-year defenceman Jacob Dion, who played junior for QMJHL Drummondville Voltigeurs, was named to the Atlantic first all-star team … Coach Derek Cormier played at UNB and was a teammate of Canadian women’s national team coach Troy Ryan.
Overall record: 23-11-1 (3-2).
Coach: Derek Cormier, third year.
8. Brock Badgers
Scouting report: Goaltender Connor Ungar won Clare Drake Trophy as Canadian University rookie-of-the-year, setting a school record with 20 regular-season wins … Defeated UQTR 3-2 in a shootout at home on Jan. 13, with Jacob Roach tying the game with 4:49 remaining in third period … Roach was an OHL Guelph Storm teammate of McGill’s Uba.
Overall record: 24-10-0 (3-3 in playoffs).
Coach: T.J. Manastersky, second year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2024.
The Canadian Press
