2023-24 Manitoba Bisons/USports Hockey

[Hollywood]

March 14, 2024: DINOS LOSE 13TH STRAIGHT U-CUP GAME

TORONTO METROPOLITAN BOLD 2
CALGARY DINOSAURS 1
(in double overtime)

Links:
➤ Summaries: LeagueStat : USports
➤ USports: TMU guts out 2-1 double overtime win to advance to semis over Calgary
➤ UNB (late afternoon post): REDS Blank Badgers, Advance At U Cup (with boxscore)
➤ Calgary: Dinos suffer OT2 heartbreak at University Cup (with boxscore)
➤ TMU: Gallagher plays double-overtime hero to lift Bold past Dinos (with boxscore)
➤ USports: Broadcast Schedule

Quick Summary
Calg: J. White (04:40 1st)
TMU: R. Wells (18:02 1st), C. Gallagher (04:31 2nd OT)
Goal: Calg: Tetachuk (45 shots, 43 saves); TMU: Edmonds (51 shots, 50 saves)

Mr. Slate is not going to like this Bedrock U losing streak. That’s 13 straight U-Cup losses. Here’s the list:

1986 - Western Regional best-of-three
U.Q.T.R. 9 Calgary 5
U.Q.T.R. 8 Calgary 5

1988
York 4 Calgary 3

1990
Moncton 5 Calgary 4

1995
Guelph 4 Calgary 1

1996
Waterloo 5 Calgary 2

2000
U.Q.T.R. 3 Calgary 2
Alberta 4 Calgary 2

2011
New Brunswick 2 Calgary 1
Western Ontario 3 Calgary 2

2015
Guelph 3 Calgary 1

2023
U.P.E.I. 4 Calgary 2

2024
T.M.U. 2 Calgary 1 (2ot)

This losing streak probably impressed Brendan Shanahan. I imagine he was in the Bedrock locker room with a fistfull of contracts.

The Dinos had a slight edge in play through regulation time, outshooting The Bald 37-24. Overtime was just the opposite, with The Bald outshooting Bedrock 21-14. The Dinos had 4 of the 5 powerplays, and scored on one.

Thursday’s games, and the rest of the tournament, can be streamed at CBC Gem, CBC.ca, or CBC’s YouTube channel.

NEXT UP

Fri Mar 15 Moncton v U.Q.T.R. 1:00 EDT/12:00 CDT
Fri Mar 15 McGill v U.B.C. 7:00 EDT/6:00 CDT
Sat Mar 16 New Brunswick v Calgary/TMU winner 1:00 EDT/12:00 CDT
Sat Mar 16 U-Cup SF 7:00 EDT/6:00 CDT
Sun Mar 17 U-Cup Bronze Game 11:00 EDT/10:00 CDT
Sun Mar 17 U-Cup Gold Game 5:00 EDT/4:00 CDT

[Hollywood]

March 15, 2024: BOTH QUEBEC SIDES WIN ON DAY 2

U.Q.T.R. PATRIOTES 5
MONCTON AIGLES BLEUS 1

Links:
➤ Summaries: LeagueStat : USports
➤ USports: UQTR wins big over Moncton 5-1 to book semifinal berth
➤ Moncton: Les Aigles Bleus défait par UQTR au Championnat U SPORTS
➤ UQTR: Team Website

Quick Summary
Monc: J. Lapointe (09:54 2nd)
UQTR: C. Beaudoin (00:55 1st), K. Gauthier (05:03 1st), S. Lafrance (11:44 1st), F. Lafrance (08:57 2nd), F. Lafrance (14:27 2nd)
Goal: Monc: Adam (23 shots, 18 saves); UQTR: Gravel (34 shots, 33 saves)

In the battle of French schools, UQTR scored early and often and won this one going away. To be fair, the Eggs rallied and outshot UQTR. In the end, teams need goaltending to win here and only UQTR had it in this matinee.

U.B.C. THUNDERBIRDS 2
MCGILL REDBIRDS 3

Links:
➤ Summaries: LeagueStat : USports
➤ USports: McGill upsets UBC 3-2 to advance to semifinals
➤ McGill: U SPORTS HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP: Sixth-seeded McGill stuns No.3 UBC in battle of the birds (with boxscore)
➤ UBC: Historic T-Birds season comes to a close with quarter-final loss to McGill (with boxscore)

Quick Summary
McG: X. Fortin (06:59 2nd), Z. Gallant (13:02 2nd), S. Huard (08:00 3rd)
UBC: J. Williams (14:31 1st), T. Rask (16:07 2nd)
Goal: McG: Shank (37 shots, 35 saves); UBC: Schwebius (14 shots, 11 saves)

Watching these teams peck away at each other, I had the notion that the T-irds would ultimately prevail. The score was always tight, but the play was mostly one way. The shots were 15-6 in the 2nd, and 14-2 in the 3rd, both in favour of UBC. Safe to say that UBC never got a save when they needed one.

NEXT UP

Sat Mar 16 New Brunswick v Toronto Metro 1:00 EDT/12:00 CDT
Sat Mar 16 U.Q.T.R. v McGill 7:00 EDT/6:00 CDT
Sun Mar 17 U-Cup Bronze Game 11:00 EDT/10:00 CDT
Sun Mar 17 U-Cup Gold Game 5:00 EDT/4:00 CDT

OUT WEST

Fri Mar 15 Concordia-Edmonton 3 Red Deer Poly 6 (RDP leads series 1-0)
Sat Mar 16 Red Deer Poly at Concordia-Edmonton 7:00 MDT/8:00 CDT
Fri Mar 22 Concordia-Edmonton at Red Deer Poly 7:00 MDT/8:00 CDT
Sat Mar 23 Red Deer Poly at Concordia-Edmonton 7:00 MDT/8:00 CDT (if necessary)
Sun Mar 24 Concordia-Edmonton at Red Deer Poly 7:00 MDT/8:00 CDT (if necessary)

Links:
➤ ACAC: Schedule & Results

[Hollywood]

March 16, 2024: SQUIRRELS GET BACK-TO-BACK SHUTOUTS

NEW BRUNSWICK REDS 7
TORONTO METROPOLITAN BOLD 0

Links:
➤ Summaries: LeagueStat : USports
➤ USports: UNB dominates TMU 7-0 to advance to U CUP finals
➤ UNB: REDS Advance To U Cup Final, Beat Bold 7-0 (with boxscore)
➤ TMU: Bold thrashed by undefeated REDS in semi-final of National Championship (with boxscore)

Quick Summary
UNB: S. McGurn (05:04 1st), K. McCallum (06:58 1st), C. Kammerer (15:47 1st), A. Keating (02:12 2nd), K. Landry (08:12 2nd), C. Baber (00:38 3rd), J. Willms (14:38 3rd)
TMU: none
Goal: UNB: Richard (22 shots, 22 saves); TMU: Edmonds (48 shots, 41 saves)

This was over early. The UNBREDS outshot The Bald 24-3 in the 1st period and racked up a 3-0 lead. They have outscored their opponents 11-0 over two games. They also have yet to lose this year. Is Vegas offering odds on the final?

U.Q.T.R. PATRIOTES 5
MCGILL REDBIRDS 4

Links:
➤ Summaries: LeagueStat : USports
➤ USports: UQTR gets clutch win over McGill 5-4 to reach U Cup finals
➤ McGill: Schedule & Results
➤ UQTR: Team Website

Quick Summary
McG: X. Fortin (14:14 1st), A. Gagnon (07:56 2nd), A. Gagnon (15:07 2nd), E. Uba (19:12 2nd)
UQTR: S. Lafrance (08:13 1st), E. Cournoyer (17:01 1st), W. Dumoulin (07:35 2nd), V. Milot-Ouellet (19:29 2nd), C. Frenette (16:19 3rd)
Goal: McG: Shank (28 shots, 23 saves); UQTR: Gravel (29 shots, 25 saves)

This unofficial RSEQ championship was quite an even game. However, neither team had the kind of goaltending needed to pull of a monumental upset against The Squirrels. UQTR built a 3-1 lead, but then McGill stormed back to lead 4-3. The winning goal was scored in the last 4 minutes, but then McGill never really got their goaltender out for any length of time.

NEXT UP

Sun Mar 17 Toronto Metro v McGill (bronze game) 11:00 EDT/10:00 CDT
Sun Mar 17 New Brunswick v U.Q.T.R. (gold game) 5:00 EDT/4:00 CDT

OUT WEST

Sat Mar 16 Red Deer Poly 2 Concordia-Edmonton 1 (RDP leads series 2-0)
Fri Mar 22 Concordia-Edmonton at Red Deer Poly 7:00 MDT/8:00 CDT
Sat Mar 23 Red Deer Poly at Concordia-Edmonton 7:00 MDT/8:00 CDT (if necessary)
Sun Mar 24 Concordia-Edmonton at Red Deer Poly 7:00 MDT/8:00 CDT (if necessary)

Links:
➤ ACAC: Schedule & Results

[Hollywood]

March 17, 2024: YET ANOTHER SHUTOUT FOR THE UNBREDS

TORONTO METROPOLITAN BOLD 2
MCGILL REDBIRDS 3
(Bronze Medal Game)

Links:
➤ Summaries: LeagueStat : USports
➤ USports: McGill takes over late to win 3-2 over TMU for bronze
➤ TMU: TMU’s late collapse to McGill leaves Bold empty-handed at U CUP (with boxscore)
➤ McGill (Saturday late): U SPORTS HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP: Pats ground Redbirds with late-game heroics in thrilling semifinal (with boxscore)

Quick Summary
McG: S. Huard (19:55 1st), B. Frattaroli (14:04 3rd), B. Frattaroli (18:39 3rd)
TMU: E. Roberts (02:30 1st), J. Doherty (07:52 3rd)
Goal: McG: Shank (26 shots, 24 saves); TMU: Edmonds (31 shots, 28 saves)

Morning hockey is hard to watch, but it can’t be easy to play, either. With The Bald clinging to a 2-1 lead late in the 3rd, McGill scored two late goals to claim the bronze. They deserve credit for this, having played the Saturday night game. McGill has no game story posted, but they did post a late story on Saturday’s semi-final (linked).

NEW BRUNSWICK REDS 4
U.Q.T.R. PATRIOTES 0
(Gold Medal Game)

Links:
➤ Summaries: LeagueStat : USports
➤ USports: UNB defeats UQTR 4-0 to take the 2024 U Cup
➤ UNB: U Cup Champs and Perfect (with boxscore)
➤ UQTR: Team Website

Quick Summary
UNB: B. Gilmour (07:52 1st), C. Morgan (15:09 1st), A. Keating (04:34 3rd), I. Nurse (19:23 3rd)
UQTR: none
Goal: UNB: Richard (23 shots, 23 saves); UQTR: Gravel (32 shots, 29 saves)

So three straight shutouts for the Squirrels, and not one loss all season. Watching this one, it never seemed like UQTR had a prayer. I admit that once the Jets’ game started (around the end of the 1st period) my attention was primarily on that one. After UNB, the rest of the field, and several teams eliminated in conference playoffs, were basically of the same calibre.

NEXT UP

Exhibition games in September!

[Hollywood]

March 22, 2024: RED DEER POLY AND U.Q.A.C. TAKE TITLES

CONCORDIA-EDMONTON THUNDER 2
RED DEER POLY KINGS 3
(in triple overtime)
(RDP wins series 3-0)

Links:
➤ Summaries: ACAC
➤ ACAC: Schedule & Results : Game Story
➤ RDP: RDP Kings claim consecutive ACAC Championships
➤ Red Deer Advocate: RDP Kings win back-to-back ACAC Men’s Hockey Championship titles
➤ CUE: Team Website

This win gives the Kings consecutive ACAC titles. Concordia was 9-15 in the regular season, good for 6th place in a 7-team league, and so their playoff run was quite a surprise. For Red Deer Poly, they scraped into 2nd place by barely edging out NAIT and Augustana. This gave them a bye past the quarter-final round.

U.Q.A.C. INUK 7
CONCORDIA STINGERS 2
(UQAC wins series 2-0)

Links:
➤ RSEQ: Index : News & Scores
➤ RSEQ: Schedule & Results (with lots missing) : Standings : Playoff Schedule
➤ RSEQ Team Pages: UQAC : Concordia : ETS
➤ RSEQ Game Story: The Inuk won the final series

The RSEQ Div 2 seems like a great idea, but not one team has a normal team website. No schedule & results pages, game stories, rosters, or stats. All they have is the RSEQ conference page, which is really awkward. I linked everything I could!

This is just a 3-team league (the ETS Piranhas are the only other team). All three teams played a lot of games against CEGEP teams from the RSEQ College division. A lot of those scores were never reported.

Also, Bishop’s has a team in the AAU. They play basically a season of exhibition games. Their women’s team joined the RSEQ in 2021-22. The men’s team schedule page ends at the end of January. Link