THUNDER BAY, Ont. (CIS) The defending CIS mens hockey champion Alberta Golden Bears are the tournament favourites heading into the 2009 Cavendish University Cup, presented by TBaytel.
Official website: www.universitysport.ca/e/championships/m_hockey/2009
The 2009 CIS championship, hosted by Lakehead University at the Fort William Gardens, gets under way Thursday with the first of three days of round-robin action and culminates Sunday at 2 p.m. with the presentation of the national final.
Rogers Sportsnet will broadcast Saturdays two round-robin duels and Sundays gold-medal final, while SSN Canada will webcast all seven games from the championship.
Joining the top-seeded Golden Bears and the tournament host Thunderwolves (No. 6) in Thunder Bay this week are the No. 2 Saint Marys Huskies (AUS champions), No. 3 Western Ontario Mustangs (OUA champions), No. 4 UNB Varsity Reds (AUS Finalists) and No. 5 McGill Redmen (OUA finalists).
Alberta, UNB and Lakehead will battle in Pool A in the preliminary round, while Saint Marys, Western and McGill make up Pool B. The first-place finishers will meet for CIS gold on Sunday.
Saint Marys and McGill kick off the championship Thursday at 2 p.m., with Western set to face the losers of that match-up Friday afternoon and the winners on Saturday.
In Pool A, Alberta opens its title defence Thursday at 7 p.m. against UNB, in a rematch of last years final. Lakehead will take on the losers Friday night and the winners Saturday evening.
The Bears, who added a 13th University Cup to their record tally last winter with a 3-2 gold-medal win over the top-ranked V-Reds, were the last team to capture the CIS title as the No. 1 seed, back in 2006. Alberta holds most University Cup marks including all-time titles (13), appearances (33rd in 2009), finals (17), games played (86), wins (58), losses (26), goals for (399) and goals against (257).
UNB was crowned in 2007 and 1998, Western claimed its lone CIS banner in 2002, while Saint Marys, McGill and host Lakehead are all looking for their first taste of CIS mens hockey gold.
Note: A complete championship preview will follow Tuesday.
SEEDINGS & POOLS
1. Alberta Golden Bears (Canada West champions / 22-4-2 regular season, 4-1 playoffs)
2. Saint Marys Huskies (AUS champions / 20-7-1 regular season, 5-2 playoffs)
3. Western Ontario Mustangs (OUA champions / 19-7-2 regular season, 7-1 playoffs)
4. UNB Varsity Reds (AUS finalists / 21-4-3 regular season, 4-2 playoffs)
5. McGill Redmen (OUA finalists / 18-8-2 regular season, 6-2 playoffs)
6. Lakehead Thunderwolves (Championship hosts / 18-8-2 regular season, 3-2 playoffs)
Pool A
1. Alberta
4. UNB
6. Lakehead
Pool B
2. Saint Marys
3. Western Ontario
5. McGill
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Wednesday, March 25
13:00 Media Conference (Fort William Curling Club Fort William Gardens)
18:00 All-Canadian Awards Banquet (Fort William Historical Park)
Thursday, March 26
14:00 Pool B #1: No. 2 Saint Marys vs. No. 5 McGill (SSN Canada webcast)
19:30 Pool A #1: No. 1 Alberta vs. No. 4 UNB (SSN Canada webcast)
Friday, March 27
14:00 Pool B #2: No. 3 Western vs. Loser Pool B #1 (SSN Canada webcast)
19:30 Pool A #2: No. 6 Lakehead vs. Loser Pool A #1 (SSN Canada webcast)
Saturday, March 28
14:00 Pool B #3: No. 3 Western vs. Winner Pool B #1 (Rogers Sportsnet / SSN Canada webcast)
19:00 Pool A #3: No. 6 Lakehead vs. Winner Pool A #1 (Rogers Sportsnet / SSN Canada webcast)
Sunday, March 29
14:00 Final (Rogers Sportsnet / SSN Canada webcast)
- CIS -
For more information please contact:
Michel Blanger
Communications manager
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Ph: (613) 562-5670 ext. 25
Cell: (613) 447-6334
belanger@universitysport.ca
www.universitysport.ca