2014 CIS Nationals (Saskatoon)

MiamiHockey

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Sep 12, 2012
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I'm so sick of arrogance from the other conferences. The oua is becoming a very good very competitive conference. Any team can win on any night. Like I said in an earlier a post. don't be surprised if an oua tam is lifting the university cup on Sunday.

I'd call it ignorance rather than arrogance, because it's based on a lack of knowledge about anything west of New Brunswick.
 

Bob Stauffer

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Aug 4, 2003
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Conference performance

Given that the OUA has won only one CIS Naitional Championship in the last decade is there a surprise that the AUS is seen as the strongest Conference?
The AUS has had three different schools (X-2004, UNB 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, SMU 2010, win titles)
Alberta won in 2004, 2005 and 2008.
Canada West has something to prove as well IMO.

There were a number of years (2004-2010) in which the OUA was basically a non-factor at the University Cup.

2004 University Cup Final- All AUS Final (X vs. UNB, X Wins) after host V-Reds upset #1 Alberta 6-5 in OT(in the most emotional roller-coaster game I ever have broadcast) in the semi-final.

2005 University Cup Final-All Canada West Final(Saskatchewan-Alberta, Alberta wins) as Huskies/Bears out-score OUA teams by a combined 14-0 in their two games (Alberta 11-0 over UQTR, Saskatchewan 3-0 over Western. Manitoba beat UQTR earlier in tournament too.

2006 University Cup Final-Lakehead vs. Alberta, Bears win. Thunderwolves were out-played but upset the U of S in the semi-final. Alberta outscores Laurier, McGill and Lakehead 16-5 over three games wins back-to-back. Bears built up 3-1 first period lead, win 3-2 over Beliveau's 'Wolves

2007 University Cup Final-All AUS (UNB vs. Moncton). No question they were the two best teams at the University Cup after Saskatchewan upset Bears in Canada West Final.

2008 University Cup Final-Alberta vs. UNB, Bears win. V'Reds had exceptional regular season and dominated their pool. Alberta lost 2-1 in OT to host Moncton, pounded McGill 7-3, and then Redmen upset Moncton to put Alberta through.

2009 University Cup Final-UNB knocks off Western as Saint Mary's tanks a third period lead in the semi-final and the Mustangs end up in final. Host Lakehead goes 0-2.

2010 University Cup Final-SMU beats Alberta 3-2 in OT, Bears beat two OUA schools, UQTR and Lakehead to get to the final

2011 University Cup Final-UNB wins with a dominant win over McGill 4-0. Despite three really good forwards Alberta has a poor showing.

2012 University Cup Final-(ALL OUA Final) McGill beats Western. UNB stunned in round-robin.

2013 University Cup-All AUS Final in Saskatoon as UNB beats SMU, the same Mustangs who got through on goal differential after losing to #1 Alberta in round-robin. Bears had been upset 2-1 by Waterloo in a game in which they out-shot the Warriors 43-13 and hit four posts.

Conclusions. AUS has been really good. Canada West in a slump. Perhaps OUA on the rise. McGill has a considerably better team on paper than Carleton. Tommorow's game a toss up. Who knows what Saskatchewan will do. They are the enigma of the West.
 

leafhky88

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Mar 16, 2009
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Toronto
2009 University Cup Final-UNB knocks off Western as Saint Mary's tanks a third period lead in the semi-final and the Mustangs end up in final. Host Lakehead goes 0-2.

2010 University Cup Final-SMU beats Alberta 3-2 in OT, Bears beat two OUA schools, UQTR and Lakehead to get to the final

2011 University Cup Final-UNB wins with a dominant win over McGill 4-0. Despite three really good forwards Alberta has a poor showing.

2012 University Cup Final-(ALL OUA Final) McGill beats Western. UNB stunned in round-robin.

2013 University Cup-All AUS Final in Saskatoon as UNB beats SMU, the same Mustangs who got through on goal differential after losing to #1 Alberta in round-robin. Bears had been upset 2-1 by Waterloo in a game in which they out-shot the Warriors 43-13 and hit four posts.

Conclusions. AUS has been really good. Canada West in a slump. Perhaps OUA on the rise. McGill has a considerably better team on paper than Carleton. Tommorow's game a toss up. Who knows what Saskatchewan will do. They are the enigma of the West.

Last 5:
CW - 1 final appearances, 0 titles
OUA - 4 final appearances, 1 title
AUS - 5 final appearances, 4 titles

Did not realize that in the past 5 years, the CW has only had one appearance in the finals, with no titles. I expect that to change this year. With Acadia losing, Alberta is even more so the favourite. Agreed AUS has been good.
 

northvanman

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Jun 4, 2009
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Oakville, ON
I would say don't be fooled by what the OUA has or hasn't done in the past. The league as a whole is better and more balanced than in any time I can remember. For about the past 12 years, it's generally been about 4 teams (McGill, UQTR, Western and Lakehead) - with occasional playoff runs that have led to appearances at the Nationals by teams like Laurier, Ottawa, Waterloo.

Partly because of recruiting but also because of realignment of the divisions last summer along with full cross-overs, there are way more tough games to play for every team than ever before. The two divisions are quite different - in the East, I'd take McGill, UQTR and Carleton over any of the OUA West teams in a long series - this is the division where the power currently resides, but it also has 4 pretty weak teams. In the West, you pretty much have parity - in my opinion Western was not as much better than the pack as their point total would suggest (and their performance in the playoffs would seem to confirm this) and Laurier was not that much worse (their issue has been icing a full team every night). The other 8 teams were within 7 points of each other.

All of this is to say that the OUA teams are now coming to the Nationals much battle-tested than in the past - and I would say this is especially true for Windsor. As a Mustangs supporter it used to frustrate me how often they'd go to the Nationals and get spanked - but in many of those years, the only regular season games that tested them were the ones against Lakehead, and that wasn't enough. It's not that way anymore.
 

AdamMcg83

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Oct 12, 2011
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I would say don't be fooled by what the OUA has or hasn't done in the past. The league as a whole is better and more balanced than in any time I can remember. For about the past 12 years, it's generally been about 4 teams (McGill, UQTR, Western and Lakehead) - with occasional playoff runs that have led to appearances at the Nationals by teams like Laurier, Ottawa, Waterloo.

Partly because of recruiting but also because of realignment of the divisions last summer along with full cross-overs, there are way more tough games to play for every team than ever before. The two divisions are quite different - in the East, I'd take McGill, UQTR and Carleton over any of the OUA West teams in a long series - this is the division where the power currently resides, but it also has 4 pretty weak teams. In the West, you pretty much have parity - in my opinion Western was not as much better than the pack as their point total would suggest (and their performance in the playoffs would seem to confirm this) and Laurier was not that much worse (their issue has been icing a full team every night). The other 8 teams were within 7 points of each other.

All of this is to say that the OUA teams are now coming to the Nationals much battle-tested than in the past - and I would say this is especially true for Windsor. As a Mustangs supporter it used to frustrate me how often they'd go to the Nationals and get spanked - but in many of those years, the only regular season games that tested them were the ones against Lakehead, and that wasn't enough. It's not that way anymore.

Couldn't agree more. There are really no off-nights for OUA teams anymore (especially in the West), and, coupled with the momentum from the CHL education packages intro'd a number of years ago, I'd argue that the OUA West is the toughest top-to-bottom division/conference in the country. There's something to be said about playing in - and winning - tight games more than 6 times a year.
 

UNB Bruins Fan

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Mar 11, 2008
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Fredericton, NB
I don't think it is any coincidence that the three teams representing the OUA this year all played tough non-conference schedules. Windsor played UNB twice in pre-season, Carleton played UNB in a trip through the AUS as well as St. Lawrence (NCAA), and McGill played Western/UQTR/UMass and Merrimack (NCAA).

- Going back further...Carleton made a trip through the AUS last year and McGill has played UNB a number of times in recent years.
- Other teams who make frequent appearances at the UCup like UQTR (makes a trip out east seemingly every year to play UNB and other AUS teams) and Lakehead (UPEI, Alberta and Minnesota this year, Calgary a few years back) tend to play tough exhibition schedules.
- Most AUS teams make a trip down south every year to play a couple of NCAA teams.
- UNB went out west to play Calgary and Alberta in the pre-season a few years ago...all 3 teams ended up at the University Cup with Calgary being a surprise representative at the time. UNB also played Guelph that year and if I remember correctly the Gryphons had a deep playoff run, falling one series away from qualifying for Nationals.
- UNB played Brock in a pre-season games the year Brock made a surprise run to the UCup.

Perhaps teams are starting to realize that playing tough non-conference games is ultimately more beneficial than blowing out a bunch of college teams, or lesser CIS teams. Look at Alberta the last couple of years when they have mainly played a bunch of college teams only to fizzle out at Nationals...playing Lakehead earlier this year is probably going to help them more now than a 10-1 game against NAIT would have.

But maybe it is a chicken and egg thing, though. Are teams getting better because they are playing tougher non-conference teams, or do these teams get the opportunity to play tougher non-conference games because they are good to begin with?
 

Hollywood3

Bison/Jet/Moose Fan
May 12, 2007
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Regarding non-conference games, the Monkeys seldom travel outside Alberta. They play the Oilers and ACAC teams to supplement their CW schedule. The Mutts don't even do that.

The SMUskies hardly play exhibition games at all.

IMO, the OUA teams should travel extensively because:
1. they have hardly any travel in league play;
2. they have way more weak teams than anybody else.
 

UNB Bruins Fan

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Mar 11, 2008
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Fredericton, NB
Holy...what a terrible quality broadcast...both video and audio. Almost unwatchable.

EDIT: And yet, for the 2nd period the video quality has somehow gotten worse...and there is no audio. Embarrassing that this is the web-cast for a National Championship.
 
Last edited:

Prov1X

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Feb 26, 2012
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Fredericton NB
I watched the game last night and it was much better, tonight's is not worth watching. Just turned it off actually..past my bedtime :)
 

Hollywood3

Bison/Jet/Moose Fan
May 12, 2007
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I watched the game last night and it was much better, tonight's is not worth watching. Just turned it off actually..past my bedtime :)

I thought it was better yesterday. I thought they would maybe do a joint production with SportsNet so that there would be a nice HQ picture for this event.

And ... my Sask prediction came true.
 

RED ARMY EAST

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Feb 14, 2010
1,929
286
Freddy Beach,N.B.Canada
Acadia's performance in this tournament was brutal! They lose 3-2 to Saskatchewan, who played well despite having not played in 25 days. The worst showing by an AUS school since Acadia went 0-2 in Edmonton in 2006.
Good for the Huskies who give Saskatoon fans a chance to come back in big numbers Saturday night.
The afternoon pool will have a big advantage in the final with an extra 5 hours or so of rest.
Alberta or McGill wins this!
 

Bob Stauffer

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Aug 4, 2003
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Edmonton
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Acadia-Out

Well 2006 re-visited for the Axeman. Come out West as the #2 seed with the Player of the Year and get bounced out with 2 straight losses.
This will be just a one-year blip for the AUS IMO.
 

RED ARMY EAST

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Feb 14, 2010
1,929
286
Freddy Beach,N.B.Canada
0-0 after one. Alberta starts off with great intensity and puck pressure, creating a few scoring chances, making it tough for McGill to establish it's game. McGill showing that it can skate with the Bears, but will need to get more offensive chances moving into the second period. Shots 10-5 Alberta
 

RED ARMY EAST

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Feb 14, 2010
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Freddy Beach,N.B.Canada
Alberta with 18 players returning from their team that lost in the opening game in 2013 to Waterloo.
They look to have a bigger team than the one we saw in Fredericton at Nationals, which looked small.
10 players in their 3-4 year. Who is done after this year?
Ringrose, Lindemulder, ??
McGill, similar to UNB in that they have a ton of first or second year players. Totally different team than the National championship team in 2012, but a good one!
 

SP Saskatuned

Registered User
Aug 2, 2011
92
4
Saskatoon, SASK.
Alberta with 18 players returning from their team that lost in the opening game in 2013 to Waterloo.
They look to have a bigger team than the one we saw in Fredericton at Nationals, which looked small.
10 players in their 3-4 year. Who is done after this year?
Ringrose, Lindemulder, ??
McGill, similar to UNB in that they have a ton of first or second year players. Totally different team than the National championship team in 2012, but a good one!

Lindemulder, Colin Joe, Sean Ringrose, Torrie Dyck and Ian Barteaux for sure, all in 5th year. Don't know about the status of their 4th-years. That group includes Kurtis Mucha, Drew Nichol, Johnny Lazo, Jesse Craige and Zack Dailey,
 

RED ARMY EAST

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Feb 14, 2010
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Freddy Beach,N.B.Canada
If Alberta wins and Sask wins, than it will be a clear advantage in a National final, as they have had their way with the Huskies this year. A match up with Windsor would pose a better chance of an upset.
If it's McGill who advances, than a a date with Windsor would be interesting, if it's the U of S, you could have 10-15 thousand in attendance.
 

CoconutHockey*

Guest
Great game so far by McGill/Alberta, I did not expect McGill to hold their end against a stacked Alberta team. However, according to the Sportsnet announcer, it looks like McGill is now down to 4 defencemen to finish the game, after losing 2 this afternoon and Barnard yesterday against Carleton. I expect the Golden Bears to outlast the Redmen in that one
 

CoconutHockey*

Guest
Alberta with 18 players returning from their team that lost in the opening game in 2013 to Waterloo.
They look to have a bigger team than the one we saw in Fredericton at Nationals, which looked small.
10 players in their 3-4 year. Who is done after this year?
Ringrose, Lindemulder, ??
McGill, similar to UNB in that they have a ton of first or second year players. Totally different team than the National championship team in 2012, but a good one!

They showed on Sportsnet the breakdown of eligibility years between the two teams and Alberta had about 10-15 seniors (4th-5th year players). On the other hand, McGill is only losing McKiernan to graduation next year - should be a contender once again in 2014-2015
 

Hollywood3

Bison/Jet/Moose Fan
May 12, 2007
6,441
941
I saw most of the first and then got home in time to see the end of the 3rd. I missed all the goals. From what I have seen McGill looks like Regina with a hot goaltender. They have had control of the puck in the Monkey end maybe 3 times when I have been watching.
 

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