2017 U Sports Playoffs/University Cup (March 16th-19th in Fredericton, NB)

[UNB Bruins Fan]

If Alberta is in UNB's pool they will be playing Thursday afternoon. I don't have the stats off hand, but it seems like a lot of their early tournament losses are in the afternoon.

This brings up my biggest gripe with the new format. They should have kept the pools split into afternoon/evening and not by Thursday/Friday. Before, ideally the #1 and #2 would play (and win) on Thursday and get Friday off. Now, one of them has to play on Friday and have to win 3 in 3.

 

[Rob]

I have to wonder if the Golden Bears would be happy playing at 1pm? It would be like playing a 10am game for them. I'm guessing they will be playing against Acadia as well. Of course if they win they'll be well rested for the weekend.

Also, I was disappointed to find out there is going to be a bronze medal game again? What's the point?

 

[Prov1X]

Also, I was disappointed to find out there is going to be a bronze medal game again? What's the point?

I am not sure what the point of it is either, and a 9:30 game on a Sunday morning? Still not sure why the finals are at 1:00 on Sunday either.

 

[AdamMcg83]

Still not sure why the finals are at 1:00 on Sunday either.

I can't opine as to why, but I would be willing to bet that the tournament committee had more or less zero input on the Sunday game times - This is likely a Sportsnet decision.

 

[Prov1X]

I can't opine as to why, but I would be willing to bet that the tournament committee had more or less zero input on the Sunday game times - This is likely a Sportsnet decision.

It is unfortunately, they dictate everything.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

It's all Sportsnet I would imagine. Kind of surprised though given they are doing basketball this weekend and hockey next to split up "Championship Weekend", so you would think there would be more options available time-wise.

 

[Drummer]

Still not sure why the finals are at 1:00 on Sunday either.

The game is on SportsNet 360. This is the main channel for their WWE content - there is a WWE show at 4pm. At 6pm there is a World Baseball Classic Game.

The main channels all have main events in the afternoon and evening
Afternoon
- SN | (NHL) Florida vs Pittsburgh
- SN World | (Soccer) Man City vs Liverpool
- SN1 | World Baseball Classic
- SN360 | USPORTS Hockey

Late Afternoon
- SN | Grand Slam Curling Elite 10 Final
- SN World | (Soccer) Bundesliga
- SN1 | Darts and Misplays
- SN360 | WWE

Evening
- SN | Rogers Hometown Hockey (Ott vs Mtl)
- SN World | (Soccer) Bundesliga
- SN1 | (NBA) Raptors vs Indiana
- SN360 | World Baseball Classic

So - my guess is the World Baseball Classic took our late afternoon, early evening spot we've had for the last few years leading into Rogers Hometown Hockey. It's also likely the reason that BBall was moved up a week as there would be no time to show BBall, Hockey and Baseball on one channel.

Saturday
Semi #1 is at noon
Semi #2 is at 4pm

Both on SN360.

 

[Drummer]

If Alberta is in UNB's pool they will be playing Thursday afternoon. I don't have the stats off hand, but it seems like a lot of their early tournament losses are in the afternoon.

This brings up my biggest gripe with the new format. They should have kept the pools split into afternoon/evening and not by Thursday/Friday. Before, ideally the #1 and #2 would play (and win) on Thursday and get Friday off. Now, one of them has to play on Friday and have to win 3 in 3.

You're assuming UNB is #5 (which I believe they will be, but it could change).

The current format is to have a bracket play their games on the same day. This way it's fair/equitable to each team in the bracket. So, if UNB elects to play Thursday night in the #4 vs #5 game, then Alberta would play ACD in the #1 vs #8 game in the afternoon. The trade-off for UNB for playing on Thursday night is you have to play Semi #1 at noon on Saturday.

The game that most fans focus on was in 2003 (at UNB) - Alberta was #1 and played #6 SFX on Thursday afternoon and lost 3-2 OT2. Rob Daum was not happy.

 

[AdamMcg83]

The game is on SportsNet 360. This is the main channel for their WWE content - there is a WWE show at 4pm. At 6pm there is a World Baseball Classic Game.

The main channels all have main events in the afternoon and evening
Afternoon
- SN | (NHL) Florida vs Pittsburgh
- SN World | (Soccer) Man City vs Liverpool
- SN1 | World Baseball Classic
- SN360 | USPORTS Hockey

Late Afternoon
- SN | Grand Slam Curling Elite 10 Final
- SN World | (Soccer) Bundesliga
- SN1 | Darts and Misplays
- SN360 | WWE

Evening
- SN | Rogers Hometown Hockey (Ott vs Mtl)
- SN World | (Soccer) Bundesliga
- SN1 | (NBA) Raptors vs Indiana
- SN360 | World Baseball Classic

So - my guess is the World Baseball Classic took our late afternoon, early evening spot we've had for the last few years leading into Rogers Hometown Hockey. It's also likely the reason that BBall was moved up a week as there would be no time to show BBall, Hockey and Baseball on one channel.

Saturday
Semi #1 is at noon
Semi #2 is at 4pm

Both on SN360.

This theory has one problem - the Usports women's hockey championship game is at 7pm eastern. Is Sportsnet 360 not showing that as well?

 

[Prov1X]

This theory has one problem - the Usports women's hockey championship game is at 7pm eastern. Is Sportsnet 360 not showing that as well?

Just looked at their schedule and it does not show the women's game at all

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

I wonder if TSN will try to get the rights once the current deal with SN expires. There might be some more flexibility with the schedule then. It's hard to find time on SN with their NHL deal, especially on a Saturday/Sunday.

 

[AUS Fan]

I just did a bit of number crunching based on rankings for the year on a 10 to 1 scale. UofA has 111, SFX 84, QUE 44 and YRK 18. So, UofA #1, SFX #2, OUA1 #3, OUA2 #4, UNB #5, UofS #6, OUA3 #7, ACA #8.

I can't see anything in the final ranking that would move SFX ahead of UofA or QUE ahead of SFX.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

Just noticed the McGill/Windsor game is tonight and York/Queen's tomorrow. Smart move to split the two games up.

 

[RED ARMY EAST]

St FX

They are on a roll, no question and deserve full credit to knocking off UNB in the AUS final. If they win the University Cup, it would be a 10-0 playoff run!
I still think that the V-Reds are the favourite entering the University Cup, despite losing this series.
If X doesn' t get a 49 save performance from Marchand in game 1, they would be playing tonite.
At Nationals ,X will have to execute the same systems that led to success in the AUS final. Man to man defensive zone coverage, clogging up the shooting lanes, rely on good goaltending, quick transition, a pp that gets pucks to the net with, lots of traffic in front of the net.
If they get away from this type of game for so much as a period, that could be the difference in a game.
They are familiar with playing AUS rivals, but match ups won't be as easy against CanadaWest or OUA opposition.
The 4 teams that have a legitimate shot at winning the University Cup are Alberta,Sask,X and UNB.
Any one of the other 4 teams will need a lot of luck.
Acadia can't be overlooked, as they swept SMU. They are big and physical, but their goaltending would have to be lights out!

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

I wouldn't be shocked to see Acadia beat Alberta or McGill (if it is them) knock off X, although McGill's goaltending has not impressed me from what I've watched.

 

[AdamMcg83]

Don't be surprised if Queen's pulls out an upset against whoever they face in rd. 1 (UNB/Sask). it's hard to overstate how well Kevin Bailie is playing right now, and they have the top-end skaters to beat anyone if they get the kind of goaltending they've been getting. To me, that's a super-scary matchup in round one.

 

[Bob Stauffer]

UNB is a prohibitive favorite!

Make no mistake the V-Reds are the prohibitive favorite in this tournament.
They are at home, with a team that was ranked #1 virtually all season, with an experienced veteran team and a coach that has built a winning program.
The fact that they lost to X in the AUS Final only will further drive them to success.
UNB also will have a very easy opening game to the tournament playing OUA #2 , after a couple of upsets in the OUA play-downs.

If the seeding work like this:
#1. Alberta
#2. X
#3. OUA 1
#4. OUA 2
#5. UNB
#6. Sask
#7. OUA 3
#8 Acadia

I could easily see another match-up between UNB and X in the University Cup Final.
With these seedings #1 Alberta, who were #6 a month ago, would almost certainly have to beat Acadia, UNB and X to win the University Cup.

Conversely, #1 Alberta will have to overcome several other factors:

Travel-players at CIS aren't used to cross country flights, and their aren't a lot of direct flights from Edmonton into Fredericton.

Potential Early Start time-Doesn't matter if it is NHL players or CIS Players, athletes are creatures of habit and Western-based teams have had issues playing early games out east forever-as body clock and chemistry gets screwed.

Hostile crowd-always laugh when I hear about the "legendary" Maritime hospitality. Certainly wasn't the case when I was with the Bears in Fredericton in '03 and '04 and Moncton in '08. Alberta is perceived by many as the Yankees of CIS Hockey, and the fans in the Atlantic care about the CIS the most-the Golden Bears are their villain.

Inexperience-11 freshman will be dressed for the Golden Bears and they have a 2nd year head coach as well.

I guess we will see what happens!

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

Bailie and Jordon Cooke scare the bajeezus out of me in a single elimination game.

 

[AdamMcg83]

UNB also will have a very easy opening game to the tournament playing OUA #2 , after a couple of upsets in the OUA play-downs.

You're right - UNB has to still be considered the favourite, and it's true that the probable 5-6 seeds (UNB and Sask) will be favoured over the two OUA teams. But I think recent history suggests these games will be anything but "easy." In the last 5 years, here's how some of those favoured CW/AUS teams have fared against the OUA:

2016: Heavily-favoured Sask (2) needs 4OTs to survive against OUA Bronze medalist (7) Carleton.
2015: (3) Guelph beats (6) Calgary, and (4) UQTR beats (5) Acadia in the exact scenario this year: both conference runners-up were favoured over the OUA divisional champs.
2014: In the old 6-team format, (3) Windsor beats (2) Acadia, and (1) Alberta needs a 2OT win over (4) McGill to reach the final.
2013: (1) Alberta falls to (6) Waterloo in the first game of the tournament. Maybe one of the biggest upsets in U-Cup history.
2012: The all-OUA final between McGill and Western, which included an upset of (4) Western over (1) UNB.

Based on these results, I think we should expect the 3-6 and 4-5 games to be anything but easy for the CW and AUS runners-up.

 

[cishockeyfan]

Make no mistake the V-Reds are the prohibitive favorite in this tournament.
They are at home, with a team that was ranked #1 virtually all season, with an experienced veteran team and a coach that has built a winning program.
The fact that they lost to X in the AUS Final only will further drive them to success.
UNB also will have a very easy opening game to the tournament playing OUA #2 , after a couple of upsets in the OUA play-downs.

If the seeding work like this:
#1. Alberta
#2. X
#3. OUA 1
#4. OUA 2
#5. UNB
#6. Sask
#7. OUA 3
#8 Acadia

I could easily see another match-up between UNB and X in the University Cup Final.
With these seedings #1 Alberta, who were #6 a month ago, would almost certainly have to beat Acadia, UNB and X to win the University Cup.

Conversely, #1 Alberta will have to overcome several other factors:

Travel-players at CIS aren't used to cross country flights, and their aren't a lot of direct flights from Edmonton into Fredericton.

Potential Early Start time-Doesn't matter if it is NHL players or CIS Players, athletes are creatures of habit and Western-based teams have had issues playing early games out east forever-as body clock and chemistry gets screwed.

Hostile crowd-always laugh when I hear about the "legendary" Maritime hospitality. Certainly wasn't the case when I was with the Bears in Fredericton in '03 and '04 and Moncton in '08. Alberta is perceived by many as the Yankees of CIS Hockey, and the fans in the Atlantic care about the CIS the most-the Golden Bears are their villain.

Inexperience-11 freshman will be dressed for the Golden Bears and they have a 2nd year head coach as well.

I guess we will see what happens!

Bob this is bang on! I have always thought of the Alberta Golden Bears as the Yankees of CIS Hockey. Dont get me wrong there is no hate, its all about the respect of the Alberta programs history and you want to play and beat the best.

UNB and Alberta dont play often but when they do its usually a battle. There is no other team id rather face in a championchip game than Alberta. Its fantastik hockey.

I do believe UNB is still the favorite to win. I knew X would play well in game 2 in Antogonish. But I dont think X could beat UNB again at the varsity reds rink getting outshot 50-19. I know some want to downplay it but Jordan Murray was a massive setback for the AUS final. You dont fill in a hole for a defenseman that scores 40 points in 28 games very easily. And the power play suffered out of sync.

Heres hoping to a Alberta/UNB final (personal preference) but wont be surprised at all to see any upsets.

Despite having some great teams UNB has never repeated as University Cup Champs. They would also be the first to win back to back titles without winning their conference both years.

One question having never seen them in person do I need to bring sunglasses to watch Queens play in Sun Light Bright crazy yellow uniforms??

 

[AdamMcg83]

One question having never seen them in person do I need to bring sunglasses to watch Queens play in Sun Light Bright crazy yellow uniforms??

Don't worry - it's more of a mustard-yellow

 

[Bob Stauffer]

OUA-Alberta

Adam.

Love your passion.
But in 2013 the Bears outshot Waterloo 43-13, and yielded just TWO even strength shots. Alberta hit 4 posts. But you are right, Warriors won 2-1. Pure Fluke
In 2014 McGill adopted the same approach as Waterloo and extended the game to Double OT, I think the final shots were 53-22 for Alberta.
The games at the University Cup are also "managed" by the officials...this allows the crappier teams to hang around...lol.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

I think the "hostile" crowd will be muted quite significantly by the fact there will be so many afternoon games. The atmosphere is always better/more lively for the night games, probably because there are usually bigger crowds.

Two of the best crowds I have saw at the AUC were on Saturday nights - the 2004 game against Alberta (which did turn hostile as soon as Blair St. Martin decided to be stupid during the ceremonial face-off) and 2011 against Western. The atmosphere for the 2012 Saturday afternoon game against Western was kind of 'meh', but probably mainly because UNB was down 3-0 early.

 

[RED ARMY EAST]

Predictions

It's shaping up like a Alberta vs Acadia afternoon tilt on Thursday.
If so, I predict an Alberta win.. Axemen were swept by X in a best of 5, but the games were close.
If Acadia gets into a run and gun with the Bears, I think it will backfire. For most of the season , they were better than X, but in recent years, seem to collapse in the AUS playoffs or Nationals.
They are physical, play an up tempo style and could be dangerous if they get some consistent goaltending.. Playing with the lead may be key in this one.
X vs McGill.
X has won 7 straight AUS playoff games, I can't see McGill ending that streak.
They will face man to man coverage that they haven't seen in the OUA this year.
Again, if X gets away from their defensive systems, then this game could become close.
The next two matches, will be determined after the Queens Cup.
I predict Queens will win, setting up a possible UNB vs York.
Both teams met at X Mas , with UNB dominating the Lions. This would be the biggest upset since Waterloo over the Golden Bears in Saskatoon.
Sask vs Queens.
I could see an upset here. Cooke vs Baille. This won't be easy for the Huskies.
Semis
Alberta vs UNB. Yankees vs Red Sox. I couldn't predict this.
X vs Sask. maybe the Huskies turn!
University Cup final
Sask vs UNB/ Alberta.

 

[AUS Fan]

McGill punch their ticket to the Nationals with a 6-3 win over Windsor. The 8 teams are selected with 2 seeds to be decided in Saturday's Queens Cup game.

Just curious: do the 1-8, 4-5 (Thursday) winners play Saturday afternoon or evening? I was thinking it would be unfair for the 2-7, 3-6 (Friday) night winner to play at noon on Saturday on little rest.