2018 U Sports Playoffs/University Cup (Fredericton, NB)

[rethinking]

UNB Bruins Fan, you were right about Tyler Adair working the Bronze Medal game. UNB must have been thrilled to see him out there again!
I want to give a lot of credit to Mike Thomas for maintaining his composure as he really received bad calls by the referees twice in the game.

 

[Rob]

Well the best team won the U Cup.

 

[rethinking]

Rob, I would honestly say that that is up for debate somehow. We never got the showdown that we wanted basically because of poor seeding.
St. FX can't really complain because they had two extended 5 on 3's and they couldn't capitalize. They can argue the non hooking call on the 4th goal but they just couldn't score.
Before the game winning 3rd goal X made a careless neutral zone turnover which was followed seconds later by a poor breakout pass. Sometimes the little mistakes have serious consequences.

 

[hockeyinsiderusports]

Don’t blame seeding for lack of show down. To win any championship, you will face some kind of adversity or whatever you want to say as Fan.

It came down to discipline and goaltending.

If you look at Final 8 teams - arguably UNB had worse goalie and it cost them. Just like it did for top team in OUA West (Guelph)

Congrats to U of A.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

The Bears puck possession/pursuit and passing was a treat to watch. I still would’ve liked UNB’s chances against them though...it’s just too bad we never got to see it. Maybe next year.

The Bears are set up for a nice run over the next 2-3 years.

 

[Bob Stauffer]

Alberta wins their 3rd National title in the last 5 seasons, and has now won in three AUS cities (Fredericton '18, Halifax '15 and Moncton '08).
Does this end the narrative that the Golden Bears can't get it done the East?
When a program has won 16 Titles it is tough to judge which Bears team was the best.
Of the '18 team I will say they were unpredicatable, emotional and certainly resilient!
From blowing an 8-3 lead and winning 8-6 vs Acadia, to rally from 2-0 deficits against both Saskatchewan (in the 3rd) and St. FX the Bears had some wild swings in this Tournament.
I don't think Alberta showed thier best in Fredericton, but it was good enough to win the title!

Bob Stauffer
Golden Bears PxP 89-92, 98-08
Alberta SID 00-08

In Tampa Bay with the Oilers

 

[Rob]

Interesting to note how top heavy U Sports men's hockey has become.

For the past 6 years the winner has either been Alberta or UNB. Same for 12 of the past 14 years.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

I was thinking that today Rob. This year there were really only 4 teams that you could say had a legitimate chance at winning.

 

[SLaurent]

Perhaps a bit early but who do we think will be back and contending next year?

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

- I would have liked to see interlocking games in the semi-finals. That's what makes nationals interesting. But USports has different rules in every sport. I had a lengthy post in the Bison thread and won't repeat it here. Basically, the women's does split the two conference teams on opposite sides of the draw.

I would love to see them go to the format that bases the rotating berths on the results from the previous year’s University Cup. That would make the bronze medal game a lot more intriguing.

So you would have:

AUS Champion
CW Champion
OUA East Champion
OUA West Champion
Host
3 berths given to conferences that medaled at previous UCup

 

[hockeyinsiderusports]

Perhaps a bit early but who do we think will be back and contending next year?

Too early to tell without all recruits announce but I expect UNB/Alberta/McGill to be back next year

 

[RED ARMY EAST]

Too early to tell without all recruits announce but I expect UNB/Alberta/McGill to be back next year

IMO, UNB was probably the best team in this tournament, but was upset!
Alberta found a way to get get to sunday, played their best hockey of the tournament today and are UCup champs.
The future of the Bears looks very good, as they have lot's of players going into 2-3 years of eligibility, plus experience of winning a National championship. Stan Marple (Alberta GM) has done a remarkable job on the recruiting end for the U of A! He and MacDougall are the best of the bunch, and that's why the two programs have won all the U Cup titles, since 2005, except for McGill in 2012 and SMU, in 2010.
6 for Alberta in that span, 6 for UNB.
UNB, will be back, returning the majority of their team, which had lost 9 players off the 2017 championship team.
X return most of their team and will be a factor next year.

 

[RED ARMY EAST]

I would love to see them go to the format that bases the rotating berths on the results from the previous year’s University Cup. That would make the bronze medal game a lot more intriguing.

So you would have:

AUS Champion
CW Champion
OUA East Champion
OUA West Champion
Host
3 berths given to conferences that medaled at previous UCup

Not going to happen , not next year anyway.
Maybe a 4 team tournament would be better?
Strong host, 3 Champions, in a round robin format.
Similar to the memorial cup. Heck, the teams fly in on Monday as it is and leave Sun/Monday.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

Perhaps a bit early but who do we think will be back and contending next year?

Under the new 8 team format UNB and Alberta should be there every year unless there is a massive upset.

For next year my guess would be:
Alberta
Saskatchewan
Lethbridge
UNB
One of St. FX/SMU/Acadia
McGill
Random OUA West team
One of Carleton/Concordia/UQTR

 

[Bob Stauffer]

Cannot reiterate this point more!
The Tournament was structured this year so UNB could win.
They rightfilly opted to open Thursday night so they didn't have to play three games in three days.
The poor seeding scenario (OUA 1/OUA2 being placed at 3/4 works totally to the advantage of the host Conference when a Canada West or AUS team hosts...and wins their own Conference.
UNB was at HOME!
They were in there own controlled environment.
They didn't have to travel 3000 miles or play 3 games in 3 days, including being in the late Semi-Final.
They were a fresher team playing St. Fx and had an easier draw through then Alberta.
They didn't get the bounce that mattered.
Just like Alberta didn't in OT losses to X in 2003 and UNB in 2004.

2019
You can take this to the bank right now for 2019 in Lethbridge.
The Pronghorns will be the host/Canada West #3 team and be seeded at #7/#8.
OUA #3 will also be seeded #7 or #8
The Canada West Champ and AUS Champs will be be either #1 or #2, with the runners-up for those Conferences at #5/#6.
Because the committee tries to avoid teams from playing in the same Conference playing in the opening round...Lethbridge will be playing the AUS Champ and the Canada West Champ will get OUA #3 in the opening game.
OUA #1/OUA#2 will play AUS #2/CW #2

This means IMO that CW #1 and CW #2 will likely have an easier opening game (when also factoring in travel) than 2018 in UNB.

 

[AUS Fan]

Bob makes some good points here. The fix is in most times. I fully agree with his scenario for 2019.

 

[ProjectAUS]

I understand what you are all trying to say about UNB, but you cannot sit here and talk about how they were “the best team in the tournament” because they weren’t. Fact. Did they win the tournament? No. Puck luck, a shitty bounce, officiating, etc does not matter. Tournaments like this, 3 games in 3 or 4 days, you have to handle that kind of adversity. If you can’t you won’t win. They did not, therefore, it can’t even be thought they were the best team there. The playoffs and regular season mean absolutely nothing going into it. You guys wrote off X from the beginning because they struggled through the playoffs. I’m sorry they spoiled your party, and you guys didn’t get the “dream match” against Alberta and the 3-Peat. But to post on here saying that team was the best in the tournament is ridiculous, that title goes to one team only and that’s Alberta. Hats off to the Bears on a incredible season and another banner in the rafters.

 

[MiamiHockey]

It's a bit of a stretch to say "the fix is in" or words to that effect.

If UNB had really set up the tournament to win, they would have placed Sask at 5 and St FX at 6. Sask has not won a U Cup since Clare Drake was still a coach, whereas St FX has enjoyed more recent success - including some success against UNB. If I'm Gardiner, I'd prefer to face the team that doesn't know my roster and game plan inside and out.

I don't buy Bob's "us against the world" perspective here. Every year, Alberta has the best roster in USports, and they should be expected to win. They also get to play every single playoff game at home in CW. Good on them for getting it done again this year - the Final game was surgical in its precision - but the world is not conspiring against the Bears.

Personally, I'll be cheering for Lethbridge next year.

 

[FreddyFoyle]

He seems nice. (ProjectAUS).

 

[FreddyFoyle]

For the record, I stated at the beginning of the season that I thought Alberta was the team to beat this year. During the first game of this year's UCup I repeated during our radio broadcast that I thought Alberta was the team to beat.

I wouldn't say this year that UNB was the best team at Nationals. Last year, certainly. The year before, yes. But with the rebuild this year? No. They overachieved. But they deserved to win the AUS, and they deserved to be at Nationals.

UNB had StFX's number this time during AUS playoffs. The two teams played a game for the ages in the semis. Unfortunately the officiating crew was not up to the task when it came to being consistent with the calls (and non-calls). Players can't control that. Coaches can't control that. Fans of both teams who were in the building questioned the calls and non-calls.

It is natural that fans will want to continue to debate what might have happened if the game had been called better.

And by the way, no one wrote off X. You can embrace the underdog or "no respect" card if it suits you, but that is not the reality. All four of the top schools this season (Alberta, UNB, StFX, and Sask) were legitimate contenders for the University Cup.

 

[Drummer]

I was thinking that today Rob. This year there were really only 4 teams that you could say had a legitimate chance at winning.

Agreed - both Semi's went to OT and the Bronze was in OT and the Gold was a 1 goal game until the EN. These were the top four teams far and above everyone else.

 

[Drummer]

We never got the showdown that we wanted basically because of poor seeding.

The seeding was based on the rankings and that's life. SFX was ranked higher than USK and as such we got them in the second round. We can't move the 5th and 6th seeds around to avoid some potential match-up. #4 and #3 seeds aren't suppose to lose (statistically, but it's common in USPORTS hockey though, but you can't assume that's always going to be the case).

St. FX can't really complain because they had two extended 5 on 3's and they couldn't capitalize.

Three shots on those PPs - not good enough for the #1 PP in the country. They had their chances, just didn't make it happen.

They can argue the non hooking call on the 4th goal but they just couldn't score.

That was a brutal non-call which was right in front of the ref (Alarie I believe). Stick up in the hands like that is a clear hooking call (stick parallel to the ice is the key visual indicator of a hook). It would have given then a PP and the face-off in the ALB end, but we'll never know.

 

[Drummer]

The 2 games tomorrow are actually the 2 games that we should have had today with proper scheduling IMO.

That would have been nice, but the ranking committee didn't agree and the seeding committee can't change 5 & 6 just because we 'think' an upset is going to happen.

 

[MiamiHockey]

That would have been nice, but the ranking committee didn't agree and the seeding committee can't change 5 & 6 just because we 'think' an upset is going to happen.

Actually, they can. Here's the USports Regulations:

SEEDING CRITERIA 1. The three (3) Sport Conference champions will be seeded 1st, 2nd, and 3rd based on their respective team national ranking in the final Top Ten of the season. The last Top 10 ranking will be done after the Sport Conference playoffs are completed. 2. The OUA finalist (either the OUA East or OUA West divisional champion) will be seeded #4. 3. The remaining 4 qualifying teams will be seeded using the final Top Ten of the season as a guiding tool. 4. Results of regional playoffs must be respected. 5. Once the seeding has been completed, teams 5 through 8 can be flipped no more than two spots (up or down) to try to avoid first round match-ups of teams from the same sport conference. (This means teams seeded 1 through 4 cannot be flipped). 6. The Host may flip the brackets to ensure a local team plays at a preferred time to assist with ticket sales. However, the structure of the brackets must be maintained (i.e. 1 vs. 8 and 4 vs. 5 must always stay together and 2 vs. 7 and 3 vs. 6 must stay together) so that common rest times are protected and the integrity of the draw is maintained. 7. Without affecting the integrity of the draw, games in the upper half of the draw can be switched to accommodate travel and time zone adjustment (i.e. Canada West teams traveling East). If the teams playing are not impacted by the time zone change then there can be no switching of game times.

I'll highlight what matters:

"The remaining 4 qualifying teams will be seeded using the final Top Ten of the season as a guiding tool."

The committee is not bound by the final ranking. They have the option of seeding 5-8 as they see fit, without moving one team up or down more than 2 spots.

That's why I was surprised to see Sask at 6 and St FX at 5.

It's also noteworthy who is on the committee:

1. Chairperson: A non-voting U SPORTS Office staff member. 2. Members: One voting representative from each Sport Conference (3). Each Sport Conference representative to be appointed by the convener of that Sport Conference and must be a coach not participating in the championship. 3. President of the Coaches Executive: The President of the Coaches Executive will take part in the conference call to ensure the seeding criteria are followed. Should the President be the coach of a team that has qualified for the championship, the President will contact the U SPORTS Office to notify them of his designate.

So, sorry Bob, but the committee is not stacking the deck to favour UNB. One member from each Conference, plus a coach.

The host committee does get too choose the game times, but that's it.

 

[Drummer]

Don’t follow CIS hockey too closely, so I have to ask. Is there a reason so many of the top OHL grads head east to play University hockey? Are they compensated better in the AUS than the OUA?

I believe this has been answered, but my $0.02 to add

1) OUA schools do not offer full ride AFAs (Athletic Financial Awards) for hockey. This is a self-imposed rule. USPORTS allows all schools/teams to provide AFAs to 75% of a teams roster. This number can be increased by 1 for each Academic All-Canadian on the team. The school raises the funds on their own to bank-roll AFAs. Most AUS Schools max-out their offerings to entice as many potential candidates as possible.

So, if you have a CHL package (full tuition) and a CW or AUS team offers you an AFA (full tuition) versus an OUA school with no AFA - where would you go?

2) AUS schools have a lower minimum academic standard and in most cases are not max'ed out for enrollment in popular programs (Business) so border line academic athletes are more likely to be accepted in the AUS vs competitive schools like Waterloo, Queen's, McGill, etc,

3) The AUS conference is very competitive. They have the longest schedule (30 games) with relative short travel between schools. An AUS team has gone to the UCup final 10 of the last 10 years (UNB, SFX, SMU) while the OUA has only appeared 4 times (McG, UWO) and CW 6 (ALB & USK). There is also more media coverage for AUS teams/games vs what you get in Southern Ontario.