2022 University Cup

[Drummer]

When do teams start arriving…today?

If I recall Kelly Nobe's comment, in Freddy, about Queen's getting stuck on the road (he basically threw them under the bus) - 'We all know, if you play on Thursday - you arrive on Monday, if you play on Friday - you arrive on Tuesday'. His take was - arrive on Monday, get acclimatized on Tuesday, practice on Wednesday, play on Thursday. It also gives you Tuesday to deal with any logistics issues.

So - I would suspect that 2 teams are in town already and the rest arrive today.

 

[AUS Fan]

I'm sure UBC and UofA are in town and skating today at SMU or somewhere.

 

[Hollywood3]

But doesn’t it make more sense to keep each side of the bracket in the same time slot on Thurs/Fri/Sat…rather than some teams having to jump between afternoon/night games or vice versa? As I mentioned, that was how the old six team format was set-up with afternoon/evening pools and it seemed to work well.

Not remotely sensible. Under the 6 team format one team was always playing back-to-back while their opponent had a day off.

 

[AUS Fan]

Not remotely sensible. Under the 6 team format one team was always playing back-to-back while their opponent had a day off.

Yup. Under the old system the Thursday loser played on Friday (their 2nd game) and then the Friday teams played the Thursday winners on Saturday. So 4 teams played back-to-back and at times a team OR 2 played 3 in a row.

Then the committee did win-loss records, head-to-head, +/-, number of left hand shots, height & weight of the teams to determine who was gonna play on Sunday.

Many times I've sat in the media room while the pundits and sometimes AD's went thru the different scenarios of how a team could advance.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

Not remotely sensible. Under the 6 team format one team was always playing back-to-back while their opponent had a day off.

But at least there was a strong possibility of the two teams in the final playing on similar rest. That’s impossible with this format…you’re always going to have a team in the final playing 3 in 3 vs. a team playing 3 in 4. In fact, using this years schedule, you may have a team play 3 games between 1PM Thursday and 7:30PM Sunday (78.5 hours) vs. a team that plays 3 games between 7PM Friday and 7:30PM Sunday (48.5 hours)…I have never played high level sports so I may be way off here, but to me that seems like a huge advantage for the team that advances out of the Thursday pool.

I guess I just don’t like the fact that one of the top two teams is always getting shafted in terms of rest with this format. I think they should have as similar schedules as possible.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

Went back and looked…in the five tournaments played under the current format, the winner has actually come out of the Friday bracket four times (15/16/18/19)…the only exception was UNB in 2017.

So what do I know?? Maybe the extra rest isn’t as big of deal as I thought.

 

[AUS Fan]

Went back and looked…in the five tournaments played under the current format, the winner has actually come out of the Friday bracket four times (15/16/18/19)…the only exception was UNB in 2017.

So what do I know?? Maybe the extra rest isn’t as big of deal as I thought.

I was gonna do that. Thanks.

 

[AUS Fan]

Brock team on Citadel Hill today. Guessing they skated at Metro Center.

 

[Aces89]

Ryerson/UNB will be interesting. Ryerson is a big, mean team who plays a heavy game. I think UNB is the -300 favourites to win but wouldn't be shocked if Ryerson wins.

 

[AUS Fan]

Ryerson/UNB will be interesting. Ryerson is a big, mean team who plays a heavy game. I think UNB is the -300 favourites to win but wouldn't be shocked if Ryerson wins.

It'll depend on how the game is called. The refs normally don't like "big, mean teams".

UNB is a skill team and skilled players don't like to get hit.

 

[AdamMcg83]

If I recall Kelly Nobe's comment, in Freddy, about Queen's getting stuck on the road (he basically threw them under the bus) - 'We all know, if you play on Thursday - you arrive on Monday, if you play on Friday - you arrive on Tuesday'. His take was - arrive on Monday, get acclimatized on Tuesday, practice on Wednesday, play on Thursday. It also gives you Tuesday to deal with any logistics issues.

So - I would suspect that 2 teams are in town already and the rest arrive today.

Would never want to disrespect the memory of the great Kelly Nobes, but it's worthwhile pointing out that he coached a program with some of the deepest pockets in the country. Travel is a huge expense, and one fewer night in a hotel could be very appealing for a lot of programs.

 

[Drummer]

Would never want to disrespect the memory of the great Kelly Nobes, but it's worthwhile pointing out that he coached a program with some of the deepest pockets in the country. Travel is a huge expense, and one fewer night in a hotel could be very appealing for a lot of programs.

Yes, but Queen's decision to save one night cost them any chance of winning game 1 on Thursday night having arrived that afternoon (due to the weather delay) - they even started the game late to give them an extra hour.

 

[Drummer]

... Then the committee did win-loss records, head-to-head, +/-, number of left hand shots, height & weight of the teams to determine who was gonna play on Sunday.

Many times I've sat in the media room while the pundits and sometimes AD's went thru the different scenarios of how a team could advance.

Good times - lots of fun. I've built a number of UCup specific spreadsheets to calculate tie-breakers.

The best scenario was the USask/McGill game in 2012 on Saturday night. A 1 or 2 goal loss (in regulation or in OT) guaranteed McGill a mathematical advancement regardless (a win and they were 2-0, a loss and all three teams were 1-1 and McGill won on GF/GA), so the ADs and USPORTs guys really didn't like the optics of the losing team advancing - the optics were worse if the game went to OT. USask scored with 5min left and McGill advanced, but it was easier to swallow than going to OT.

I recall Foil explaining it to UNB's AD that McGill could literally tank in OT and give USask a free breakaway to end the game and advance.

I believe this game, and the possible OT outcome, was the biggest motivator for the 8-team format.

 

[Drummer]

It'll depend on how the game is called. The refs normally don't like "big, mean teams".

UNB is a skill team and skilled players don't like to get hit.

Totally agree. Add to that all of the Refs are being supervised by a Senior Supervisor - they will be extra tight on high hits and clutch and grab.

 

[AdamMcg83]

Yes, but Queen's decision to save one night cost them any chance of winning game 1 on Thursday night having arrived that afternoon (due to the weather delay) - they even started the game late to give them an extra hour.

I'm sure Brett Gibson would have loved to fly, and/or arrive three days before the game. But it's also hard to anticipate a snowstorm so impactful that it halts traffic for an entire 24-hour span. It's just not realistic to assume that every athletic department has the resources to arrive several days early.

 

[AdamMcg83]

Totally agree. Add to that all of the Refs are being supervised by a Senior Supervisor - they will be extra tight on high hits and clutch and grab.

Admittedly, I didn't see much of Ryerson this year, but I definitely wouldn't have classified them as a big, mean team.

 

[RED ARMY EAST]

I'm sure UBC and UofA are in town and skating today at SMU or somewhere.

Alberta would have arrived on Monday, I can assure you that!

 

[RED ARMY EAST]

Will Herbers rotate the goaltenders? Schneider opened against UBC and Burman played the second game in a sweep of UBC.

 

[AUS Fan]

Good times - lots of fun. I've built a number of UCup specific spreadsheets to calculate tie-breakers.

The best scenario was the USask/McGill game in 2012 on Saturday night. A 1 or 2 goal loss (in regulation or in OT) guaranteed McGill a mathematical advancement regardless (a win and they were 2-0, a loss and all three teams were 1-1 and McGill won on GF/GA), so the ADs and USPORTs guys really didn't like the optics of the losing team advancing - the optics were worse if the game went to OT. USask scored with 5min left and McGill advanced, but it was easier to swallow than going to OT.

I recall Foil explaining it to UNB's AD that McGill could literally tank in OT and give USask a free breakaway to end the game and advance.

I believe this game and the possible OT outcome was the biggest motivator for the 8-team format.

I recall that game and the discussion around it.

In 2009 Thunder Bay, SMU was +3 going into the their game with UWO who were -1.
I was joking with Shelia-Ann Newton from CIS that we were gonna forfeit the game.
She called Stieny and asked him if it was true. In hindsight I wish we had done that.

 

[Drummer]

I was joking with Shelia-Ann Newton from CIS that we were gonna forfeit the game.
She called Stieny and asked him if it was true. In hindsight I wish we had done that.

Wow, you little sh!t

 

[Drummer]

Will Herbers rotate the goaltenders? Schneider opened against UBC and Burman played the second game in a sweep of UBC.

I recall someone ask Herbers that in Halifax and he was incredulous - he basically said you'll find out at the next game.

 

[jdan1997]

Admittedly, I didn't see much of Ryerson this year, but I definitely wouldn't have classified them as a big, mean team.

I’d have to agree with this. They seemed to be the less physical team throughout most of the playoffs in my opinion. It seemed like they were playing with some injuries though so maybe that factored in. I think it’ll be the same against UNB with Cramarossa and potentially Addison being injured - They won’t want an even shorter bench.

 

[AdamMcg83]

On paper, Ryerson has as much or more high-end talent than any recent OUA West participant in the UCup. Since their program's resurgence here in the past 6-ish years, they have been able to consistently recruit top-end players. There have been two major rubs on them though: they haven't been able to build continuity (they consistently lose more undergrads than just about anyone), and they haven't been particularly difficult to play against.
However, they are now one of the oldest teams in the country (14 graduating players), and they've finally overcome some adversity and shown some grit (two third-period comebacks in the playoffs).
I wouldn't say they play a mean or heavy style. But they have a weird kind of calm to them recently, and they have some high-end talent (50-60 pt major junior guys) that is rare for OUA West teams, specifically. They aren't a favourite against UNB, by any means, but it wouldn't surprise me if they were a harder out than anticipated.

 

[RED ARMY EAST]

On paper, Ryerson has as much or more high-end talent than any recent OUA West participant in the UCup. Since their program's resurgence here in the past 6-ish years, they have been able to consistently recruit top-end players. There have been two major rubs on them though: they haven't been able to build continuity (they consistently lose more undergrads than just about anyone), and they haven't been particularly difficult to play against.
However, they are now one of the oldest teams in the country (14 graduating players), and they've finally overcome some adversity and shown some grit (two third-period comebacks in the playoffs).
I wouldn't say they play a mean or heavy style. But they have a weird kind of calm to them recently, and they have some high-end talent (50-60 pt major junior guys) that is rare for OUA West teams, specifically. They aren't a favourite against UNB, by any means, but it wouldn't surprise me if they were a harder out than anticipated.

I’d have to agree with this. They seemed to be the less physical team throughout most of the playoffs in my opinion. It seemed like they were playing with some injuries though so maybe that factored in. I think it’ll be the same against UNB with Cramarossa and potentially Addison being injured - They won’t want an even shorter bench.

Ryerson/UNB will be interesting. Ryerson is a big, mean team who plays a heavy game. I think UNB is the -300 favourites to win but wouldn't be shocked if Ryerson wins.

UNB, also went 24-3 in AUS play.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

Definitely don’t see UNB blowing out Ryerson…frankly, I’m not sure they’re blowing any teams out right now given their offensive struggles…I predict a two goal game at most, 3-1 or something like that.