2019 University Cup (Lethbridge, AB)

[Bob Stauffer]

I worked on the 2005 and 2006 Nationals...we killed the Bronze Medal game those years.
UNB originally brought it in back in ;03 and '04.
what is going to happen here is the lunkheads at USports are going to kill interest in hosting Nationals.
They want too much money and the host is only guaranteed 1 gate

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

What happens if no one puts in a bid to host? Does it just fall on U Sports shoulders?

 

[RED ARMY EAST]

I worked on the 2005 and 2006 Nationals...we killed the Bronze Medal game those years.
UNB originally brought it in back in ;03 and '04.
what is going to happen here is the lunkheads at USports are going to kill interest in hosting Nationals.
They want too much money and the host is only guaranteed 1 gate

We may not see UNB bid for a long time either, the additional expense of hosting 2 extra teams adds up (meals, hotels etc), plus Sportsnet dictated the weekend times, which the committee wasn't in favour of.
9am bronze, 1 pm gold.

 

[Bob Stauffer]

Congrats UNB.
4-2 Winners.
Alberta really missed Philp final 50 mins of the game, especially on ineffective PP (1/7).

 

[AUS Fan]

Congrats UNB.
4-2 Winners.
Alberta really missed Philp final 50 mins of the game, especially on ineffective PP (1/7).

Huge loss for the Bears. His presence was missed.

Edit: I heard from a good source on Thursday that he was gonna sign a pro contract tomorrow.

 

[RED ARMY EAST]

Wow, I would love to see these two programs stack up against the best in NCAA!

 

[Bearpaw]

Congrats to UNB - well deserved win tonight. Philip injury hurt but the dedication by UNB to get in the shooting lanes and block shots was a huge difference. And the goaltending battle was won by UNB as Sawchenko gave up two uncharacteristic goals on the short side.

These two programs will be loaded again next year so looking forward to the rematch in twelve months.

 

[AUS Fan]

They would lose. Seriously. The NCAA are very good. UNB played BU or BC recently and lost. UofA will play Air Force and win, but would probably lose to Denver or the Gophers. Nothing wrong with that, as these schools can recruit the best US and Canadian players.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

Yeah they would...especially this time of year when the NCAA teams are up to full speed. They have a hard enough time beating NCAA teams in October when they are playing their 4th exhibition game vs. the first one for the American teams (who usually play their back up goalies the majority of the time).

 

[RED ARMY EAST]

They would lose. Seriously. The NCAA are very good. UNB played BU or BC recently and lost. UofA will play Air Force and win, but would probably lose to Denver or the Gophers. Nothing wrong with that, as these schools can recruit the best US and Canadian players.

That's for another day, remember all those exhibition games are in the US.

 

[Rob]

Tremendous hockey game. Either team was worthy of being champions. Best of seven series next time

Philp going down was certainly a huge loss for the Bears. Dubeau played his best hockey ever at this tournament.

 

[AUS Fan]

My closing thoughts on the UCup.

Nice rink, seats around 4800. Can't say much about the city itself, as I spent all my time at the rink. Fan support was so-so, even when UofA was playing. But, I'm informed that they are not well liked in the south. Like every other place I've been, the volunteers are great. Thursday games were Not very good. UNB-CAR game was very entertaining as was SFX-QUE.
The CW semi had all the makings of a great game for 2 periods. The ending was very disappointing with the penalties and suspensions.
The AUS semi was Sad. UNB jumped in at the puck drop and never stopped.
Bronze was OK. Marchand had a much better showing, stopping 54 shots. I thought Kozun may have given UofS a better chance, but find no fault giving the other guy a start.

The Gold was what I expected. UNB looked good 5-5 early on, but UofA scored on the PP. A Brutal turnover allowed UNB to tie the game in the 1st. Good call by the stripes to get together and figure out the Gatenby double minor. UofA had a prime chance to score 2 with the 5-on-3 but took a lazy hooking penalty. After that, UNB played well 5-5 and added a PP. Great game by Dubeau.

Not one of the better tourneys, at all. I'm getting to the point where I don't care who wins as long as the games are entertaining. This one missed the mark by a lot. If I'm gonna spend time and money, I expect more.

 

[cishockeyfan]

What was the largest crowd over the tournament? I saw announced crowd of 923 paid for the bronze and 1083 for the UNB-StFX semi

 

[rethinking]

AUS Fan, there seemed to be some question about the double minor call to Gatenby. It obviously was a penalty but there was no call on the ice and the question was raised that the replay on the jumbotron might have been used in making the call. Coach MacDougall certainly seemed to be pointing up to it in his discussion with the ref at the bench.
UNB's depth and their peaking at the right time of the season were key components of a very very successful season! I think we can agree though that UNB has had a lot of great teams.
There's no doubt that Can West and the AUS are the top two leagues in Canada but bragging rights should go to the AUS this year!

 

[AUS Fan]

I fully expect CoachMac to make that argument. He's be a poor coach if he didn't. I saw the guy go down and had a fleeting glimpse of an errant stick. When they gathered at the timers box, I recall thinking " I wonder if the linesman saw something". Sure, it sucks if it's against your team, but I'm one of those fools who believe in fair play.

 

[AUS Fan]

What was the largest crowd over the tournament? I saw announced crowd of 923 paid for the bronze and 1083 for the UNB-StFX semi

I don't recall ever hearing a crowd announced. Decent crown for UofA-LTH and for the Gold also. I would guess close to 2000.

 

[Prov1X]

I don't recall ever hearing a crowd announced. Decent crown for UofA-LTH and for the Gold also. I would guess close to 2000.

According to the usports website, the attendance for last nights game was 1593. For the bronze medal game it says 923. Not staggering numbers by any means.

 

[Prov1X]

Went through and here are the attendance numbers for the tournament
Sask vs Guelph - 2177
Alberta vs Leth - 2539
UNB vs Carl - 793
St FX vs Queens - 870
Alberta vs Sask - 1100
UNB vs St FX - 1021
St FX vs Sask - 923
UNB vs Alberta - 1593

For a grand total of: 11016
I would think that Lethbridge would have struggled to break even with those numbers.

 

[Rob]

Well we will get a return to bigger attendance numbers next year. Especially if a Nova Scotia team is in the final.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

Went through and here are the attendance numbers for the tournament
Sask vs Guelph - 2177
Alberta vs Leth - 2539
UNB vs Carl - 793
St FX vs Queens - 870
Alberta vs Sask - 1100
UNB vs St FX - 1021
St FX vs Sask - 923
UNB vs Alberta - 1593

For a grand total of: 11016
I would think that Lethbridge would have struggled to break even with those numbers.

I think the Women’s championship in Charlottetown got bigger crowds.

 

[Prov1X]

I think the Women’s championship in Charlottetown got bigger crowds.

Womens:
Manitoba vs Guelph: 687
UPEI vs Montreal: 1393
Toronto vs Albert: 687
McGill vs STU: 927
STU vs Manitoba: 972
STU vs Toronto: 963
Guelph vs Montreal: 987
McGill vs Alberta: 1103
Toronto vs Manitoba: 923
Montreal vs Alberta: 940
McGill vs Guelph: 1139

10721 total, but they also had more games. No offence to women's hockey at all, they don't have the drawing power of mens hockey.

 

[Prov1X]

Well we will get a return to bigger attendance numbers next year. Especially if a Nova Scotia team is in the final.

Most definitely, Halifax is a great spot to host, the rink is right downtown, lots of pubs, restaurants, hotels within walking distance. We didnt even need to go outside to get to the rink from our hotel the last time they hosted. And it's close enough for fans of any AUC teams to get to easily. Can't wait for next year!

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

1500 for an Alberta/UNB final in Alberta is pretty disappointing.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

Victor Findlay should call every University Cup from here on out...he is more knowledgeable about all of the players than anyone.

 

[cishockeyfan]

Pretty Nasty Attendance numbers for the University Cup. I want to see a bigger variety of cities host it, but those numbers are not going to help that aspect at all. Either will Lethbridges participation in the Tournament. On the other hand, if the CIS is okay with the attendance numbers from Lethbridge than that means a number of teams could host the tournament.

Fredericton, Moncton and Halifax are proving locations. Charlottetown, PEI could do it no problem. If Antigonish and Wolfville had slightly larger rinks they could host easily in their towns and do a great job at it.

Edmonton and Saskatoon are proving. Im sure Calgary could do it at the stampede corral or something for U of C or MRU. UBC has a beautiful rink to do it, but not sure how that would click in Vancouver. Winnepeg I believe would support it, but not sure about a secondary rink, were both the Jets/Moose hog the Big Rink.

Im surprised McGill or UQTR have never bid. Ottawa could be a good 2 year city, rotate Carlton/U Of Ottawa both having CIS Success now.

I still would like to see The Ryerson Rams host at the refurbished Maple Leaf Garden. Surely the population in Toronto is big enough to put up decent Attendance now or at Varsity Arena or Ricco Coliseum. Keep in mind when Toronto last hosted the U-Cup it was the 4 team format so they didnt always get a city team in the Tourney. They'd have a host now (Ryerson, York, U of T) + 2 Other OUA schools. TO is an Easy trip for AUS Fans.