University Cup Begins Next Week

FREDERICTON – Next Thursday, the puck drops at the 2012 Cavendish University Cup in Fredericton.

This year’s tournament will feature a few former Saint John Sea Dogs. Goaltender Travis Fullerton is coming off a 4-0 shutout win in Game Three of the AUS Final to clinch the University of New Brunswick’s second straight conference title. They swept the Universite de Moncton 3-0.

“He (Fullerton) symbolizes our team,” said UNB head coach Gardiner MacDougall to The Brunswickan. “He got better every game of the series and he’s played so well for us, especially in the big games and he makes big saves to keep the goose egg there.”

The Varsity Reds, the reigning national champions, will be the top seeded team at this year’s CIS Men's Nationals. They kick off the tournament next Thursday night at the Aitken Centre.

Here are the six participating teams.

1. UNB Varsity Reds (AUS champions: 20-5-3 regular season / 6-0 playoffs)

2. McGill Redmen (OUA champions: 22-4-2 regular season / 7-0 playoffs)

3. Saskatchewan Huskies (Canada West champions: 19-6-3 regular season / 6-2 playoffs)

4. Western Mustangs (OUA finalists: 21-4-3 regular season / 6-2 playoffs)

5. Moncton Aigles Bleus (AUS finalists: 18-9-1 regular season / 5-5 playoffs)

6. UQTR Patriotes (OUA bronze medallists: 19-7-2 regular season / 5-4 playoffs)

UNB, Western, and UQTR will be in Pool A. McGill, Saskatchewan, and Moncton are in Pool B.

Moncton features ex-Sea Dogs Keven Charland and Charles Bergeron.

The McGill Redmen, who appeared in last year’s tournament, feature former Sea Dogs star Alexandre Picard-Hooper. Also on the Redmen is the beloved Hugo Laporte.

Jacob DeSerres’ Calgary Dinos came close to making nationals but lost to Saskatchewan in the final.

Here’s the full tournament schedule.

Thursday, March 22

14:00 Pool B #1: McGill vs. Moncton (ssncanada.ca)

19:00 Pool A #1: UNB vs. UQTR (ssncanada.ca)

Friday, March 23

14:00 Pool B #2: Loser Pool B #1 vs. Saskatchewan (ssncanada.ca)

19:00 Pool A #2: Loser Pool A #1 vs. Western (ssncanada.ca)

Saturday, March 24

11:30 Pool B #3: Winner Pool B #1 vs. Saskatchewan (ssncanada.ca)

16:30 Pool A #3: Winner Pool A #1 vs. Western (Rogers Sportsnet / ssncanada.ca) *

Sunday, March 25

20:00 University Cup Final (Rogers Sportsnet / ssncanada.ca)

UNB Hockey Fans has all your coverage. We’ll be in Fredericton for the tourney next week and will be providing daily updates. Buckle up.