March 22, 2026: U-CUP FINAL REQUIRED EXTRA TIME
BRONZE GAME
WINDSOR LANCERS 1
NEW BRUNSWICK REDS 5
I saw just a bit of this one because it was on at 7:00 a.m. CDT. The Squirrels were running away with it by the time I tuned in, so I finished it off on my bedside tablet. The score after one period was 3-0, and the shots were 10-3, both in favour of UNB. Thereafter, they seemed to be happy to make it a low-event affair and coast to a bronze medal. Over the last two periods, the shots were just 12-11 in favour of UNB.
GOLD GAME
SAINT MARY’S HUSKIES 2
U.Q.T.R. PATRIOTES 3
(in overtime)
Finally, a close game! This hadn’t happened since the SMUskies beat the Banjo-Mutts on Thursday night. There was no jersey controversy in this one. UQTR showed up in orange, not black, and the SMUskies were in their mostly white with maroon stripes, and impossible to read numbers. I must say, the combination did look good.
UQTR never led the game until they won it in overtime. Twice, the SMUskies scored to take the lead. Twice, UQTR tied it up. The SMUskies had the edge in play, in fact coming dangerously close to winning at the end of regulation time. The shots were 47-33 in favour of SMU, which was in stark contrast to the low-action bronze game.
I admit that I have a problem with a host team winning this when they would not have otherwise qualified. Last year Ottawa won as host, and this year SMU was knocked out in the AUS quarter-finals by UPEI.
NEWS AROUND THE CW
Post-elimination, most teams had a new link or two from their websites. I previously updated the Bisons, and the Bluegars and Banjo-Mutts had U-Cup news. Alberta and Holy Trinity have nothing new. Here’s the rest:
Calgary
In the Town of Bedrock, post-season stories have continued to roll out. Captain Kydd, like Captain Hooker, signed a pro deal and scored in the ECHL. They also summarized all the award-winners:
Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy (Player of the Year): Mika Cyr, Moncton
Clare Drake Award (Rookie of the Year): Conner Roulette, Saskatchewan
Defenceman of the Year: Simon Lavigne, Concordia
Goaltender of the Year: Thomas Couture, Acadia
Dr. Randy Gregg Award (Student-athlete Community Service): Blake Gustafson, Alberta
R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award (Most Sportsmanlike Player): Conor Frenette, UQTR
FOX 40 Coach of the Year: Derek Cormier, Moncton
First Team All-Canadians
F Sasha Mutala UBC
F Nolan Dann Guelph
F Mika Cyr Moncton
D Jake Lee UBC
D Simon Lavigne Concordia
G Thomas Couture Acadia
Second Team All-Canadians
F Reid Valade Saint Mary’s
F Conor Frenette UQTR
F Adam Kydd Calgary
D Charlie Callaghan StFX
D Landon Kosior Saskatchewan
G Max Donoso Windsor
All-Rookie Team
F Jeremy D’Astous Moncton
F Colton Smith Windsor
F Conner Roulette Saskatchewan
D Luca D’Amato UNB
D Jace Weir UBC
G Andrew Ness Laurier
Macewan
I think that The Family Guys had a men’s hockey player awarded a Three Stars honour every week this year.
Regina
The Banjo-Cats graduated almost half of their roster, and that includes most of their best players. So from that angle, it is good to see a host of announcements from them.
Noah Asmundson (F) – Estevan Bruins (SJHL)
Riley Fequet (F) – Winkler Flyers/Swan Valley Stampeders (MJHL)
Rylan Pearce (D) – Weyburn Red Wings (SJHL)/Regina Pats (WHL)
Merik Boles (F) – Niverville Nighthawks (MJHL)
Kurt Rookes (F/D) – Waywayseecappo Wolverines (MJHL)
Rookes also had some prior time with Wenatchee and Swift Current of the WHL, and Asmundson had prior time with Niverville in the MJHL. So 4-out-of-5 have some MJHL history.
UBC
After having the best season of anybody, the T-irds fell apart against Sask in the CW semi-finals, thus not even getting an appearance an the U-Cup. The linked story gives a lot of background on each of their CW and USports acknowledgements.