The finals of the University Cup in Toronto concluded, hosting a hockey event between the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes (UQTR) and the University of New Brunswick Reds (UNB). The latter emerged victorious to defend their title by a massive margin of 4-0. This marks the 10th national championship and the 9th under Gardiner MacDougall for UNB.
Team members interacted with the media to express their satisfaction. Jason Willms, the third-year captain, said that it is important to celebrate the win and have fun when they have accomplished a tournament. Kale McCallum, the UNB defenseman, appreciated his team players, saying that there is not a single player who is not great, adding that they are all character people who do what should be done to get the job done.
The eight-team hockey tournament was hosted at the Mattamy Athletic Center. The Reds comparatively found it easier to climb up the ladder, considering they beat Toronto Metropolitan, Brock, and the Patriotes by a combined score of 15 to nothing. With this, the team has effectively scripted history, for it is the first time that a team has not allowed a goal in a hockey tournament.
The combined efforts of Samuel Richard and Griffen Outhouse successfully protected the majority of the nets. The pressure was built by the efforts of Isaac Nurse by adding an empty-net goal.
Simultaneously, the Concordia Stingers have clinched victory against the Toronto Varsity Blues by 3-1 in the concluding lap of the U Sports women’s hockey championship. This is now the second time in three years that the team has won the crown in the tournament. It further makes up for the fourth title in their history.
The last time they won was in 2022 by bagging a score of 4-0 against the Nipissing Lakers. The tournament was, at that time, held in Charlottetown.
According to the Canadian sports betting news, Rosalie Begin-Cyr from the winning team said that it was the best for players like her to finish their careers as university athletes, adding that the event turned out exactly like they had expected. Rosalie Begin-Cyr is the fifth-year right winger for the Stingers. Rosalie highlighted that all they wanted to do was finish better than last year.
That said, both segments of the hockey tournament have concluded with optimistic results for the winning teams. Those on the other side are likely to introspect, craft a new strategy, and navigate to lifting the trophy in the next edition. Both sides winning has also been a crucial component of the perfect season by successfully landing the title in their favor.
Celebrations are currently underway, with little to no chance of tunes being softened for a couple of days. The Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes have never been a team with deficiencies; however, the loss has made them re-think similarly to how the Toronto Varsity Blues are looking to make improvements.
