February 15, 2010
TIME TO GET QUEEN'S CUP CRAZY
HAMILTON, Ont. - The OUA men's hockey regular season concluded on Saturday, as all teams have finished jockeying for positions and can now focus on the new task at hand, namely, winning the Queen's Cup.
The No. 6 nationally-ranked and defending OUA champion Western Mustangs (21-7-0) clinched the top seed in the OUA West with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday. The Mustangs will take on the eighth-seeded UOIT Ridgebacks (11-15-2) in the opening round of the playoffs. The Ridgebacks are making their first-ever OUA post-season appearance.
While this may appear as a mismatch on paper, the Mustangs have struggled in their last 10 games with a 5-5-0 record, including a 6-4 home loss to the Ridgebacks. Western recently defeated UOIT 3-2 on Feb. 12, but required a shootout. The Ridgebacks have defeated CIS Top 10 teams the past month, including Western, the Lakehead Thunderwolves and most recently, the No. 7 Waterloo Warriors 6-4 on Saturday.
The Warriors (20-7-1) were relegated to the second seed in the OUA West as a result of that loss, and will battle the Windsor Lancers (10-13-5). Waterloo went 3-1 against Windsor this season, including a 4-3 overtime victory on Feb. 13.
The other OUA West match-ups will pit No. 8 Thunderwolves (19-7-2) against the York Lions (12-13-3), and the Golden Hawks (17-7-4) against the Guelph Gryphons (14-10-4).
In the OUA East, the No. 3 UQTR Patriotes (23-3-2) clinched the top seed and will face the Concordia Stingers (8-16-4) in a Battle of Quebec. UQTR goaltender Jean-Christophe Blanchard (Trois-Rivieres, Que.) had the OUA’s top goals against average this season (2.28).
The No. 5 McGill Redmen (22-6-0) are the No. 2 seed in the conference, and will look to drain the Nipissing Lakers (12-15-1) in their first playoff appearance in their inaugural OUA season. Two of the scorers in OUA will go head-to-head, featuring Francis Verreault-Paul (Mashteuiatsh, Que.) of McGill and Nipissing’s Andrew Marcoux (Rockwood, Ont.). Verreault-Paul led the league with 25 goals, two more than Marcoux.
In other OUA East match-ups, the Toronto Varsity Blues (15-9-4) and Ryerson Rams (12-13-3) renew their Hogtown rivalry, while the Carleton Ravens (15-10-3) will battle the Queen's Gaels (14-12-2).
All playoff series are best-of-three format, with the higher seed earning home ice advantage in Game 3. The Queen’s Cup will be played at the highest-ranked Ontario-based seed on Saturday, March 13.
OUA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE - CONFERENCE QUARTER-FINALS
OUA EAST
No. 1 UQTR vs. No. 8 Concordia
Wed. Feb. 17 @ 7 p.m. at UQTR
Fri. Feb. 19 @ 7:30 p.m. at Concordia
Sun. Feb. 21 @ 2 p.m. at UQTR*
No. 2 McGill vs. No. 7 Nipissing
Wed. Feb. 17 @ 7 p.m. at McGill
Fri. Feb. 19 @ 7 p.m. at Nipissing
Sun. Feb. 21 @ 2 p.m. at McGill*
No. 3 Toronto vs. No. 6 Ryerson
Wed. Feb. 17 @ 7:30 p.m. at Toronto
Thur. Feb. 18 @ 7:30 p.m. at Ryerson
Sat. Feb. 20 @ 7:30 p.m. at Toronto*
No. 4 Carleton vs. No. 5 Queen's
Wed. Feb. 17 @ 7 p.m. at Carleton
Fri. Feb. 19 @ 7:30 p.m. at Queen's
Sun. Feb. 21 @ 3 p.m. at Carleton*
*if necessary
OUA WEST
No. 1 Western vs. No. 8 UOIT
Wed. Feb. 17 @ 7:30 p.m. at Western
Fri. Feb. 19 @ 7:30 p.m. at UOIT
Sun. Feb. 21 @ 7:30 p.m. at Western*
No. 2 Waterloo vs. No. 7 Windsor
Wed. Feb. 17 @ 7:30 p.m. at Waterloo
Fri. Feb. 19 @ 7:30 p.m. at Windsor
Sun. Feb. 21 @ 2 p.m. at Waterloo*
No. 3 Lakehead vs. No. 6 York
Wed. Feb. 17 @ 7:30 p.m. at York
Fri. Feb. 19 @ 7:30 p.m. at Lakehead
Sat. Feb. 20 @ 7:30 p.m. at Lakehead*
No. 4 Laurier vs. No. 5 Guelph
Thur. Feb. 18 @ 7:30 p.m. at Laurier
Sat. Feb. 20 @ 7:30 p.m. at Guelph
Sun. Feb. 21 @ 7:30 p.m. at Laurier*
*if necessary
ABOUT ONTARIO UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and its 19 member institutions are developing Champions For Life. Giving 9,000 student-athletes the opportunity to excel academically and on the playing field, while preparing for life after university. For more information, visit OUA.ca.
The No. 6 nationally-ranked and defending OUA champion Western Mustangs (21-7-0) clinched the top seed in the OUA West with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday. The Mustangs will take on the eighth-seeded UOIT Ridgebacks (11-15-2) in the opening round of the playoffs. The Ridgebacks are making their first-ever OUA post-season appearance.
While this may appear as a mismatch on paper, the Mustangs have struggled in their last 10 games with a 5-5-0 record, including a 6-4 home loss to the Ridgebacks. Western recently defeated UOIT 3-2 on Feb. 12, but required a shootout. The Ridgebacks have defeated CIS Top 10 teams the past month, including Western, the Lakehead Thunderwolves and most recently, the No. 7 Waterloo Warriors 6-4 on Saturday.
The Warriors (20-7-1) were relegated to the second seed in the OUA West as a result of that loss, and will battle the Windsor Lancers (10-13-5). Waterloo went 3-1 against Windsor this season, including a 4-3 overtime victory on Feb. 13.
The other OUA West match-ups will pit No. 8 Thunderwolves (19-7-2) against the York Lions (12-13-3), and the Golden Hawks (17-7-4) against the Guelph Gryphons (14-10-4).
In the OUA East, the No. 3 UQTR Patriotes (23-3-2) clinched the top seed and will face the Concordia Stingers (8-16-4) in a Battle of Quebec. UQTR goaltender Jean-Christophe Blanchard (Trois-Rivieres, Que.) had the OUA’s top goals against average this season (2.28).
The No. 5 McGill Redmen (22-6-0) are the No. 2 seed in the conference, and will look to drain the Nipissing Lakers (12-15-1) in their first playoff appearance in their inaugural OUA season. Two of the scorers in OUA will go head-to-head, featuring Francis Verreault-Paul (Mashteuiatsh, Que.) of McGill and Nipissing’s Andrew Marcoux (Rockwood, Ont.). Verreault-Paul led the league with 25 goals, two more than Marcoux.
In other OUA East match-ups, the Toronto Varsity Blues (15-9-4) and Ryerson Rams (12-13-3) renew their Hogtown rivalry, while the Carleton Ravens (15-10-3) will battle the Queen's Gaels (14-12-2).
All playoff series are best-of-three format, with the higher seed earning home ice advantage in Game 3. The Queen’s Cup will be played at the highest-ranked Ontario-based seed on Saturday, March 13.
OUA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE - CONFERENCE QUARTER-FINALS
OUA EAST
No. 1 UQTR vs. No. 8 Concordia
Wed. Feb. 17 @ 7 p.m. at UQTR
Fri. Feb. 19 @ 7:30 p.m. at Concordia
Sun. Feb. 21 @ 2 p.m. at UQTR*
No. 2 McGill vs. No. 7 Nipissing
Wed. Feb. 17 @ 7 p.m. at McGill
Fri. Feb. 19 @ 7 p.m. at Nipissing
Sun. Feb. 21 @ 2 p.m. at McGill*
No. 3 Toronto vs. No. 6 Ryerson
Wed. Feb. 17 @ 7:30 p.m. at Toronto
Thur. Feb. 18 @ 7:30 p.m. at Ryerson
Sat. Feb. 20 @ 7:30 p.m. at Toronto*
No. 4 Carleton vs. No. 5 Queen's
Wed. Feb. 17 @ 7 p.m. at Carleton
Fri. Feb. 19 @ 7:30 p.m. at Queen's
Sun. Feb. 21 @ 3 p.m. at Carleton*
*if necessary
OUA WEST
No. 1 Western vs. No. 8 UOIT
Wed. Feb. 17 @ 7:30 p.m. at Western
Fri. Feb. 19 @ 7:30 p.m. at UOIT
Sun. Feb. 21 @ 7:30 p.m. at Western*
No. 2 Waterloo vs. No. 7 Windsor
Wed. Feb. 17 @ 7:30 p.m. at Waterloo
Fri. Feb. 19 @ 7:30 p.m. at Windsor
Sun. Feb. 21 @ 2 p.m. at Waterloo*
No. 3 Lakehead vs. No. 6 York
Wed. Feb. 17 @ 7:30 p.m. at York
Fri. Feb. 19 @ 7:30 p.m. at Lakehead
Sat. Feb. 20 @ 7:30 p.m. at Lakehead*
No. 4 Laurier vs. No. 5 Guelph
Thur. Feb. 18 @ 7:30 p.m. at Laurier
Sat. Feb. 20 @ 7:30 p.m. at Guelph
Sun. Feb. 21 @ 7:30 p.m. at Laurier*
*if necessary
– OUA –
ABOUT ONTARIO UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and its 19 member institutions are developing Champions For Life. Giving 9,000 student-athletes the opportunity to excel academically and on the playing field, while preparing for life after university. For more information, visit OUA.ca.
