OUA Men's Hockey returns to the ice Oct. 5, UQTR begins title defence Oct. 7 vs. Voyageurs
BURLINGTON, Ont. – Ontario University Athletics (OUA) announced the 2016-17 regular season schedule for men's hockey on Thursday morning.
BURLINGTON, Ont. – Ontario University Athletics (OUA) announced the 2016-17 regular season schedule for men's hockey on Thursday morning.
The puck will officially drop on Oct. 5, 2016 when the York Lions travel to St. Catharines, Ont. to take on the Brock Badgers, while in Waterloo, Ont., the Warriors will host the Guelph Gryphons.
The 2016 OUA champions, the UQTR Patriotes, will open their Queen's Cup title defence on the road on Oct. 7 as they will be in Sudbury, Ont. at Countryside Arena for a showdown with the Laurentian Voyageurs.
In the nation's capital, the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees much anticipated return to the Minto Sports Rink will take place also on Oct. 7 as they host the visiting UOIT Ridgebacks.
While known more so for their rivalry on the gridiron, the Western Mustangs and Guelph Gryphons will renew hostilities on the ice when they meet at the Gryphon Centre on Oct. 7 in a OUA West Division finals rematch. The Gryphons will be out for revenge as it was the Mustangs who ended their season with a 2-1 series victory, denying Guelph a shot at repeating as OUA champions.
On Oct. 14, the Carleton Ravens will soar to Trois-Rivières, QC for a showdown with the defending champion Patriotes at Le Colisée. Despite being swept by the powerhouse Patriotes in the division final, the Ravens defeated UQTR 6-3 on the road earlier in the season.
The 8th annual Frosty Mug Game is set for Jan. 19 at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, Ont., and will feature the Laurier Golden Hawks visiting the hometown Gryphons. Last season, a record crowd of 4,374 people were on hand as the visiting Western Mustangs spoiled the party with a tight 3-2 victory over the Gryphons.
McGill takes on the Stingers at Concordia's Ed Meagher Arena on Jan. 20 for the 30th annual Ronald Corey Cup, a challenge game for Montreal hockey supremacy. Last year, the Stingers prevailed 4-2 at home to improve to 9-17-3 in the annual showdown. The Redmen, who fell to 16-8-3 lifetime in Corey Cup play with the loss, will hope to silence the pro-Concordia crowd this time around and get back into the win column.
The oldest hockey rivalry in the world will be renewed on Feb. 2 as the RMC Paladins and the crosstown rival Queen's Gaels clash in the 31st annual Carr-Harris Cup in Kingston, Ont. The rivalry between the two Kingston squads dates back to 1886 and in last year's Carr-Harris Cup game, the Gaels defeated the Paladins 6-2.
Fans of OUA hockey will have to be patient as they will have to wait until Feb. 4 for a rematch of last season's championship between the Mustangs and Patriotes. The two teams will meet at Le Colisée for the first time since last March when the Patriotes stunned the Mustangs in their own barn with a 4-3 overtime victory to claim the 105th Queen's Cup.
The OUA men's regular season will conclude on Feb. 11 with eight games scheduled including Western traveling to Thunder Bay, Ont. to take on the Lakehead Thunderwolves and the Ryerson Rams making the trip to "The Royal City" to take on the Gryphons.
Playoffs are slated to commence on Feb. 15 with the top eight teams in each division advancing to the post-season. The first three rounds of the playoffs will go from Feb. 15 to Mar. 5, with each round consisting of a best-of-three series.
The 106th edition of the Queen's Cup championship will be played on Mar. 11, 2017 in a one-game, winner-take-all battle, hosted by the highest remaining team from Ontario.
Read the full season schedule here. Stay tuned as the OUA Women's Hockey schedule will be released later today at 1:00 pm ET.
