UNews - U SPORTS

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Cup teams, seedings are set, Pronghorns open against Canada West champion Golden Bears

trevor.kenney — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 14:52:26 +0000

Tournament week for the 2019 Cavendish Farms U SPORTS ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Cup Men’s Hockey National Championship is here. The field is set, the tournament bracket has been finalized and single game tickets are now on sale at all Enmax Centre ticket locations.

The Pronghorns men's hockey team will open the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Cup against a familiar foe, the Canada West champion ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta Golden Bears.

“There’s been a lot of preparation for this week, and it’s something we’ve been excited about for a long time,” says ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Mike Mahon. “We feel very fortunate to have been trusted with this national championship event and we can’t wait to show off U SPORTS men’s hockey and the city of Lethbridge to the rest of the country. It’s going to be a great week.”

Over the weekend, the final qualifier for the eight-team tournament was declared and on Sunday evening the field was seeded and first-round, quarter-final matchups were determined.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta Golden Bears, one of three teams representing the Canada West Conference, were selected as the top seed and will face off against the host ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns on Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, the tourney kicks off at 1 p.m. Thursday with ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Guelph Gryphons, the Ontario ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Athletics runner-up, against the Canada West runner-up ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Saskatchewan Huskies.

Following are the first-round matchups:

(All games at Enmax Centre)

Thursday, March 14

(4) ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Guelph Gryphons vs. (5) ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Saskatchewan Huskies, 1 p.m.
(1) ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta Golden Bears vs. (8) ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns, 7 p.m.

Friday, March 15

(2) ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of New Brunswick Varsity Reds vs. (7) Carleton ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Ravens, 1 p.m.
(3) Queen’s ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Gaels vs. (6) St. Francis Xavier X-Men, 7 p.m.

Tournament semifinals will be played on Saturday, March 16 at 1 and 6 p.m., followed by Sunday’s Bronze Medal Game at 1 p.m. and the Gold Medal Game at 6 p.m.

Tickets for each game are now available at enmaxcentre.ca.

In addition to the games, there are a number of activities associated with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Cup event. On Wednesday evening, U SPORTS will honour the top performers from across the country at the annual Awards Banquet, and on Thursday afternoon, the Light It Up in Lethbridge Tailgate Party (go.uleth.ca/lightitup2019), 5 p.m. outside the Enmax Centre, invites all southern Alberta hockey fans to come and get fired up for the Pronghorns opening game later in the evening. As well, all Pronghorns alumni are invited to the 2019 Horns Alumni Reunion (go.uleth.ca/hornsreunion2019) on Thursday at 5 p.m. in the Canadian Western Bank Lounge. Rogers Hometown Hockey (hometownhockey.com) then gets in on the festivities with two days of activities outside the Enmax Centre, Saturday and Sunday.

“I see this week as a really great opportunity for everyone to come together to show their community spirit and their Pronghorn pride,” says Ken McInnes, executive director for Pronghorn Athletics. “Southern Alberta has a wonderful tradition of supporting big-scale events and I expect this week will serve as another great example.”

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Cup primer - who will face the Pronghorns?

trevor.kenney — Mon, 25 Feb 2019 20:30:23 +0000

The Pronghorns are in as hosts, but who will be joining them at the 2019 Cavendish Farms U SPORTS ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Cup Men’s National Hockey Championship? And what path will they take to get here?

The eight-team field for this year’s national championship is gleaned from the three conferences that make up U SPORTS, the governing body for all university sports in the country. U SPORTS encompasses Canada West (CW, home of the Pronghorns and all universities from B.C. to Manitoba), Ontario ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Athletics (OUA, universities in Ontario and Quebec) and Atlantic ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Sport (AUS, maritime universities).

Each conference plays post-season tournaments to produce champions who earn their spot in nationals. For men’s hockey nationals, Canada West will send its conference champion as well as the runner-up. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta Golden Bears defeated ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Saskatchewan Huskies to claim the conference championship. Both teams will be in Lethbridge with the Bears the champion and the Huskies the Canada West runner-up.

The OUA is sending its East and West Division champions. Queen's ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ won the East and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Guelph won the West, both earning spots in the field with their series victories. Carleton and Western will meet in the third-place game to determine the final spot out of the OUA.

Finally, AUS will send the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of New Brunswick Varsity Reds as its conference champion and runner-upSt. Francis Xavier X-Men to round out the field.

When the eight teams are determined, U SPORTS seeds them for the single-elimination bracket tourney. The top seed plays the eighth seed, two plays seven, three plays six and four matches up against the fifth seed in the quarter-final round (two each on Thursday and Friday of the tourney).

If you win, you advance to the semis, if you lose, you’re done. Semifinals go on Saturday and the bronze and gold medal games are played on Sunday. Win three straight and you’re the national champions.

Given that the tournament format is do-or-die for every game, it will make for some extremely intense hockey with no margin for error.

The tournament begins Thursday, March 14 and concludes Sunday, March 17. Tournament packages and tickets for Thursday’s second quarter-final, featuring the U of L Pronghorns, are available now at enmaxcentre.ca.

Cavendish Farms title sponsor for 2019 U SPORTS ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Cup Men’s Hockey National Championship

trevor.kenney — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 16:50:05 +0000

Cavendish Farms announced Wednesday that it is throwing its support behind the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns as the title sponsor of the 2019 U SPORTS ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Cup Men’s Hockey National Championship.

The sponsorship continues a relationship between Cavendish Farms and U SPORTS that has seen the processor of frozen potato products support the men’s national championship nine of the past 13 seasons – most recently the last two editions at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of New Brunswick. Cavendish Farms also held the title rights to the tournament from 2007 to 2012.

“Cavendish Farms is pleased to return as the title sponsor of the 2019 U SPORTS ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Cup Men’s Hockey National Championship in Lethbridge,” says Robert K. Irving, President of Cavendish Farms. “Having been involved in the past, we know this national championship produces hockey that is high calibre. We’re happy to partner with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns to bring this event to the community and hockey fans alike.”

Cavendish Farms is currently building a state-of-the art frozen potato processing plant in Lethbridge to replace its existing facility. The plant will start up by fall 2019.

The eight-team tournament, featuring the host Pronghorns men’s hockey team, takes place from March 14 to 17, 2019 at the Enmax Centre. It will mark the first time the men’s hockey national championship has been held in Alberta since 2006 and only the third time it’s been in the province in the last 30 years. The winner will be awarded the David Johnston ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Cup, named after the former Governor General of Canada.

“We’re thrilled to have Cavendish Farms support this outstanding tournament as the title sponsor,” says the U of L’s Ken McInnes (BA’91, BMgt’97, Mgt Certificate ’02), executive director, Sport & Recreation Services. “That they are excited to come on board as a major contributor to this event speaks well to their commitment to our community. This is a unique circumstance where we get the chance to host an event of this caliber and the involvement of Cavendish Farms will only add to the experience.”

“We are excited to once again welcome back Cavendish Farms as title sponsor for the 2019 ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Cup,” says U SPORTS President and CEO Graham Brown. “Year after year, Cavendish Farms has backed our Men’s Hockey National Championship – one of the most exciting events on the U SPORTS calendar. We look forward to continuing our longstanding partnership this March on the ice in Lethbridge.”

Cavendish Farms has a long-standing history of supporting its employees and their communities through charitable donations, sponsorships and employee volunteer opportunities. They support a wide range of activities and organizations, focusing on education, sports, community infrastructure and wellness initiatives.

Ticket packages for the 2019 U SPORTS Cavendish Farms ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Cup Men’s Hockey National Championship are on sale through the Enmax Centre box office. Full tournament packages (featuring all eight games) are $160 for adults, $136 for seniors and $100 for students.

To engage with U SPORTS, Pronghorns hockey and the national championship event on social media, follow @USPORTS_hockey, @HornsHockey on Twitter and @USPORTSCanada and @Pronghorns on Facebook.

UNews - U SPORTS

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