The 2025 U Sports University Cup, the 63rd edition, was held from March 20 to March 23, 2025, in Ottawa, Ontario, to determine a national champion for the 2024–25 U Sports men's ice hockey season.[1][2] The eighth-seeded host Ottawa Gee-Gees defeated the third-seeded OUA champion Concordia Stingers in the gold medal match to win the first national championship in program history.[3]
Host
The tournament was played at TD Place Arena and was hosted by the University of Ottawa.[2] This was the first time that the University of Ottawa hosted the tournament and it was the first time that the championship was in Ottawa.[2][4]
TD Place Arena is part of the City of Ottawa's Lansdowne Park complex and is home to the Ottawa 67's of the OHL and the Ottawa Charge of the PWHL. The base seating capacity is 5,500 with an upper limit of 8,585.
Qualification
Source:[5]
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | New Brunswick | 5 | 7 | 4 | - | - | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Saint Mary's | 3** | 4 | - | 4 | Acadia | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | |||||||||||
| 6 | Prince Edward Island | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | New Brunswick | 5 | 3 | - | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Moncton | 3 | 2 | - | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Moncton | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | St. Francis Xavier | 1 | 4 | - | 3 | Saint Mary's | 2 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Acadia | 2 | 6 | - | ||||||||||||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Source:[6]
| Division Quarterfinals February 19–23 | Division Semifinals February 26–March 1 | Division Finals March 5–9 | Queen's Cup Final March 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Concordia | 1 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Ottawa | 3* | 3* | - | E4 | McGill | 6 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| E6 | Ontario Tech | 2 | 2 | - | East | E1 | Concordia | 2 | 1 | - | |||||||||||||||
| E2 | Queens | 1 | 0 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Queen's | 4 | 7 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||
| E4 | McGill | 2 | 5 | - | E3 | Ottawa | 3 | 3 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| E5 | Quebec–Trois-Rivières | 1 | 2 | - | E1 | Concordia | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Toronto Metropolitan | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Toronto Metropolitan | 3* | 3 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Windsor | 5* | 5 | - | W5 | Lakehead | 2 | 0 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Waterloo | 4 | 3 | - | West | W1 | Toronto Metropolitan | 2 | 5 | 2 | Bronze Medal Game | ||||||||||||||
| W2 | Toronto | 3 | 4 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Toronto | 5 | 4 | - | E2 | Queen's | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Western Ontario | 2 | 2 | 2 | W3 | Windsor | 2 | 2 | - | W2 | Toronto | 0 | |||||||||||||
| W5 | Lakehead | 1 | 3 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Source:[7]
| Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Championship | ||||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Mount Royal | 3* | 0 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Alberta | 2* | 2 | 4 | E2 | Alberta | 2 | 6 | 2 | |||||||||||
| W3 | Calgary | 1 | 3 | 1 | W1 | Mount Royal | 3 | 2* | 0 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Saskatchewan | 6 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Saskatchewan | 4 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| W2 | British Columbia | 2 | 3 | 4 | W2 | British Columbia | 5* | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||
| E3 | MacEwan | 3* | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Participating teams
| Seed | Team | Qualified | Record | Last App | Total | Last Win | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Brunswick Reds | AUS Champion | 28–1–1 | 2024 | 23nd | 2024 | 10 |
| 2 | Saskatchewan Huskies | CW Champion | 23–5–0 | 2020 | 23rd | 1983 | 1 |
| 3 | Concordia Stingers | OUA Champion | 21–5–2 | 2023 | 11th | None | 0 |
| 4 | Toronto Metropolitan Bold | OUA Finalist | 17–10–1 | 2024 | 3rd | None | 0 |
| 5 | Mount Royal Cougars | CW Finalist | 22–6–0 | None | 1st | None | 0 |
| 6 | Moncton Aigles Bleus | AUS Finalists | 19-9–2 | 2024 | 17th | 1995 | 4 |
| 7 | Queen's Gaels | OUA Bronze | 22–6–0 | 2019 | 4th | None | 0 |
| 8 | Ottawa Gee-Gees | OUA Semifinalist (host) | 19–6–3 | 2020 | 4th | None | 0 |
Bracket
| First Round: March 20-21 | Semi-Finals: March 22 | Gold Medal Game: March 23 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | New Brunswick | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Ottawa | 3* | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Ottawa | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Toronto Metropolitan | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Toronto Metropolitan | 5***** | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Mount Royal | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Ottawa | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Concordia | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Saskatchewan | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Queen's | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Saskatchewan | 0 | Bronze Medal Game: March 23 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Concordia | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Concordia | 4 | 4 | Toronto Metropolitan | 1 | |||||||||
| 6 | Moncton | 2 | 2 | Saskatchewan | 4 | |||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
The quarterfinals game between TMU and Mount Royal set the record as the longest USPORTS men's hockey game in history, with a final time of 143 minutes and 33 seconds (60+20+20+20+20+13:33). [11]. The five overtime periods broke the USPORTS record set in a 2011 UNB-Acadia playoff game of 121:53 (60+10+20+20+11:53).
Previous Long Games:
- 121:53 - 2011-02-27 - UNB vs Acadia, Game 2 of the AUS Playoffs, UNB won 3-2
- 116:11 - 2016-03-17 - USK vs Carleton, QFinal #1 at UCup, USK won 3-2
- 107:35 - 2016-03-18 - USK vs SFX, SFinal #1 at UCup, SFX won 2-1
- 103:17 - 2002-03-25 - UoW vs UQTR, UCup Championship, Western won 4–3
References
- ^ "U Sports Calendar". U Sports. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
- ^ a b c "U Sports awards 2025 University Cup to University of Ottawa". U Sports. February 1, 2023.
- ^ "Gee-Gees ride off with university cup title". U Sports. March 23, 2025.
- ^ "History". U Sports. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
- ^ "2025 AUS Men's Hockey Playoff Schedule". Atlantic University Sport (AUS). Retrieved March 23, 2025.
- ^ "2024-25 OUA Men's Hockey Postseason Schedule". Ontario University Athletics (OUA). Retrieved March 23, 2025.
- ^ "2024-25 Canada West Men's Hockey Championship". Canada West. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
- ^ "Playing Regulations: Nen's Ice Hockey" (PDF). U Sports. August 2024.
- ^ "L'UNB est grand favori en quête d'un troisième titre national de suite" (in French). U Sports. March 16, 2025.
- ^ "2025 University Cup - U SPORTS". U Sports. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ^ Sportsnet Staff (March 21, 2025). "TMU beats Mount Royal in longest men's hockey game in U Sports history". Sportsnet. Ottawa. Retrieved March 21, 2025.