HALIFAX, N.S. – Slotted as the sixth seed for CIS national championship, the University of Calgary Dinos are in Halifax and are set to begin their battle for the University Cup starting on Thursday afternoon against the OUA champion University of Guelph Gryphons.
Using a new eight-team format this year, the University Cup gets underway on Thursday and concludes on Sunday with the gold-medal game, live on Sportsnet 360. The Dinos drop the puck with the Gryphons on March 12 at 1:00pm local time and 10:00am mountain time.
Saturday's semifinals are also live on Sportsnet 360 (noon & 4 p.m. Atlantic), while the quarter-finals and the bronze-medal match are set to air on Eastlink TV. All eight games from the tourney will be webcast on www.CIS-SIC.tv.
The Dinos arrived on Canada's east coast on Monday evening after a day of travel – which included a shared flight with the Alberta Golden Bears from Toronto to Halifax. The team took the ice on Tuesday afternoon and will have more day of preparation before playing in the tournament's first game on Thursday afternoon.
For many on Calgary, the trip is their first to the Maritimes and their first chance to play for a national crown.
"During my whole hockey career I haven't won anything big like this, so this is a unique opportunity for me and a lot of other guys," said second-year forward Adam Kambeitz, who had a chance to join a Memorial Cup host in Saskatoon before being dealt by the Blades at the WHL trade deadline in 2013.
"It is important for everyone to reset, we had a chance to win Canada West and it didn't go the way we wanted to. We talked about it in the room though and we earned our spot at nationals, everyone is excited to move forward and try to win here."
While a number of players are soaking in their first chance at a large tournament like the University Cup, there are a number of Dinos who come to the CIS national championship with experience. Calgary has four seniors who made the trip to Fredericton, N.B. in 2011, along with seven players who made appearances at national championships at the Major Junior or Junior 'A' level.
Dinos goaltender Jacob DeSerres is one of those players – having won the Memorial Cup with the Saint John Sea Dogs during his overage season in the QMJHL.
"Coming back [into the Scotiabank Centre] feels so familiar, it doesn't feel like that long ago that I was playing junior here. It is crazy to think it has almost been four years," reminisced DeSerres. "These tournaments are a lot of fun, but it is important to realize we are here to take care of business. Guys will have a chance to explore and have some fun, but everyone wants to win a championship more than anything else."
To say that third-ranked Guelph didn't look like a championship team at the December break would be the understatement of the year. The Gryphons overcame a disastrous 3-13 start to their OUA schedule to finish sixth in the OUA West with a modest 11-13-3 mark and then embarked on a magical 7-2 playoff run that culminated with a 4-0 shutout against perennial powerhouse UQTR in the OUA final and the program's for University Cup appearance since 2002.
"We were thrilled to win the Queen's Cup and to be able to do so in front of our fans was especially exciting," said eight-year head coach Shawn Camp. "We are honoured to represent the OUA as conference champions and are excited for the opportunity to play against the best teams in the country."
The game on Thursday will be the third all-time between Calgary and Guelph at the University Cup. The Dinos are 0-2 in those games with their last meeting coming in 1995.
PARTICIPATING TEAMS
NO. 3 GUELPH GRYPHONS
Team Statistics
Head Coach: Shawn Camp (8th season)
Regular season record: 11-13-3
Regular season standing: 6th OUA West
Playoff record: 7-2
Playoff finish: OUA champions
Overall record vs. CIS teams: 18-15-3
Overall record vs. U Cup teams: 3-3 (1-1 vs. UQTR, 2-2 WIN)
Top 10 final ranking (March 8): No. 4
Top 10 best ranking: No. 4 (final poll)
Top 10 number of weeks ranked (20 polls): 2
National ranking (offence): 13th (3.70)
National ranking (defence): 23rd (3.48)
National ranking (power play): 13th (19.3)
National ranking (penalty kill): 24th (79.8)
Individual Statistics
Conference award winners (OUA West): None
Conference 1st team all-stars (OUA West): None
Conference 2nd team all-stars (OUA West): Nick Huard (F)
Conference all-rookie team (OUA West): Nick D'Agostini (G)
Season leader (points): Nick Huard, 11-17-28 (26 GP)
Season leader (goals): Robert De Fulviis, 14 (27 GP)
Season leader (assists): Nick Huard, 17 (26 GP)
Season leader (points by defenceman): Mac Nichol, 9-9-18 (26 GP)
Season leader (goalie): Andrew D'Agostini (20 GP, 10-9, 3 SHO, 3.25, .901)
University Cup History
Appearances: 9th
Last appearance: 2002 (3rd in pool)
All-time record: 5-11 (.313)
Best result: 1-time champions (1997)
Sequence: Return after 12-year absence
NO. 6 CALGARY DINOS
Team Statistics
Head Coach: Mark Howell (6th season)
Regular season record: 20-8-0
Regular season standing: 2nd Canada West
Playoff record: 2-3
Playoff finish: Canada West finalists
Overall record vs. CIS teams: 26-13
Overall record vs. U Cup teams: 2-5 (2-5 vs. ALB)
Top 10 final ranking (March 8): No. 5
Top 10 best ranking: No. 2 (first poll)
Top 10 number of weeks ranked (20 polls): 20
National ranking (offence): 19th (3.21)
National ranking (defence): 3rd (1.99)
National ranking (power play): 7th (21.1)
National ranking (penalty kill): 11th (84.1)
Individual Statistics
Conference award winners: Kris Lazaruk (goalie), Elgin Pearce (most sportsmanlike)
Conference 1st team all-stars: Kris Lazaruk (G), Kodie Curran (D)
Conference 2nd team all-stars: Elgin Pearce (F)
Conference all-rookie team: None
Season leader (points): Elgin Pearce, 17-14-31 (28 GP)
Season leader (goals): Elgin Pearce, 17 (28 GP)
Season leader (assists): Kodie Curran, 16 (23 GP)
Season leader (points by defenceman): Kodie Curran, 8-16-24 (23 GP)
Season leader (goalie): Kris Lazaruk (14 GP, 9-4, 3 SHO, 1.67, .938)
Season leader (goalie): Jacob DeSerres (15 GP, 11-4, 2 SHO, 2.07, .920)
University Cup History
Appearances: 11th
Last appearance: 2011 (3rd in pool)
All-time record: 7-15 (.318)
Best result: Tied for 3rd place (1996, 1995, 1990, 1988, 1981, 1980, 1976, 1974)
Sequence: Return after 3-year absence
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times ATLANTIC TIME)
Wednesday, March 11
11:00 Meet the Teams Media Conference (Scotiabank Centre)
18:30 All-Canadian Dinner & Gala (Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel)
Thursday, March 12
13:00 Quarter-final 1: No. 6 Calgary vs. No. 3 Guelph (Eastlink TV / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
19:00 Quarter-final 2: No. 7 Windsor vs. No. 2 UNB (Eastlink TV / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Friday, March 13
13:00 Quarter-final 3: No. 5 Acadia vs. No. 4 UQTR (Eastlink TV / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
19:00 Quarter-final 4: No. 8 StFX vs. No. 1 Alberta (Eastlink TV / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Saturday, March 14
12:00 Semifinal 1: Winner QF 1 vs. Winner QF 2 (Sportsnet 360 / www.CIS-SIC.tv) *
16:00 Semifinal 2: Winner QF 3 vs. Winner QF 4 (Sportsnet 360 / www.CIS-SIC.tv) *
Sunday, March 15
14:00 Bronze (Eastlink TV / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
18:30 Final (Sportsnet 360 / www.CIS-SIC.tv) *
* The webcast of the semifinals & final are on pay-per-view basis.