The Queen's Cup is emblematic of hockey supremacy in men's university hockey in the OUA, and teams have been battling for the Cup for over 100 years. The Queen's Cup tournament returns to the Thompson Arena on the campus of the University of Western Ontario this weekend, Mar. 12th to Mar. 14th, for the third year in a row. This season sees a new format, with the four division champions and the host Western Mustangs taking part.
Three division champions are returning from last year: your No. 3 Lakehead Thunderwolves representing the OUA Far West, the No. 6 York Lions from the OUA Mid West, and the No. 10 Toronto Varsity Blues from the OUA Mid East. The newcomers this year are the No. 4 Ottawa Gee Gees who won the OUA Far East Division by defeating the defending CIS and Queen's Cup champions UQTR Patriotes.
This year's tournament action begins with the host Western Mustangs playing a Tournament Entry Game vs. the Toronto Varsity Blues, the division champion with the lowest qualifying regular season record, on Friday night at 7:35 p.m. EST. The winner of that game will then take the spot of the Mid East Champion in the Final Four.
Broadcasting:
The Queen's Cup Championship Final on Sunday, Mar. 14th at 7:05 p.m. EST will be broadcast across Canada on THE SCORE cable sports channel. All games involving Lakehead will be broadcast on the radio on 580 CKPR AM in Thunder Bay and across Canada at www.ckpr.com. Western Campus Radio CHRW FM will be broadcasting Friday's game between Western and Toronto and all subsequent games involving Western. CHRW FM can be heard in London, Ont. and across Canada on the web at http://chrw.usc.uwo.ca/.
Queen's Cup Schedule:
(All Games at Thompson Arena on Western Campus)
Friday Mar. 12:
7:35 p.m. Game 1: Tournament Entry game: Western vs. Toronto
Saturday March 13:
4:05 p.m. Game 2: West Division Championship: York vs. Lakehead
7:35 p.m. Game 3: East Division Championship: Ottawa versus Winner of Tournament Entry Game
Sunday March 14
7:05 p.m. Game 4: Queen's Cup Championship: East Champions vs. West Champions