David Johnston University Cup

The David Johnston University Cup is a national collegiate sports award, presented annually to the champion of a season-ending tournament played by U Sports men's ice hockey teams in Canada. The UNB Reds are the current champions for the 2018–2019 season. The Alberta Golden Bears have won the most championships with 16. The 2020 championship tournament was cancelled after two semi-final games had been played due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

David Johnston University Cup
The original U Sports University Cup, with 11 of Alberta Golden Bears‘ 16 U Sports-leading championship medallions shown
First awarded1963
Most recently played2019
Current championsUNB Reds
Current runners-upAlberta Golden Bears
Most titlesAlberta Golden Bears (16)
Websiteusports.ca/en/championships/hockey/m/history

Originally called the CIAU University Cup in 1962, with minor changes through the decades when Canada’s national university sports organization changed its own name, the cup’s name was changed on March 13, 2018, to honour David Johnston, a few months after he served as Governor General of Canada.[2]

History

The trophy was presented to U Sports, then known as the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CIAU), for presentation to a national champion starting with the 1962–63 season, by Queen's University and the Royal Military College of Canada. These two schools, located in Kingston, Ontario, had been the participants in the first organized interuniversity hockey game, played in Kingston in 1885.[3] The cup is meant to recognize the overall contribution made to the game of hockey by outstanding university players.

The CIAU changed its name to Canadian Interuniversity Sport (renaming the trophy the CIS University Cup) in 2001, and in October 2016 to U Sports (renaming the trophy the U Sports University Cup).

On March 13, 2018, U Sports renamed the cup the David Johnston University Cup in honour of David Johnston, former Governor General of Canada.[2]

The original University Cup is located at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and does not travel publicly. A replica was created with a less ornate cup in 2006. Between 2006 and 2015, the trophy has been modified after several repairs - the metal bowl is now of simpler design, and mounts more flush to the main wooden portion. The two handles that used to be attached to the bowl, and frequently broke off, were removed. An additional black wooden ring was added to the bottom of the trophy in order to incorporate more school shields, as an engraved metal shield, with diagonal stripes in the winning school's colours, is added to the trophy every year.

With the completion of the 2018–19 championship, 27 different teams have played in the national championship final (however Sir George Williams University merged with Loyola College in 1974 to create Concordia University, so it could be described as 26 different teams). In all, 17 different teams have won the national championship.

The Alberta Golden Bears hold the record of 16 championship wins, as well as the record of 22 championship final appearances. The Toronto Varsity Blues hold the record of 5 consecutive championship trophy wins, from 1969 through 1973. In the last seven years from 2013 through 2019, only the Alberta Golden Bears (3 wins) or the UNB Reds (4 wins) have won the championship. The winningest coach is Tom Watt, who at the helm as the Toronto Varsity Blues won nine University Cup championships between 1966 and 1977. Second is current UNB Reds coach Gardiner MacDougall with seven UCup wins between 2007 and 2019, while Clare Drake is third behind the bench as the Alberta Golden Bears won six University Cup championships between 1964 and 1986.

Tournament Formats

Pre 1998

A varying number of tournament formats had been used prior to 1998. Towards the end of this era, the common format was a 4-team single elimination event between the four conference champions: AUS (called the AUAA at the time - Atlantic University Athletic Association), CW (called the CWUAA at the time - Canada West Universities Athletic Association) and OUA East & West (called the OUAA at the time - Ontario Universities Athletics Association), with the Top 10 ranking determining the opponents in the semi-finals (1v4 and 2v3). In most cases, the semi-finals were on Saturday with the championship game on Sunday. Games were hosted at Varsity Arena in Toronto. In some events, the finals were at Maple Leaf Gardens[4]

1998 to 2014

Starting in 1998, the CIS changed the format of the University Cup tournament to a six-team/two-pool tournament that would be hosted by a CIS member institution/team rather than in Toronto at Varsity Arena. The host would automatically be included in the tournament leaving five spots for regional representatives. The three conference champions and OUA Queen's Cup Runner-up would automatically be included with the fifth spot as a rotating 'wild-card' team. The University of Saskatchewan Huskies won the bid to host the first three(3) tournaments; 1998, 1999 and 2000.

The wild-card selection was initially chosen based on a static rotation through each conference starting with the AUS in 1998 followed by the OUA and CW, repeating on a tri-year cycle. Due to the random nature of the host bidding process, some tournaments saw more local teams then expected when the host advanced as a conference champion. It was possible for CW or AUS hosts to have 3 teams from their conference or 4 teams in the case of an OUA host who was also a champion. To reduce the local bias, the rotation selection rule was changed prior to the 2009 season - the wild-card would now only come from a non-host conference while maintaining the rotation. In 2009 the OUA was the host conference (Lakehead University) and should have also been the original wild-card conference, instead the AUS provided the wild-card. This rule remained in affect until the format changed in 2015 to 8-teams.

2015 to present day

Starting in 2015, the U Sports Hockey championship tournament expanded from six to eight teams and moved from a two-pool format to a single-elimination competition (quarter-finals, semifinals and final with a bronze medal game).

The eight teams competing include the four regional conference champions: AUS, Canada West, OUA West & OUA East (where the three hockey teams from the RSEQ compete). The remaining four teams are: the host, the Canada West runner-up, the AUS runner-up and the OUA 3rd place finisher (Bronze medalist). The 'natural' conference champions would be seeded 1-3; AUS, CW and OUA Queen's Cup Champion. The OUA Queen's Cup Finalist is always seed #4. The remaining teams would be seeded 5-8, all based on the pre-tournament Top 10 Ranking Poll.

A joint bid from St. Francis Xavier University and Saint Mary's University was selected to host the first two events using this format; 2015 (St. FX as the host) and 2016 (SMU as the host). USPORTS evaluated these two events and continues to promote this tournament format.

Champions
Year Location Host University Champion Score Runner Up Bronze
1963 Kingston, Ontario Queen's & RMC McMaster Marlins 3-2 UBC Thunderbirds
1964 Kingston, Ontario Queen's & RMC Alberta Golden Bears 9-1 Sir George Williams Georgians UNB
1965 Winnipeg, Manitoba Manitoba Manitoba Bisons 9-2 St. Dunstan's Saints
1966 Sudbury, Ontario Laurentian Toronto Varsity Blues 8-1 Alberta Golden Bears
1967 Calgary, Alberta Calgary & Alberta Toronto Varsity Blues 16-2 Laurentian Voyageurs
1968 Montreal, Quebec Sir George Williams,
Loyola & MacDonald		 Alberta Golden Bears 5-4 Loyola Warriors
1969 Edmonton, Alberta Alberta Toronto Varsity Blues 4-2 Sir George Williams Georgians
1970 Charlottetown, PEI UPEI Toronto Varsity Blues 3-2 Saint Mary's Huskies
1971 Sudbury, Ontario Laurentian Toronto Varsity Blues 5-4 Saint Mary's Huskies
1972 Sherbrooke, Quebec Bishops's & Sherbrooke Toronto Varsity Blues 5-0 Saint Mary's Huskies
1973 Toronto, Ontario Toronto Toronto Varsity Blues 3-2 Saint Mary's Huskies
1974 Toronto, Ontario Toronto Waterloo Warriors 6-5 Sir George Williams Georgians
1975 Edmonton, Alberta Alberta Alberta Golden Bears 5-2 Toronto Varsity Blues
1976 Toronto, Ontario Toronto Toronto Varsity Blues 7-2 Guelph Gryphons
1977 Edmonton, Alberta Alberta Toronto Varsity Blues 4-1 Alberta Golden Bears
1978 Moncton, New Brunswick Moncton Alberta Golden Bears 6-5 Toronto Varsity Blues
1979 Montreal, Quebec Concordia Alberta Golden Bears 5-1 Dalhousie Tigers
1980 Regina, Saskatchewan Regina Alberta Golden Bears 7-3 Regina Cougars
1981 Calgary, Alberta Calgary Moncton Aigles Bleus 4-2 Saskatchewan Huskies
1982 Moncton, New Brunswick Moncton Moncton Aigles Bleus 3-2 Saskatchewan Huskies
1983 Moncton, New Brunswick Moncton Saskatchewan Huskies 6-2 Concordia Stingers
1984 Trois-Rivières, Quebec UQTR Toronto Varsity Blues 9-1 Concordia Stingers
1985 Toronto, Ontario Toronto York Yeomen 3-2 Alberta Golden Bears
1986 Edmonton, Alberta Alberta Alberta Golden Bears 5-2 UQTR Patriotes
1987 Edmonton, Alberta Alberta UQTR Patriotes 6-3 Saskatchewan Huskies
1988 Toronto, Ontario Toronto York Yeomen 5-3 Western Ontario Mustangs
1989 Toronto, Ontario Toronto York Yeomen 5-2 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
1990 Toronto, Ontario Toronto Moncton Aigles Bleus 2-1 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
1991 Toronto, Ontario Toronto UQTR Patriotes 7-2 Alberta Golden Bears
1992 Toronto, Ontario Toronto Alberta Golden Bears 5-2 Acadia Axemen
1993 Toronto, Ontario Toronto Acadia Axemen 12-1 Toronto Varsity Blues
1994 Toronto, Ontario Toronto Lethbridge Pronghorns 5-2 Guelph Gryphons
1995 Toronto, Ontario Toronto Moncton Aigles Bleus 5-1 Guelph Gryphons
1996 Toronto, Ontario Toronto Acadia Axemen 3-2 Waterloo Warriors
1997 Toronto, Ontario Toronto Guelph Gryphons 4-3 UNB Varsity Reds
1998 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saskatchewan UNB Varsity Reds 6-3 Acadia Axemen
1999 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Alberta Golden Bears 6-2 Moncton Aigles Bleus
2000 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Alberta Golden Bears 5-4 (2 OT) UNB Varsity Reds
2001 Waterloo, Ontario Guelph, Laurier & Waterloo UQTR Patriotes 5-4 St. Francis Xavier X-Men
2002 Waterloo, Ontario Guelph, Laurier & Waterloo Western Ontario Mustangs 4-3 (3 OT) UQTR Patriotes
2003 Fredericton, New Brunswick UNB UQTR Patriotes 3-0 St. Francis Xavier X-Men Alberta
2004 Fredericton, New Brunswick UNB St. Francis Xavier X-Men 3-2 (2 OT) UNB Varsity Reds Dalhousie
2005 Edmonton, AlbertaAlbertaAlberta Golden Bears4-3 (OT)Saskatchewan Huskies
2006 Edmonton, AlbertaAlbertaAlberta Golden Bears3-2Lakehead Thunderwolves
2007 Moncton, New BrunswickMonctonUNB Varsity Reds3-2 (2OT)Moncton Aigles Bleus
2008 Moncton, New BrunswickMonctonAlberta Golden Bears3-2UNB Varsity Reds
2009 Thunder Bay, OntarioLakeheadUNB Varsity Reds4-2Western Ontario Mustangs
2010 Thunder Bay, OntarioLakeheadSaint Mary's Huskies3-2 (OT)Alberta Golden Bears
2011 Fredericton, New BrunswickUNBUNB Varsity Reds4-0McGill Redmen
2012 Fredericton, New BrunswickUNBMcGill Redmen4–3 (OT)Western Ontario Mustangs
2013 Saskatoon, SaskatchewanSaskatchewanUNB Varsity Reds2-0Saint Mary's Huskies
2014 Saskatoon, SaskatchewanSaskatchewanAlberta Golden Bears3-1Saskatchewan Huskies
2015 Halifax, Nova ScotiaStFXAlberta Golden Bears6-3UNB Varsity RedsGuelph
2016 Halifax, Nova ScotiaSaint Mary'sUNB Varsity Reds3-1St. Francis Xavier X-MenSMU
2017 Fredericton, New BrunswickUNBUNB Varsity Reds5-3Saskatchewan HuskiesAcadia
2018 Fredericton, New BrunswickUNBAlberta Golden Bears4-2St. Francis Xavier X-MenUNB
2019 Lethbridge, AlbertaLethbridgeUNB Reds4-2Alberta Golden BearsSt.FX
2020 Halifax, Nova ScotiaAcadia Cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic)[1]
2021 Charlottetown, PEIUPEI

University Cup Final appearances

These tables rank appearances in the final championship game.

UNB Varsity Reds celebrate after winning the University Cup, March 19, 2017


By team
Appearances Team Wins Losses Win %
22 Alberta Golden Bears 16 6 .727
13 Toronto Varsity Blues 10 3 .769
13 UNB Reds 8 5 .615
7 Saskatchewan Huskies 1 6 .142
6 Moncton Aigles Bleus 4 2 .666
6 UQTR Patriotes 4 2 .666
6 Saint Mary's Huskies 1 5 .167
5 St. Francis Xavier X-Men 1 4 .200
4 Acadia Axemen 2 2 .500
4 Guelph Gryphons 1 3 .250
4 Western Mustangs 1 3 .250
3 York Lions 3 0 1.000
3 Sir George Williams Georgians† 0 3 .000
2 McGill Team 1 1 .500
2 Waterloo Warriors 1 1 .500
2 Concordia Stingers† 0 2 .000
2 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 0 2 .000
1 Lethbridge Pronghorns 1 0 1.000
1 Manitoba Bisons 1 0 1.000
1 McMaster Marauders 1 0 1.000
1 Dalhousie Tigers 0 1 .000
1 Lakehead Thunderwolves 0 1 .000
1 Laurentian Voyageurs 0 1 .000
1 Loyola Warriors† 0 1 .000
1 Regina Cougars 0 1 .000
1 St. Dunstan's Saints‡ 0 1 .000
1 UBC Thunderbirds 0 1 .000
114Total for 27 Teams5757

†: Sir George Williams University merged with Loyola College in 1974 to create Concordia University.

‡: St. Dunstan's University merged with Prince of Wales College in 1969 to form the University of Prince Edward Island.

By team's province
Appearances Province Teams Wins Losses Win %
31 Ontario 9 17 14 .548
21 Alberta 2 17 6 .739
19 New Brunswick 2 12 7 .632
16 Nova Scotia 4 4 12 .250
14 Quebec 5 5 9 .357
8 Saskatchewan 2 1 7 .125
1 Manitoba 1 1 0 1.000
1 British Columbia 1 0 1 .000
1 Prince Edward Island 1 0 1 .000
114Total for 9 Provinces275757

The only province missing from this list, Newfoundland and Labrador, has only one U Sports member, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Memorial dropped their varsity men's hockey team after the 1981-82 season.

Tournament location

By city
City Hosted Most Recent
Toronto, Ontario 14 1997
Edmonton, Alberta 7 2006
Fredericton, New Brunswick 6 2018
Moncton, New Brunswick 5 2008
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 5 2014
Halifax, Nova Scotia 3 2020
Calgary, Alberta 2 1981
Kingston, Ontario 2 1964
Montreal, Quebec 2 1979
Sudbury, Ontario 2 1971
Thunder Bay, Ontario 2 2010
Waterloo, Ontario 2 2002
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island 1 1970
Lethbridge, Alberta 1 2019
Regina, Saskatchewan 1 1980
Sherbrooke, Quebec 1 1972
Trois-Rivières, Quebec 1 1984
Winnipeg, Manitoba 1 1965
Total for 18 Cities582020

By province
Province Hosted Most Recent
Ontario 22 2010
New Brunswick 11 2018
Alberta 10 2019
Saskatchewan 6 2014
Quebec 4 1984
Nova Scotia 3 2020
Manitoba 1 1965
Prince Edward Island 1 1970
Total for 8 Provinces582020

British Columbia is the only province to have a team play in the championship final (UBC Thunderbirds were runners-up in the original 1963 competition, nothing else since then), but to never host the championships.

Major W.J. ‘Danny’ McLeod award

In addition to the University Cup, the Major W.J. ‘Danny’ McLeod award is presented at the end of each year’s championship, to the University Cup’s Most Valuable Player.

Major McLeod was the overall athletic director at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), was the coach of RMC's ice hockey team, and simultaneously coached two Kingston teams in the Ontario Hockey Association – the Kingston Frontenacs (Junior B) and the Kingston Aces (Senior A).[5] McLeod was instrumental in establishing the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CIAU) in 1961, operating the CIAU from his office at RMC as the first CIAU Secretary-Treasurer.[6] He helped create the national university ice hockey championship tournament, which was hosted by RMC for its first two years (1963, 1964).

The Major W.J. ‘Danny’ McLeod award winners:[7]

Year Player Position Team
1963Bill MahoneyForwardMcMaster Marlins
1964Dave DiesDefencemanSir George Williams Georgians
1965No MVP selected
1966Tom PurserGoaltenderSt. Francis Xavier X-Men
1967Unavailable
1968Ron CebrykForwardAlberta Golden Bears
1969John WrightForwardToronto Varsity Blues
1970Chuck GoddardGoaltenderSaint Mary's Huskies
1971Ron HindsonForwardSaint Mary's Huskies
1972John WrightForwardToronto Varsity Blues
1973Gord DaviesForwardToronto Varsity Blues
1974Bernie WolfeGoaltenderSir George Williams Georgians
1975Dale HenwoodGoaltenderAlberta Golden Bears
1976Kent RuhnkeForwardToronto Varsity Blues
1977Rocci PagnelloDefencemanToronto Varsity Blues
1978Kevin PrimeauForwardAlberta Golden Bears
1979David HindmarchForwardAlberta Golden Bears
1980Chris HellandForwardAlberta Golden Bears
1981Benoit FortierGoaltenderMoncton Aigles Bleus
1982Alain GrenierForwardMoncton Aigles Bleus
1983Willie DesjardinsForwardSaskatchewan Huskies
1984André HidiForwardToronto Varsity Blues
1985Don McLarenForwardYork Yeomen
1986Dennis CranstonForwardAlberta Golden Bears
1987Marc GervaisForwardUQTR Patriotes
1988Brian GrayForwardYork Yeomen
1989Mark ApplewhaiteGoaltenderYork Yeomen
1990Rob DopsonGoaltenderWilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
1991Denis DesbiensGoaltenderUQTR Patriotes
1992Garth PremakDefencemanAlberta Golden Bears
1993George DupontForwardAcadia Axemen
1994Trevor EllermanForwardLethbridge Pronghorns
1995Dominic RhéaumeForwardMoncton Aigles Bleus
1996Greg ClancyForwardAcadia Axemen
1997Matt MullinGoaltenderGuelph Gryphons
1999Cam DanylukForwardAlberta Golden Bears
2000Kevin MarshForwardAlberta Golden Bears
2001Alexandre TremblayForwardUQTR Patriotes
2003Éric DesjardinsGoaltenderUQTR Patriotes
2004Mike MoleGoaltenderSt. Francis Xavier X-Men
2005Ben ThomsonForwardAlberta Golden Bears
2006Harlan AndersonDefencemanAlberta Golden Bears
2007Yvan BusqueForwardMoncton Aigles Bleus
2008Ian McDonaldForwardAlberta Golden Bears
2009Lachlan MacIntoshForwardUNB Varsity Reds
2010Andrew HothamDefencemanSaint Mary's Huskies
2011Luke GallantDefencemanUNB Varsity Reds
2012Francis Verreault-PaulForwardMcGill Redmen
2013Tyler CarrollForwardUNB Varsity Reds
2014Derek HulakForwardSaskatchewan Huskies
2015Kruise ReddickForwardAlberta Golden Bears
2016Philippe HalleyForwardUNB Varsity Reds
2017Philippe MailletForwardUNB Varsity Reds
2018Stephane LegaultForwardAlberta Golden Bears
2019Alex DubeauGoaltenderUNB Reds
2020Not Awarded--
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See also

References
  1. "U Sports hockey championships cancelled due to COVID-19 outbreak". Sportsnet. March 12, 2020.
  2. "U Sports men's hockey trophy named after former Governor-General David Johnston". Retrieved March 13, 2018 – via The Globe and Mail.
  3. "History". U SPORTS. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  4. "1996-97 Guelph Men's Hockey". Guelph University Athletics. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  5. RMC Club staff writers (March 12, 2017). "Wall of Distinction: Tony Golab & Danny McLeod". e-VERITAS. Royal Military College of Canada Alumni Club. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  6. Cates, Darren (June 12, 2011). "'The Major' – A Founding Father – Receives Standing "O" at CIS Banquet". e-VERITAS. Royal Military College of Canada Alumni Club. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  7. "Major W.J. 'Danny' McLeod Award (University Cup Tournament MVP)" (PDF). U Sports. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
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