The Rundown - Bracket Busters

There isn't much to say or set up on today's edition of The Rundown. Eight teams started the fun on Thursday, four advanced to the medal-round semifinals, and four were trying to wrap up their seasons with wins on the consolation side. Who made it to which games? Who is pushing for medals? Were there any upsets? We can answer all these questions below as the action from Elmira, Ontario has seen three days of play completed at the 2025 U SPORTS National Women's Hockey Championship! Let's get caught up to see who may stand atop the mountain on this final weekend of The Rundown!

The Bracket

As a reminder, here are the brackets for the tournament:

Let's get into the games as we work through the schedule!

A Quick Note

I was going to continue doing the Headline Sports-style recaps as you saw in the Canada West playoffs, but I highlighted the lack of effort from U SPORTS when it came to highlights this weekend. I'm still not happy about this aspect of the tournament today, but I can't change anything from where I sit. With no highlights, we're reverting back to the scoring summaries only. I know it sucks, but that's what happens when people don't do their jobs promoting the athletes on the ice.

Let's get into the game action!

THURSDAY: The fifth-ranked Concordia Stingers entered the tournament as the defending champions, and they were looking to make it back-to-back championships this weekend. After losing the RSEQ final, I'm not sure any team would be more dangerous, but the fourth-seeded StFX X-Women were going to give them everything they could as the X-Women looked to win a medal for the first time since 2013. The last time these teams met at Nationals was 2018 when Concordia thumped StFX by an 8-1 score, but there's been little in the way of recent history despite Concordia being 4-1 against StFX.

X-Women goals: Mackenzie Lothian (1), Terryn Mozes (1)
X-Women assists: Kalle Hastman (1), Kameryn Lahey(1), Mackenzie Lothian (1), Anna MacCara (1)
X-Women netminder: Bianca Zak (22/27)

Stingers goals: Jessymaude Drapeau (1), Meagan Bureau-Gagnon (1), Jessymaude Drapeau (2), Jessymaude Drapeau (3), Emilie Lussier (1)
Stingers assists: Emilie Lussier (1), Zoe Thibault (1), Leonie Philbert (1), Ani Robinson (1), Leonie Philbert (2), Emilie Lavoie (1), Ani Robinson (2), Jessymaude Drapeau (1)
Stingers netminder: Jordan Verbeek (30/32)

Result: 5-2 victory for Concordia over StFX.

THURSDAY: The top-seeded Alberta Pandas entered the game looing for their first medal since 2017. The last time they were the first-seeded team was in 2019 in PEI when the tournament was cancelled upon the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, so the Pandas may have felt there was some unfinished business they needed to complete. They'd meet up with the hosts in the eighth-seeded Waterloo Warriors who likely should be seeded higher after their incredible season. Waterloo finished in fourth-place in their lone appearance at Nationals last season, and they were looking to medal on home ice this season in front of their faithful fans!

Pandas goals: none
Pandas assists: none
Pandas netminder: Grace Glover (17/20)

Warriors goals: Leah Herrfort (1), Kassidy McCarthy (1), Gracey Smith (1)
Warriors assists: Lyndsy Acheson (1), Carly Orth (1), Lyndsy Acheson (2), Carly Orth (2), Leah Herrfort (1)
Warriors netminder: Kara Mark (22/22)

Result: 3-0 victory for Waterloo over Alberta.

FRIDAY: The sixth-seeded Thunderbirds rolled into Elmira wanted to avenge their loss in the Canada West final as they looked for their first medal since 2023 and second in the last four years. The top-ranked team to finish the season boasted a lot of firepower, but they were running into the great unknown as the third-seeded Gaiters were making their first appearance ever at Nationals. After the Gaiters beat the Concordia Stingers for the RSEQ championship, this game felt like it might be closer than it seemed on paper.

Gaiters goals: Maude Pepin (1), Gabrielle Santerre (1), Annika Lafreniere (1), Gabrielle Santerre (2)
Gaiters assists: Gabrielle Santerre (1), Amelie Brassard (1), Daphne Boutin (1), Gabrielle Rousseau (1), Gabrielle Santerre (2), Justine Turcotte (1), Justine Turcotte (2), Naomi Cote (1)
Gaiters netminder: Ericka Gagnon (19/22) in 67:30

Thunderbirds goals: Karine Sandilands (1), Kasundra Betinol (1), Makenzie McCallum (1)
Thunderbirds assists: Mackenzie Kordic (1), Sophia Gaskell (1), Jaylyn Morris (1), Sierra Laplante (1)
Thunderbirds netminder: Elise Hugens (21/25) in 67:30

Result: 4-3 overtime victory for Bishop's over UBC.

FRIDAY: The seventh-seeded UNB Reds and the second-seeded Toronto Varsity Blues are certainly familiar enough with one another. This would be the third year in a row these two teams have met at Nationals, and Toronto was riding high with a 2-0 record all-time against UNB. They were aiming to keep their perfect record against the Reds intact while UNB wanted to see Toronto singing the blues.

Blues goals: Scout Southward (1), Madison Tiro (1)
Blues assists: Christina Alexiou (1), Madison Tiro (1), Scout Southward (1), Christina Alexiou (2)
Blues netminder: Lyla McKinnon (13/13)

Reds goals: none
Reds assists: none
Reds netminder: Cassie McCallum (37/39)

Result: 2-0 victory for Toronto over UNB.

Semifinal Saturday

The last time that Alberta and StFX met was in 2010 when Alberta won 2-0. In their histories at Nationals, Alberta holds a 3-0 all-time record against the X-Women, so the Pandas were looking to keep that perfection going with Saturday's game. The X-Women were looking to play on Sunday with a win, something they hadn't done since 2023. Which of these teams would see their tournament end?

Pandas goals: Jadynn Morden (1), Hayleigh Craig (1), Izzy Lajoie (1)
Pandas assists: Payton Laumbach (1), Abbey Bourdeaud'hui (1), Sara Kazeil (1), Natalie Kieser (1)
Pandas netminder: Misty Rey (36/36)

X-Women goals: none
X-Women assists: none
X-Women netminder: Brooklyn Oakes (19/22)

Result: 3-0 overtime victory for Alberta over StFX.

In another game that feels all too familiar, UNB and UNB met for the second year in a row. UBC defeated UNB by a 4-0 score last year, so the Thunderbirds were looking to extend that winning feeling while the Reds were looking to avenge that loss. The winner will move on to tomorrow's consolation final while the loser will see their tournament come to a close earlier than they may have wanted.

Thunderbirds goals: Kailee Peppler (1), Kasundra Betinol (2), Karine Sandilands (2), Grace Elliott (1), Chanreet Bassi (1)
Thunderbirds assists: Mya Healey (1), Hanna Perrier (1), Annalise Wong (1), Grace Elliott (1), Kennesha Miswaggon (1), Mackenzie Kordic (2), Sophia Gaskell (2), Mackenzie Kordic (3), Jaylyn Morris (2), Annalise Wong (2)
Thunderbirds netminder: Mya Lucifora (18/19)

Reds goals: Melanie Drost (1)
Reds assists: Rylee Strohm (1)
Reds netminder: Cassie McCallum (37/42)

Result: 5-1 victory for UBC over UNB.

Another rematch from one year ago saw the Waterloo Warriors and Concordia Stingers renew acquaintances. Concordia prevailed 3-1 over Waterloo last season en route to winning the Golden Path Trophy, and they were aiming for the same results this season. Waterloo was looking to upset the heavily-favoured Stingers this season in order to send them to the bronze medal game. Which of these teams would be playing for the gold medal on Saturday?

Stingers goals: Alexandra-Anne Boyer (1)
Stingers assists: Zoe Thibault (1), Jessymaude Drapeau (2)
Stingers netminder: Jordan Verbeek (27/30)

Warriors goals: Gracey Smith (2), Brodi Levitt (1), Kassidy McCarthy (2), Brodi Levitt (2), Madison Pritchard (1)
Warriors assists: Carly Orth (3), Kassidy McCarthy (1), Kassidy McCarthy (2), Lyndsy Acheson (3), Madison Pritchard (1), Brodi Levitt (1), Brodi Leavitt (2)
Warriors netminder: Kara Mark (26/27)

Result: 5-1 victory for Waterloo over Concordia.

It would be the first time that the Gaiters and Varsity Blues met, and both teams were looking for a second victory. Toronto finished as the silver medallist last season, so they were hoping to improve upon that standing by defeating Bishop's and moving to the gold medal final again. Bishop's wanted to keep that first-appearance magic going with a win over Toronto to try and keep the Golden Path Trophy in the RSEQ for another season. Who would advance to the final?

Blues goals: Ashley Delahey (1)
Blues assists: Taylor Delahey (1), Aili McKeown (1)
Blues netminder: Lyla McKinnon (34/36)

Gaiters goals: Majorie Bolduc (1), Noemie Fontaine (1)
Gaiters assists: Noemie Fontaine (1), Justine Turcotte (3), Majorie Bolduc (1), Justine Turcotte (4)
Gaiters netminder: Ericka Gagnon (25/26)

Result: 2-1 victory for Bishop's over Toronto.

Who's Left?

Alberta and UBC will have one last battle this season when they meet in the Consolation Final at 10am ET on Sunday. I don't think I need to preview this series very much, but Alberta will look to make it three wins in a row over UBC while the Thunderbirds are aiming for their second-straight fifth-place finish with a win over a Canada West team. This game should be a battle between two squads that have zero love for one another. This may set the tone for next season.

The Bronze Medal Final will see a rematch from last year's gold medal game as the Concordia Stingers and Toronto Varsity Blues meet for hardware again. This will be the seventh time these teams have met at Nationals, and Concordia holds a 5-1 record in the previous six meetings. Toronto's lone win came in 2002, and this game will mark just the second time since that Toronto win that these two teams have played. Concordia has won all three meetings with hardware on the line, and the only time they met for bronze previously was in 2000 when Concordia won 6-0. Will history change at 2pm ET?

The two newest teams to attend the National Championship will play for U SPORTS Women's Hockey's biggest prize tomorrow at 6pm ET when the Waterloo Warriors and the Bishop's Gaiters meet for the first time. Bishop's is 1-0 vs the OUA; Waterloo is 1-2 against the RSEQ. Waterloo enters the game with 8GF and 1 GA; Bishop's has 6GF and 4GA. The last time an eighth-seeded team won was in 2023 when Mount Royal pulled off the feat, and the last time a host team won was in 2003 when the Alberta Pandas won. Guelph won in 2019 as the last third-seeded team to capture the Golden Path Trophy, so Bishop's doesn't have to go back too far to find some success.

Tomorrow's Gold Medal Final between Waterloo and Bishop's should be a beauty! Make sure you're tuned on the CBC Sports streaming site or on TVA Sports for the French broadcast!

The Last Word

Both StFX and UNB started their offseasons today, and it's always tough to see the AUS teams head home early. This marks the third-straight season that the UNB Reds have gone 0-2 at Nationals, and it's the second-straight time that StFX has gone 0-2 at the tournament. I don't know why the AUS teams struggle against the rest of the nation, but they need to figure out how to get more than just two games each from their two best teams. It's starting to look bad.

It might be shocking to see the two Canada West teams out of the medal finals, but we knew Alberta didn't score enough and UBC didn't defend well enough coming into this tournament. Both teams delivered on those shortcomings in their opening games, and that's how they arrived to determine who will be fifth- and sixth-place. UBC has finished as the fifth-place team on three occasions in 2024, 2022, and 2014, respectively. Alberta has finished in fifth-place in all of 1998, 2011, and 2012. Only one can be fifth-place this year.

As stated above, Concordia and Toronto will meet for the second-straight year with hardware on the line, and for the second time ever for the bronze medal after Concordia defeated Toronto in 2000 by that 6-0 score. Concordia also won a bronze medal in 2018 over Saskatchewan while Toronto won bronze medals in 1999 over Wilfred Laurier and in 2002 ove Regina. Both squads can add a third bronze medal finish to their school's histories tomorrow.

Obviously for both Waterloo and Bishop's, they'll add the first U SPORTS National Women's Hockey Championship medals to their school's histories, and one will add the first banner as National Champions to its legacy. Their game will end the 2024-25 U SPORTS Women's Hockey season. There's one day remaining in the season, and three games featuring six teams left on the schedule. Only three teams will finish the season on a winning note, so here's hoping all six teams leave everything on the ice, and we get some incredible hockey on Championship Sunday in Elmira to finish the campaign!

Until tomorrow, keep your sticks on the ice!