The Rundown - Quarterfinals

Normally, you'be come to expect recaps on The Rundown, but it's a different tournament this year because I'm volunteering at it. That doesn't make the games any different, but there has been a change in my perspective in getting to see and hear some of the conversations surrounding the tournament and its participating teams. I normally just watch games through a streaming service - Canada Waste TV, for example - but I had the chance to watch games live and in-person where the best eight teams in Canada were battling for hockey supremacy. Today, you're going to get condensed recaps with reviews on everything offered at the 2024 U SPORTS National Women's Hockey Championship here on The Rundown!

Waterloo's first visit to a National Championship saw them enter as the fourth-ranked team while the StFX X-Women came into the tournament as the fifth-ranked team having qualified sixteen times prior to this season's event. Needless to say, the new kids on the block were looking to cause the oft=seen AUS squad a few headaches. Amaya Giraudier was between the pipes for the X-Women while Mikayla Schnarr got herself setup in the Warriors' crease.

It seems like this appearance for Waterloo will resonate with them because Tatum James made sure the Warriors started on the right foot by scoring the opening goal of this year's event just 33 seconds into the game. Both goalies were strong for the next 39:27 following that early tally, but the third period is where things went crazy.

Sarah Bestic scored at 7:36 to make it 2-0, and Tatum James added her second goal at 11:33 to make it 3-0. StFX head coach Ben Berthiaume knew that a loss would send them to a consolation side, so he opted to pull Giraudier when Waterloo was whistled for a late penalty. That allowed James to cash in an empty-netter while shorthanded for her hat trick goal at 16:20, and it was 4-0 for Waterloo as it appeared they had this game under control.

Ireland McCloskey would score on the power-play at 17:29 to make it 4-1, but Carly Orth added a fifth goal at 17:45 and Madison Pritchard scored a late power-play goal to cap off a very impressive first appearance at a National Championship as the Waterloo Warriors prevailed 6-1 over the St. Francis-Xavier X-Women. Mikayla Schnarr stopped 20 shots for her first Nationals win while Amaya Giraudier made 22 saves in the setback.

Waterloo advances to the semifinal on Saturday while StFX moves to the consolation semifinal on Saturday.

Apparently, CBC Sports isn't doing highlights for these games which is pretty ridiculous considering the media staff that U SPORTS has at the tournament. Instead, here's the full game as posted by CBC.

The top-ranked Concordia Stingers were in enemy territory as they faced off against the eighth-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies. 2346 people plus a vast number of the employees and volunteers working on Friday night wanted nothing more than for the home team to take down the top-seeded team, but it was going to be a tough task. Camryn Drever was in net for the Huskies while Jordyn Verbeek was tasked with stopping pucks for the Stingers.

An early push by the Huskies was weathered by the Stingers as the home side seemed to feed off the crowd's energy, but that energy faded a little when a weird deflection off an Emmy Fecteau shot went up and over Drever, landing behind the netminder in the Saskatchewan net for the 1-0 lead at 8:13. The Huskies were keeping pace with the Stingers, but the Stingers would double their lead early in the second period when Rosalie Bégin-Cyr found the back of the net at 3:12, and Concordia held the 2-0 lead.

Despite having several glorious chances at scoring, the Huskies simply could not dent twine on those chances. Émilie Lussier would make the hole a little deeper when she punched a loose puck home from a scramble in front of the net at 12:33 as Concordia went up 3-0, and they'd ice the game when Lussier put an empty-netter on the record at 19:19 as the Concordia Stingers defeated the Saskatchewan Huskies 4-0 in their quarterfinal game. Jordyn Verbeek stopped 26 shots for the win and shutout while Camryn Drever was spectacular at times in her 37-save effort.

Concordia advances to the semifinal on Saturday while Saskatchewan moves to the consolation semifinal on Saturday.

Again, no highlights, but a full game from CBC. I can't explain it.

The UBC Thunderbirds came in as the second-ranked team in the tournament as they squared off against the seventh-seeded Montreal Carabins. UBC defeated Montreal in the bronze-medal game in Montreal's rink last season, so there may be some lingering dislike between these two, particularly on the Montreal side. Would we see some payback? Aube Racine was in the Montreal crease while UBC had Elise Hugens in their net.

The teams traded goals in the opening frame as Mylène Lefebvre found the back of the net at 6:58 for the Carabins before Cassidy Rhodes replied at 13:45 for the Thunderbirds to keep things even at 1-1. After a goalless second period, the teams traded goals early in the third period as Joannie Garand found the back of the net 68 seconds into the frame before Sophia Gaskell scored a power-play goal at 2:38 to make it 2-2.

The funny thing is that Montreal seems to match up well with UBC in how they approach the game, and that became more and more evident as the game progressed. With just over six minutes remaining, Jade Picard struck for the Carabins as her shot beat Hugens at 13:50, and Montreal went up 3-2. Montreal simply gave the Thunderbirds no room for them to attack, and they'd close this game out with a Laurie-Anne Ethier empty-net goal at 17:59 to make it 4-2. When the final horn sounded, the Montreal Carabins had defeated the UBC Thunderbirds for the first upset of the tournament. Aube Racine stopped 23 shots for the win while Elise Hugens was on the wrong side of an 18-save performance.

Montreal advances to the semifinal on Saturday while UBC moves to the consolation semifinal on Saturday.

Highlights are so easy to make, yet CBC just wants to give you full games. Use the time markers above to find the goals.

The third-seeded UNB Reds tangled with the sixth-seeded Toronto Varsity Blues in the final quarterfinal game this week, and this one was expected to be a defensive battle as both teams featured solid goaltending, a commitment to the defensive zone, and a handful of stars who could break open a game if they were given time and space. Erica Fryer was in the Blues' net while Kendra Woodland was between the pipes for the Reds.

These two squads spent the opening ten minutes trying to figure out the other's defensive system unsuccessfully, but things would change in the latter half of the period. Ashley Delahey would find space past Woodland at 12:32 to put Toronto up 1-0, and that lead lasted all of 49 seconds before Mackenzie Keenan's shot from the slot found the back of the net to make it 1-1. From there, the chess match continued as players fought to get to the middle of the ice, but pucks were few and far between when it came to finding those spaces.

It would take 44 minutes for one of these teams to find a wrinkle in the other's defence, but Sophie Grawbarger might have scored the prettiest goal in the quarterfinals when she went one-on-one with a defender, juked right, and sent a backhander to the opposite post where it landed inside the net with 2:21 to play. UNB couldn't find an answer to Grawbarger's tally in the final 141 seconds, and the Toronto Varsity Blues defeated the UNB Reds as both Friday games ended in upsets. Erica Fryer stopped 16 shots for the win while Kendra Woodland made 20 saves in her crease.

Toronto advances to the semifinal on Saturday while UNB moves to the consolation semifinal on Saturday.

Highlights of this game don't exist, but you can find them in the video below with the times above. Simply unbelievable.

The Bracket

Here are the four games that will be played on Saturday based on the results from Thursday and Friday. Count me in as excited!

As you can see, the Golden Path Trophy will reside in either Quebec or Ontario for next season after both Canada West and AUS teams fell in their quarterfinal matchups. Mount Royal's reign as National Champion officially ends on Sunday!

The Merchandise

I'm no economist, but $22 for a ticket to these games is a little pricey considering the hotel next door is very expensive thanks to this event and the flights coming into Saskatoon were extortionary. However, the hoodies, crew necks, and t-shirts that have the National Championship logo heat-pressed onto them as people wait is a new low when it comes to having merchandise available for purchase.

Shirts come in one colour - black - and mistakes were seen as there were several "50% off this shirt" shirts available where the logo was slightly askew or off-center. In short, preprinted merchandise costs U SPORTS money if they don't sell everything, so they'll heat-press the logo on as you wait for it so they can re-use the unsold clothing next year when they hold the tournament in Waterloo.

Again, I'm no economics major, but that's pretty sketchy when it comes to "high-quality merchandise", folks. Welcome to U SPORTS where it's always amateur hour.

The Food

Merlis Belsher Place doesn't have anything that's overly unique or impressive when it comes to their main concession stand. It does help if they have everything available that they advertise, but everything is edible and tastes fairly good. Passing marks for the concessions.

The Drink

Being that I spent most of time in Merlis Belsher Place as a volunteer, I wasn't doing a lot of imbibing. I will say that Original 16 has a very clear presence in the rink, and the folks that were enjoying adult beverages were buying that brand. Caesars were also a very popular choice among those who were of age to purchase them, and it seems that coffee and water was being sold at a good pace. Again, nothing overly unique, but definitely some crowd-pleasers.

The People

I have to say that everyone who I encountered in my experiences at Merlis Belsher Place has been ready to cheer, ready to have fun, and certainly as welcoming as anyone I've met. There have been a lot of "why are you here?" conversations in terms of coming to volunteer, but everyone is supportive when they find out that I'm a women's hockey fan. Concordia fans have offered to buy me a beer, Saskatchewan fans love that other prairie folks are helping them put this tournament on, and both parents and alumni of the Huskies have welcomed me with open arms.

I can't deny it: the crowds at the games have been awesome, and the passion for university women's hockey has been incredible!

The Last Word

The reviews above are all surface-level things that a fan would experience in coming to the games, and the overall aesthetic can't be denied in that Merlis Belsher Place is doing a fantastic job with this tournament. Compared to other tournaments that I've been at, this year's edition has been the best in terms of layout as the concourse has everything one could want, and nothing is more than a few minutes away.

The games on the ice have been good with some moments of brilliance, and the fans from each of the teams who have played have been loud and raucous in their support. It's been fun over the two days of quarterfinal games, and I'm hoping the games only get better before we see the tournament come to a close on Sunday.

If you can make it down, I highly recommend visiting Merlis Belsher Place to experience the 2024 U SPORTS National Women's Hockey Championship in Sasaktoon! It's been a blast so far, and there's more to come!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!