No. 8 Axemen and No. 1 Bears to play Thursday, March 31

RICHMOND HILL, Ont. (U SPORTS)—For the second time in three years, the University of Alberta Golden Bears are the top seed heading into the 2022 U SPORTS men's hockey championship. The Bears will take on the host and No. 8 Acadia Axemen. The last time both teams met was in 2017 when the Axemen dropped the Bears to advance to the Semifinals and eventual Bronze medal win vs StFX. U SPORTS announced the seeding on Sunday for the 2022 Cavendish Cup University Cup, which runs from Thursday to Sunday at Acadia University's Andrew H. McCain Arena in Wolfville, N.S.

All eight contests from the competition will be webcast live on cbcsports.ca and CBC Gem, or usports.ca, with the University Cup final on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern (7:30 p.m. Atlantic) also being broadcast on TVA Sports in French. The full webcast and broadcast schedule will be available throughout the tournament at usports.ca/en/broadcast.

Coming in just behind the Canada West champion Golden Bears are the two other league titleholders: the No. 2 UNB Reds (AUS champions) and the No. 3 UQTR Patriotes (OUA champions). By virtue of their OUA West Division crown, the Brock Badgers earned the No. 4 seed. Rounding out the seedings are the No. 5 StFX X-Men (AUS finalists), No. 6 UBC Thunderbirds (Canada West finalists) No. 7 Ryerson* Rams (OUA bronze medallists), and No. 8 Acadia Axemen (hosts).

The quarter-final matchups on Thursday will feature Brock vs. StFX followed by the Golden Bears facing off against the host Axemen. On Friday, the Reds face the Rams followed by UQTR vs. UBC. The first game each day will face off at noon Eastern (1 p.m. Atlantic), with the nightcap at 6 p.m. (7 p.m. Atlantic)

Alberta is the top seed for the sixth time in the past nine tournaments and is making its record 43rd appearance at the tournament. UNB, for its part, is making its 20th appearance and is the only team from the 2020 field to return for 2022. The Reds, who were ranked No. 1 for most of the season, are in the University Cup for the seventh straight time. The Golden Bears have won 16 trophies, while the Reds have eight. The two squads have combined to win 13 of the past 15 national championships and have been the top seed for the University Cup for every event except once since 2008 (UQTR was the top seed in 2016).

The Patriotes are no stranger to the event, as they make their 21^st trip with four championships to their credit. StFX has one championship (2004) in 17 appearances and Acadia has played in 12 University Cups and emerged victorious in 1993 and 1996. Conversely, the Rams are making their first appearance at the national tournament, while Brock and UBC have qualified for the third and fifth times, respectively and are both seeking their first championship banner.

NOTES: A complete championship preview will follow later this week … The All-Canadians and major award winners will be announced on Wednesday afternoon … A virtual "Meet the Coaches" media conference is set for 11 a.m. Eastern (noon Atlantic) on Wednesday.

SEEDING:

1.    Alberta Golden Bears (CW champions: 16-3-1 regular season, 4-0 playoffs)

2.    UNB Reds (AUS champions: 21-3-0 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)

3.    UQTR Patriotes (OUA champions: 10-3-2 regular season, 4-0 playoffs)

4.    Brock Badgers (OUA finalists: 7-5-2 regular season, 3-1 playoffs)

5.    StFX X-Men (AUS finalists: 17-5-2 regular season, 2-1 playoffs)

6.    UBC Thunderbirds (CW finalists: 14-5-1 regular season, 2-3 playoffs)

7.    Ryerson Rams (OUA finalists: 11-4-0 regular season, 3-1 playoffs)

8.    Acadia Axemen (Hosts: 7-14-1 regular season, 0-1 playoffs)

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times EASTERN, add one hour for Atlantic Time)

Thursday, March 31

Noon.: Quarter-final #1—No. 5 StFX vs. No. 4 Brock

6 p.m.: Quarter-final #2—No. 1 Alberta at No. 8 Acadia

Friday, April 1

Noon: Quarter-final #3—No. 7 Ryerson vs. No. 2 UNB

6 p.m.: Quarter-final #4—No. 6 UBC vs. No. 3 UQTR

Saturday, April 2

Noon: Semifinal #1—Winner Quarter-final #1 vs. Winner Quarter-final #2

6 p.m.: Semifinal #2—Winner Quarter-final #3 vs. Winner Quarter-final #4

Sunday, April 3

Noon: Bronze Medal

6:30 p.m.: Gold Medal – TVA Sports (French)

* - Note that Ryerson University is currently undergoing a renaming process.