It’s a little later than usual and at a different venue than originally planned, but Acadia University is all set to host the University Cup men’s hockey nationals in Wolfville, N.S., this week.
The 2021-22 university hockey season had a COVID shutdown that lasted two months. It caused teams to halt play.
U Sports, the national governing body, pushed back many national tournaments by two weeks, including the University Cup.
The event was slated to be held at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax. But the venue, the home of the Halifax Mooseheads and Halifax Thunderbirds, could not accommodate the change.
“Due to some scheduling conflicts with the venue we had to move it to Acadia,” said Ellen Hatt, the manager of event service for Sports and Entertainment Atlantic. “We feel fortunate to still be able to host a national championship and bring it to Acadia.”
Although the tournament was slated for Halifax, Acadia was the designated tournament host and the Axemen had a direct entry regardless of performance in conference play. Hatt said teams will stay in hotels in Halifax and will be bused to Wolfville for their games.
With many fans coming from outside of Nova Scotia, the four-day tournament should bring lots of people to the Wolfville area.
“An event of this magnitude will certainly bring a positive boost to the local economy,” said Brian Finniss, Acadia’s director of athletics.
The last two versions of the event were scheduled for Halifax but cancelled due to COVID.
In March 2020, the first two games were played, but the rest of the tournament was cancelled as the province was on the verge of the first COVID wave. The 2021 tournament never got off the ground.
The Axemen will be one of eight teams participating, but Acadia won’t have played for three weeks by the time the puck drops Thursday.
“If you’re into making excuses for preparation then you shouldn’t be involved,” said Acadia coach Darren Burns.
Acadia had five players turn professional when COVID forced a pause in the season.
“Watching the integrity and the work ethic of our remaining guys coming to the rink everyday to work hard has been very rejuvenating because they could have hung their heads after what happened, but they haven’t,” Burns said.
The Axemen will play their first game Thursday night. St. Francis Xavier and UNB will also represent the Atlantic conference.
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