U Cup tournament recap: Ottawa makes history on home ice

By Eliza Nwaesei

Photos by Pierre-Philipe Wanya-Tambwe

The 2025 U Sports men’s hockey championship took place at TD Place in Ottawa from March 20 to 23, bringing together the top men’s university hockey teams from across Canada to compete for a national title. It was four days of intense action, where eight teams battled for the David Johnston University Cup (U Cup) in a series of high-stakes matchups—featuring record-breaking overtimes and shocking upsets.

In the end, the Ottawa Gee-Gee’s made history on home ice, seizing their first-ever U Cup in a gold medal showdown against the Concordia Stingers.

From a marathon opening game to a blast of a bilingual battle for all the marbles, here’s how the action played out.

March 20 – Quarterfinals, Day 1

TMU Bold vs Mount Royal Cougars

This match became a historic, exhausting battle, ending as the longest game in U Sports men’s hockey history after 143 minutes and 33 seconds of play. The game, which extended into a fifth overtime, ended in a 5-4 win for the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold, with first-year forward Spencer Shugrue scoring the game-winner.

“We’ve got a veteran group, this is their third national tournament in the last four years, so I don’t think the stage is too big for them, and obviously they showed that today,” said Bold head coach Johnny Duco after the quarter-final win. “We got better as the game went on despite being exhausted. Guys were mentally, physically drained there, but really proud of the way they stuck together.”

Mount Royal took the lead through third-year defenceman Clay Hanus’ goal on the power play, but third-year defenceman Jaden Condotta responded with an equalizer in similar style. The Cougars built a 3-1 lead, and after a third-period goal, they extended their lead to 4-2. TMU responded by tying the game with goals from third-year forward Ian Martin and second-year forward Daniil Grigorev.

Moving into the overtime periods, both teams traded close chances and the game became a test of endurance. Shugrue emerged as the hero by scoring the overtime goal after a net scramble, sending the Bold to semifinals and Mount Royal back to Calgary.

Ottawa Gee-Gee’s vs UNB Reds

The eighth-seed Ottawa Gee-Gees stunned the two-time defending champions—and the top seed heading into the tournament—the University of New Brunswick (UNB) Reds, in a 3-2 overtime win in the quarterfinals. Even with this game being delayed by over two hours due to the earlier quintuple overtime match, the home crowd stayed in the stands to support.

Despite being outshot 43-22, the Gee-Gees held their ground with second-year goaltender Franky Lapenna saving 41 of those shots.

“No one believed in us but us, so it’s pretty special to prove everyone wrong and win against the dynasty,” said Lapenna post-game.

UNB—who have won five of the last seven national tournaments—took a 1-0 lead in the first period, and although Ottawa responded with a tying goal in the second period, the Reds took the lead again halfway into the third period. After Ottawa pulled their netminder with two minutes left in regulation, fourth-year Gee-Gee’s defenceman Peter Stratis scored the goal to send them into overtime.

Second-year Gee-Gee’s forward Marc-Antoine Séguin netted the overtime winner, ending UNB’s hopes of winning a third consecutive national championship and marking Ottawa’s first national semi-final appearance since 1985.

March 21, Quarterfinals, Day 2

Moncton Aigles Bleus vs Concordia Stingers

The Queen’s Cup champions and third seed of the tournament, the Concordia Stingers, came up with a thrilling comeback to secure a 4-2 win over the sixth-seed Moncton Aigles Bleus, kicking off the second day of quarterfinal action. Trailing 2-1 entering the third period, the Stingers exploded with two goals in a 45-second span to take the lead. First-year forward Charles Savoie scored the equalizer, followed by third-year forward Edouard Charron’s goal to give Concordia the 3-2 advantage.

With the victory, Concordia advanced to the semi-finals, sending the Aigles Bleus back home.

At this point in the tournament, all three advancing teams came from the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) division, which sparked a comment from Queen’s Gaels head coach Brett Gibson about the historical perspective of OUA hockey teams.

“We need to stop the narrative that the [Atlantic University Sport] and Canada West are the strong divisions,” said Gibson. “The narrative is: U Sports hockey is fantastic across the country and any given team can win on any given night. Give the credit to the programs that put in the effort and the time into it.”

Queen’s Gaels vs Saskatchewan Huskies

In the last quarterfinals matchup, the Saskatchewan Huskies won 4-2 over the Queen’s Gaels. Fourth-year Huskies forward Dawson Holt netted two goals, while fourth-year goaltender Roddy Ross made 38 saves, backstopping them to victory despite being outshot 40-23.

The Gaels started off strong thanks to an early lead—with first-year forward Liam Tanner scoring during the first two minutes of play—followed by a power play goal that gave them a 2-1 lead after the first period. Saskatchewan responded in the second frame with Holt’s second goal and a power play goal from fifth-year forward and captain Justin Ball to switch things around and take a 3-2 lead.

“It’s always tough in these tournaments to know who you are playing against and you’re kind of getting the feel of the game and your opponent,” said Holt post-game. “Our first period we started a little bit slow, but found our way in the end of the first and start of the second and continued that into the third. We were fortunate to find a way.”

The Gaels pulled their netminder hoping to have late-game luck, however the Huskies’ empty netter solidified their win.

March 22 – Semi-finals

TMU Bold vs Ottawa Gee-Gees

In a heartbreaking finish, the TMU Bold fell to the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the final 42 seconds of play, dashing their hopes of reaching the championship game. After Ottawa’s upset over UNB, this semi-final matchup was wide open with both OUA sides proving they belonged on the big stage.

First-year Gee-Gees forward Mitch Martin set the tone early, opening the scoring for Ottawa and later slotting home the game-winning goal in the final minute of the third period. The Bold showed signs of remaining fatigue from the seven-hour marathon that was their previous game, as Ottawa struck twice to carry a 2-1 lead into the third period.

Determined to keep their championship hopes alive, TMU controlled play in the final frame, pinning Ottawa in their defensive zone. Their persistence paid off when first-year forward Tyler Savard buried the equalizer, sending the game down to the wire.

In a tumultuous turn of events, the Gee-Gees found the back of the net in the game’s final moments, shocking the Bold and securing their place to play for the gold medal. They became the first host team to do so at the U Cup since 2017, while TMU looked to regroup as they headed into the bronze medal matchup for the second straight year.

Saskatchewan Huskies vs Concordia Stingers

This match was a battle between conference champions and saw the Stingers surge past the Huskies with three unanswered goals in the third period, securing a dominant 3-0 victory and punching their ticket to the championship final.

Both goaltenders were rock solid through the first two periods, turning away every shot that came their way. Ross stood tall against 30 shots, while second-year Stingers goaltender Nikolas Hurtubise flawlessly stopped all 19 he faced for a shutout performance.

“I give [Concordia] credit, they’ve got a great team, they played very hard and our guys played hard too,” said Huskies head coach Brandin Cote following the victory. “Their goaltender made some saves, [Ross] made some saves, it was a good hockey game.”

Concordia found their spark in the third period when third-year forward Julien Anctil opened the scoring, breaking the deadlock. In the final minute of play, he struck again to double the lead, and just 17 seconds later, first-year forward Alexandre Nadeau sealed the win.

The Stingers left the Huskies stunned with this victory, sending them to battle for bronze while Concordia moved on, buzzing into the championship final.

March 23 – Finals

Bronze medal match: TMU Bold vs Saskatchewan Huskies

The Huskies claimed the U Cup bronze medal with a 4-1 victory over the TMU Bold. This marks their first national medal since the 2016-17 season, closing out a strong year in which they also secured the Canada West Championship.

The game remained scoreless through the first period, but in the second, it spiralled. A major penalty against TMU in the second frame gave Saskatchewan an extended nine-minute power play, including a two-minute 5-on-3 advantage. The Huskies made it count, with Ball scoring the opening goal. Moments later, second-year defenceman Landon Kosior sniped a top-corner goal and extended their lead to 2-0.

TMU responded late in the period when graduate forward Kevin Gursoy fired home a power-play goal, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

However, in a penalty-heavy third period, the Huskies sealed their win with two late goals from fifth-year forward Vince Loschiavo, including an empty-netter. Despite a resilient effort, TMU once again fell just short of the podium, mirroring last season’s result, while the Huskies secured the title of third best team in the nation.

“I’m a little bit disappointed, but super proud of this group, they’ve competed all year,” said Duco, following the defeat. “Everybody counted us out, it was certainly not a year where we were built to be back in the national tournament with how many players graduated from last year.”

Gold medal match: Ottawa Gee-Gees vs Concordia Stingers

The Ottawa Gee-Gee’s made history on Sunday, securing their first ever U Cup with a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Concordia Stingers in front of a bustling home crowd at TD Place.

Ottawa stormed out with a 3-0 lead through the first 40 minutes off the sticks of second-year forward Vincent Labelle, fourth-year forward Bradley Chenier and second-year forward Luka Verreault.

Despite Concordia out-shooting the Gee-Gees 33-14, they didn’t gain their traction until the last period. Third-year Stingers defenceman Sean Larochelle finally beat Lapenna with a power-play goal with less than three minutes remaining, and a minute later, third-year forward Mathieu Bizier cut the deficit to one. However, Lapenna—dubbed the U Cup’s “Most Valuable Player”—stopped 31 shots—including 17 shots in the third period—to preserve Ottawa’s historic win.

“I don’t really have any words at the moment, but five years of grinding with the [COVID-19] year and everything and I’m so incredibly proud of the guys, from the staff to everyone who came together to help us out this week. It’s incredible,” said Chenier after being crowned national champion. “I knew this was my last time putting on the garnet and grey and I’m so happy to be a Gee-Gee…I wanted to give everything I had.”

The victory concluded an incredible run for the Gee-Gees, the first-ever eighth seed to win the U Cup men’s hockey championship. Ottawa walked away from a home tournament with its first ever men’s hockey title.