(FREDERICTON, NB) UNB Reds men’s hockey coach Gardiner MacDougall has been named to the coaching staff of the U SPORTS All-Stars. The team will face national junior team prospects in a three-game series, in Victoria, BC, in December.
MacDougall, in his 19th season as head coach of the Reds, joins head coach Mark Howell, of the Calgary Dinos, as well as fellow assistants Patrick Grandmaitre, head coach of the Ottawa Gee-Gees, and Regina Cougars head coach Todd Johnson.
Howell served as an assistant with the U SPORTS All-Stars in 2016 and again in 2017, when the All-Stars swept the junior team hopefuls.
“We are excited about the coaching staff assembled for this year’s All-Star Series,” said Lisette Johnson-Stapley, Chief Sport Officer of U SPORTS. “Mark and Patrick were key leaders to our success last year. We are looking forward to having experienced coaches like Gardiner and Todd join them in Victoria this winter to showcase the talent in U SPORTS hockey and provide our student-athletes the opportunity to help prepare the Canadian World Junior team to win a gold medal.”
This year the event will feature a three-game series against Canada’s junior prospects vying for spots on the team that will compete at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, being held in Vancouver and Victoria.
The games will take place at The Q Centre, home of the British Columbia Hockey League’s Victoria Grizzlies:
Dec. 12th 10:00pm Atl./6:00pm Pacific
Dec. 13th 10:00pm Atl./6:00pm Pacific
Dec. 14th 6:00pm Atl./2:00pm Pacific
The U SPORTS All-Stars will be named in November.
Last year, UNB’s Randy Gazzola (Thorold, ON) and Stephen Anderson (Morell, PE) were selected to the team that beat the Canadian junior hopefuls, in St. Catharines, ON.
Previously, Phil Maillet (Terrebonne, QC) and Jordan Murray (Riverview, NB) represented UNB on U SPORTS All-Star teams.
MacDougall, one of Canada’s most successful university hockey coaches, has led UNB to six University Cup titles in an eleven-year span.
Most recently, the Reds won back to back national titles in 2016 and 2017.
MacDougall’s teams have earned medals at four consecutive national championship tournaments.
A two-time U SPORTS Coach of the Year, MacDougall is the current Atlantic University Sport leader in wins, ranks top five in U SPORTS wins, and is third in U SPORTS history in national championship individual game wins with 33.
In 2007 and 2014, MacDougall coached Team Canada to gold medals at FISU Winter Universiades.