(FREDERICTON, NB) The University Cup champions of 2019 will face the University Cup hosts for 2020 in one of six non-conference games on the UNB Reds schedule for the coming season.
The Reds, who won their eighth national university men’s hockey championship, in Lethbridge, Alberta, in March, will face the Acadia Axemen in a neutral site game, in Truro, Nova Scotia, on Monday, September 16th, at 7:00pm.
“Coach Darren Burns will have put together a top-notch team for the coming season, so it will be a great test to start the season,” said Gardiner MacDougall, about to begin his 20thseason as head coach of the Reds.
Acadia will play host to the 2020 University Cup, in Halifax, next March.
UNB will also face the OUA’s York Lions and Windsor Lancers on this side of the border, and the NCAA’s Boston College Eagles and University of Maine Black Bears on the other side of the border.
For the second year in a row, the Reds will travel to Toronto for pre-season action.
After visiting Ryerson in 2018, UNB heads to York University to take on the Lions, on September 19thand 20th.
“We have a number of players and hockey alumni from the Toronto area, so it’s a great opportunity for parents and alumni to see our team in action,” said MacDougall. “York participated in our 2016 Peterbilt Atlantic Pete Kelly Cup and this is a chance to return the visit and play coach Russ Harrington’s top rated OUA team.”
The Lancers will provide the opposition for the 2019 Peterbilt Atlantic Pete Kelly Cup.
They’ll be at the Aitken Centre on Sunday, December 29th, for a 3:00pm face-off.
“Coach Kevin Hamlin is making his third appearance at the Aitken Centre, and hopes to be one of the top contenders in the OUA this year, so it will be a perfect test for our team to kick off the second part of the Atlantic University Sport schedule,” said MacDougall.
In what is now a Reds tradition, they’ll take a break from the AUS regular season and head south of the border for games October 5th, at Boston College, and October 6th, at the University of Maine.
“Our US trip will consist of games against two top-notch opponents,” said MacDougall. “We’ve had a great rivalry with coach Jerry York’s BC teams and the games have been of great benefit to both teams.”
“We really enjoy playing in the boisterous atmosphere of the Alfond Arena,” MacDougall said of UNB’s first game at Maine since 2015. “Maine is one of the up and comers in Hockey East, and one of top home crowds in NCAA hockey, so it’ll be another great test for our team at that point in the season.”
With only 300-kilometres separating UNB and the University of Maine, MacDougall is hoping there might be some local fans who make the trip.
“With the closeness of the game, we would hope to have a good contingent of UNB supporters travel to Orono for this game.”
The Reds begin defence of their national title in their AUS regular season opener, at Saint Mary’s, on Friday, September 27th.
UNB will raise their newest national championship banner in their home opener, on Friday, October 11th, when they host l’Université de Moncton.