Saskatchewan named top dogs in men’s hockey
The Saskatchewan Huskies, who swept Alberta, UBC and Mount Royal to win the Canada West title, are the top head heading into the 2026 U SPORTS University Cup, presented by Steele Mazda. U SPORTS announced the seeding on Sunday for the 2026 men’s hockey championship, which runs from Thursday to Sunday at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
Saskatchewan is the top seed for the first time since 2000, and the third time since seeding was adopted in men’s hockey in 1998. The Huskies are looking to win the David Johnston University Cup for the second time, with their only previous banner coming in 1983. The Huskies join UNB, Mount Royal, Moncton and Queen’s as repeat participants at this year’s event.
The complete field, in seeding order, is as follows:
- Saskatchewan Huskies (CW champions: 19-7-1 regular season, 6-0 playoffs)
- UNB (AUS champions: 20-8-2, 5-1)
- UQTR Patriotes (OUA champions: 20-5-3, 5-1)
- Windsor Lancers (OUA finalists: 18-7-3, 4-1)
- Mount Royal Cougars (CW finalists: 20-6-0, 2-3)
- Moncton Aigles Bleus (AUS finalists: 19-9-2, 4-2)
- Queen’s Gaels (OUA bronze medallists: 14-13-1, 6-2)
- Saint Mary's Huskies (hosts: 16-11-3, 0-2)
In men’s hockey, the three conference champions are seeded in the top three based on their final national ranking, while the OUA finalist is automatically placed in the No. 4 spot. The remaining teams are then placed to avoid intraconference matchups in the first round.
The quarterfinals will be played on Thursday and Friday, as follows: (all times Atlantic)
- Thursday, 1 p.m.: No. 5 Mount Royal vs. No. 4 Windsor
- Thursday, 7 p.m.: No. 1 Saskatchewan at No. 8 Saint Mary’s
- Friday, 1 p.m.: No. 6 Moncton vs. No. 3 UQTR
- Friday, 7 p.m.: No. 7 Queen’s vs. No. 2 UNB
The semifinals will take place on Saturday at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. On Sunday, the bronze medal game is set for at 9 a.m. with the championship game at 1 p.m.
Tickets for the event are currently on sale at usportstickets.ca.
All games will be broadcast live on CBC Sports digital platforms in English. In French, all games will be on Radio Canada’s digital platforms, with Sunday’s gold medal game also being aired on CBC and TVA Sports.
