USports championships

[countryboy]

In addition to a couple of Islanders games this week, Charlottetown will be hosting the championships for the USports hockey finals. The tournament is an 8 team single elimination bracket and will feature some of the top university teams in the country.

The tournament runs Thur-Sun at the Eastlink Centre and for the preliminary round of 8, there will be games Thursday and Friday at 12:00 and 7:00.

There are a number of former Islanders we will be able to watch participating in the tournament:

SMU

Matt Welsh
Keith Getson
*Sam King - played 24 regular season games but did not appear in playoffs (injured?)
*Ben Boyd - also part of SMU roster but has not played in quite some time

UNB

Chris McQuaid
*Thomas Casey - Casey hasn't played in quite some time and talk was he left the program during the season

UPEI

Zac Beauregard
Jordan Maher
TJ Shea

Windsor

Dakota Lund-Cornish


As much as it would be exciting to see DLC and Welsh play for their respective teams in the tournament, it looks like both are in backup roles at the moment.

[countryboy]

Boy the Eastlink Center was rocking last night for the quarter between UPEI and Calgary. I’ll admit I felt a twinge of sadness because it reminded me too much of last June.

Regardless, an awesome night and awesome for the Panthers. I’ll recommend everyone should grab a ticket to the semi tonight against U of A.

I’m barely old enough to remember the great days of the Panthers in the late 80s and early 90s. UPEI always had a competitive program and it was the hockey everyone wanted to watch in Charlottetown. When they would win the AUS and head off to nationals it would be against big rivals like Trois-Rivières and the Saskatchewan Huskies.

In the last 25 year, UPEI has not been the program it once was. But they are sure looking good at the right time and now we are at the point anything can happen.

UNB and Trois-Riviers at noon
UPEI and U of A tonight

National championship tomorrow night.

Be sure to check it out!!

[bd]

I was there last night, was such an incredible atmosphere! Wish the islander games could even get half of that excitement.

Loved how UPEI played, a complete game. Watching the live stream tonight, hoping for a comeback.

[switchback]

Everyone seems to forget that the Atmosphere here in the semis and finals was pretty electric here last year. Lots of people I talked to like to compare last night to the isles in the regular season obviously your not being negative but I talked to quite a few guys from out east at the rink today and so many saying too bad the isles couldn’t draw like the panthers blah blah blah. This is a special type of tournament and good for the panthers but people shitting in the isles is a bad take.. again I’m not saying anyone did do that here just what I was hearing all day at the rink haha

[islander19]

People have to realize

1) this is better hockey - these are all guys that played in the Q and then gained another 4-5 years experience.

2) short tournament with a ton on the line, if the islanders played something similar it would be the same way

[bd]

Agree with everything you both said, was just making a comment that it would be great to have some more energy at the islander games. people hardly cheer sometimes and when you see some of the other Q rinks it kind of sucks

[islander19]

I feel like the new video board has helped a lot with crowd interaction in general. Also the crowds have been pretty good all year no matter the game

[WHEELsnipePARTY]

That’s a greasy punch to the face by Beauregard on the goalie tbh

[islander19]

Some things never change.. Beau runs the goalie and then gives him a jab to the face.

Reminds me of the game with the incident with Alexis Gravel hahaha

[trueblue]

He did the exact same thing to Robillard last year in a Moose jersey.