Courtesy Glenn MacDonald, The Chronicle Herald
It would be very easy for the UNB Varsity Reds and St. Francis Xavier X-Men to look past the upcoming Atlantic Universities Hockey Conference final and look ahead to the CIS University Cup later this month.
After all, both teams have automatic berths into nationals, which UNB hosts March 24-27 in Fredericton.
But there’s a lot of pride on either side and having that distinction of Atlantic university champion carries a lot of weight, especially at nationals.
"It’s a special thing to win this league," said UNB sophomore forward Chris Culligan of Howie Centre. "This league is so competitive every year. You know how tough it is to win it so it will be important moving forward to nationals.
"Obviously we had the benefit knowing that we would be there. But that’s not enough. We want to be league champions and they’re, I’m sure, thinking the same way."
The best-of-five league final opens tonight at 8 p.m. at the Aitken Centre in Fredericton.
The CIS No. 1 Varsity Reds advanced after disposing of the Acadia Axemen 3-1 in an AUHC semifinal. One of those UNB wins was a quadruple-overtime thriller in Game 2.
The X-Men went the distance, and then some, in their league semifinal against the defending CIS champion — and two-time reigning AUS champs — Saint Mary’s Huskies. Phil Mangan scored 50 seconds into double overtime in the fifth and deciding game as St. F.X. won 3-2.
It’s St. F.X.’s second straight trip to the conference final. The X-Men were swept by the Huskies last year. Mangan expects a different scenario this time around.
"We’re making a statement and we want to go to nationals as AUS champion, " the third-year X-Men forward said. "We beat the defending champs and I think we’re going to make a statement against UNB. We’re not satisfied with just going to nationals."
This will mark the Varsity Reds’ fifth trip to the AUHC championship in seven years, but they only have one conference banner to show for their efforts (2008). However, UNB has won two CIS titles during that span (2007, 2009).
There has been recent post-season history between UNB and St. F.X. The teams have met seven times in the AUS playoffs in the past decade, with the Varsity Reds winning four of those series.
But it was their last playoff matchup that reverberates with the UNB faithful. The Varsity Reds went 27-1-0 during the 2009-10 regular season, losing only to St. F.X. in the second-to-last game of the year. The clubs met in the second round of the playoffs and the upstart X-Men swept the nation’s top team in three straight, all by the score of 3-2.
"After what happened last year, we have a lot to prove especially in the playoffs," Culligan said. "Losing to X last year will be in the back of our heads. It’s something that you can’t really forget, even if you try, going 27-1 and losing to only one team all year. But we won’t adjust our game plan. It’s just extra motivation."
UNB swept the regular-season series with St. F.X. 4-0 and outscored the X-Men 18-5. Mangan said his team "will be the underdogs" of the series but that suits him just fine.
"No one is going to give us a thing going into the series," Mangan said. "But we have stuck to what we believe in the whole time. We overcame the odds against SMU and that has only made us stronger.
"If we’re going to win this series, it’ll be as a team. We’re not going to beat this team 5-0 every game. It’s going to come from 20 guys and it’ll be a team effort. There won’t be a pretty game against UNB."
Game 2 of the final is Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Fredericton before the series switches to Antigonish for Game 3 on Tuesday and Game 4, if necessary, Wednesday.
Culligan, who scored two game-winners in the semifinal against Acadia and set up Nick MacNeil’s quadruple OT winner, is eager to play in the league final. He claims he has never played in a championship final in competitive hockey.
"I haven’t won too much, I guess," he said with a laugh. "But it’s certainly nice to be finally in that position, having a championship on the line."