Tournaments bring some intriguing inter-league play
Early returns as we head into October play ... For all of the other 46 U-Sports teams, it is ‘reassuring’ to see that the Carleton Ravens appear to be back to familiar territory. (13 of the last 15 National titles have been won by Carleton!) The Ravens, despite a scare in their Friday opener with Concordia (82-79 last 2 minute win), did sweep 3 games in the Guy Vetrie Memorial in Victoria.
Javon Masters, UNB, ‘Fillin’ it up’! photo – UNB Athletics
There are challengers, of course, and we will have to let more games play out this month before we anoint the Blackbirds. In thee AUS … UNB wins their own Eric Garland Tournament over Saint Marys, UQAM, and Cape Breton, with the highlight being Javon Masters’ 45 point outburst vs the Capers. Atlantic observers suggest it may be St. FX taking a run this season, but it’s usually a free-for-all, so we hold fire for a few weeks.
Ryerson Rams ace, Ammanuel Diressa
In the OUA and other points East, for detailed analysis readers would be best served by referencing Mark Wacyck’s excellent coverage in his CanHoops.ca Ottawa looks good in an 85-70 road win over Bishops, while both Ryerson and Brock are poised to show their strength, and Windsor has a fair string of wins going. In the ‘Q’ , Laval may be right in the mix, as they start well in a pair of road wins in Ontario (at Laurier, McMaster). The Stingers followed their tight loss to Carleton with strong wins over both Guelph and Victoria. McGill plays in Calgary this week, and they must be regarded as the Q favourites until someone knocks them off.
Now for Canada West … Lethbridge is a 101-71 winner at home vs UNBC,
Dejon Burdeaux, Lethbridge lead guard
and the ‘Horns are sporting a ‘post-free’ line-up with some fresh new talent to make them one of the teams to watch in Canada West. The Timberwolves played 3 games on the weekend, with a split at Mt. Royal on Fri/Saturday.
One of the biggest stories in the West has to be the changing roster for the Saskatchewan Huskies. The ‘Dogs hammer Briercrest College in their traditional warm-up last Thursday, but they do not have ‘All-League’ star Shane Osayande, guard Chan De Ciman, forward Mack Burns, nor swingman, Jaylan Morgan. More to come … (we still await the release of team rosters for many of the 17 teams.)
4th year guard, Jordan Charles, is back for the Vikes.
UBC-O had a close one at McMaster, then not so much with Toronto and Western ! Winnipeg lost 2 competitive games at Lakehead, but the Wesmen have a core of solid returnees. The UVic Vikes have a number of new faces, but they are a ‘work in progress’, as are most Canada West teams over the next few weeks. Too early to tell, but Alberta, UBC, Calgary, and Lethbridge appear to be the most obvious contenders.
The schedule this week- What a great weekend of inter-League play !
Calgary Dinos host Acadia, McGill, and McMaster this weekend in one of several inter-league tournaments.
Thursday, Oct 5 – Calgary Cup starts at UC – Dinos vs McGill, McMaster vs Acadia … also Saskatchewan at Toronto, Bishops at Victoria, Laurentian at Brandon, NAIT at Thompson Rivers
Friday, Oct 6 – Calgary Cup … Calgary Acadia, McMaster McGill
Lethbridge at Medicine Hat Coll, at U of M … Manitoba Algoma, Winnipeg Laurentian, at UBC Invitational … UBC Bishops, Alberta Waterloo
Concordia hosts in Montreal … Stingers vs Regina, York Dalhousie
Cape Breton’s Fall Classic – Capers vs St. FX, UPEI SAIT (Calgary)
Saturday , Oct 7 – at UC … Calgary McMaster, Acadia McGill , at UBC … T-Birds Waterloo, Alberta Bishops, in Winnipeg … Wesmen Algoma , Manitoba Laurentian, in Montreal … Concordia Dalhousie, Regina York. at Cape Breton … Capers UPEI , St. FX SAIT , Also … Saskatchewan at Ryerson , Lethbridge vs Medicine Hat, Trinity Western and UBC-O
Sunday , Oct 8 – Victoria vs Waterloo, at CBU … Capers SAIT, St. FX UPEI, at Concordia … Stingers York, Regina Dalhousie
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