Ottawa, ON –The annual University Challenge Cup returned to the university ringette schedule this year and the Mustangs had a dominant performance en route to winning the tournament championship and gold medals.
The tournament, which pits schools from across Canada against each other, hasn't been played since 2019 and is the biggest test of the year for university ringette, ran from December 27th through December 31st.
Western started the event with three days of round robin play to determine their seeding including two games each day.
The opening games on December 27th saw the Mustangs pick up wins over Calgary (5-1) & McMaster (8-1).
Day 2 had the Mustangs take on Trent and pick up a 8-1 win and then topped Carleton 7-0.
With an undefeated 4-0 record, the Mustangs were put into the upper tier (Tier 1) for the next round of play on December 29th & 30th.
On Day 3, The Mustangs showed why they deserved to be in the upper tier as they picked up a 4-1 win over Laurier and followed that with an 8-1 win over Laurentian.
Day 4 saw the Mustangs face their toughest test of the entire event when they skated to a 2-1 win over Ottawa which put them through to the medal round yet they still played Dalhousie in the evening game and won 8-1.
The final day of the event was the medal round and Western took on their rivals from Guelph, the same opponent they beat in the 2022 Ontario Provincial Championship. This time the Mustangs had a much more dominant performance, beating the Gryphons 10-3 to secure the 2022 University Challenge Cup.
"Winning UCCs just proved to everyone that all the work and time we put into this team has paid off. We played like a team all weekend and that's why we were so successful." Said Goaltender Kessa Dunlop
"I've been with the team for several years and this is my first medal at UCCs. Beyond winning the championship title, doing so undefeated is remarkable. Given the talent this tournament presents with top players and teams from across Canada, this is not a mundane element of the team's accomplishment. Last year we captured the Provincial title undefeated as well, so being recognized as the top team in the nation consecutively reinstates our excellence in our division." said Centre Kayden Thornton
"Playing teams from different provinces was a highlight for sure, playing these teams we have never seen was fun. Our +\- was also a highlight as we were dominating the scores almost every game, with an amazing line of defence in front of me keeping our goals against very low" said Goaltender Rachel Van Bakel
"A highlight of the tournament was definitely being the only team that went completely undefeated and only giving up 9 goals in 9 games. Obviously, another highlight is winning and getting to hold the cup with the entire team!" said Defenceman Monica Perlotto
Next up for the Mustangs is a tournament in Guelph in February and then they will round out their season as defending champions at the Provincial AA Championship in March.
