VANCOUVER, BC – After a year where no U SPORTS teams travelled to the USA to face NCAA competition, the international games are back, as two U SPORTS teams head south of the border.
The Montreal Carabins will head to face the Princeton Tigers, while the Moncton Aigles Bleus take on the Boston University Terriers in preseason action for all programs before U SPORTS hockey begins in October.
For the Carabins, the game will feature more than just a step up in competition, but a familiar name on the opposing side, as they face Team Canada member and Olympic/World Champion Sarah Fillier, who is entering her fourth season with the Tigers.Â
Princeton is no easy team for anyone, but few U SPORTS programs are better prepared, at least defensively, to take on such a side than Montreal. The Carabins won the RSEQ bronze medal in a repechage tournament after failing to qualify for the RSEQ final.
One of their integral returning is goaltender Aube Racine, who posted a .930 save percentage in RSEQ competition last season and will look to continue that in 2022-23. Additionally, the Carabins will have an Olympic presence of their own, with Kaleigh Quennec donning the blue and black, having played with Team Switzerland at the World Championships at the Beijing 2022 Olympics.
The Carabins visit Princeton’s campus on Oct. 9. The Tigers fell to Yale in the ECAC semifinal to end their 2021-22 season.
For Moncton, the test is a little lighter, taking on a Boston Terriers team that fell in the Hockey East semifinals; however, Moncton’s program doesn’t have the same recent success as their Montreal counterparts.
Expect the Aigles Bleus to rely upon second-year defender Catherine Longchamps, who posted a team-high 12 points last season and played an essential role in the defence. At the same time, Moncton features forward Shani Rossignol, who played with the Ohio State Buckeyes before transferring to U SPORTS.
While Boston doesn’t have the Olympic pedigree of Fillier and Princeton, the Terriers will still provide intense competition as the Aigles Bleus prepare for the 2022-23 AUS season, looking to improve on a sixth-place finish from last year.Â
The Terriers welcome Moncton to the Walter Brown Arena on Sept. 23, before Moncton begins their season on Oct. 7 against the UPEI Panthers.
U SPORTS and NCAA teams have often wrestled in past pre-seasons, but that element has been absent since 2019 until it returns this fall with two tantalizing matchups.