Three OJHL Alumni on USPORTS All-Star Team facing Team Canada Juniors
Source: OJHL
Oakville, Ont. - Three Ontario Junior Hockey League alumni are on the U SPORTS Men’s Hockey All-Stars roster announced Tuesday, set to compete at Canada’s National Junior Team Sport Chek Selection camp in Oakville, Ont., from Dec. 9-12:
• Bryson Cianfrone of St. Francis Xavier University played for the Toronto Jr. Canadiens and Oakville Blades in the OJHL during the 2011-12 season.
• Kris Bennett of the University of New Brunswick played for the Blades from 2012-14.
• Brett Gibson, who played for Kingston in the OJHL in 1995-96, is an assistant coach. Gibson has been head coach at Queen’s University since 2006.
The U SPORTS roster features seven returning players with All-Star Series and FISU Winter Universiade experience, along with former U SPORTS major award winners, All-Canadians and All-Rookies.
This will mark the fifth straight year the U SPORTS All-Stars have faced off against Canada’s National Junior Team Prospects, who are vying for roster spots at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship being held in Ostrava and Trinec, Czech Republic from Dec. 26, 2019 – Jan. 5, 2020.
“This is an excellent opportunity for U SPORTS to show our continued support for Hockey Canada in helping them best prepare the Canadian World Junior Team for the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in the Czech Republic,” said Lisette Johnson-Stapley, Chief Sport Officer of U SPORTS. “We are honoured to be invited annually to the Sport Chek Selection Camp, while simultaneously showcasing some of the best talent Canadian university hockey has to offer.”
As previously announced, this year’s event will feature a two-game series at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, home of the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s (OJHL) Oakville Blades, with games scheduled for Dec. 11 at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT and Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT. Tickets are available at HockeyCanada.ca/Tickets, starting at $15 plus fees.
Gardiner MacDougall, head coach of the UNB Reds, will serve as the team’s bench boss, after being an assistant coach with the 2018 U SPORTS All-Stars. MacDougall will be joined by 2016 U SPORTS All-Star head coach Brett Gibson of the Queen’s Gaels, 2018 All-Star assistant Todd Johnson of the Regina Cougars and Western Mustangs head coach Clarke Singer, who served as general manager of Team Canada’s roster at the 2019 FISU Winter Universiade.
“It is an outstanding lifetime opportunity and a real privilege, when you look at the outstanding coaches across our country, to get a chance to lead an amazing group of student-athletes,” said MacDougall. “Last year’s experience in Victoria was one of the top experiences I’ve enjoyed as a coach at the U SPORTS level.”
As the official outfitter of the U SPORTS Men’s and Women’s Hockey All-Star Teams, Kobe Sportswear will provide all players with on-ice uniforms, which debuted at the Hockey Canada Summer Showcase in August.
The team will also pay tribute to former general manager Graham Sirman, who tragically passed away last month, by wearing GS the GM helmet decals throughout the series.
Hockey Canada’s National Junior Team has faced various U SPORTS competition on a regular basis since 1988. Since a U SPORTS national all-star team began participating in December 2015, U SPORTS holds a 5-3-1 record.
