CIS Championships From My Couch

Fans of the Martlets and Redmen: it's CIS national championship season! This winter, McGill teams qualified for the competition in a number of sports, including track and field, men's and women's hockey, women's basketball and women's volleyball. Although making a trek out to Winnipeg, Edmonton or Calgary to watch your favourite team play might not be realistic for most students, diehard fans will be happy to know that there is another option. As I discovered last weekend, if you have a computer and a comfortable couch, watching CIS action from home can be a great alternative to enjoying the live action.

While at home in Chelsea visiting my family, I enjoyed the CIS Women's Hockey Tournament which took place last weekend at the University of Alberta. With a sister who has been recruited to join the U of A hockey team next year and a cousin who plays for the Laurier Golden Hawks, my family had a lot of interest in the outcome of the competition. On top of that, I love to watch CIS women's hockey because it truly showcases the best talent in the world in this sport. Case in point: Hayley Wickenheiser herself plays for the University of Calgary Dinos!!!! If you've been living under a rock for the past 20 years, Wickenheiser has been a member of the Canadian National Team since she was 15 years old, has played men's professional hockey in Finland and has won 4 Olympic medals (1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010). She has been a pioneer for women's hockey and has inspired a generation of girls to get involved in the sport. To have Hayley playing in the CIS against the Martlets is basically the equivalent of having a younger Wayne Gretzky step out onto the ice to play against the Redmen! Inspiring, but also extremely intimidating.

It's safe to say then that the Martlets were pretty unlucky when they were matched against the Dinos in their first game of the tournament. It was a very even matchup, but unfortunately the outcome was a 0-1 loss for McGill. That goal ended up being the only one that the Martlets conceded in the entire competition. Still, because of this loss to the Calgary, the McGill team failed to win their pool and were forced to play for bronze against the Laurier Golden Hawks. I had a tough time deciding who to cheer for (family loyalty or school pride?), but regardless of my allegiance the game turned out to be a 4-0 blowout in favour of the Martlets. In the final, Universite de Montreal faced off against Calgary and ended up being pummelled 5-1 in a game that was never close. Because of the bizzare tournament format, the true "championship final" probably took place during the second game when Calgary edged out McGill by a narrow margin.

If you missed out on all of this action last weekend, do not worry. There is still a chance to see McGill teams in CIS competitions coming up very soon. Men's hockey, currently seeded in second place, starts their tournament on March 22nd. To stream the game live, click on this link. Women's basketball, seeded 7th in the country, is also going for Gold this weekend. They start their tournament on March 17th. Click here for more information and to watch the game live. 

Take a study break, find a comfortable seat and enjoy a game or two! 

Go Red Go! 

- Martlet Girl