Concordia favoured as U Sports women's hockey championship returns after 2-year pandemic absence

With some hockey legends behind the bench, Canada's eight best university hockey teams make their way to the University of Prince Edward Island in search of the Golden Path Trophy and the U Sports women's hockey championship.

In addition to UPEI, the tournament will feature New Brunswick (UNB), McGill, Concordia, Brock, Nipissing, Saskatchewan and British Columbia (UBC). Each team, other than the host, reached the final of its respective conference.

Teams are seeded based on regular-season performance and compete through a single-elimination knockout bracket.

The tournament runs March 24-27, streaming live on the CBC Gem and the CBC Sports' website.

The Concordia Stingers, with four-time Olympic champion Caroline Ouellette behind the bench, are outright favourites. They easily won the Quebec-based RSEQ, including a big win over the high-powered McGill Martlets.

While their power-play clicked along at a 28 per cent clip, the second-best in Canada, the Stingers' penalty kill often relied on stellar play from goaltender Alice Philbert, who registered a .930 save percentage this season.

"She stood tall and strong, and looked calm and confident," Ouellette told CBC Sports about Philbert's 54-save performance over two games in the final against McGill.

"It's a great feeling for the whole team when you feel like nothing is going to get by the goalie. You play better, you are more confident — and that was key for us."

<a href="https://twitter.com/USPORTSca?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USPORTSca</a> announces the draw for the 2022 Cavendish Farms women's