'Just getting started': Canada's winningest university hockey coach looks at what's next

It's been quite a year for P.E.I.-born Gardiner MacDougall and the University of New Brunswick Reds men's hockey team. 

UNB wrapped up the university hockey championship on Sunday night in Toronto with a 4-0 win over the Université du Québec a Trois-Rivières Patriotes to clinch the 2024 University Cup — for the second consecutive year. 

It was a perfect end to a perfect season. UNB won all 30 regular season games, all five league playoff games, and then swept through the national tournament. In fact, the Reds didn't give up even a single goal as it powered its way through the three final games to win the national title.

This season also included the 600th career win for head coach MacDougall, making him the most winning coach in Canadian men's university hockey history. The team celebrated his 489th regular season win with the presentation of a special jersey.

"It's interesting when you're in the in the heat of it, in the process, said MacDougall, who was born in Bedeque, P.E.I. "You just think of the next practice or the next game." 

"But I think when you look at it, it's almost one of those fairy-tale seasons. Only in this case, I guess Cinderella kept her shoes on."

MacDougall said he focused on keeping things as normal as possible going into the final game of the season.

"At UNB, we talk about trying to be the best you can when it is most important, and I think this group really embodied that, bringing their best performance when it counts the most," MacDougall said.

"I think if you look at the statistics, you'd have to go a long ways probably to find a season where you go 43 and 0."

MacDougall, also known as Coach Mac, said the success of the team is all about the people who are part of it. 

"Our objective was to go