Five AUS Games You Need to See This Fall

A battle of national champions at the Forum highlights the AUS fall hockey schedule

Well friends, we are just one week away from the start of another year of exciting varsity sports.

It is the battles waged between universities on the ice, court, and field that get my sports fans juices flowing. From football, to hockey, to Basketball, I love watching all the big games.

It’s actually a cruel overload. With the NFL and NHL in full flight by October, and the Moosheads and Marauders playing several times a week, it can be hard for a sports fan to keep up. You find yourself having to pick and choose which games you absolutely need to attend, and which ones you can read about in the paper the next day.

To help you prepare for the upcoming varsity season, here are 5 games you should not miss this fall in beautiful Halifax.

5) Football: Saint Francis Xavier X-Men vs. Saint Mary’s Huskies. Friday, Oct.15
This late fall visit to Huskies Stadium for the X-Men has been disastrous the past several seasons.

Since 2006, the Huskies have outscored St FX 175-22 in 4 regular season games at the stadium. More often than not, the X-Men get blown out in a highly anticipated affair featuring the two best teams in the AUS.

This season the stakes will be no different, and if the X-Men finally want to get over the top of Mount Husky, they’ll need a far better performance than they’ve offered recently.

4) Basketball: Dalhousie Tigers at Saint Mary’s Huskies. Tuesday, November.23
The women’s game could be the final coronation of Scott Munro’s Huskies as the dominant team in Halifax.

Anna Stammberger’s Tigers have been depleted due to the graduation of the Girdwood twins and April Scott, while the Huskies have reloaded with the acquisition of former AUS all star Susanne Canvin from PEI.

Canvin should form the conference’s best 1-2 punch with 2nd year superstar Justine Colley to keep the Huskies near the top of the standings all season.

The Tiger’s will need the outstanding sophomore duo of Anna Von Maltzhann and Patricia McNeil to make significant statistical contributions if they are to escape with a victory from the Tower.

The men’s game will feature two of the top guards in the country in Joey Haywood and Simon Farine. Farine, the fifth year senior, will be trying to get the Tigers back on track after a mediocre season following their AUS championship in 2008.

Haywood will be looking to put his own personal stamp on the Huskies program following the brilliant careers of Mark Mclaughlin and Ike Ichegbu, while ridding Huskies fans of the memory of his controversial foul on St. FX’s Christian Upshaw at the AUS semi finals in Sydney.

The game is a treat for basketball fans who love half court basketball, pitting Ross Quackenbush’s beautiful passing offence vs. the precision of John Campbell’s offensive sets.

3) Men's Soccer: Cape Breton Capers vs. Dalhousie Tigers. Saturday, September.18 This game will not receive the media attention it deserves for two reasons:
1) It is soccer.
2) It is the same day as the Laval vs. SMU football game.

But for AUS soccer fans this is an anticipated match featuring two teams that suffered disappointing conclusions to their 2009 seasons for different reasons.

The Capers won the AUS championship at Wickwire field in extra time over a gritty UPEI squad, but had their season come to an end a week later at nationals with a lack lustre effort vs. Trinity Western.

The Tigers suffered a far worse fate, being upset by the Panthers on a controversial first goal and a spirited comeback that fell just shy in the waning minutes on a frigid November night at Wickwire.

The Tigers have recruited with the purpose of strengthening the positions where they appeared to be outmanned by UPEI, and they once again have an AUS championship in their sights.

The confident Capers will come to Wickwire with the swagger of a champion and featuring one of the best players in the country in midfielder Andrew Rigby.

The game should go a long way in determining seeding at the conference championships in a year where only one AUS team will qualify for the nationals.

So do yourself a favour, after Laval and SMU finish around supper time, go grab a bite, then head up to Wickwire for a soccer game that should be a spirited affair. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:15.

2) Men’s Hockey: UNB Varsity Reds vs. SMU Huskies. Saturday, November 13.
These national powerhouse programs enter the season coming off dramatically different finishes to the 2009 campaign.

Coming off a CIS championship in 2009, the Varsity Reds were the number one ranked team in the country for most of the year and nearly went undefeated throughout the regular season. In late February the team suffered an unprecedented collapse, losing three times in a row to the Saint Francis Xavier X-Men, the final two losses coming in the playoffs.

The Huskies brushed aside Acadia in the AUS semi finals and then demolished the X-Men in the AUS finals after a regular season that, up to the acquisition of Mike Danton, had been an episode in frustration for Trevor Steinburg and his talented group of veterans.

Danton provided a breath of fresh air in the locker room with his joyful enthusiasm and the rejuvenated Huskies never looked back, defeating Alberta in overtime to win the national championship.

The Varsity Reds will be loaded for another run at an AUS title with the conference’s best player, Hunter Trembley, leading the way.

SMU has added a former NHL second round pick in the form of 6’3” defenceman Kyle Wharton, and may be the national favourites to go back to back. Even with the losses of Marc Rancourt, and Cody Thornton, the Huskies should be a top three team throughout the season

The AUS has the best hockey in the maritimes and is the strongest conference in the country...if you’re going to see one Huskies hockey game this fall, this is the one.

1) Men’s Football: Laval Rouge et Or vs.SMU Huskies. Saturday, September 18.
In the words of Keith Jackson....”Oh Nellie”.

This game is big.

The only bad thing about this game is that it took far too long to come to fruition. With the AUS/QUFC interlock agreement, it’s hard to believe that administrators haven’t tried to make this rivalry an annual contest.

The Huskies and the Rouge et Or have been the two most consistent programs in Canada over the past decade. Almost without exception, the teams have played significant roles in determining the national championship by either playing in the final, or just coming up one game short.

Such was the case last year when Laval lost a heartbreaker to the Queen’s Golden Gaels, while the Huskies suffered a bitter blowout to their newest nemesis, Blake Nill and Eric Glavic’s Calgary Dinos.

After the Dino’s loss to Saskatchewan in week one, and Laval’s thrashing of McGill, the Rouge et Or have already taken their rightful place at the top of the rankings, and will very likely come in to Halifax undefeated on the season.

The Huskies have to make a trip to Wolfville next weekend where they are likely to whip a young Acadia team, and then begin the arduous task of preparing for Laval.

Saint Mary's got pushed around in the Uteck Bowl last year vs. Calgary and Steve Sumarah has recruited with the purpose of getting bigger and stronger. The game vs. Laval will give Sumarah an immediate indication as to whether or not the big, bad Huskies are back.

One thing is for sure; CIS football coaches and pundits across the country will be watching.

The Best of the Rest

- The Loney Bowl- I didn’t put it on the list because there is no guarantee it will be at Huskies stadium. But if it’s not, I’ll be shocked.
- Men’s Hockey: SMU vs. Dalhousie. Friday, October 15. The Huskies manhandled Dalhousie last season, but the rivalry was renewed after Trevor Steinburg and Pete Belliveau had a heated altercation after a game in late January.
- Men’s Hockey: UNB vs. Dalhousie. Saturday, November 27. Because you have to see this Varsity Reds team. Plus, Belliveau’s Tigers play them tough at the Dalhousie Memorial Arena.
- Women’s Soccer: St FX vs. Dalhousie. Friday, October 22. Revenge is the storyline here. The Tigers will be out for redemption after the X-Women defeated them in last year’s AUS semi final on a stormy day in early November.
- Men’s Volleyball: Trinity Western vs. Dalhousie, October 22/23. This exhibition match will be a treat for volleyball fans in Halifax; a visiting team at Dalplex who can actually compete with Dan Ota’s Tigers.
- Women’s Hockey: SMU vs. Dalhousie. Wednesday, November 3. Lisa Jordan’s AUS champion Huskies vs. Lesley Jordan’s Tigers looking to bounce back from a disappointing season.

Bill McLean is the voice of the Dalhousie Tigers on ssncanada.ca. Follow Bill on twitter @haligoniasports.