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THUNDER BAY, Ont. (CIS) – The ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ men’s hockey team are seeded fifth of six teams heading into the 2009 Cavendish University Cup in Thunder Bay, Ont., March 26-29. The Redmen will open the tourney on Thursday at 2 p.m. against No.2-seeded Saint Mary's. ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ will then play third-seeded Western -- on Friday or Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. -- depending on whether they lose or win the opener.

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The defending CIS men’s hockey champion Alberta Golden Bears are the tournament favourites heading into the tourney, presented by TBaytel.

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Official website:

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The 2009 CIS championship, hosted by Lakehead University at the Fort William Gardens, gets under way Thursday with the first of three days of round-robin action and culminates Sunday at 2 p.m. with the presentation of the national final.

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Rogers Sportsnet will broadcast Saturday’s two round-robin duels and Sunday’s gold-medal final, while SSN Canada will webcast all seven games from the championship.

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Joining the top-seeded Golden Bears and the tournament host Thunderwolves (No. 6) in Thunder Bay this week are the No. 2 Saint Mary’s Huskies (AUS champions), No. 3 Western Ontario Mustangs (OUA champions), No. 4 UNB Varsity Reds (AUS Finalists) and No. 5 ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ Redmen (OUA finalists).

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Alberta, UNB and Lakehead will battle in Pool A in the preliminary round, while Saint Mary’s, Western and ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ make up Pool B. The first-place finishers will meet for CIS gold on Sunday.

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Saint Mary’s and ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ kickoff the championship Thursday at 2 p.m., while Alberta opens its title defence at 7 p.m. against UNB, in a rematch of last year’s final.

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The Bears, who added a 13th University Cup to their record tally last winter with a 3-2 gold-medal win over the top-ranked V-Reds, were the last team to capture the CIS title as the No. 1 seed, back in 2006. Alberta holds most University Cup marks including all-time titles (13), appearances (33rd in 2009), finals (17), games played (86), wins (58), losses (26), goals for (399) and goals against (257).

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UNB was crowned in 2007 and 1998, Western claimed its lone CIS banner in 2002, while Saint Mary’s, ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ and host Lakehead are all looking for their first taste of CIS men’s hockey gold.

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Note: A complete championship preview will follow Tuesday.

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SEEDINGS & POOLS

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1. Alberta Golden Bears (Canada West champions / 22-4-2 regular season, 4-1 playoffs)

2. Saint Mary’s Huskies (AUS champions / 20-7-1 regular season, 5-2 playoffs)

3. Western Ontario Mustangs (OUA champions / 19-7-2 regular season, 7-1 playoffs)

4. UNB Varsity Reds (AUS finalists / 21-4-3 regular season, 4-2 playoffs)

5. ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ Redmen (OUA finalists / 18-8-2 regular season, 6-2 playoffs)

6. Lakehead Thunderwolves (Championship hosts / 18-8-2 regular season, 3-2 playoffs)

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Pool A

1. Alberta

4. UNB

6. Lakehead

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Pool B

2. Saint Mary’s

3. Western Ontario

5. ±«ÓãÖ±²¥

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TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

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Wednesday, March 25

13:00 Media Conference (Fort William Curling Club – Fort William Gardens)

18:00 All-Canadian Awards Banquet (Fort William Historical Park)

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Thursday, March 26

14:00 Pool B #1: No. 2 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 5 ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ (SSN Canada webcast)

19:30 Pool A #1: No. 1 Alberta vs. No. 4 UNB (SSN Canada webcast)

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Friday, March 27

14:00 Pool B #2: No. 3 Western vs. Loser Pool B #1 (SSN Canada webcast)

19:30 Pool A #2: No. 6 Lakehead vs. Loser Pool A #1 (SSN Canada webcast)

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Saturday, March 28

14:00 Pool B #3: No. 3 Western vs. Winner Pool B #1 (Rogers Sportsnet / SSN Canada webcast)

19:00 Pool A #3: No. 6 Lakehead vs. Winner Pool A #1 (Rogers Sportsnet / SSN Canada webcast)

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Sunday, March 29

14:00 Final (Rogers Sportsnet / SSN Canada webcast)

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- CIS -

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For more information please contact:

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Michel Bélanger

Communications manager

Canadian Interuniversity Sport

Ph: (613) 562-5670 ext. 25

Cell: (613) 447-6334

belanger [at] universitysport.ca