Organizers say event highlights the high calibre of university hockey

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On the ice there were winners and losers; off the ice the big winner was Moncton as the city braved the glare of the national spotlight once more and emerged as the successful host of the 2008 Cavendish Cup.

The Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's hockey championship has been held here the past two years.

"It puts Moncton and the area on the national and international map," says Normand Léger, who took care of media services throughout the event. "The game Sunday and the two games on Saturday were televised nationally and we have a number of professional hockey team scouts attending the tournament who were talking to some of the players."

Organizing committee president Marc Boudreau says they have received outstanding feedback.

"The people who have come in from the other universities are saying this is the best event that they've ever witnessed. I think we staged a really, really wonderful event here," he says.

Léger says almost 30,000 people attended last year's event and expected that once the final tally came in, this year's numbers would be only slightly less, despite some miserable weather on Thursday that kept many fans home.

While a good crowd always turns out to see Université de Moncton's Aigles Bleus, Léger says out-of-town teams also are big draws, particularly the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds.

"A lot of people came down from Fredericton," he says, not just to see their team play for the top prize Sunday night, but to their Thursday and Saturday games as well.

Boudreau says many local alumni of various universities organized get-togethers over the weekend, using the cup as a chance to catch up while cheering on their alma mater.

"It is sort of nice to see, the spirit of healthy rivalry both on and off the ice. It is fun to watch," he says.

While many fans were there to support a particular team, Léger says the event also draws those that just want to see good, high-calibre hockey.

With the Moncton Wildcats out of the playoffs, it's also the last chance to see high-level hockey locally this season.

"It is a good brand of hockey," Léger says. "It is fast and the players put a lot of heart into it."

Boudreau says the level of play this year has been especially high.

"The product on the ice, I think that was just fantastic," he says. "The calibre of university men's hockey is just second to none."

Léger says many of the players at the university level are either major junior players who have moved on to study for their degree or ex-professional players now pursuing their education.

As UdeM's athletic director, Boudreau is understandably a little biased toward the home team, but he says the most exciting moment of the tournament for him was the Aigles Bleus' win over the University of Alberta Golden Bears.

"The win over University of Alberta was just great," he says. "I was proud to see our team come out in the first period, there was a focus there, I saw these guys were prepared. We are in a division with three fantastic teams... It is not often a team that loses the first game comes back into the finals."

Léger says the tournament puts university hockey in the limelight for a moment, giving people the chance to discover how good it can be and hopefully winning over fans that will continue to support university hockey in the future.

The economic impact of the four-day event on the city is huge. Last year it generated about $1.3 million and a similar total is expected this year.

Léger says people from out-of-town make up close to a quarter of the crowd at the games and each of the five visiting teams is expected to spend about $20,000 during their stay here on hotels, meals, and transportation.

Léger says organizing this year's event was a little easier than last year's because most of the basics were already in place.

About 250 volunteers, many of whom gave their time both years the city hosted the cup, helped keep everything running smoothly.

"We are lucky in this area because we have been hosting a number of national and international events and we have a very good range of experienced volunteers and employees," he says. "We have all the ingredients needed to do a good job... We know how to do things right."

Each city hosts the cup for two years before handing hosting duties to another community. In a ceremony last night Moncton Mayor Lorne Mitton passed the banner to Thunder Bay Mayor Lynn Peterson, as her city is taking over where Moncton left off.