Tale of the tape: NCAA vs OUA - excal.on.ca

We’ve got a new leader in the OUA clubhouse after Queen’s were able to outgun Western in a 41-30 shootout. If you’re a fan of untethered offensive football where playing defence is optional, than this contest was an all-time classic with both teams combining for over 900 yards. The Gaels came out of the gates hot taking a 24-13 lead into halftime, but the Mustangs found their stride in the third quarter battling back to retake the lead 29-27. Unfortunately that was the best it was going to get with Queen’s showing no fear putting together a dominate fourth quarter performance to take full control of first place in the OUA as we hit the homestretch. The Gaels offensive outburst was led by QB Alex Vreeken, who finished the day with 404 yards on 27 completions with two touchdown tosses to WR Russell Weir, who tallied up seven catches for 138 yards. They can celebrate for now, but the road to the playoffs will be treacherous for Queen’s with their remaining three games coming against top ten ranked Windsor, Guelph and McMaster. The first quarter was all Thunderbirds taking an early 14-3 lead, but UBC couldn’t find a way to slow down Saskatchewan for 60 minutes with the Huskies

Men’s hockey teams from McGill University, Concordia University and Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières will leave the OUA next season, ending their decades-long tenure in the league. According to a USports press release, the three teams — who have collectively won twenty championships over the past forty years with Ontario University Athletics — will re-establish their membership to the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec in the 2027–28 season. This marks the first time in forty years that the RSEQ — Québec’s equivalent to the OUA — will have a men’s hockey division. The decision was based on “the student-athlete experience, the integrity of the schedule and the cost of things,” according to OUA President and CEO Gord Grace. École de Technologie Supérieure, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and Université de Sherbrooke will round out the RSEQ division to six teams. McGill, Concordia and UQTR, at one point in time, competed against each other in the RSEQ before their men’s university hockey division folded in the 1986–87 season due to shifting athletic budgets and a lack of participating teams.

Photo courtesy: Wilfrid Laurier University Athletics. Every year, millions of fans across Canada set their weekly calendars with the gridiron, tuning in to watch their favourite CFL or NFL teams every single week. However, only a fraction of those same fans ever turn their attention to the place where so many of their favourite local players get developed. U Sports football is the proving ground for future pros in this country; a grassroots system that punches far above its weight class. From perennial powerhouses to historic basement dwellers, almost every school has at least one athlete on their roster capable of competing with the very best.

Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDTIn the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)In the Sharks region: NBC Sports CaliforniaStreaming: TSN+, RDS There was no sophomore slump for Macklin Celebrini in 2025-26. After finishing third in Calder Trophy voting in his rookie year, he put himself in the Hart Trophy conversation with a 115-point campaign, finishing fourth in the voting for the MPV award and behind the same three players on the NHL’s scoring list.

Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDTIn Canada: Sportsnet East (English), TVA Sports (French)In the United States: NHL NetworkIn the Sabres region: MSG BuffaloStreaming: Sportsnet+, TVA Sports+ It was another stellar defensive performance from the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night, holding the Washington Capitals to 1.78 expected goals at five-on-five. The team has now put four games together in a row allowing chances accumulating to that amount or less. For context, they accomplished such a feat 30 times in 82 games a season ago, so four times in seven contests is a sign of improvement. It was the Capitals’ third-lowest expected-goal total of the season, following Buffalo’s lowest and Detroit’s and Nashville’s second-lowest marks through two-and-a-half weeks.