UBC Thunderbirds named the team to beat in women’s hockey

The UBC Thunderbirds, who won the Canada West title with a sweep of Manitoba two weekends ago, are the top seed heading into the 2026 Miller Waste U SPORTS Women’s Hockey Championship. U SPORTS announced the seeding on Sunday for the 2026 championship, which runs from Thursday to Sunday at the Woolwich Memorial Centre in Elmira, Ontario.

Championship website

The Thunderbirds, who are seeking their first Golden Path trophy, are the top seed for the second time in program history. They were the top seed at the 2017 tournament, where they eventually won a bronze medal. Half of this year’s field are making a return trip to Woolwich Township, as UBC, Concordia and UNB are repeat visitors along with host Waterloo.

The complete field, in seeding order, is as follows:

1. UBC Thunderbirds (CW champions: 26-2-0 regular season, 4-0 playoffs)
2. Concordia Stingers (RSEQ champions: 22-2-0, 4-0)
3. Guelph Gryphons (OUA champions: 19-4-3, 5-1)
4. UNB Reds (AUS champions: 20-6-2, 5-2)
5. Ottawa Gee-Gees (OUA finalists: 15-9-2, 4-3)
6. Waterloo Warriors (hosts: 17-8-1, 1-2)
7. Manitoba Bisons (CW finalists: 13-9-6, 4-4)
8. Montréal Carabins (RSEQ finalists: 13-9-2, 2-3) 

In women’s hockey, the four conference champions are seeded in the top four based on their final national ranking. The three conference finalists are placed on the other side of the draw from their respective champions – in ranking order - with the final team placed opposite the champion of the conference with only one representative. 

The quarterfinals will be played on Thursday and Friday, as follows: (all times Eastern)

• Thursday, 3 p.m.: No. 7 Manitoba at No. 2 Concordia
• Thursday, 7 p.m.: No. 3 Guelph at No. 6 Waterloo
• Friday, 3 p.m.: No. 8 Montréal vs. No. 1 UBC
• Friday, 7 p.m.: No. 5 Ottawa vs. No. 4 UNB

Saturday’s action starts with two consolation games at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., with semifinals set for 4 and 7 p.m. On Sunday, the fifth-place game will get underway at 8 a.m., with the bronze-medal game following at 11 a.m. and the championship at 3 p.m. 

Tickets are currently on sale on at usportstickets.ca. 

All games will be broadcast live on CBC Sports digital platforms in English. In French, all games will be on Radio Canada’s digital platforms, with Sunday’s gold medal game also being aired on CBC and TVA Sports.