In his 24th season behind the UNB bench, Gardiner MacDougall oversaw one of the greatest seasons in U SPORTS men’s hockey history. MacDougall’s Reds went 30-0 on route to their 16th consecutive Atlantic University Sport regular season title. They then swept their way through the AUS playoffs, rattling off five straight wins to take the Halifax Herald Trophy for the sixth season in a row, and the eight in the past 10 seasons.
MacDougall spent three seasons (1996-1999) behind the Blizzard bench before joining the UNB Reds. During his three year stint in the MJHL, he helped guide the Blizzard to a Turnbull Cup Championship and was named Coach of the Year in two of three seasons.
Included in UNB’s 30 wins was his 489th, which came on Feb. 6 at Moncton, which moved him atop the U SPORTS all-time regular season coaching wins list.
MacDougall’s Reds will be looking to defend the University Cup title, and enter this week’s tournament as the top seed, after having been atop the U SPORTS rankings all season.
The native of Bedeque, P.E.I. is an accomplished motivational speaker and presenter. He is a graduate of St. Francis Xavier (BSc P-Ed) and Saint Mary’s (B-Ed) universites.
