2020 U Sports University Cup
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Venue(s) | Scotiabank Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Dates | March 12–15, 2020 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 2 |
The 2020 U Sports University Cup hockey tournament (58th Annual) was scheduled for March 2020 in Halifax, Nova Scotia at the Scotiabank Centre, to determine a national champion for the 2019–20 U Sports men's ice hockey season, but was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic after the first day of competition. The Acadia Axemen, a member of U Sports Atlantic University Sport conference, were the designated host. The Scotiabank Centre is 99 kilometres south of the school's campus (Wolfville). This event marked the third appearance of the tournament in Halifax, which hosted the 2015 and 2016 tournaments. This was the first time that Acadia was the host of the tournament; St. Francis Xavier University and Saint Mary's University split hosting rights (respectively) during the previous two-year stint.
The tournament format remained unchanged from the previous year: Eight teams, single elimination and bronze medal games, with three conference champions, three conference runner-ups, OUA bronze winner and host.
On February 13, 2020, U Sports and CBC Sports jointly announced the tournament would be streamed free of charge via the CBC Gem streaming service in Canada. U Sports' previous broadcasting deal with Sportsnet expired following the 2019 U Sports University Cup.
The tournament was suspended on the night of March 12, after the first two games had been played, due to a decision by Hockey Canada to suspend all sanctioned hockey across the country. The impact of this decision was to leave the tournament with no on-ice officials and as result left the Tournament Committee with no choice but to suspend the remaining games. U Sports Hockey, as an organization, is not directly under the Hockey Canada umbrella, but they do have a development partnership where Hockey Canada Level 4, 5 and 6 officials officiate U Sports hockey along with the Team Canada Junior vs U Sports All-Star games.