Burlington, Ont. – After seeing the women's finale hit the ice just a few weeks ago, the time has come for the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) men's curlers step onto the banner season stage for their own championship festivities. The conference's curling contingent, headlined by the defending champion Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, are heading to the Guelph Curling Club from Friday, March 18 to Sunday, March 20, with plenty of new faces hoping to play their way into successful debuts at the 2022 OUA Men's Curling Championship.

2022 OUA Men's Curling Championship | Fan Guide | Schedule/Results

Despite entering as the reigning title holders, the Golden Hawks rink is filled with new faces heading into this weekend's finale. With the entire 2020 championship squad graduating, the new-look Laurier bunch is looking to continue the program's winning ways in their championship debuts, and although they may be short on OUA experience, they are no strangers to competition.

Each member of the Hawks rink have played at provincials this year, whether that was the U21 or men's edition. Among those to do so was Sam Mooibroek, who comes into the OUA finale having skipped his team to a fourth-place finish at the men's provincials (Ontario Tankard) this year. The Kitchener, Ont. native also skipped his team to victory in the Brantford men's cash spiel earlier this season, and as he leads his team into the weekend, he hopes that the group can both impress amongst their conference counterparts while also building on the experience for future years.

Taking the title the year prior, the Carleton Ravens are also looking to a group of newcomers to carry them to another podium-topping performance, a notion that head coach Tom Sinclair looks to help bring to light, much like in the team's 2019 championship form.

Like Laurier, the black birds are bringing an experienced group to the championship, even if it isn't university-based competition. Led by skip Jordan McNamara, the Ravens feature medalists from recent CurlON U18 and U21 competitions. The Ottawa, Ont. native is the group's most accomplished curler and was skip of the 2019 CurlON U21 men's silver medal winning rink alongside fellow Raven Maxime Daigle.

The first-year chemistry major was also skip of the bronze-medal winning team at the 2021 CurlON mixed provincials, and at the same event, another Raven was also making his mark. Ryan Godfrey, an engineering student from Gravenhurst, Ont. joined forces with recent OUA bronze medalist Mikayla Gemmill, and just like she took home the hardware at the women's finale, Godfrey is eyeing a similar result this weekend.

Another recent champion, and reigning silver medalists from a season ago, the Brock Badgers are poised for another run at the OUA banner when they head to Guelph this weekend. The group has seen noticeable growth this season and, as is the trend among the recent contenders, will take on the challenge ahead with a near complete overhaul of the roster.

Dylan Sipura may be the lone returnee from previous years, but he brings with him a pair of OUA silver medals and national championship appearances. After playing front end his entire OUA career, however, the business administration student from Georgetown, Ont. has taken the leadership role of skip to heart this time around, working well and pushing his teammates to be at their best.

Another hard-working member of the St. Catharines squad is Victor Pietrangelo, and alongside a pair of his teammates, is bringing his junior varsity experience to the table.

Like Brock, the Western Mustangs will see a switch among positions, with Spencer Dunlop also moving into the position of skip for the London squad. The fourth-year product of Brampton, Ont. is suiting up for his fourth OUA championship this weekend, so he will make the move with plenty of elite level competition under his belt. The former conference all-star was also part of Team Mooibroek this season, placing fourth alongside the Laurier standout at the Ontario Tankard.

While it is somewhat of a building year for the Mustangs, the veteran presence of Dunlop and the contributions of second-year standout Henry Chung (London, Ont.) will certainly help the team to quickly shake off any rust on the OUA stage. Chung, a medical science major, is part of the Chinese Taipei curling team, and will draw on that high-level experience in Guelph this weekend.

When looking at Guelph, meanwhile, it was the Gryphons who rounded out the podium last time out and they will play for a chance to step up the provincial pedestal this time around. The men's program has had a strong season up to this point, which featured a successful performance at the Guelph Invitational wherein they picked up wins over the aforementioned Badgers and a quartet of other OUA squads, dropping only a hard-fought bout to Toronto.

Outside of university play, all four of the team members competed in the men's U21 provincial championships and qualified to be one of two teams representing Ontario at the national event being held in Stratford later this month. Led by sophomore standouts Dylan Niepage (Oro Medonte, Ont.) and Samuel Guilbeault (Hamilton, Ont.), the Gryphons have put in a lot of hard work both on and off the ice to prepare for the upcoming finale, and they'll look to capture their first men's curling banner since 1980 when they host the rest of the conference contenders.

Falling to Guelph in the 2020 bronze medal matchup was the Toronto Varsity Blues, and as they embark on an improved result, they will turn to their team's key qualities to bring those aspirations to light.

"The hallmark of a high-performance curling team is to be mentally tough, physically strong, technically sharp, and strategically smart," said head coach John Rudd. "Our team for the OUA championship rates highly by all these measures." Although the championship setting brings with it great uncertainty, Rudd is confident that his group can turn to their skill, grit, and determination to reel in some hardware this season.

Making his debut in banner season play, Daniel Hocevar (Toronto, Ont.) has been a competitive curler for seven years, but it isn't just on the ice that the second-year student is making his mark on the sport. Aligning with his hopes to specialize in artificial intelligence, the computer science major is the creator of Curling Analytics, a mobile app used by curling coaches around the world to analyze player performance. 

Joining Hocevar is James Ty, who will be competing in his third provincial championship this season. A graduate student at OISE pursuing a master of arts in child study and education, Ty has been involved with the Varsity Blues curling program since 2016 and has loved the opportunity to compete throughout his post-secondary education. As the veteran presence on the team, the Etobicoke, Ont. native is hoping to help lead his fellow Blues onto the podium.

Among those to also play at the aforementioned Guelph Invitational were a trio of Rams, a contingent that went 1-1-1 therein against teams they'll see in their pool this weekend. And while they largely came together for that tune-up event, the wide geographic spread of this year's team, along with the online learning environment that students have been facing, has made it tough for the Rams to come together in one location.

The team is comprised of members from the Greater Toronto Area, northern Ontario, British Columbia, and Manitoba, and it is the student-athlete from the latter that will serve as skip for the Rams. Weston Oryniak, a first-year law student, brings his leadership and experience from the competitive Manitoba curling environment to his first championship outing, and that is something the team will draw from when they come together in Guelph.

They will also turn to Eric Fenech for some veteran leadership, as the senior sociology major from Toronto, Ont. brings a strong knowledge of the competitive university landscape to his final year with the program. Expected to play vice, Fenech should be a great complement to Oryniak.

Another group relying on a mix of youth and experience and hoping to surprise some teams when the action gets underway this weekend is the Laurentian Voyageurs. Headlining the former faction is Sebastian Whissell, who joined the Voyageurs from Azilda, Ont. and is making his OUA championship debut. A newcomer to the university curling scene, the first-year forensic science student does boast a successful junior career that he hopes will translate into success at the varsity level.

A member of the Sudbury squad who already has varsity experience under his belt is fourth-year curler Derek Leung, who not only focuses on the sport while on the ice, but off of it as well, as the PhD candidate in geology is studying curling rocks and their composition.

While the likes of Whissell and other incoming curlers are looking to get off on the right foot in their first taste of OUA action, a member of the Queen's Gaels contingent has already done so to the tune of a top rookie nod in his debut campaign. With that high-calibre start in tow, Connor Massey (Richmond Hill, Ont.) now turns his attention to his sophomore season and bringing that additional experience to help the team improve on their quarterfinal result from 2020.

Fourth-year applied science student Owen Purdy (Burlington, Ont.) will also strive for improvement in the standings as part of the Guelph-bound crew, and along with the entire rink, is hoping that the recent success they've found in their local curling league play makes that rise up the rankings a reality.

Unlike Queen's and several of their other counterparts this weekend, a handful of OUA clubs were unable to punch their ticket to the knockout rounds last time out, but a pair of those teams are turning to previous Ontario Collegiate Athletics Association (OCAA) standouts to help rewrite their script this year.

Algoma is one such team, with Hunter Schumacher making the transition from the OCAA to join the Thunderbirds rink. The Wawa, Ont. native is consistently working on his strength and conditioning so he can improve on the ice, and is looking forward to showcasing those gains in his first opportunity with the Sault Ste. Marie squad. Josh Hales, who also brings a collegiate curling background to his hometown school, will serve as the team's skip.

With their new faces in tow, and under the continued tutelage of former Olympic coach Tom Coulterman, the results have already been noticeable for Algoma heading into the championship. In November, the team found success at the provincial championships, winning the Northern Ontario Club Provincial Championship to then qualify for the national event held in Ottawa.

Bringing a 2019 OCAA mixed curling championship to the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks, meanwhile, is a former member of the Humber Hawks. Gavin Hinton (Baltimore, Ont.) will suit up for his first university finale with the Oshawa group, and will be joined by local product Danton Kellington, who makes his second appearance on the banner season stage in his third year with the team.

With a team largely comprised of experienced curlers playing in their first OUA championship, the goal for the Ridgebacks is to be among the hardware hopeful teams, something that not only the athletes, but head coach Mike Stauffer is focused on as well. "If we reach our potential, we hope to be in the medal round and be competitive with other schools, even if it is the first OUA championship for most of our rink. We're excited to get to the championship and compete against other schools."

Also looking forward to the chance to compete against their counterparts from across the province are the Windsor Lancers, who will turn to a pair of juniors from Windsor, Ont. – Owen Corchis-Scott and Matteo Desando – to help led the way for the blue and gold.

The McMaster Marauders, Trent Excalibur, and Waterloo Warriors bring the total team contingent to 15 and will round out the three pools of five teams apiece.

Round robin play within these pools gets underway at the Guelph Curling Club on Friday, March 18 at 9:00am before wrapping up the following day with the 2:00pm matches. The knockout stage kicks off that evening with the quarterfinals at 7:00pm, before the semifinals and gold medal match take to the ice on Sunday, March 20.