CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI — PEI’s Gardiner MacDougall was appointed head coach of the Canadian men’s hockey team for the 2023 FISU Winter World University Games in Lake Placid, NY, January 12-22.

U SPORTS made the announcement, along with the appointment of Ottawa Gee Gees assistant coach Greg Bowles as head coach of the Canadian women’s hockey team.

“We are thrilled to have two leading U SPORTS coaches leading our Canadian national hockey team into action at the FISU Winter World University Games 2023,” said U SPORTS chief sports officer Lisette Johnson-Stapley in a news release.

“Gardiner is one of U SPORTS’ most accomplished men’s hockey coaches recently leading Saint John to the Memorial Cup championship, while Greg has been part of the last two FISU women’s hockey teams and is one of the best coaches in Canada, so we know our team will very competitive during the Olympics.”

MacDougall, who grew up in Bedeque, has been the head coach of the highly successful UNB Reds program for over 20 years. MacDougall’s resume includes seven U SPORTS national championships, nine Atlantic University Sport (AUS) titles and over 400 regular season wins.

MacDougall also coached the Saint John Seal to the 2022 Memorial Cup after being appointed interim head coach in May.

“This is the opportunity and privilege of a lifetime to represent U SPORTS at this world championship,” MacDougall said in a media release. “Events like this bring the best out of our players and coaches and we look forward to helping create a special journey of growth and high performance achievement for our team.”

“Events like this bring the best out of our players and coaches and we look forward to helping create a special journey of growth and high performance achievement for our team.”
— Gardiner MacDougall