U SPORTS Championship: Toronto v UBC Open Canada’s University Finals in Waterloo

Canada’s university season comes down to four teams, four days and one rink of a hockey pitch in Waterloo.

The 2026 National Bank Field Hockey Canada U SPORTS Championship starts on Thursday at Warrior Field, University of Waterloo, and it’s a proper round-robin: every team plays the other three across Thursday, Friday and Saturday, then the top two meet in Sunday’s gold-medal game and the other two play for bronze.

Thursday opens with Toronto against UBC at 4 p.m. EST (2 a.m. PKT Friday), a rematch of the 2014 U SPORTS final. Toronto earned their place by edging York University in a shootout in the OUA final, and they’re the OUA champions. UBC are the Canada West champions after a 6-0-2 regular season, and they haven’t reached these heights in nine years. That’s a big game to open with.

The hosts play the nightcap on Thursday. Waterloo, who qualified automatically as hosts, take on UPEI at 6:30 p.m. EST (4:30 a.m. PKT Friday). UPEI’s route here is the story of the tournament before it’s even started. The Panthers went unbeaten through the Atlantic regular season, then lost the league final to Dalhousie in a shootout, and then got the invite anyway after Dalhousie were found to have used an ineligible player and their win was wiped out. This is UPEI’s third straight trip to the national championship, and they won’t care how they got here.

Friday brings Toronto against UPEI at 4 p.m. EST and Waterloo against UBC at 6:30 p.m. EST. Saturday has Waterloo against Toronto at 2 p.m. EST and UPEI against UBC at 4:30 p.m. EST. Then Sunday: the bronze-medal game at noon EST (10 p.m. PKT) and the gold-medal game at 2:30 p.m. EST (12:30 a.m. PKT Monday).

For our money, UBC look the team to beat. A 6-0-2 season in Canada West is no joke, and they’ve had nine years to think about the last time they were this close. But Toronto know how to win tight games, Waterloo have a home crowd, and UPEI have already shown they don’t go away quietly. Four teams, three games each, and no room for a bad day.

All games stream on CBC Gem and CBC Sports YouTube.