Vanier Cup 2015

Our official team photo from this year's event in Quebec City.


Congratulations to Book Store Mike, aka Magic Mike, our Rookie of the Year.

Fir Sure List 2015

Here is who showed up to the 2015 Vanier Cup Road Tour to Quebec City, QC.

1. Kenny G
2. JRock
3. Adam
4. IT Loney
5. Spence
6. Robert Loggia
7. Skinny
8. Shawze (no bus)
9. Bert
10. White Lincoln
11. Towny
12. Sharpie 
13. The Mayor (no bus)
14. Chad
15. Kinger
16. Eddie (no bus) **ROOKIE
17. Van
18. Grimo
19. Book Store Mike **ROOKIE
20. Dickie **ROOKIE
21. Kim the Bus Driver

Vanier Cup Santas on Facebook

Don't forget to like us on the Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/VanierCupSantas/

1 sleep / Vanier Eve

Hey Fellas,

 

Looking forward to the weekend…Should be awesome. The ironing board has been purchased, shooter ingredients bought and extra livers are in tow. See you all tomorrow and please be ready to board the bus at 8:45  !

 

Always Anticipated, here is this year’s V-Line;

 

UBC Thunderbirds (9-2) vs U de Montreal Carabins (9-2)

 

The defending champions from Montreal will be taking on the challengers from the West in this year’s Vanier Cup.  The match up features two head coaches with significant experience. Blake Nill is now the coach of UBC. A former CFL player, Nill is used to the CIS big game through his previous head coaching gigs at Calgary and St. Mary’s. Danny Maciocia has CFL experience in the coaching ranks and lead the Carabins last year to their first ever Vanier Cup.

 

UBC will be relying on their first year QB, an Ottawa kid who was a transfer from Penn State. Michael O'Connor is a big 6’5” pivot who can make the big play and he’s one to watch for the Thunderbirds. On the defensive side of the ball, the westerners play a bend but don’t break style of D that has been successful this season but will be in tough against the Quebec champs. Their star to watch is Taylor Loffler (#10), a defensive back with NCAA D1 experience at Boise State. He’ll be looking for a pick six to cap off an excellent collegiate football career.

 

Montreal’s quarterback is Gabe Cousineau  who while not as flashy as O’Connor (but with much nicer hair), has already proved his credentials by leading the team to the CIS crown in 2014. The Carabins’ defense is often able to come up with the big play, as demonstrated by last year’s blocked field goal to win the Vanier;  they also blocked an FG at the last minute in the Quebec final to defeat Laval this year. Defensive lineman Junior Luke (#91) is a one man wrecking crew for the Carabins on defense. He was deservedly named MVP of the Mitchell Bowl and will be one to watch.

 

Look for the defending champions to make it two Vaniers in a row. With the exception of one big win at Calgary, UBC hasn’t had the strength of opponents the Montreal has faced this year, and the home field advantage of playing in Quebec is bound to assist the Carabins as well (even though the local Laval fans hate them).  Prediction: MONTREAL by 8 points

 

Predicted attendance: 12,600

 

Bonus prediction – look out Thunderbird, the Vanier Santas are coming to get ya!

4 sleeps newsletter

Hi Lads,

It is Vanier week! The teams for the final are decided… UBC vs Montreal. 2 very good teams and with a Quebec team in the Vanier, it means that there will be another solid tailgate in QC!

Speaking of which, pls make sure you prepare for a tailgate in the Quebexican elements. That means a few layers under your Santa suit, gloves, good footwear and of course some Candy Cane Shooters! I will pick up this year’s bar (ironing board) this week. We will need some clear crème de menthe, peppermint schnapps and grenadine. If we have a 3-4 bottles of each we should be good. Let me know if you can go in on a bottle with somebody and I can coordinate to make sure we have the right number of each. Jrock is picking up a few hundred short glasses. We will likely need to be at the parking lot by 10 AM to get a spot and our trusty driver Kim will get us there. If anyone has a portable BBQ the can bring, let me know. I can grab some hot dogs and stuff and work it into cost of bus.

If setup properly it should look something like this (picture taken from newspaper);

Departure details;

Please be at the Carp Road Park and ride by 8:45 on Friday morning to meet the bus… we’d like to be loaded up and rolling by 9. Bring your own beers and hors d’ouvres for the trip. For those who don’t know where the park and ride in here is a link/map;

https://www.google.com/maps/dir//45.277799,-75.952231/@45.2788579,-75.955058,18z

Weather -

Right now we are looking good for gameday -  calling for Sunny. High minus 2.

Dinner Friday night:

An Executive decision was made to go to Cosmos for dinner on Friday night. This is on recommendation from my man Louis-Charles from our hotel. They have several delicious steaks on their menu and they are smack dab in the middle of Le Grande Allee. It should be Super bon!

Trip home Sunday:

Hoping to be back in Ottawa by around 3 or 3:30. Some people have commitments and that also gets people in home in time to watch the Redblacks in the 103^rd Grey Cup!!!

I will likely send out one more note before we go but good luck on your preparations!

Vanier Cup 2015 teams confirmed

The year at Stade Telus in Quebec City on November 28, the Vanier Cup will feature the Montreal Carabins against the UBC Thunderbirds (plus about 20 Santas).

14 sleeps newsletter

G’Day Lads,

Only a couple weeks to go until Vanier. I am pleased to report that we have the same bus driver as 2 years ago, Kim (it’s a guy). He was a great driver, likes football, and actually went to the game with us. Time to drag out your Pere Noel gear to see what kind of shape it’s in, and if need be, make repairs or upgrade ; )  The dollar stores in the city usually have some very high quality ones for $3-$5, just do not stand within 2 meters of an open flame!

We have an excellent group for the 2015 Vanier Cup Road Tour, including some Rookies! I will try and do some research on each and perhaps a bio so we know what they are all about.

I am looking into dinner reservations for “Slack night”, otherwise known as Friday night. Louis Hebert (pronounced Loo-is Hee-burt) is the French-style Restaurant right across the street from our Hotel and it is actually very nice http://www.louishebert.com/

AND , http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g155033-d682079-Reviews-Restaurant_Louis_Hebert-Quebec_City_Quebec.html

I can look into reso’s there or we can go somewhere different depending on what everybody wants. Let me know 2 things please:

1.       Are you in for a nice dinner on Friday night? (might be the only non-poutine meal all weekend)

2.       Do you have any pref’s or are you good with Louis’?

As for this weekend, got some big games and Adam had provided a breakdown and his predictions below. Enjoy the weekend!

The V-Line:

This weekend features the conference finals. No upsets predicted this week.....

OUA - Ontario 

Yates Cup:  Guelph #5 (8-1) at Western #2 (9-0)

Since the OUA has 10 teams playing an eight team regular season schedule, these two teams have not met up all year.  Western ran the table in the regular season, outscoring their opponents by an average of 48 points per game (yeah, you read that right). Not counting their playoff win last weekend 32-18 over Laurier, the closest game for Western this year was a 24 point win over Mac. Guelph had a very good season as well, losing only once to Queen's. The Gryphons beat Carleton in the semi-finals. Despite their dominance all year long, look for the Mustangs to win in a squeaker as Western's starting QB is likely out with a broken jaw courtesy of a Golden Hawks defender last week. Western will struggle to put up points, but their stingy defence (less than 14 points allowed per game) will allow them to get by the Gryphons.  PICK: WESTERN

RSEQ - Quebec: 

Dunsmore Cup: Montreal #4 (7-2) at Laval #3 (8-1)

For the eleventh year in a row, Laval hosts the Quebec league final. This is the third year in a row for the Montreal - Laval match up. Each of the last two years, the winner of the Dunsmore (Laval in 2013, Montreal in 2014) has gone on to win the Vanier Cup. The teams split their season series, with the Rouge et Or winning the season opener at home 12-9 and the Carabins winning at home 22-16 in mid-October. Laval blew away Concordia in the semi-finals, while Montreal had to come from behind to defeat Sherbrooke in their semi-final game. There won't be a repeat Coupe Vanier champ this year, as the Rouge et Or will limit the Montreal offence and win a low scoring game to earn their 13th Dunsmore Cup title since joining the league in 1996. PICK: LAVAL

AUS - Atlantic:

Loney Bowl: St. Francis Xavier NR (6-3) at Mount Allison NR (5-3)

It's a rematch of last year's Atlantic final, with Mount Allison trying to win their third Jewett Trophy in a row. The Mounties have the bye since they finished first. The X-Men defeated Acadia last week in the semi-final. Oddly, Mt. A won all their road games, but were only 1-3 at home, including a loss to the X-Men in the season finale. Despite their poor showing this season at home in Sackville, NB, the Mounties are the best of a weak conference - they should be able to defeat the X-Men and claim the title. PICK: MOUNT ALLISON

Canada West:

Hardy Cup: British Columbia #6 (7-2) at Calgary #1 (9-0)

The Dinos have been the dominant force in the West for the last decade, winning six titles in a row before being upset by Manitoba last year. Calgary rolled the table in the regular season, outscoring their opponents by an average of forty points. The Dinos won their regular season match up against UBC 49-16 in their home opener. Calgary edged Saskatchewan in the semi-finals, while the Thunderbirds demolished Manitoba. This one won't be close. Calgary will show why they are the #1 rated team in the nation and they will easily get by UBC. PICK: Calgary

25 Sleeps newsletter from Kenny G

Hello Gents,

Vanier is getting so close I can smell the Laurentide and poutine ! This was the first weekend of CIS playoffs. Some things to note… I think everybody has booked their rooms and we are finalizing numbers for the bus… Soon as we lock that down, I will get an email out for $$ owing for tiks and bus but we are looking good for numbers hovering around 20 .

There were tons of games but here are some points/scores of interest;

·         Carleton U was in the playoffs for the first time since I had dark hair! They were in K-town playing Ed Kidd and Dirty Don Rorwick’s Golden Gael’s and won in a big upset. Sorry Ed.

Adam and I are happy to say that our Laurier Golden Hawks squeaked into the playoffs and had a bit of an upset of their own, beating Macmaster soundly on Saturday. I have mixed feelings because of course I was cheering for Laurier… but with Hawks disposal of Mac there is no chance we will have a shot at dummying the Mac Mascot at halftime again this year ; ) 

 Laval killed McGill so they are still in the hunt for playing Vanier Cup on home soil…. That said, 2 other Quebexican teams still alive are with Montreal and Sherbrooke.

For the coming weekend’s sched you can see it here; http://en.cis-sic.ca/championships/fball/2015/schedule

These were the rankings prior to this weekend…

Rank - School - Record - Pts (1st place) - Last week

1. Calgary (7-0) 285 (24) 1
2. Western (8-0) 261 (4) 2
3. Laval (6-1) 220 (1) 4
4. Montreal (5-2) 218 3
5. Guelph (7-1) 153 7
6. McMaster (6-2) 120 6
7. Sherbrooke (4-3) 108 5
8. Manitoba (5-2) 101 8
9. UBC (5-2) 95 9
10. Carleton (5-3) 12 10