# 1981 CIAU University Cup

The 1981 CIAU Men's University Cup Hockey Tournament (19th annual) was held at the Father David Bauer Olympic Arena in Calgary, Alberta. The Calgary Dinos served as tournament host.

## Road to the Cup
### AUAA playoffs

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Championship | Championship | Championship | Championship | Championship |
| | | | K1 | Moncton | 8 | | | | | |
| M2 | New Brunswick | 4 | M2 | New Brunswick | 5 | | | | | |
| K3 | Saint Mary’s | 0 | | | | K1 | Moncton | 4 | 8 | — |
| | | | | | | K2 | Dalhousie | 3 | 4 | — |
| | | | M1 | Mount Allison | 3 | | | | | |
| K2 | Dalhousie | 5 | K2 | Dalhousie | 5 | | | | | |
| M3 | Prince Edward Island | 2 | | | | | | | | |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

### Canada West playoffs

| Championship March 6-8 | Championship March 6-8 | Championship March 6-8 | Championship March 6-8 | Championship March 6-8 |
| 1 | Calgary | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 2 | Saskatchewan | 6 | 3 | 3 |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

### GPAC playoffs

| Semifinal March 2 | Semifinal March 2 | Semifinal March 2 | Championship March 6-7 | Championship March 6-7 | Championship March 6-7 | Championship March 6-7 | Championship March 6-7 |
| | | | 1 | Brandon | 6 | 7 | — |
| 2 | Manitoba | 5 | 2 | Manitoba | 3 | 4 | — |
| 3 | Regina | 3 | | | | | |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

### OUAA playoffs

| Quarterfinals February 18, 20 | Quarterfinals February 18, 20 | Quarterfinals February 18, 20 | Semifinals February 20, 22 | Semifinals February 20, 22 | Semifinals February 20, 22 | Semifinals February 20, 22 | Semifinals February 20, 22 | Championship March 2, 4 | Championship March 2, 4 | Championship March 2, 4 | Championship March 2, 4 | Championship March 2, 4 |
| | | | 1 | Queen's | 8 | 6 | — | | | | | |
| 3 | Toronto | 8 | 5 | York | 0 | 2 | — | | | | | |
| 6 | McMaster | 4 | | | | | | 1 | Queen's | 3 | 6 | — |
| | | | | | | | | 2 | Western Ontario | 1 | 5 | — |
| | | | 2 | Western Ontario | 5 | 4 | — | | | | | |
| 4 | Guelph | 4 | 3 | Toronto | 2 | 0 | — | | | | | |
| 5 | York | 5 | | | | | | | | | | |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

### QUAA playoffs

| Semifinals February 25-28 | Semifinals February 25-28 | Semifinals February 25-28 | Semifinals February 25-28 | Semifinals February 25-28 | Championship March 4-6 | Championship March 4-6 | Championship March 4-6 | Championship March 4-6 | Championship March 4-6 |
| 1 | Concordia | 7 | 5 | — | | | | | |
| 4 | Quebec–Trois-Rivières | 2 | 2 | — | | | | | |
| 4 | Quebec–Trois-Rivières | 2 | 2 | — | 1 | Concordia | 4 | 8 | — |
| | | | | | 2 | Ottawa | 3 | 1 | — |
| 2 | Ottawa | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | Ottawa | 3 | 1 | — |
| 3 | Laval | 3 | 3 | 2 | | | | | |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

## University Cup

The tournament included the five senior league champions as well as the host team. The six teams were sorted by a committee prior to the tournament and arranged so that the two Canada West teams would be in opposite groups.
In the round-robin groups, the teams that finished with the best record would advance to the championship game. If there was a tie for the best record, the first tie-breaker was goal differential. If there was a tie in goal differential, the teams would play sudden death overtime for the advantage.
| Team | Qualification | Record | Appearance | Last |
| Brandon Bobcats | Plains: GPAC Champion | 25–1–0 | 3rd | 1975 |
| Calgary Dinos | Host | 19–8–0 | 4th | 1980 |
| Concordia Stingers | Quebec: QUAA Champion | 26–1–1 | 6th | 1980 |
| Moncton Aigles Bleus | Atlantic: AUAA Champion | 21–5–1 | 4th | 1980 |
| Queen's Gaels | Ontario: OUAA Champion | 18–3–5 | 1st | Never |
| Saskatchewan Huskies | West: Canada West Champion | 17–10–0 | 2nd | 1967 |

### Bracket

| | Pool 1 | BRA | CAL | MON | Overall |
| 1 | Brandon | | L 3–6 | L 3–10 | 0–2 |
| 4 | Calgary | W 6–3 | | L 2–5 | 1–1 |
| 5 | Moncton | W 10–3 | W 5–2 | | 2–0 |
| | Pool 2 | CON | QUE | SAS | Overall |
| 2 | Concordia | | L 2–3 | L 3–8 | 0–2 |
| 3 | Queen's | W 3–2 | | L 4–5 | 1–1 |
| 6 | Saskatchewan | W 8–3 | W 5–4 | | 2–0 |
| Championship March 15 | Championship March 15 | Championship March 15 |
| Moncton | Moncton | 4 |
| Saskatchewan | Saskatchewan | 2 |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s) Note: round-robin games were played on consecutive days March 12–14