| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Venue(s) | Father David Bauer Olympic Arena , Calgary, Alberta |
| Dates | March 12–15 |
| Teams | 6 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Moncton Aigles Bleus (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Saskatchewan Huskies |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 7 |
| Awards | |
| MVP | Benoit Fortier (Moncton) |
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.
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | 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)
| Championship March 6-8 | ||||||
| 1 | Calgary | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2 | Saskatchewan | 6 | 3 | 3 | ||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
| Semifinal March 2 | Championship March 6-7 | ||||||||||
| 1 | Brandon | 6 | 7 | — | |||||||
| 2 | Manitoba | 5 | 2 | Manitoba | 3 | 4 | — | ||||
| 3 | Regina | 3 | |||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
| Quarterfinals February 18, 20 | Semifinals February 20, 22 | 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)
| Semifinals February 25-28 | Championship March 4-6 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Concordia | 7 | 5 | — | |||||||||
| 4 | Quebec–Trois-Rivières | 2 | 2 | — | |||||||||
| 1 | Concordia | 4 | 8 | — | |||||||||
| 2 | Ottawa | 3 | 1 | — | |||||||||
| 2 | Ottawa | 5 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||
| 3 | Laval | 3 | 3 | 2 | |||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
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 |
| 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 | ||||
| Moncton | 4 | |||
| Saskatchewan | 2 | |||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Note: round-robin games were played on consecutive days March 12–14 [1]
| March 15, 1981 | Moncton Aigles Bleus | 4–2 | Saskatchewan Huskies | Father David Bauer Olympic Arena, Calgary, Alberta |