The Laurentian Voyageurs men's ice hockey team was an ice hockey program representing the Laurentian Voyageurs athletic department of Laurentian University. The team played for approximately 45 years before the 2021 Laurentian University financial crisis necessitated the termination of several athletic programs, including the ice hockey teams.[1]
| Laurentian Voyageurs men's ice hockey | |
|---|---|
| University | Laurentian University |
| Arena | Sudbury, Ontario |
| Colors | Blue and Gold |
| U Sports Tournament appearances | |
| 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971 | |
| Conference Tournament championships | |
| 1965, 1971 | |
| Conference regular season championships | |
| 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971 | |
History
editLaurentian University was just two years old when it decided to field its first varsity intercollegiate sport. 1962 saw the club hit the ice for the first time as members of the Ontario Intermediate Athletic Association (OIAA) an Intermediate (2nd tier) conference. By season's end the program had not only made its first postseason appearance but also earn its moniker as the 'Voyageurs'.[2] The very next season, looking to raise its profile to the senior collegiate level, the OIAA petitioned the CIAU for a bid into the University Cup tournament but were denied. In response, the entire league cancelled its schedule midway through the year. That summer, the CIAU reversed their decision and conferred an automatic bid for the conference champion. The timing couldn't have been better for Laurentian as the team won six of the next seven championships, making trips to the national tournament each time. For a new program, the Voyageurs did well in University Cup play, finishing third twice and as runners-up in 1967.
In 1971, the four conferences that had teams in Ontario and Quebec were realigned provincially and Laurentian found that its path to the national tournament had gotten far more difficult. The Voyageurs were unable to weave their way through the gauntlet of teams in the Ontario University Athletic Association (OUAA) and never again reached a University Cup. By the 1990s, the team's lack of success had almost become expected and the university decided to stop funding the expensive program in 2000.
The Voyageurs remained dormant for 13 years before being brought back in 2013. Once more, there was little to write home about for Laurentian, with just 1 playoff win over the succeeding seven years. As happened to every Canadian college in 2021, Laurentian was forced to cancel its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the school was impacted far more heavily than other institutions at the time. The strain of the pandemic exacerbated an ongoing financial crisis at the school and in February 2021, Laurentian filed for creditor protection and declared insolvency.[3] During the school's restructuring, several cost-cutting measures were taken that included the firing of dozens of professors as well as cutting 69 academic programs. Additionally, Laurentian was forced to cancel its swimming program as well as both the men's and women's ice hockey teams.
Season-by-season results
edit
national runners-up
Senior and intermediate play
editNote: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points
| Extra-League Champion | U Sports Semifinalist | Conference regular season champions | Conference Division Champions | Conference Playoff Champions |
| Season | Conference | Regular Season | Conference Tournament Results | National Tournament Results | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference | Overall | |||||||||||||
| GP | W | L | T | Pts* | Finish | GP | W | L | T | % | ||||
| 1962–63 | OIAA | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Lost Semifinal, 4–7 (Waterloo Lutheran) | |
| 1963–64 | OIAA | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | N/A † | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
| Totals | GP | W | L | T | % | Championships | ||||||||
| Regular Season | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |||||||||
| Conference Post-season | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |||||||||
| Regular Season and Postseason Record | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |||||||||
† season ended early when the league cancelled its remaining schedule in protest.
Senior collegiate
editNote: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOL = Shootout Losses, Pts = Points
| U Sports Champion | U Sports Semifinalist | Conference regular season champions | Conference Division Champions | Conference Playoff Champions |
| Season | Conference | Regular Season | Conference Tournament Results | National Tournament Results | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference | Overall | ||||||||||||||||
| GP | W | L | T | OTL | SOL | Pts* | Finish | GP | W | L | T | % | |||||
| 1964–65 | OIAA | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1.000 | T–1st | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | .917 | Won Championship, 4–2 (Windsor) | Lost Semifinal, 4–10 (Manitoba) Won Third Place Game, 8–3 (Sir George Williams) | |
| 1965–66 | OIAA | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | – | – | 19 | 1st | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | .792 | Lost Semifinal, 4–10 (Alberta) Lost Third Place Game, 3–5 (St. Francis Xavier) | ||
| 1966–67 | OIAA | 11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | – | – | 21 | 1st | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | .893 | Won Quarterfinal, 4–2 (Sir George Williams) Won Semifinal, 7–2 (Saskatchewan) Lost Championship, 2–16 (Toronto) | ||
| 1967–68 | OIAA | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 20 | 1st | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | Lost Semifinal, 2–7 (Alberta) Lost Consolation Final, 3–5 (Toronto) | ||
| 1968–69 | OIAA | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 1st | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | Lost Quarterfinal, 3–6 (Toronto) Lost Consolation Semifinal, 9–10 (Alberta) | ||
| 1969–70 | OIAA | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 11 | 2nd | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | .542 | Won Semifinal, 8–2 (Waterloo Lutheran) Lost Championship, 2–8 (York) |
||
| 1970–71 | OIAA | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 20 | 1st | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | .929 | Won Championship, 5–3 (York) | Won Quarterfinal, 6–3 (Loyola) Lost Semifinal, 2–4 (Saint Mary's) Won Consolation Final, 7–4 (British Columbia) | |
| 1971–72 | OUAA | 18 | 10 | 6 | 2 | – | – | 22 | T–4th | 19 | 10 | 7 | 2 | .579 | Lost Quarterfinal, 1–6 (York) | ||
| 1972–73 | OUAA | 17 | 11 | 5 | 1 | – | – | 23 | 3rd | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | .658 | Won Quarterfinal, 5–4 (OT) (Queen's) Lost Semifinal, 4–5 (Western Ontario) |
||
| 1973–74 | OUAA | 19 | 10 | 6 | 3 | – | – | 23 | 6th | 20 | 10 | 7 | 3 | .575 | Lost Quarterfinal, 2–8 (York) | ||
| 1974–75 | OUAA | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | – | – | 18 | 6th | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | .600 | Lost Quarterfinal, 3–4 (Toronto) | ||
| 1975–76 | OUAA | 16 | 4 | 10 | 2 | – | – | 10 | 12th | 16 | 4 | 10 | 2 | .313 | |||
| 1976–77 | OUAA | 20 | 8 | 9 | 3 | – | – | 19 | 9th | 21 | 8 | 10 | 3 | .452 | Lost Quarterfinal, 1–4 (Toronto) | ||
| 1977–78 | OUAA | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 7th | 19 | 8 | 11 | 0 | .421 | Lost Quarterfinal, 1–4 (York) | ||
| 1978–79 | OUAA | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | – | – | 21 | 4th | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | results unavailable | ||
| 1979–80 | OUAA | 22 | 13 | 6 | 3 | – | – | 29 | T–4th | 23 | 13 | 7 | 3 | .630 | Lost Quarterfinal, ? (Guelph) | ||
| 1980–81 | OUAA | 22 | 6 | 15 | 1 | – | – | 13 | 9th | 22 | 6 | 15 | 1 | .750 | |||
| 1981–82 | OUAA | 22 | 9 | 10 | 3 | – | – | 21 | 8th | 22 | 9 | 10 | 3 | .477 | |||
| 1982–83 | OUAA | 24 | 11 | 12 | 1 | – | – | 23 | T–8th | 24 | 11 | 12 | 1 | .479 | |||
| 1983–84 | OUAA | 24 | 12 | 8 | 4 | – | – | 28 | T–4th | 25 | 12 | 9 | 4 | .560 | Lost Quarterfinal, 1–10 (Guelph) | ||
| 1984–85 | OUAA | 24 | 14 | 7 | 3 | – | – | 31 | 4th | 25 | 14 | 8 | 3 | .620 | Lost Quarterfinal, 1–4 (York) | ||
| 1985–86 | OUAA | 24 | 11 | 13 | 0 | – | – | 22 | 7th | 24 | 11 | 13 | 0 | .458 | |||
| 1986–87 | OUAA | 24 | 5 | 17 | 2 | – | – | .250 | 13th † | 24 | 5 | 17 | 2 | .250 | |||
| 1987–88 | OUAA | 26 | 10 | 15 | 1 | – | – | 21 | T–11th | 28 | 10 | 17 | 1 | .375 | Lost Division Semifinal series, 0–2 (Brock) | ||
| 1988–89 | OUAA | 26 | 3 | 22 | 1 | – | – | 7 | 15th | 26 | 3 | 22 | 1 | .135 | |||
| 1989–90 | OUAA | 22 | 3 | 19 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 15th | 22 | 3 | 19 | 0 | .136 | |||
| 1990–91 | OUAA | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | – | – | 18 | 11th | 23 | 9 | 14 | 0 | .391 | Lost First Round, 7–4 (Wilfrid Laurier) | ||
| 1991–92 | OUAA | 22 | 7 | 14 | 1 | – | – | 15 | T–12th | 22 | 7 | 14 | 1 | .341 | |||
| 1992–93 | OUAA | 22 | 7 | 11 | 4 | – | – | 18 | 12th | 23 | 7 | 12 | 4 | .391 | Lost First Round, 4–10 (Waterloo) | ||
| 1993–94 | OUAA | 26 | 10 | 16 | 0 | – | – | 20 | 11th | 27 | 10 | 17 | 0 | .370 | Lost First Round, 3–4 (York) | ||
| 1994–95 | OUAA | 26 | 8 | 17 | 1 | – | – | 17 | 13th | 27 | 8 | 18 | 1 | .315 | Lost Division Semifinal, 3–5 (York) | ||
| 1995–96 | OUAA | 26 | 16 | 9 | 1 | – | – | 33 | 4th | 29 | 18 | 10 | 1 | .638 | Won Division Final series, 2–0 (Brock) Lost Semifinal, 1–4 (Waterloo) |
||
| 1996–97 | OUAA | 26 | 14 | 12 | 0 | – | – | 28 | 9th | 29 | 15 | 14 | 0 | .517 | Won Division Semifinal, 4–2 (Brock) Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (York) |
||
| 1997–98 | OUA | 26 | 9 | 16 | 1 | – | – | 19 | 12th | 29 | 10 | 18 | 1 | .362 | Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Brock) | ||
| 1998–99 | OUA | 26 | 8 | 13 | 5 | – | – | 21 | 12th | 29 | 9 | 15 | 5 | .397 | Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Brock) | ||
| 1999–00 | OUA | 26 | 9 | 14 | 3 | – | – | 21 | T–10th | 28 | 9 | 16 | 3 | .375 | Lost Division Semifinal series, 0–2 (York) | ||
| Program suspended | |||||||||||||||||
| 2013–14 | OUA | 28 | 5 | 22 | – | 0 | 1 | 11 | 19th | 28 | 5 | 22 | 1 | .196 | |||
| 2014–15 | OUA | 26 | 14 | 9 | – | 3 | 0 | 31 | 7th | 29 | 15 | 14 | 0 | .517 | Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 1–2 (Queen's) | ||
| 2015–16 | OUA | 28 | 7 | 15 | – | 5 | 1 | 20 | T–16th | 30 | 7 | 22 | 1 | .250 | Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Quebec–Trois-Rivières) | ||
| 2016–17 | OUA | 28 | 11 | 12 | – | 5 | 0 | 27 | 16th | 30 | 11 | 19 | 0 | .367 | Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 1–2 (McGill) | ||
| 2017–18 | OUA | 28 | 10 | 17 | – | 0 | 1 | 21 | 18th | 30 | 10 | 19 | 1 | .350 | Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (McGill) | ||
| 2018–19 | OUA | 28 | 9 | 18 | – | 1 | 0 | 19 | 18th | 30 | 9 | 20 | 1 | .317 | Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Ottawa) | ||
| 2019–20 | OUA | 28 | 5 | 21 | – | 1 | 1 | 12 | 20th | 28 | 5 | 22 | 1 | .196 | |||
| 2020–21 | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||||||||||||
| Program suspended | |||||||||||||||||
| Totals | GP | W | L | T/SOL | % | Championships | |||||||||||
| Regular Season | 894 | 373 | 465 | 56 | .449 | 6 OIAA Championships, 1 Mid-West Division Title | |||||||||||
| Conference Post-season | 47 | 12 | 35 | 0 | .255 | 2 OIAA Championships | |||||||||||
| U Sports Postseason | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 6 National Tournament appearances | |||||||||||
| Regular Season and Postseason Record | 955 | 390 | 509 | 56 | .438 | ||||||||||||
Note: Totals include senior collegiate play only except for 1978–79.
† Laurentian was penalized 4 points in the standings for using an ineligible player
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "NEWS: Laurentian University cuts swimming, hockey to follow". 49 Sports. April 13, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
- ^ "The Beginning". Laurentian Univ. Men's Hockey Alumni Association. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
- ^ "Laurentian University, key school for northern Ontario, files for creditor protection". CBC News Sudbury. 2021-02-01. Retrieved 2021-02-01.