Laurentian Voyageurs men's ice hockey

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
UniversityLaurentian University
ArenaSudbury, Ontario
ColorsBlue 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

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Laurentian 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

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1966–67 Laurentian Voyageurs,
national runners-up

Senior and intermediate play

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Note: 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

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Note: 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

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References

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  1. ^ "NEWS: Laurentian University cuts swimming, hockey to follow". 49 Sports. April 13, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  2. ^ "The Beginning". Laurentian Univ. Men's Hockey Alumni Association. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  3. ^ "Laurentian University, key school for northern Ontario, files for creditor protection". CBC News Sudbury. 2021-02-01. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
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