St. Clair Saints men's ice hockey

The St. Clair Saints men's ice hockey team was an ice hockey team representing the St. Clair College. The team was active from the foundation of the college in 1967 until 1986.

St. Clair Saints men's ice hockey
UniversitySt. Clair College
ArenaWindsor, Ontario
ColorsGreen and Gold
   
Conference Tournament championships
1969, 1970, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979
Conference regular season championships
1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980

History

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Shortly after the founding of the Western Ontario Institute of Technology (WOIT) in 1958, the college began sponsoring ice hockey as a varsity sport.[1] The team helped found the Ontario Training College Conference along with three other small colleges in Southern Ontario. In 1962, Western Ontario Tech left to join the Ontario Intercollegiate Athletic Association as that conference was seeking to promote itself to the senior level of Canadian college hockey. Two years later, the OIAA was invited to participate in the University Cup for the first time.[2]

That May Bill Davis, the Ontario Ministry of Education, submitted Bill 153 to establish twenty new colleges throughout Ontario. Part of the plan included amalgamating small, existing schools into larger institutions and WOIT was one of the colleges selected for that task. Tech continued on for the next two seasons while plans were being finalized and made its last appearance during the 1966–67 season.

WOIT was combined with the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology to form St. Clair College in 1967.[3] The school iced a hockey team from the start and were members of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA), an Intermediate league. The Saints swiftly became one of the dominant teams in the league, winning eight conference championships over a twelve-year span and the national intermediate championship in 1976. However, in the 1980s, the team slumped and produced as losing seasons as winning ones. The program was suspended in 1986.

At the dawn of the 21st century, students from St. Clair began playing senior hockey under the banner of the Windsor St. Clair Saints.

Season-by-season results

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Championship banners (click to enlarge).

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOL = Shootout Losses, Pts = Points

U Sports Champion U Sports Semi-finalist 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 %
1960–61 OTCC ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
1961–62 OTCC ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
1962–63 OIAA ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
1963–64 OIAA ? ? ? ? ? ? ? N/A ? ? ? ? ?
Promoted to senior hockey
1964–65 OIAA 6 3 3 0 0 T–4th 6 3 3 0 .500
1965–66 OIAA ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
1966–67 OIAA 12 3 8 1 7 5th 12 3 8 1 .292
WOIT amalgamated into St. Clair College
Returned to intermediate level
1967–68 OCAA 12 10 0 2 22 1st ? ? ? ? ?
1968–69 OCAA 10 9 0 1 19 1st ? ? ? ? ? Won Semi-final, 5–4 (Centennial)
Won Championship, 5–4 (OT) (Algonquin)
1969–70 OCAA 10 9 0 1 19 1st ? ? ? ? ? Won Semi-final, 8–3 (Cambrian)
Won Championship, 5–2 (Algonquin)
1970–71 OCAA 13 8 4 1 17 T–4th ? ? ? ? ?
1971–72 OCAA 20 18 2 0 36 1st ? ? ? ? ? Won Quarterfinal, 4–2 (St. Lawrence–Cornwall)
Won Semi-final, 4–2 (Northern–Kirkland Lake)
Lost Championship, 1–7 (Seneca)
1972–73 OCAA 17 14 3 0 28 3rd ? ? ? ? ? Won Quarterfinal, 5–2 (Canadore)
Won Semi-final, 10–6 (Algonquin)
Won Championship, 7–1 (Seneca)
1973–74 OCAA 18 14 4 0 28 ? ? ? ? ? ? Won Semi-final, 9–5 (Algonquin)
Lost Championship, 2–6 (Sheridan)
1974–75 OCAA 19 17 2 0 34 2nd ? ? ? ? ? Won Semi-final, 9–4 (Algonquin)
Won Championship, 7–6 (Sheridan)
Won Semi-final, 5–1 (Saint-Laurent)
Lost Championship, 2–6 (Camrose Lutheran)
1975–76 OCAA 20 20 0 0 40 1st ? ? ? ? ? Won Semi-final, 8–2 (Algonquin)
Won Championship, 11–2 (Humber)
Won Semi-final, 10–4 (Cape Breton)
Won Championship, 11–2 (Selkirk)
1976–77 OCAA 17 13 1 3 29 2nd ? ? ? ? ? Won Semi-final series, 2–0 (Canadore)
Won Championship series, 2–0 (Sheridan)
Lost Semi-final, 2–6 (Red Deer)
Won Bronze Medal Game, 11–2 (Cape Breton)
1977–78 OCAA 20 17 3 0 34 1st ? ? ? ? ? Won Semi-final series, 2–0 (Algonquin)
Lost Championship, 0–2 (Humber)
1978–79 OCAA 18 15 3 0 30 1st ? ? ? ? ? Won Semi-final series, 2–0 (Seneca)
Won Championship series, 2–0 (Humber)
Won Quarterfinal, 10–3 (Beauce-Appalaches)
Lost Semi-final, 4–5 (OT) (SAIT)
Won Bronze Medal Game, 9–5 (Cape Breton)
1979–80 OCAA 18 13 5 0 26 T–1st ? ? ? ? ? Won Semi-final series, 2–0 (Canadore)
Lost Championship series, 0–2 (Seneca)
1980–81 OCAA 16 13 3 0 26 2nd ? ? ? ? ? Won Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (Conestoga)
Lost Semi-final Round-robin, 0–3–1 (Humber, Seneca)
1981–82 OCAA 14 7 7 0 14 3rd ? ? ? ? ? Lost Semi-final series, 1–2 (Centennial)
1982–83 OCAA 24 11 13 0 22 5th ? ? ? ? ?
1983–84 OCAA 24 13 10 1 27 T–2nd ? ? ? ? ? Lost Semi-final series, 0–2 (Seneca)
1984–85 OCAA 26 15 11 0 30 3rd ? ? ? ? ? Lost First Round, 3–4 (Canadore)
1985–86 OCAA 24 10 13 1 21 T–4th ? ? ? ? ? Lost Semi-final series, 0–2 (Humber)
program suspended
Totals GP W L T/SOL % Championships
Regular Season 18 6 11 1 .361 8 OCAA Championships, 8 West Division Titles
Conference Post-season 0 0 0 0 7 OCAA Championships
U Sports Postseason 0 0 0 0 4 Championship Bowl appearances
Regular Season and Postseason Record 18 6 11 1 .361 1 National Championship

† season ended early when the league cancelled its remaining schedule in protest.
Note: Totals include senior collegiate play only.

References

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  1. ^ "WOIT (Western Ontario Institute of Technology) History". YouTube. May 14, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  2. ^ "History". U Sports. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  3. ^ "St. Clair College". Volant Overseas. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
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