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.

History 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'. 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. 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

Senior and intermediate play Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points Extra-League ChampionU Sports SemifinalistConference regular season championsConference Division ChampionsConference Playoff Champions SeasonConferenceRegular SeasonConference Tournament ResultsNational Tournament Results Conference OverallGPWLTPts*FinishGPWLT%1962–63OIAA??????????? Lost Semifinal, 4–7 (Waterloo Lutheran) 1963–64OIAA?????N/A †????? Totals GP W L T %ChampionshipsRegular Season ? ? ? ? ? Conference Post-season ? ? ? ? ? Regular Season and Postseason Record ? ? ? ? ? † season ended early when the league cancelled its remaining schedule in protest.

Senior collegiate Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOL = Shootout Losses, Pts = Points U Sports Champion U Sports SemifinalistConference regular season championsConference Division ChampionsConference Playoff Champions SeasonConferenceRegular SeasonConference Tournament ResultsNational Tournament Results Conference OverallGPWLTOTLSOLPts*FinishGPWLT%1964–65OIAA9000––T–1st121110 Won Championship, 4–2 (Windsor) Lost Semifinal, 4–10 (Manitoba)Won Third Place Game, 8–3 (Sir George Williams)1965–66OIAA10901––191st12921 Lost Semifinal, 4–10 (Alberta)Lost Third Place Game, 3–5 (St. Francis Xavier)1966–67OIAA111001––211st141211 Won Quarterfinal, 4–2 (Sir George Williams)Won Semifinal, 7–2 (Saskatchewan)Lost Championship, 2–16 (Toronto)1967–68OIAA121020––201st141040 Lost Semifinal, 2–7 (Alberta)Lost Consolation Final, 3–5 (Toronto)1968–69OIAA10820––161st12840 Lost Quarterfinal, 3–6 (Toronto)Lost Consolation Semifinal, 9–10 (Alberta)1969–70OIAA10541––112nd12651 Won Semifinal, 8–2 (Waterloo Lutheran)Lost Championship, 2–8 (York) 1970–71OIAA101000––201st141310 Won Championship, 5–3 (York) Won Quarterfinal, 6–3 (Loyola)Lost Semifinal, 2–4 (Saint Mary's)Won Consolation Final, 7–4 (British Columbia)1971–72OUAA181062––22T–4th191072 Lost Quarterfinal, 1–6 (York) 1972–73OUAA171151––233rd191261 Won Quarterfinal, 5–4 (OT) (Queen's)Lost Semifinal, 4–5 (Western Ontario) 1973–74OUAA191063––236th201073 Lost Quarterfinal, 2–8 (York) 1974–75OUAA14842––186th15852 Lost Quarterfinal, 3–4 (Toronto) 1975–76OUAA164102––1012th164102 1976–77OUAA20893––199th218103 Lost Quarterfinal, 1–4 (Toronto) 1977–78OUAA188100––167th198110 Lost Quarterfinal, 1–4 (York) 1978–79OUAA16835––214th????? results unavailable 1979–80OUAA221363––29T–4th231373 Lost Quarterfinal, ? (Guelph) 1980–81OUAA226151––139th226151 1981–82OUAA229103––218th229103 1982–83OUAA2411121––23T–8th2411121 1983–84OUAA241284––28T–4th251294 Lost Quarterfinal, 1–10 (Guelph) 1984–85OUAA241473––314th251483 Lost Quarterfinal, 1–4 (York) 1985–86OUAA2411130––227th2411130 1986–87OUAA245172––13th †245172 1987–88OUAA2610151––21T–11th2810171 Lost Division Semifinal series, 0–2 (Brock) 1988–89OUAA263221––715th263221 1989–90OUAA223190––615th223190 1990–91OUAA229130––1811th239140 Lost First Round, 7–4 (Wilfrid Laurier) 1991–92OUAA227141––15T–12th227141 1992–93OUAA227114––1812th237124 Lost First Round, 4–10 (Waterloo) 1993–94OUAA2610160––2011th2710170 Lost First Round, 3–4 (York) 1994–95OUAA268171––1713th278181 Lost Division Semifinal, 3–5 (York) 1995–96OUAA261691––334th2918101 Won Division Final series, 2–0 (Brock)Lost Semifinal, 1–4 (Waterloo) 1996–97OUAA2614120––289th2915140 Won Division Semifinal, 4–2 (Brock)Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (York) 1997–98OUA269161––1912th2910181 Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Brock) 1998–99OUA268135––2112th299155 Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Brock) 1999–00OUA269143––21T–10th289163 Lost Division Semifinal series, 0–2 (York) Program suspended2013–14OUA28522–011119th285221 2014–15OUA26149–30317th2915140 Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 1–2 (Queen's) 2015–16OUA28715–5120T–16th307221 Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Quebec–Trois-Rivières) 2016–17OUA281112–502716th3011190 Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 1–2 (McGill) 2017–18OUA281017–012118th3010191 Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (McGill) 2018–19OUA28918–101918th309201 Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Ottawa) 2019–20OUA28521–111220th285221 2020–21 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic Program suspendedTotals GP W L T/SOL %ChampionshipsRegular Season 894 373 465 56 6 OIAA Championships, 1 Mid-West Division TitleConference Post-season 47 12 35 0 2 OIAA ChampionshipsU Sports Postseason 14 5 9 0 6 National Tournament appearancesRegular Season and Postseason Record 955 390 509 56 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 Laurentian Voyageurs women's ice hockey

References

External links Official website