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Brandon Bobcats men's ice hockey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brandon Bobcats men's ice hockey
UniversityBrandon University
ArenaBrandon, Manitoba
ColorsBlue and Gold
   
U Sports Tournament appearances
1974, 1975, 1981, 1983
Conference Tournament championships
1981, 1983
Conference regular season championships
1974, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1983

The Brandon Bobcats men's ice hockey team was an ice hockey team representing the Brandon University. The team was active in most seasons from 1909 until its permanent suspension in 2002.[1]

History

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Brandon College began sponsoring ice hockey in 1909. Originally called the 'Brandon Caps', the team played at the intermediate (tier II) level of college hockey as well as in local junior leagues. They twice competed for the Turnbull Cup, the provincial amateur championship in the 1920s, however, they were eliminated before the championship rounds.

After World War II, Brandon joined the Big Six Intermediate Hockey League (BSIHL), playing in the league for five seasons. In 1954, the team joined the Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (WCIAU), playing senior collegiate hockey for the first time. The Caps didn't have much success against the top level of competition so the program returned to the Intermediate level in 1958. The Caps then spent the next 12 seasons in the SouthWest Hockey League (SWHL), winning championships in 1961 and 1969.

Once the school had become a full university and renamed its athletic programs as 'Bobcats', the hockey program was ready to take their second chance at senior hockey. They joined the WCIAU's successor (Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Association) in 1969 and were a far more competitive team then they had been in the 50s. However, just three years later, the conference was split in two to cut down on travel expenses. Brandon was one of the founding members of the Great Plains Athletic Association (soon to be called Great Plains Athletic Conference) along with two schools from Winnipeg and one from Thunder Bay. After finishing last in the inaugural season, the Bobcats jumped to the top of the standings and won consecutive league titles. The championships earned Brandon a pair of trips to the University Cup, however, the team was unable to win any of their games. The early 1980s saw Brandon win two more league titles, this time through a playoff, but they were still unable to make any headway in the national tournament. Brandon finished its time in the GPAC by being barred from the 1985 playoff for making illegal payments to student athletes.

In 1985, the GPAC was down to just three teams that sponsored varsity ice hockey. With the conference on the cusp of losing its qualifying bid for the University Cup, all three teams were accepted into Canada West. This move, while necessary, proved to be disastrous for the Bobcats. For more than a decade, Brandon finished in the bottom half of league standings (often in last place), and didn't play a single playoff game. Even after the conference postseason was expanded in 1998, Brandon had little chance at winning a title and by the early 21st century, the program was on its last legs. Without a single winning record during their time in Canada West, and after consecutive last-place finishes in 2001 and 2002, the school decided to end the program.[2]

Season-by-season results

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Senior and collegiate play

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Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points

Extra-League Champion National 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 %
1949–50 BSIHL 10 1 9 0 2 6th ? ? ? ? ?
1950–51 BSIHL 10 4 6 0 16 4th ? ? ? ? ? Lost Semifinal series, 0–3 (Dauphin Kings)
1951–52 BSIHL 19 6 13 0 12 5th ? ? ? ? ?
1952–53 BSIHL 20 1 19 0 2 6th ? ? ? ? ?
1953–54 BSIHL 10 0 10 0 0 6th ? ? ? ? ?
1954–55 WCIAU 8 2 6 0 4 3rd ? ? ? ? ?
1955–56 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
1956–57 WCIAU 12 1 11 0 2 4th ? ? ? ? ?
1957–58 WCIAU 12 2 10 0 4 4th ? ? ? ? ?
1958–59 SWHL 12 8 4 0 16 2nd ? ? ? ? ?
1959–60 SWHL 9 6 1 2 14 2nd ? ? ? ? ?
1960–61 SWHL 16 15 1 0 30 1st ? ? ? ? ? Won Championship
1961–62 SWHL 20 16 3 1 33 2nd ? ? ? ? ?
1962–63 SWHL 16 11 4 1 23 2nd ? ? ? ? ?
1963–64 SWHL 14 8 6 0 16 5th ? ? ? ? ?
1964–65 SWHL 14 5 9 0 10 T–7th ? ? ? ? ?
1965–66 SWHL 10 4 6 0 12 8th ? ? ? ? ?
1966–67 SWHL 8 1 6 1 3 T–11th ? ? ? ? ?
1967–68 SWHL 7 6 1 0 18 4th ? ? ? ? ?
1968–69 SWHL ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Won Championship
Program changed name to 'Brandon Bobcats'
1969–70 SWHL 12 10 2 0 40 2nd ? ? ? ? ?
Totals GP W L T % Championships
Regular Season ? ? ? ? ? 1 SWHL Championship
Conference Post-season ? ? ? ? ? 2 SWHL Championships
Regular Season and Postseason Record ? ? ? ? ?

Note: information prior to 1949 are incomplete or missing.

Collegiate only

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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 %
1969–70 WCIAA 14 7 7 0 14 5th 14 7 7 0 .500
1970–71 WCIAA 20 4 16 0 8 7th 20 4 16 0 .200
1971–72 WCIAA 20 8 12 0 16 T–5th 22 8 14 0 .364 Lost Play-in series, 9–12 (Manitoba)
1972–73 GPAA 12 3 9 0 6 4th 12 3 9 0 .250
1973–74 GPAC 18 11 7 0 22 1st 20 11 9 0 .550 Lost West Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Calgary)
1974–75 GPAC 22 17 5 0 34 1st 24 17 7 0 .708 Lost West Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Alberta)
1975–76 GPAC 18 10 8 0 20 2nd 18 10 8 0 .556
1976–77 GPAC 24 8 16 0 16 5th 24 8 16 0 .333
1977–78 GPAC 24 2 21 1 5 5th 24 2 21 1 .104
1978–79 GPAC 24 8 16 0 16 3rd 24 8 16 0 .333
1979–80 GPAC 20 13 6 1 25 1st 23 14 8 1 .630 Lost Championship series, 1–2 (Regina)
1980–81 GPAC 24 23 1 0 46 1st 28 25 3 0 .893 Won Championship series, 2–0 (Manitoba) Lost Pool 1 Round-robin, 3–6 (Calgary), 3–10 (Moncton)
1981–82 GPAC 24 18 5 1 37 2nd 28 20 7 1 .732 Won Semifinal, 5–4 (Manitoba)
Lost Championship series, 1–2 (Regina)
1982–83 GPAC 24 16 6 2 34 1st 29 18 9 2 .655 Won Championship series, 2–1 (Manitoba) Lost Pool 1 Round-robin, 2–6 (Saskatchewan), 4–5 (Wilfrid Laurier)
1983–84 GPAC 24 18 6 0 36 2nd 28 20 8 0 .714 Won Semifinal, 5–4 (Regina)
Lost Championship series, 1–2 (Manitoba)
1984–85 GPAC 24 12 9 3 27 3rd 29 20 5 4 .759 Brandon was barred from postseason play for making illegal payments to players.
1985–86 Canada West 28 13 15 0 26 5th 28 13 15 0 .464
1986–87 Canada West 28 10 18 0 20 6th 28 10 18 0 .357
1987–88 Canada West 28 8 18 2 18 6th 28 8 18 2 .321
1988–89 Canada West 28 6 21 1 13 7th 28 6 21 1 .232
1989–90 Canada West 28 12 16 0 24 6th 28 12 16 0 .429
1990–91 Canada West 28 7 16 5 19 8th 28 7 16 5 .339
1991–92 Canada West 28 1 25 2 4 8th 28 1 25 2 .071
1992–93 Canada West 28 3 21 4 10 8th 28 3 21 4 .179
1993–94 Canada West 28 5 18 5 15 8th 28 5 18 5 .268
1994–95 Canada West 28 8 18 2 18 7th 28 8 18 2 .321
1995–96 Canada West 28 6 21 1 13 8th 28 6 21 1 .232
1996–97 Canada West 26 5 19 2 12 8th 26 5 19 2 .231
1997–98 Canada West 28 10 17 1 21 6th 30 10 19 1 .350 Lost Division Semifinal series, 0–2 (Manitoba)
1998–99 Canada West 28 12 13 3 27 6th 30 12 15 3 .450 Lost Division Semifinal series, 0–2 (Manitoba)
1999–00 Canada West 28 11 17 0 22 6th 32 13 19 0 .406 Won Division Semifinal series, 2–0 (Manitoba)
Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Saskatchewan)
2000–01 Canada West 28 4 21 3 11 8th 28 4 21 3 .196
2001–02 Canada West 28 5 20 3 13 8th 28 5 20 3 .232
Program Suspended
Totals GP W L T/SOL % Championships
Regular Season 815 312 460 43 .409 5 GPAC Championships
Conference Post-season 26 11 15 0 .423 2 GPAC Championships
U Sports Postseason 8 0 8 0 .000 4 National tournament appearances
Regular Season and Postseason Record 849 323 483 43 .406

† Brandon was forced to forfeit 4 games during the season for using an ineligible player.
Totals include only games at senior collegiate level.[3]
Note: Games not counted towards University Cup appearances are not included.

References

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  1. ^ "Hundreds returning for Bobcat hockey reunion". Brandon Bobcats. October 19, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  2. ^ "Brandon University: History of Bobcats". The Quill. September 5, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  3. ^ "Canada West Men's Hockey History". Canada West. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
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