Lethbridge Pronghorns men's ice hockey
| Lethbridge Pronghorns men's ice hockey | |
|---|---|
| University | University of Lethbridge |
| First season | 1973–74 |
| Arena | Lethbridge, Alberta |
| Colors | Blue and Gold |
| U Sports Tournament championships | |
| 1994 | |
| U Sports Tournament appearances | |
| 1994, 2019 | |
| Conference Tournament championships | |
| 1994 | |
| Conference regular season championships | |
| 1994 | |
The Lethbridge Pronghorns men's ice hockey team was an ice hockey team representing the Lethbridge Pronghorns athletics program of University of Lethbridge. The team competed in U Sports from 1985 until 2020.[1]
History
[edit]Lethbridge first sponsored varsity ice hocket at the intermediate (2nd tier) level in 1973. The Pronghorns played in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC), however, after two disappointing seasons the program was discontinued. About a decade later, the team was resurrected, this time at the senior level as a member of Canada West. Lethbridge floundered at or near the bottom of the conference for several years, however, the team finally began to show signs of life in the early 90s.
In 1993, the school was close to ending the program for a second time but instead decided to give it one more chance. The team brought in a young coach named Mike Babcock whose most recent experience had been getting fired after an unsuccessful two-year stint with the Moose Jaw Warriors.[2] In his first season behind the bench, Babcock led the team to a regular season title as well as their first ever postseason appearance. Lethbridge then eked out several close wins to capture the league championship and their first berth in the University Cup. In their debut, the team was set against defending national champion Acadia and starting netminder Trevor Kruger had one of his worse performances of the season. Though the Pronghorns surrendered 6 goals in the game, the offense came through with 9 markers to send the team to the championship. Kruger recovered for the final and led the team to a 5–2 win for the national championship.[3]
The stunning turnaround not only saved the program but helped resurrect Babcock's coaching career. Babcock was back in the Western Hockey League the following year and Lethbridge was forced to figure out how to build on their unexpected title without him. A few middling seasons followed but, as the years went on, the championship became a distant memory. By 2004, the program was back at the bottom of the conference and finished dead-last eight times over a 17-year stretch.[4] Despite their lack of success, the Pronghorns were selected as the host for the 2019 University Cup.[5] Unlike their first appearance, Lethbridge entered with a losing record and no expectation of success. They lived up to those predictions with a 1–7 loss in the quarterfinals.[6]
After the end of the succeeding season, the university announced that, due to funding cuts from the provincial government, both the men's and women's ice hockey teams would be eliminated. The two programs were not the only sacrifices made by the school, who also indicated that future cuts would need to be made as further reductions were expected in the near future.[7]
Season-by-season results
[edit]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 | % | |||||
| 1973–74 | ACAC | 24 | 6 | 18 | 0 | – | – | 12 | 6th | 24 | 6 | 18 | 0 | .250 | |||
| 1974–75 | ACAC | 24 | 4 | 20 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 6th | 24 | 4 | 20 | 0 | .167 | |||
| Program Suspended | |||||||||||||||||
| 1984–85 | Canada West | 24 | 4 | 20 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 5th | 24 | 4 | 20 | 0 | .167 | |||
| 1985–86 | Canada West | 28 | 6 | 22 | 0 | – | – | 12 | 8th | 28 | 6 | 22 | 0 | .214 | |||
| 1986–87 | Canada West | 28 | 6 | 22 | 0 | – | – | 12 | 8th | 28 | 6 | 22 | 0 | .214 | |||
| 1987–88 | Canada West | 28 | 6 | 21 | 1 | – | – | 13 | 7th | 28 | 6 | 21 | 1 | .232 | |||
| 1988–89 | Canada West | 28 | 3 | 25 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 8th | 28 | 3 | 25 | 0 | .107 | |||
| 1989–90 | Canada West | 28 | 1 | 25 | 2 | – | – | 4 | 8th | 28 | 1 | 25 | 2 | .071 | |||
| 1990–91 | Canada West | 28 | 10 | 18 | 0 | – | – | 20 | 7th | 28 | 10 | 18 | 0 | .357 | |||
| 1991–92 | Canada West | 28 | 12 | 13 | 3 | – | – | 27 | 5th | 28 | 12 | 13 | 3 | .482 | |||
| 1992–93 | Canada West | 28 | 9 | 16 | 3 | – | – | 21 | 6th | 28 | 9 | 16 | 3 | .375 | |||
| 1993–94 | Canada West | 28 | 19 | 7 | 2 | – | – | 40 | 1st | 36 | 25 | 9 | 2 | .722 | Won Semifinal series, 2–1 (Regina) Won Championship series, 2–1 (Calgary) |
Won Semifinal, 9–6 (Acadia) Won Championship, 5–2 (Guelph) | |
| 1994–95 | Canada West | 28 | 14 | 13 | 1 | – | – | 29 | 4th | 30 | 14 | 15 | 1 | .483 | Lost Semifinal series, 0–2 (Calgary) | ||
| 1995–96 | Canada West | 28 | 14 | 11 | 3 | – | – | 31 | 4th | 31 | 15 | 13 | 3 | .532 | Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Alberta) | ||
| 1996–97 | Canada West | 26 | 8 | 16 | 2 | – | – | 18 | 5th | 29 | 9 | 18 | 2 | .345 | Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Alberta) | ||
| 1997–98 | Canada West | 28 | 8 | 15 | 5 | – | – | 21 | T–6th | 28 | 8 | 15 | 5 | .375 | |||
| 1998–99 | Canada West | 28 | 13 | 13 | 2 | – | – | 28 | 5th | 31 | 14 | 15 | 2 | .484 | Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Calgary) | ||
| 1999–00 | Canada West | 28 | 12 | 14 | 2 | – | – | 26 | 4th | 30 | 12 | 16 | 2 | .433 | Lost Division Semifinal series, 0–2 (Calgary) | ||
| 2000–01 | Canada West | 28 | 11 | 14 | 3 | – | – | 25 | 5th | 31 | 12 | 16 | 3 | .435 | Lost Division Semifinal series, 0–2 (Calgary) | ||
| 2001–02 | Canada West | 28 | 9 | 14 | 5 | – | – | 23 | 6th | 30 | 9 | 16 | 5 | .383 | Lost Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Calgary) | ||
| 2002–03 | Canada West | 28 | 10 | 16 | 2 | – | – | 22 | 6th | 31 | 11 | 18 | 2 | .387 | Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Calgary) | ||
| 2003–04 | Canada West | 28 | 4 | 20 | 4 | – | – | 12 | 7th | 28 | 4 | 20 | 4 | .214 | |||
| 2004–05 | Canada West | 28 | 3 | 23 | 2 | – | – | 8 | 7th | 28 | 3 | 23 | 2 | .143 | |||
| 2005–06 | Canada West | 28 | 4 | 20 | 4 | – | – | 12 | 8th | 28 | 4 | 20 | 4 | .214 | |||
| 2006–07 | Canada West | 28 | 14 | 9 | – | 5 | – | 33 | 3rd | 31 | 15 | 16 | 0 | .484 | Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (British Columbia) | ||
| 2007–08 | Canada West | 28 | 9 | 18 | – | 1 | – | 19 | 7th | 28 | 9 | 19 | 0 | .321 | |||
| 2008–09 | Canada West | 28 | 14 | 13 | – | 0 | 1 | 29 | 4th | 31 | 15 | 15 | 1 | .500 | Lost Quarterfinal series, 1–2 (British Columbia) | ||
| 2009–10 | Canada West | 28 | 13 | 11 | – | 2 | 2 | 30 | 5th | 28 | 13 | 13 | 2 | .500 | |||
| 2010–11 | Canada West | 28 | 13 | 10 | – | 2 | 3 | 31 | 5th | 28 | 13 | 12 | 3 | .518 | |||
| 2011–12 | Canada West | 28 | 7 | 18 | – | 3 | 0 | 17 | 7th | 28 | 7 | 21 | 0 | .250 | |||
| 2012–13 | Canada West | 28 | 2 | 22 | – | 4 | 0 | 8 | 8th | 28 | 2 | 26 | 0 | .071 | |||
| 2013–14 | Canada West | 28 | 4 | 21 | – | 2 | 1 | 11 | 8th | 28 | 4 | 23 | 1 | .161 | |||
| 2014–15 | Canada West | 28 | 5 | 23 | – | 0 | 0 | 10 | 8th | 28 | 5 | 23 | 0 | .179 | |||
| 2015–16 | Canada West | 28 | 11 | 15 | – | 2 | 0 | 24 | 7th | 28 | 11 | 17 | 0 | .393 | |||
| 2016–17 | Canada West | 28 | 11 | 14 | – | 3 | 0 | 25 | 7th | 28 | 11 | 17 | 0 | .393 | |||
| 2017–18 | Canada West | 28 | 9 | 16 | – | 3 | 0 | 21 | 7th | 28 | 9 | 19 | 0 | .321 | |||
| 2018–19 | Canada West | 28 | 9 | 17 | – | 2 | 0 | 20 | 6th | 31 | 9 | 22 | 0 | .290 | Lost Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Calgary) | Lost Quarterfinal, 1–7 (Alberta) | |
| 2019–20 | Canada West | 28 | 5 | 20 | – | 2 | 1 | 13 | 8th | 28 | 5 | 22 | 1 | .196 | |||
| Program Suspended | |||||||||||||||||
| Totals | GP | W | L | T/SOL | % | Championships | |||||||||||
| Regular Season | 1051 | 323 | 674 | 54 | .333 | 1 Canada West Championship | |||||||||||
| Conference Post-season | 34 | 10 | 24 | 0 | .294 | 1 Canada West Championship | |||||||||||
| U Sports Postseason | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .280 | 2 National tournament appearances | |||||||||||
| Regular Season and Postseason Record | 1088 | 335 | 699 | 54 | .333 | 1 National Championship | |||||||||||
Totals include games since 1984.
Note: Games not counted towards University Cup appearances are not included.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "Pronghorns players react after elimination of U of L hockey programs: 'People are devastated'". Global News. April 21, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ Cotsonika, Nicholas J. (2023-09-06). "Babcock talks coaching return with Blue Jackets in Q&A with NHL.com". NHL.com. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
- ^ "Lethbridge players recall winning year under Babcock". The Star.com. May 22, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ a b "Men's Hockey All-Time Records". Calgary Dinos. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
- ^ "Cavendish Farms title sponsor for 2019 U SPORTS University Cup Men's Hockey National Championship". University of Lethbridge. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ "RECAP: 2019 U SPORTS University Cup Quarterfinal #2: Alberta vs. Lethbridge". YouTube. November 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ "Budget constraints spell end for University of Lethbridge hockey programs". Lethbridge Pronghorns. 15 March 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2024.