Lakehead Thunderwolves men's ice hockey

Last updated
Lakehead Thunderwolves men's ice hockey
University Lakehead University
Conference OUA
OUA West Division
Head coachAndrew Wilkins
Since 2018–19 season
Assistant coachesJeremy Adduono
Kari Rikkonen
Arena Fort William Gardens
Thunder Bay, Ontario
ColorsBlue, White, and Yellow
     
U Sports Tournament appearances
1973, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010
Conference Tournament championships
2006
Conference regular season championships
1973, 2008

The Lakehead Thunderwolves men's ice hockey team (formerly the Lakehead Nor'Westers) is an active ice hockey program representing the Lakehead Thunderwolves athletic department of Lakehead University. The team has been continually active since returning to action in 2002 and is currently a member of the Ontario University Athletics conference under the authority of U Sports. The Thunderwolves play at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, Ontario. [1]

Contents

History

After the merger of Lakehead Technical Institute and Lakehead College of Arts, Science, and Technology in 1965, Lakehead University was formed. [2] That first year, the college started its ice hockey team and began play as a founding member of the International Collegiate Hockey Association (ICHA), an NAIA conference comprised mostly of American schools. The Nor'Westers shared a league championship in 1967 but were usually a middling team in the conference for much of their tenure. However, Lakehead did make the NAIA tournament in 1971, 1973 and 1975, finishing as runners-up twice. [3]

In 1972, the WCIAA split into two divisions, Canada West and the Great Plains Athletic Association (later renamed Great Plains Athletic Conference). The primary reason that Lakehead had joined an American conference rather than a Canadian one, was the cost of travel. With the formation of the GPAA, the financial burdens were greatly reduced, giving the Nor'Westers the opportunity to play in their first native league. However, this did not prevent the team from continuing on with the ICHA and Lakehead jointly played in both until 1977. During this time the Nor'Westers had the unique distinction of appearing in both an American and Canadian national tournament (in 1973), finishing as runners-up in the NAIA field and fifth in the University Cup. [4] In the early 1980's Lakehead had another flirtation with a second league when they joined the Thunder Bay Hockey League for two seasons. Unfortunately, by then, the rot was beginning to set in for the program.

After the halcyon days of the 70s, Lakehead tumbled to the bottom of the GPAC standings and finished in the bottom two each year after 1978. The conference itself wasn't on sound footing at the time and lost a member in 1984. The next season, Lakehead went winless in 26 games. After the worst season in program history, and with costs mounting, the school suspended the program.

Sixteen years passed before Lakehead returned to the ice. [5] In the interim, the school had joined Ontario University Athletics and changed its moniker to 'Thunderwolves'. The team wasted little time reacclimating itself to college hockey and in just two seasons received a bid to the University Cup. In the succeeding 10 years, Thunderwolves only produced winning seasons and finished as the national runners-up in 2006. However, since 2014, the program has declined and has only one winning record (as of 2024).

Season-by-season results

American 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
ConferenceOverall
GPWLTOTLSOLPts*FinishGPWLT%
1965–66 ICHA 6150––23rd6150.167
1966–67ICHA121020––20T–1st121020.833
1967–68ICHA16970––183rd16970.563
1968–69ICHA16871––173rd16871.531
1969–70ICHA12480––83rd12480.333
1970–71ICHA12741––152nd14851.607Won Semifinal, 6–5 (Gustavus Adolphus)
Lost Championship, 2–6 (Bemidji State)
1971–72ICHA12561––11T–2nd12561.458
1972–73ICHA12480––83rd15690.400Won First Round, 8–7 (Augsburg)
Won Semifinal, 8–4 (Lake Superior State)
Lost Championship, 2–3 (OT) (Bemidji State)
1973–74ICHA12651––133rd12651.542
1974–75ICHA12840––162nd13850.615Lost First Round, 4–8 (St. Thomas)
1975–76ICHA12570––103rd12570.417
1976–77ICHA12651––13T–2nd12651.542
TotalsGPWLT/SOL %Championships
Regular Season14774685.5201 ICHA Championship
Conference Post-season0000–
NAIA Postseason6330.5003 National Tournament appearances
Regular Season and Postseason Record15377715.520

Canadian 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
ConferenceOverall
GPWLTOTLSOLPts*FinishGPWLT%
1972–73GPAA12930––181st14950.643Lost West Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Alberta)
1973–74GPAC186120––124th186120.333
1974–75GPAC17791––223rd17791.441
1975–76GPAC188100––163rd188100.444
1976–77GPAC229121––19T–3rd229121.432
1977–78GPAC221660––262nd251780.680Lost Championship series, 1–2 (Regina)
1978–79GPAC227141––154th227141.341
1979–80GPAC205150––104th205150.250
1980–81GPAC242220––45th242220.083
1981–82GPAC247152––164th247152.333
1982–83GPAC2410140––204th2410140.417
1983–84GPAC249141––194th249141.396
1984–85GPAC240240––04th260260.000Lost Semifinal series, 0–2 (Regina)
Program suspended
2001–02 OUA 241383––295th2916103.603Won Division Semifinal series, 2–0 (Windsor)
Lost Division Final series, 1–2 (Western Ontario)
2002–03OUA241860––363rd322390.719Won Division Semifinal series, 2–0 (Windsor)
Won Division Final series, 2–0 (Western Ontario)
Lost Semifinal, 1–4 (York)
Won Bronze Medal Game, 6–5 (Toronto)		Lost Pool B Round-Robin, 1–2 (Quebec–Trois-Rivières), 3–4 (New Brunswick)
2003–04OUA2418420–382nd302262.767Won Division Semifinal series, 2–0 (Waterloo)
Won Division Final series, 2–1 (Western Ontario)
Lost Semifinal, 2–3 (York)
2004–05OUA2415810–314th3120101.661Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Guelph)
Won Division Semifinal series, 2–0 (York)
Lost Division Final series, 1–2 (Western Ontario)
2005–06OUA2413920–287th3622122.639Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (York)
Won Division Semifinal series, 2–1 (Waterloo)
Won Division Final series, 2–1 (Wilfrid Laurier)
Won Championship, 4–0 (McGill)		Won Pool B Round-robin, 4–3 (Acadia), 4–2 (Saskatchewan)
Lost Championship, 2–3 (Alberta)
2006–07OUA28131032–31T–7th3215143.516Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (York)
Lost Division Semifinal series, 0–2 (Wilfrid Laurier)
2007–08OUA28234–01471st342671.779Won Division Semifinal series, 2–1 (Wilfrid Laurier)
Lost Division Final series, 1–2 (Brock)
2008–09OUA28188–1131T–5th3521131.614Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Waterloo)
Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Wilfrid Laurier)		Lost Pool A Round-Robin, 1–3 (Alberta), 1–2 (New Brunswick)
2009–10OUA28197–02405th3826102.711Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (York)
Won Division Semifinal series, 2–0 (Guelph)
Won Division Final series, 2–0 (Western Ontario)
Lost Championship, 1–3 (McGill)		Lost Pool A Round-Robin, 7–2 (Quebec–Trois-Rivières), 3–5 (Alberta)
2010–11OUA28169–30357th3016140.533Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Waterloo)
2011–12OUA28199–00384th3422120.647Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (Guelph)
Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Windsor)
2012–13OUA28179–1136T–6th3017121.583Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Waterloo)
2013–14OUA28178–21376th3521131.614Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (York)
Won Division Semifinal series, 2–0 (Ryerson)
Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Windsor)
Lost Third Place Game, 4–7 (Carleton)
2014–15OUA271014–302313th3112190.387Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Western Ontario)
Lost Division Semifinal series, 0–2 (Windsor)
2015–16OUA28816–3119T–16th288191.304
2016–17OUA281313–2028T–13th3013170.433Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (York)
2017–18OUA281112–3227T–13th3112172.419Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 1–2 (York)
2018–19OUA281215–0125T–16th2812151.446
2019–20OUA281312–3029T–11th3013170.433Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Ryerson)
2020–21Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021–22OUA1669–01.40616th16691.406
2022–23OUA27186–2139T–3rd3421121.632Won Division Semifinal series, 2–1 (Toronto)
Lost Division Final series, 1–2 (Windsor)
Lost Bronze Medal Game, 0–4 (Concordia)
2023–24OUA281412–203011th3014160.467Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Windsor)
TotalsGPWLT/SOL %Championships
Regular Season85341940529.5081 GPAA Championship, 1 OUA Championship, 1 Far West Division Title, 1 West Division Title
Conference Post-season9852460.5311 OUA Championship
U Sports Postseason11380.2735 National Tournament appearances
Regular Season and Postseason Record96247445929.508

Note: Totals include senior collegiate play only.

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References

  1. ↑ "Fort William Gardens". City of Thunder Bay. 27 August 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Lakehead University". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  3. ↑ "NAIA history and records" . Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  4. ↑ "History". U Sports. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Lakehead University's proud hockey past". The Chronicle Journal. March 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
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