Lethbridge Pronghorns men's ice hockey

Last updated
Lethbridge Pronghorns men's ice hockey
University University of Lethbridge
First season1973–74
Arena Lethbridge, Alberta
ColorsBlue 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]

Contents

History

Lethbridge first sponsored varsity ice hockey 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

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%
1973–74ACAC246180––126th246180.250
1974–75ACAC244200––86th244200.167
Program Suspended
1984–85 Canada West 244200––85th244200.167
1985–86Canada West286220––128th286220.214
1986–87Canada West286220––128th286220.214
1987–88Canada West286211––137th286211.232
1988–89Canada West283250––68th283250.107
1989–90Canada West281252––48th281252.071
1990–91Canada West2810180––207th2810180.357
1991–92Canada West2812133––275th2812133.482
1992–93Canada West289163––216th289163.375
1993–94Canada West281972––401st362592.722Won Semifinal series, 2–1 (Regina)
Won Championship series, 2–1 (Calgary)		Won Semifinal, 9–6 (Acadia)
Won Championship, 5–2 (Guelph)
1994–95Canada West2814131––294th3014151.483Lost Semifinal series, 0–2 (Calgary)
1995–96Canada West2814113––314th3115133.532Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Alberta)
1996–97Canada West268162––185th299182.345Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Alberta)
1997–98Canada West288155––21T–6th288155.375
1998–99Canada West2813132––285th3114152.484Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Calgary)
1999–00Canada West2812142––264th3012162.433Lost Division Semifinal series, 0–2 (Calgary)
2000–01Canada West2811143––255th3112163.435Lost Division Semifinal series, 0–2 (Calgary)
2001–02Canada West289145––236th309165.383Lost Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Calgary)
2002–03Canada West2810162––226th3111182.387Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Calgary)
2003–04Canada West284204––127th284204.214
2004–05Canada West283232––87th283232.143
2005–06Canada West284204––128th284204.214
2006–07Canada West28149–5–333rd3115160.484Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (British Columbia)
2007–08Canada West28918–1–197th289190.321
2008–09Canada West281413–01294th3115151.500Lost Quarterfinal series, 1–2 (British Columbia)
2009–10Canada West281311–22305th2813132.500
2010–11Canada West281310–23315th2813123.518
2011–12Canada West28718–30177th287210.250
2012–13Canada West28222–4088th282260.071
2013–14Canada West28421–21118th284231.161
2014–15Canada West28523–00108th285230.179
2015–16Canada West281115–20247th2811170.393
2016–17Canada West281114–30257th2811170.393
2017–18Canada West28916–30217th289190.321
2018–19Canada West28917–20206th319220.290Lost Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Calgary)Lost Quarterfinal, 1–7 (Alberta)
2019–20Canada West28520–21138th285221.196
Program Suspended
TotalsGPWLT/SOL %Championships
Regular Season105132367454.3331 Canada West Championship
Conference Post-season3410240.2941 Canada West Championship
U Sports Postseason3210.2802 National tournament appearances
Regular Season and Postseason Record108833569954.3331 National Championship

Totals include games since 1984.
Note: Games not counted towards University Cup appearances are not included. [4]

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References

  1. ↑ "Pronghorns players react after elimination of U of L hockey programs: 'People are devastated'". Global News. April 21, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ "Lethbridge players recall winning year under Babcock". The Star.com. May 22, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Men's Hockey All-Time Records". Calgary Dinos. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Cavendish Farms title sponsor for 2019 U SPORTS University Cup Men's Hockey National Championship". University of Lethbridge. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  6. ↑ "RECAP: 2019 U SPORTS University Cup Quarterfinal #2: Alberta vs. Lethbridge". YouTube. November 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Budget constraints spell end for University of Lethbridge hockey programs". Lethbridge Pronghorns. 15 March 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
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