History
McMaster began its ice hockey program in 1902, playing first at the intermediate level. The team remained in the second tier of Canadian college hockey for several years but saw little success. After returning following the end of World War I, McMaster found itself mired at the bottom of the standings and decided to change tack. In 1920, the school decided to field a junior team in the Ontario Hockey Association. After the 20-and-under team went winless, the school abandoned the idea and then left the IIS for the Intermediate Groups. Again, the team went winless and the administration decided to suspend all of its hockey programs afterwards. The Marlins remained dormant for a few years but made a triumphant return in 1925, winning their IIS group in 1926. After taking the following year off, the school decided to support the program once more. McMaster jointly played both Intermediate and Senior hockey for a few years but then began to switch between the two in the early 30s. The club went dormant for a few years after 1935 in part due to financial problems brought about by the Great Depression. The Marlins returned in 1937 but were once again forced off of the ice after the outbreak of World War II.
After the second world war, McMaster returned to the Intermediate level but found that the state of Canadian college hockey had changed. The IIS was not restarted following the war and the schools were left to fend for themselves. McMaster was active at the time but few records of their time in the 40s and 50s persist. In 1958, several of the Intermediate programs took matters into their own hands and formed a new ice hockey league. [2] The Marlins quickly became on the better teams and won the league championship in 1961.
The following season, McMaster was one of three clubs who were invited to join the Quebec–Ontario Athletic Association and they all played concurrently in both conferences. McMaster was league champion in both but lost their playoff match in the QOAA. The following season, the CIAU announced the inaugural University Cup and would invite the league champion of the four major conferences across the country. Because the OIAA was not to be included, McMaster played solely out of the QOAA and repeated as regular season champions. This time, however, they won the postseason championship and advanced to the national tournament. McMaster won a pair of 1-goal games to claim the title as the first national champion in Canadian college history.
After winning the title, McMaster quickly tumbled down the league standings and became a bottom-feeder by the end of the decade. After they were placed in the Ontario University Athletic Association (OUAA) during the great realignment in 1971, McMaster recovered some of their former glory. The team made the conference postseason many times between '72 and '83 with their best performance coming in 1979. [3] Unfortunately, as the 80s wore on, the team experienced another lull and sagged towards the bottom of the standings. 1988 was the worst season the program had ever seen, with the Marauders finishing last in the standings. After an even worse campaign the year after, the school decided that it was too costly to support an expensive losing program and suspended the program for good.
