The Sorel Éperviers (Black Hawks) were a junior ice hockey team in the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The ...

from 1969 to 1981. The team was one of the founding members of the QMJHL. They mostly played at the

Colisée Cardin The Colisée Cardin is an indoor arena located in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec. It was built in 1954 and has a capacity of 3,037 people. It once hosted the Sorel Éperviers of the QMJHL The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey ju ...

Sorel-Tracy Sorel-Tracy (; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada and the geographical end point of the Champlain Valley. It is located at the confluence of the Richelieu River and the St. Lawrence River, on the western edge of Lac Saint-Pierre, downstr ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, but also spent a few seasons at the

Verdun Auditorium The Verdun Auditorium is an arena located in the borough of Verdun, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The building was constructed in 1938 and holds 4,114 seats. The largest arena in the west end of Montreal, the complex is also home to Arena Denis Sa ...

in the

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

suburb of

Verdun, Quebec Verdun (; , ) is a borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, located in the southwestern part of the island. Long known as a working class neighbourhood, it has experienced significant gentrification and social change in the 21 ...

. Rodrigue Lemoyne served as the team's general manager.

Ray Bourque Raymond Jean Bourque (born December 28, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He holds records for most career goals, assists, and points by a defenceman in the National Hockey League (NHL). He won the James Norris Memoria ...

is also the only former Épervier in the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Éperviers originated in the Quebec Junior Hockey League, and were the league's champion in 1969. Sorel were finalists in the eastern Canadian championship for the

George Richardson Memorial Trophy The George Richardson Memorial Trophy was presented annually from 1932 until 1971, by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. It represented the Eastern Canada junior hockey championship, and a berth in the Memorial Cup final versus the Abbot ...

, losing 3 games to 1 to the Montreal Junior Canadiens. The

1973–74 QMJHL season The 1973–74 QMJHL season was the fifth season in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. East and west divisions resumed with the addition of two new teams, the Hull Festivals and Chicoutimi Saguenéens. Eleven teams played 70 games ...

sparked an offensive explosion, unmatched in Canadian Hockey League history. Sorel set a CHL record of 620 goals scored as a team. Three Sorel players,

Pierre Larouche Pierre Roland Larouche (born November 16, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Montreal Canadiens, Hartford Whalers, and New York Rangers between 1974 and ...

, Michel Deziel and Jacques Cossette, had more than 90 goals and 200 points each. Sorel goaltender Claude Legris also posted the highest

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending ...

of 4.50 goals per game for a Jacques Plante Memorial Trophy winner. In 1981 the franchise moved to

Granby, Quebec Granby is a town in southwestern Quebec, located east of Montreal. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 69,025. Granby is the seat of La Haute-Yamaska Regional County Municipality. It is the second most populated city in Estrie afte ...

where they became the

Granby Bisons The Granby Bisons were a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Granby, Quebec, and played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). They team was founded in 1981 in after the team moved from Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, where they had previousl ...

. They won the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

there in 1996. The franchise is today the Cape Breton Eagles.

NHL alumni

Season-by-season record

* Sorel Éperviers (1969–1977)Sorel Éperviers season-by-season record on www.hockeydb.com
/ref> * Verdun Éperviers (1977–1979) * Verdun/Sorel Éperviers (1979–1980)Verdun/Sorel Éperviers season-by-season record on www.hockeydb.com
/ref> * Sorel Éperviers (1980–1981) ''Note'' :Pct = Winning percentage

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorel Eperviers Defunct Quebec Major Junior Hockey League teams Sport in Sorel-Tracy Ice hockey clubs established in 1969 Sports clubs disestablished in 1981 1969 establishments in Quebec 1981 disestablishments in Quebec