The Saint Mary's Huskies men's ice hockey team is an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team representing the

Saint Mary's Huskies The Saint Mary's Huskies are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their primary home turf is Huskies Stadium, located in the centre of the university's campus. In Septemb ...

athletics program of Saint Mary's University. The team is a member of the

Atlantic University Sport Atlantic University Sport (AUS; ) is a regional membership association for universities in Atlantic Canada which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, re ...

conference and compete in

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

. The team plays their home games at the Dauphinee Centre in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

History

Saint Mary's ice hockey program had a difficult start, though at first it was entirely of their own making. The team joined the Maritime Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1929 and promptly won the conference tournament that season. However, the school's administrators were not enamored by the Huskies' exploits. Three years later, when Saint Mary's had a chance for a second championship, the team was forbade from participating as the final game occurred during

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

. The following year, the Huskies withdrew from competition since the order remained in force. Due to

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of Christian prayer, prayer, Religious fasting#Christianity, fasting and ...

falling later in 1935, the Huskies were able to return to play for two years but again withdrew prior to the 1937 postseason since Lent began on February 10. However, by 1940 Saint Mary's had relented on its prohibition and allowed the team to compete through the holiday season. Now that it had persisted over the objections of its own administration, the ice hockey team then had to survive the difficulties brought upon by

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The MIAA conference had seen more than half of its nominal members suspend play for the duration of the war. Saint Mary's was one of just three schools to attempt to continue on but by 1944 the program had to finally admit defeat and halt play. Their suspension lasted just one season, however, and the team returned in the fall of 1945. Saint Mary's return didn't last long, and the team left the MIAA after 1948. The Huskies remained out of competition for several years, returning in 1954 when college teams shifted away from senior hockey. The time off had not done Saint Mary's any favors as he program was a shell of its former self. The Huskies muddled through the next decade before withdrawing from the MIAA in 1964. After a three-year hiatus, Saint Mary's returned in style, finishing second in the conference upon their return. The team then reeled off seven consecutive league championships and finished as national runners-up four years in a row. The Huskies came back down to earth after their unprecedented run but still remained a power in the conference for several years. In 1984, however, disaster struck the program; At the conclusion of the season, Saint Mary's was getting ready for the playoffs when the program was ruled to have used an ineligible player. Wayne Fortune had played 11 games for the

Saginaw Gears The Saginaw Gears were two separate ice hockey teams from Saginaw, Michigan: * Saginaw Gears (IHL) The Saginaw Gears were a minor-league ice hockey franchise based in Saginaw, Michigan, that played in the defunct International Hockey League (IHL ...

, a professional team, the year before. The Huskies were forced to forfeit all of their 13 wins and officially finished last with a record of 0–24. The controversy had a chilling effect on the program and Saint Mary's spent the next several years wallowing at the bottom of the standings. The Saint Mary's ice hockey program didn't really recover until the close of the 20th century when it won its first regular season title in over 20 years. Two years later, the team captured a conference championship and returned to the national tournament for the first time in nearly 30 seasons. Saint Mary's would then slowly ramp up performance, culminating with a pair of league championships and its first national championship by the end of the decade. Since then, Saint Mary's has maintained a regular position near the top of the conference standings and made several more trips to the national tournament.

Season-by-season results

Senior and collegiate play

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points''

Collegiate only

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOL = Shootout Losses, Pts = Points'' Note: Totals include results from 1954 to 1955 onward.
† Saint Mary's was forced to forfeit 13 wins after the end of the regular season. They dropped from 4th to 9th place as a result.

References

External links