U Sports men's ice hockey is the highest level of play of men's

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 ...

at the

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

level and operates under the auspices of

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 ...

, Canada's governing body for university sports. As of the 2018 season, 48 teams from Canadian universities are divided into three

athletic conferences An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams which play competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller divisions, with the best teams competing at successively higher levels. C ...

, drawing from three regional associations of U Sports:

Canada West Universities Athletic Association Canada West (formally the Canada West Universities Athletic Association or CWUAA) is a regional membership association for universities in Western Canada which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs ...

Ontario University Athletics Ontario University Athletics (OUA; ) is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, results, ...

, and

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 ...

. At the end of every season, eight teams compete for the David Johnston University Cup, awarded to the U Sports Men's Hockey Championship team.

History

The Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union was established in 1961 by Major W.J. McLeod, Athletic Director of the

Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...

. By the 1962-63 season, the CIAU had created a National Championship for their

playoffs: the

David Johnston University Cup The U Sports Men's Ice Hockey Championship, is a Canadian university ice hockey tournament conducted by U Sports, and determines the men's national champion. The tournament involves the champions from each of Canada's four regional sports confere ...

. The first ever national championship was competed for in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

between the

UBC Thunderbirds The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, the Thunderbirds are the most successful athletic program both regionally in the Canada West Universities Athl ...

and the McMaster Marlins. The Marlins won the game 3-2. The CIAU had competition in Canadian post-secondary varsity hockey at a national level, but rivalries only existed on an exhibition basis. The Canadian Colleges Athletic Association, now

Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA, ) is the national governing body for organized sports at the college level in Canada. National championships CCAA members currently compete for national championships in the following sports: ...

, held national championships between 1975 and 2001. At one time, seven conferences in the CCAA sanctioned hockey, but only two do today — the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference and the

Quebec Student Sport Federation Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

(now known by its French initialism of RSEQ). In 1978, the governing body of the league changed its name to the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union. The body's name was changed in 2001 to Canadian Interuniversity Sport, and most recently in 2016, to the current U Sports. The most successful team in U Sports history is the

Alberta Golden Bears The Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas are the sports teams that represent the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Alberta athletics teams have won a total of 101 national championships, including 84 in U Sports sanctioned sports, ma ...

with 16

titles, winning 28% of all championships awarded to date. This is followed by the

Toronto Varsity Blues The Toronto Varsity Blues are the intercollegiate sports program at the University of Toronto. Its 43 athletic teams regularly participate in competitions held by Ontario University Athletics and U Sports. The Varsity Blues trace their foundin ...

(last in 1984) and the

UNB Reds The UNB REDS are the athletic teams that represent the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. The UNB REDS compete in a variety of sports, including men's and women's basketball, ice hockey, soccer, and volleyball. ...

(last in 2024) with 10 championships apiece. The reigning champions are the

, who defeated the UQTR Patriotes 4-0 in Toronto, Ontario in March 2024. On April 4, 2016, St. Thomas University announced the discontinuation of their men's hockey program, reducing the teams participating in the

(AUS) conference to seven. On August 12, 2016, Kori Cheverie was announced as an assistant coach for the

Ryerson Rams The TMU Bold, formerly known as the Ryerson Rams, are the varsity athletic teams that represent Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly known as Ryerson University) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto Metropolitan University operates 11 men's ...

men’s ice hockey team, making her the first female full-time assistant coach in U Sports men’s hockey history. The MacEwan Griffins and

Trinity Western Spartans The Trinity Western Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia. The university's teams are members of U Sports (previously CIS), and compete in the Canada West Universities Athletics A ...

joined the Canada West conference beginning with the 2020-21 season. However, the

Lethbridge Pronghorns The Lethbridge Pronghorns are the athletic teams that represent the University of Lethbridge in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. They have men's and women's teams that compete in U Sports basketball, rugby union, soccer, swimming, and track and fiel ...

announced the discontinuation of their hockey programs following the 2019-20 season due to budgetary constraints. Furthermore, following the cancellation of the 2020–21 season, the Laurentian Voyageurs discontinued their men's ice hockey program in 2021 leaving U Sports with 35 men's ice hockey teams.

Teams

Atlantic University Sport

Canada West Universities Athletic Association

Ontario University Athletics

Former teams

The following schools previously sponsored ice hockey but currently do not field a varsity men's team. † only includes years of collegiate play

Awards

The following are annual U Sports trophies and awards: *

- Awarded annually to the U Sports men's ice hockey champions * Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy – Annual "Player of the Year" awarded to the most outstanding player in U Sports. * U Sports Defenceman of the Year - Awarded annually to the most outstanding defenceman in U Sports. * U Sports Goaltender of the Year – Awarded annually to the most outstanding goaltender in U Sports. * Clare Drake Award - Annual "Rookie of the Year" award presented to "the most outstanding first-year player in U Sports who has exhibited exemplary skill and leadership". *R.W. Pugh Award – Awarded annually to the most sportsmanlike player in U Sports. * Dr. Randy Gregg Award - Awarded annually to reward excellence in the student-athlete. The player who receives this award has exhibited outstanding achievement in ice hockey, academics, and community involvement. * Father George Kehoe Memorial Award – Coach of the Year award. *U Sports All-Canadian Teams - Each year U Sports names a "First Team", "Second Team", and "All-Rookie Team".

References

External links

* {{Ontario University Athletics Ice hockey leagues in Canada