UQTR Patriotes men's ice hockey

The UQTR Patriotes men's ice hockey team is an active ice hockey team representing the UQTR Patriotes athletics program of Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. The team is a member of the Ontario University Athletics conference and competes in U Sports. The Patriotes play their home games at the Colisée de Trois-Rivières in Trois-Rivières, Quebec.^[1]

From the very foundation of the university in 1969, UQTR has sponsored ice hockey as a varsity sport.^[2] Initially a member of the Ottawa–St. Lawrence Conference (OSLC), the Patriotes were placed in the Quebec Universities Athletic Association (QUAA) in 1971 when four separate conferences were realigned into two provincial leagues for teams in Quebec and Ontario. UQTR won its first (tied) league title in 1974, however, because the Patriotes had a difficult time finding success in the postseason, the team wasn't able to win its way to a berth in the University Cup until 1986.

Once the team finally reached the national stage, they proved to be one of the top teams in the nation. Their first trip resulted in a runner-up finish but they followed that up with a national championship the following year. Unfortunately for the program, their success did little to help out the conference. The QUAA decided to stop sponsoring ice hockey in 1987, due to a lack of interest from member teams, and the four remaining programs were all absorbed into the Ontario University Athletic Association (OUAA) that summer.^[3] The Patriotes' new and far larger conference didn't seem to bother the team at all as they won their division in each of the first five seasons. The much tougher playoff system, however, saw UQTR bow out in the semifinals in consecutive years and prevent the team from defending its first championship.

UQTR returned to the national tournament in 1990 but that was just a prelude for their second championship in 1991, which also included their first OUAA tournament title as well. The Patriotes proved to be one of the best teams in not only the OUAA but all of Canada throughout the 1990s. The program won five regular season titles to go along with two tournament championships. UQTR made six trips to the national tournament in the decade but they weren't able to finish on top again until 2001. After the program's fourth championship in 2003, the Patriotes declined slightly. Though still a formidable force, UQTR was not as dominant a squad in the 21st century. Even with a good deal of success in the regular season, the Patriotes were upset in the conference tournament several times and won one championship over a nine-year period.

After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the entire 2020–21 season, UQTR shot back to the top of the conference, winning the truncated championship in '22 as well as going undefeated in postseason play to win their fifth national title. Dual championships followed in each of the next two seasons with UQTR ending up with both a bronze and silver in University Cup play.

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOL = Shootout Losses, Pts = Points

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