The Waterloo Warriors men's ice hockey team is an active ice hockey program representing the Waterloo Warriors athletic department of the University of Waterloo. The team originally played as an intermediate program but transition to the senior level in 1961, where it had remained ever since.
History It's unclear exactly when Waterloo played its first ice hockey game but the men's program was one of five founding members of the Ontario Intercollegiate Athletic Association ice hockey conference in 1958. Three years later, Waterloo, along with McMaster, Ontario Agricultural (now known as Guelph) all promoted their teams to senior hockey and joined the Quebec–Ontario Athletic Association. For the first few years, Waterloo finished at or near the bottom of the standings but the program experienced a dramatic turnaround in 1966 when they posted their first winning season. The next year, the Warriors finished second in the conference and made its first postseason appearance as well. Waterloo had swiftly turned itself into a major player in the conference but they could not overcome the dominant power of the time, Toronto, and finished as league runners-up four years in a row. Waterloo looked poised to finally get over the hump in 1971 when they won their first regular season championship but the Warriors proceeded to lose their semifinal match and squander their opportunity.
In 1971, the four extant conferences that shared teams in Quebec and Ontario were broken up and rearranged into two provincial leagues. Waterloo now found itself with twice as many conference opponents and had a difficult time adjusting in the first season. Fortunately, the Warriors soon resolved their issues and returned to being a top team in 1973. The very next year, Waterloo won its first league championship and made its first University Cup appearance. The Warriors downed Calgary in straight sets to advance to the championship game and got into a close battle with Sir George Williams. Waterloo had to come back from a 2–4 deficit in the third to force overtime and then scored twice in the extra session (sudden-death rules were not in effect) to secure a 6–5 victory to win the National Championship.
Waterloo's championship defense was ended the following year thanks to Toronto. Afterwards, the team slipped from their perch and began to yo-yo up and down the standings. The nadir came in 1983 with the program's worst season but it seemed to spark a resurgence in the Warriors and the club soon regained some consistency. Through the late 80's Waterloo was able to make the playoffs every year, finally winning a round in 1990 before managing to earn a second trip to the national tournament in 1991. The team sagged slightly over the succeeding few years but came roaring back in 1996, winning their first conference championship since 1974 and making their second championship game appearance. Unfortunately, the team was unable to recapture the same magic they had in 1974 and fell to Acadia 2–3.
After their second run to the title game, Waterloo slowly tumbled down the standings and eventually bottomed out in the early 21st century. Again, after hitting rock-bottom, the team rebounded and eventually climbed back to the top of the heap in 2007. However, playoff success eluded the Warriors. By the 2010s, Waterloo had slipped back to being a middling team but they still had some gas left in the tank. In 2013, the Warriors went on a run in the postseason, defeating three higher-seeded teams en route to a runner-up finish and a trip to the national tournament. Despite being heavy underdogs, Waterloo beat Canada West champion Alberta before the clock struck 12 on their Cinderella season. The surprising appearance turned out to be a one-off for the Warriors and over the next decade, the team sank to the bottom of the conference standings.
Season-by-season results Senior collegiate play Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOL = Shootout Losses, Pts = Points U Sports Champion U Sports SemifinalistConference regular season championsConference Division ChampionsConference Playoff Champions SeasonConferenceRegular SeasonConference Tournament ResultsNational Tournament Results Conference OverallGPWLTOTLSOLPts*FinishGPWLT%1961–62QOAA12291––58th12291 1962–63QOAA12381––7T–6th12381 1963–64QOAA121110––27th121110 1964–65QOAA162113––7T–7th162113 1965–66QOAA161132––243rd161132 1966–67QOAA161132––243rd181242 Won Semifinal, 6–2 (Western Ontario)Lost Championship, 4–9 (Toronto) 1967–68QOAA161420––282nd181530 Won Semifinal, 6–5 (McMaster)Lost Championship, 1–8 (Toronto)1968–69QOAA151131––234th171241 Won Semifinal, 4–2 (Laval)Lost Championship, 0–4 (Toronto) 1969–70QOAA151032––222nd171142 Won Semifinal, 7–3 (Ottawa)Lost Championship, 4–7 (Toronto) 1970–71QOAA151221––251st161231 Lost Semifinal, 3–8 (Queen's)1971–72OUAA197102––1610th197102 1972–73OUAA171052––224th191162 Won Quarterfinal, 7–0 (Guelph)Lost Semifinal, 2–13 (Toronto) 1973–74OUAA171223––273rd231823 Won Quarterfinal, 8–6 (Wilfrid Laurier)Won Semifinal, 8–4 (York)Won Championship, 6–4 (Western Ontario) Won Semifinal series, 2–0 (Calgary)Won Championship, 6–5 (OT) (Sir George Williams)1974–75OUAA171421––291st191531 Won Quarterfinal, 9–6 (McMaster)Lost Semifinal, 3–9 (Toronto) 1975–76OUAA209101––199th209101 1976–77OUAA20992––207th221084 Lost Quarterfinal, 5–10 (Guelph) 1977–78OUAA207112––1611th207112 1978–79OUAA16475––139th16475 1979–80OUAA221075––256th????? results unavailable 1980–81OUAA224171––910th224171 1981–82OUAA227132––16T–9th227132 1982–83OUAA242211––513th242211 1983–84OUAA2410113––237th2410113 1984–85OUAA246180––1212th246180 1985–86OUAA2411112––246th2511122 Lost Quarterfinal, 3–4 (Western Ontario) 1986–87OUAA241644––T–3rd261664 Lost Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Wilfrid Laurier) 1987–88OUAA261466––345th281486 Lost Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Western Ontario) 1988–89OUAA261583––33T–4th2916103 Lost Quarterfinal series, 1–2 (York) 1989–90OUAA221741––352nd271971 Won Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (Windsor)Lost Semifinal series, 0–2 (Wilfrid Laurier) 1990–91OUAA221822––381st302262 Won Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (Guelph)Won Semifinal series, 2–0 (Wilfrid Laurier)Lost Championship series, 0–2 (Quebec–Trois-Rivières) Lost Semifinal, 4–5 (Alberta)1991–92OUAA221660––323rd251780 Lost Quarterfinal series, 1–2 (Guelph) 1992–93OUAA221453––315th291883 Won First Round, 8–4 (Western Ontario)Won Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (Wilfrid Laurier)Lost Semifinal series, 1–2 (Guelph) 1993–94OUAA2412102––268th2512112 Lost Division Semifinal, 2–5 (Wilfrid Laurier) 1994–95OUAA241392––286th2714112 Won Division Semifinal, 6–5 (Wilfrid Laurier)Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Western Ontario) 1995–96OUAA262150––32T–1st322660 Won Division Final series, 2–0 (Windsor)Won Semifinal, 4–1 (Laurentian)Won Championship, 5–1 (Quebec–Trois-Rivières) Won Semifinal, 5–2 (Calgary)Lost Championship, 2–3 (Acadia)1996–97OUAA261880––43 3rd2818100 Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Western Ontario) 1997–98OUA261574––344th3217114 Won Division Semifinal series, 2–1 (Western Ontario)Lost Division Final series, 0–3 (Windsor) 1998–99OUA261187––297th3113117 Won Division Final series, 2–1 (Wilfrid Laurier)Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Windsor) 1999–00OUA269161––19T–13th269161 2000–01OUA241572––324th2917102 Won Division Semifinal series, 2–1 (Wilfrid Laurier)Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Windsor) 2001–02OUA243201––716th243201 2002–03OUA241221––316th241221 2003–04OUA2481402–1813th268180 Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Lakehead) 2004–05OUA2413830–29T–7th3016113 Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (Wilfrid Laurier)Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Western Ontario) 2005–06OUA2415630–174th301893 Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (Brock)Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Wilfrid Laurier) 2006–07OUA2821421–45T–1st332382 Won Division Semifinal series, 2–1 (Western Ontario)Division Final series, 0–2 (Wilfrid Laurier) 2007–08OUA281810–00366th3119120 Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 1–2 (Wilfrid Laurier) 2008–09OUA28187–03394th301893 Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Lakehead) 2009–10OUA28207–01414th312191 Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 1–2 (Windsor) 2010–11OUA281512–0131T–10th3318141 Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Lakehead)Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Western Ontario) 2011–12OUA28159–31347th3015141 Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Brock) 2012–13OUA281211–052912th3719135 Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Lakehead)Won Division Semifinal series, 2–0 (Western Ontario)Won Division Final series, 2–0 (Windsor)Lost Queen's Cup Final, 1–4 (Quebec–Trois-Rivières) Lost Pool A Round–Robin, 2–1 (Alberta), 1–5 (Saint Mary's)2013–14OUA281212–2228T–12th2812142 2014–15OUA27178–11356th3018111 Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 1–2 (Guelph) 2015–16OUA281611–1033T–8th3016140 Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Ryerson) 2016–17OUA281212–4028T–13th3113180 Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 1–2 (Ryerson) 2017–18OUA28915–3122T–16th289181 2018–19OUA281013–4125T–16th2810171 2019–20OUA281115–202416th2811170 2020–21 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic2021–22OUA1688–00T–12th164102 Won Division Quarterfinal, 4–1 (Toronto)Lost Lost Division Semifinal, 3–4 (OT) (Ryerson) 2022–23OUA27618–121518th276192 2023–24OUA28419–411318th284231 Totals GP W L T/SOL %ChampionshipsRegular Season 1389 674 595 110 4 Far West Division Titles, 1 West Division Titles, 1 West Division Titles, 1 QOAA Championships, 3 OUAA Championships, 1 OUA ChampionshipsConference Post-season 114 54 70 0 2 OUAA ChampionshipsU Sports Postseason 7 4 3 0 4 National Tournament appearancesRegular Season and Postseason Record 1510 732 668 110 1 National Championship Note: Totals include senior collegiate play only except for 1979–80.
See also Waterloo Warriors women's ice hockey
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