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Western Mustangs men's ice hockey

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Western Mustangs men's ice hockey
UniversityUniversity of Western Ontario
ConferenceOUA
OUA West Division
First season1923–24
Head coachClarke Singer
20th season, 372–124–17 (.742)
Assistant coachesPatrick Ouellet
Dave Warren
ArenaThompson Arena
London, Ontario
ColorsPurple and White
   
Fight song"Western"
MascotJ.W. the Mustang
U Sports Tournament championships
2002
U Sports Tournament appearances
1987, 1988, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2020
Conference Tournament championships
1995, 2005, 2009
Conference regular season championships
1987, 1989, 1994, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2013

The Western Mustangs men's ice hockey team represents Western University (in full, The University of Western Ontario) in Canadian university competition. The Mustangs are members of Ontario University Athletics, one of the four regional associations within the national governing body of U Sports. The Mustangs play at Thompson Arena in London, Ontario.

The men's hockey team has won 3 OUA championships (1994–95, 2004–05, 2008–09)[1] and 1 U Sports championship (2001–02)[2]

Team history

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Early history

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In 1905, the first hockey club was established at the University of Western Ontario.[3] The sporting teams were organized by the two faculties at Western during this time, the Arts & Divinity faculty and the Medical "Meds" faculty. The teams practiced on ice rinks around London, as well as on the Thames river. By the 1913-14 season, hockey became the most popular sport on campus and a combined faculty team went on to represent Western in the Canadian Hockey Association championships, playing Berlin (now Kitchener, Ontario) in the final match. Western lost 6-4.[4]

Start of intercollegiate hockey

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Western entered the intercollegiate competition in the 1923-24 season.[5][4] This league comprised St. Michael’s College of Toronto, the Ontario Agricultural College and the University of Toronto. The team also played some exhibition games during 1920s, including a game against Princeton University in the 1926-27 season and one against the University of Michigan in the 1928-29 season.[4]

In the 1932-33 season, Western won its first Canadian Intermediate Intercollegiate Championship by beating the University of Ottawa in the finals 6-1. Hockey at Western proceeded into the 1930s but was suspended in 1941-44 due to World War II.[4] When the London Arena was not available for the 1936–37 season, J. Howard Crocker arranged to play home games in Brantford, and have practices an outdoor rink on campus.[6] After the war, the team kept competing in the Intermediate Intercollegiate league, as well as the senior London City League.[4]

A Western vs. Queen's game in 2013.

The team continued until the mid 1950s. During this time, a lack of funding and ice time caused the team to be cancelled in 1955. The university did not have a rink at this time and there was little funding for intermediate teams.

Senior intercollegiate hockey and the OUA

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In the 1964-65 season, Western joined the Ontario-Quebec Athletic Association.[4] This was due to large support from Bill L’Heureux over the years prior. During this season, L'Heureux acted as the coach and the team placed third in a ten-team league, finishing 4th in the playoffs. While attending Western, Brian Conacher played with the Mustangs during their first season. Ron Watson took over as coach in 1965 and coached the Mustangs for 20 seasons, leading the team to the playoffs 18 years out of his 20 year reign.

1980s - 2000s

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After Ron Watson, Barry Martinelli took over in 1985. Mike Tomlak played for Western in the 1986-87 season. The team had medium success during this time, but it started to rise when Steve Rucchin joined the Mustangs from 1990 to 1994.[4][7] Rucchin scored 24 points in his first year, 62 points in his second, and 48 points in his third. On this rising success, Western won the first league OUA title in the 1994-95 season.[8] Martinelli retired as coach in 1999, where the position was filled by the assistant coach at the time, Clarke Singer.

Clarke Singer is the current coach of the Western Mustangs and has been coaching the team since 1999.[9] He has brought the team to its only national championship in 2001.

Season-by-season results

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[10]

Senior and collegiate play

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Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points

U Sports Champion U Sports Semifinalist Conference regular season champions Conference Division Champions Conference Playoff Champions
Season Conference Regular Season Conference Tournament Results National Tournament Results
Conference Overall
GP W L T Pts* Finish GP W L T %
Junior Hockey
1914–15 OHA 4 3 1 0 6 T–1st ? ? ? ? ? Won Group 8 Final series, 17–13 (Woodstock)
Lost quarterfinal series, 5–7 (Berlin Union Jacks)
Program suspended due to World War I
Senior and Intercollegiate Hockey
1923–24 Intermediate ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
1924–25 Intermediate ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
1925–26 Intermediate 4 1 2 1 3 ? ? ? ? ? ?
1926–27 Intermediate 5 2 2 1 5 T–1st ? ? ? ? ? Lost Championship, 2–3 (Royal Military College)
1927–28 Intermediate 6 3 1 2 8 2nd ? ? ? ? ? Lost Semifinal series, 5–8 (Toronto jr. varsity)
1928–29 Intermediate ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
OHA 8 5 3 0 10 ? Won OHA Group 11 Final series, 6–4 (Glencoe)
Lost OHA First Round series, 1–14 (Windsor)
1929–30 Intermediate 2 1 0 1 3 ? ? ? ? ? ? Lost Intermediate Western Final series, 8–9 (Toronto jr. varsity)
OHA 9 1 7 1 3 ? Lost OHA Section B Round-Robin, 3–4 (Ingersoll), 0–2 (Paris)
1930–31 Intermediate / OHA 4 1 3 0 2 ? ? ? ? ? ?
1931–32 Intermediate 5 3 2 0 6 ? ? ? ? ? ?
OHA 6 3 1 2 16 ? Lost OHA Group 11 series, 2–6 (Windsor)
1932–33 Intermediate 6 5 1 1 10 T–3rd ? ? ? ? ? Won Championship, 6–1 (Ottawa)
OHA 4 3 0 1 7 ? Lost OHA Section B series, 3–7 (Chatham Maroons)
1933–34 OHA 7 1 5 1 12 ? ? ? ? ? ?
1934–35 OHA 8 1 7 0 4 ? ? ? ? ? ?
1935–36 OHA 12 2 7 3 7 ? ? ? ? ? ?
Program suspended
1937–38 Intermediate 6 4 2 0 8 ? ? ? ? ? ?
1938–39 Intermediate 6 1 5 0 2 ? ? ? ? ? ?
Totals GP W L T % Championships
Regular Season ? ? ? ? ? 1 Intermediate Championship
Conference Post-season ? ? ? ? ?
Regular Season and Postseason Record ? ? ? ? ?

Note: In 1931 the OHA used the Intermediate results for its standings rather than holding a separate schedule.

Collegiate only

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

U Sports Champion U Sports Semifinalist Conference regular season champions Conference Division Champions Conference Playoff Champions
Season Conference Regular Season Conference Tournament Results National Tournament Results
Conference Overall
GP W L T OTL SOL Pts* Finish GP W L T %
1964–65 QOAA 16 11 4 1 – – 23 3rd 17 11 5 1 .676 Lost Semifinal, 4–6 (Montreal)
1965–66 QOAA 16 12 2 2 – – 26 2nd 16 12 2 2 .813
1966–67 QOAA 16 10 6 0 – – 20 3rd 17 10 7 0 .588 Lost Semifinal, 2–6 (Waterloo)
1967–68 QOAA 16 7 9 0 – – 18 5th 16 7 9 0 .438
1968–69 QOAA 15 7 7 1 – – 15 6th 15 7 7 1 .500
1969–70 QOAA 15 5 6 4 – – 14 7th 15 5 6 4 .467
1970–71 QOAA 15 4 8 3 – – 11 9th 15 4 8 3 .367
1971–72 OUAA 19 11 5 3 – – 25 3rd 21 12 6 3 .643 Won Western Semifinal, 5–2 (Windsor)
Lost Semifinal, 2–5 (Toronto)
1972–73 OUAA 17 14 3 0 – – 28 2nd 20 16 4 0 .800 Won Western Semifinal, 7–1 (Windsor)
Won Semifinal, 5–4 (Laurentian)
Lost Championship, 1–8 (Toronto)
1973–74 OUAA 17 13 4 0 – – 26 4th 20 15 5 0 .750 Won Quarterfinal, 4–1 (Guelph)
Won Semifinal, 6–4 (Toronto)
Lost Championship, 1–8 (Waterloo)
1974–75 OUAA 17 11 4 2 – – 24 3rd 19 12 5 2 .684 Won Western Semifinal, 12–3 (Wilfrid Laurier)
Lost Semifinal, 2–5 (York)
1975–76 OUAA 20 14 6 0 – – 26 T–3rd 21 14 7 0 .667 Lost Semifinal, 2–5 (York)
1976–77 OUAA 20 9 9 2 – – 20 T–7th 20 9 9 2 .500
1977–78 OUAA 20 14 3 3 – – 31 3rd 22 15 4 3 .750 Won Quarterfinal, 9–4 (Windsor)
Lost Semifinal, 0–6 (Wilfrid Laurier)
1978–79 OUAA 16 7 5 4 – – 18 6th 18 8 6 4 .556 Won Quarterfinal, ? (Wilfrid Laurier)
Lost Semifinal, ? (Guelph)
1979–80 OUAA 22 11 9 2 – – 24 7th 22 11 9 2 .545
1980–81 OUAA 22 14 4 4 – – 32 2nd 26 16 6 4 .692 Won Semifinal series, 2–0 (Toronto)
Lost Championship series, 0–2 (Queen's)
1981–82 OUAA 22 12 9 1 – – 25 7th 22 12 9 1 .568
1982–83 OUAA 24 20 4 0 – – 40 2nd 27 21 6 0 .778 Lost Semifinal series, 1–2 (Wilfrid Laurier)
1983–84 OUAA 24 15 8 1 – – 31 3rd 30 18 11 1 .617 Won Quarterfinal, 9–4 (Queen's)
Won Semifinal series, 2–1 (Wilfrid Laurier)
Lost Championship series, 0–2 (Toronto)
1984–85 OUAA 24 15 7 2 – – 32 3rd 30 19 9 2 .667 Won Quarterfinal, 8–5 (Guelph)
Won Semifinal series, 2–0 (Wilfrid Laurier)
Lost Championship series, 1–2 (York)
1985–86 OUAA 24 17 5 2 – – 36 4th 27 18 7 2 .704 Won Quarterfinal, 4–3 (Windsor)
Lost Semifinal series, 0–2 (Wilfrid Laurier)
1986–87 OUAA 24 20 2 2 – – .875 1st 34 25 7 2 .765 Won Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Windsor)
Won Semifinal series, 2–1 (Wilfrid Laurier)
Lost Championship series, 1–2 (York) 		Lost Pool 1 Round-Robin, 2–5 (Saskatchewan), 1–3 (Prince Edward Island)
1987–88 OUAA 26 17 4 5 – – 39 3rd 34 21 8 5 .691 Won Division Semifinal series, 2–0 (Waterloo)
Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (York)
Won Semifinal, 3–2 (Quebec–Trois-Rivières)
Lost Championship, 1–5 (York) 		Won Semifinal, 3–1 (Prince Edward Island)
Lost Championship, 3–5 (York)
1988–89 OUAA 26 19 2 5 – – 43 T–1st 28 19 4 5 .768 Lost Division Semifinal series, 0–2 (Wilfrid Laurier)
1989–90 OUAA 22 11 9 2 – – 24 8th 24 11 11 2 .500 Lost Division Semifinal series, 0–2 (Wilfrid Laurier)
1990–91 OUAA 22 12 7 3 – – 27 T–6th 23 12 8 3 .587 Lost First Round, 2–3 (Guelph)
1991–92 OUAA 22 16 5 1 – – 33 2nd 24 16 7 1 .688 Lost Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Wilfrid Laurier)
1992–93 OUAA 22 12 8 2 – – 26 T–6th 23 12 9 2 .565 Lost First Round, 4–8 (Windsor)
1993–94 OUAA 24 22 1 1 – – 45 1st 29 25 3 1 .879 Won Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Queen's)
Won Semifinal, 2–1 (York)
Lost Championship, 1–2 (Guelph) 		Lost Semifinal, 5–6 (Guelph)
1994–95 OUAA 24 16 6 2 – – 34 2nd 29 20 7 2 .724 Won Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Waterloo)
Won Semifinal, 7–2 (York)
Won Championship, 5–4 (Guelph) 		Lost Semifinal, 4–5 (Moncton)
1995–96 OUAA 26 16 8 2 – – 34 3rd 27 16 9 2 .630 Lost Division Semifinal, 4–5 (2OT) (Windsor)
1996–97 OUAA 26 15 11 0 – – 30 T–6th 29 16 13 0 .552 Won Division Semifinal, 6–2 (Windsor)
Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Waterloo)
1997–98 OUA 26 15 8 3 – – 33 5th 29 16 10 3 .603 Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Waterloo)
1998–99 OUA 26 14 12 0 – – 28 8th 26 14 12 0 .538
1999–00 OUA 26 19 3 4 – – 42 T–2nd 32 22 6 4 .750 Won Division Final series, 2–0 (Wilfrid Laurier)
Won Semifinal, 5–1 (York)
Lost Championship, 2–3 (Quebec–Trois-Rivières) 		Lost Pool A Round-Robin, 2–3 (New Brunswick), 2–3 (Saskatchewan)
2000–01 OUA 24 21 3 0 – – 42 2nd 30 25 5 0 .833 Won Division Final series, 2–0 (Waterloo)
Won Semifinal, 7–3 (York)
Lost Championship, 3–4 (Quebec–Trois-Rivières) 		Lost Pool A Round-Robin, 2–5 (St. Francis Xavier), 5–3 (Alberta)
2001–02 OUA 24 22 0 2 – – 46 1st 32 28 2 2 .906 Won Division Final series, 2–1 (Lakehead)
Won Semifinal, 5–3 (York)
Lost Championship, 4–5 (Quebec–Trois-Rivières) 		Won Pool A Round-Robin, 5–2 (Guelph), 4–1 (Alberta)
Won Championship, 4–3 (3OT) (Quebec–Trois-Rivières)
2002–03 OUA 24 24 0 0 – – 48 1st 26 24 2 0 .923 Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Lakehead)
2003–04 OUA 24 21 3 0 0 – 42 1st 27 22 5 0 .815 Lost Division Final series, 1–2 (Lakehead)
2004–05 OUA 24 17 6 0 1 – 35 T–1st 33 22 11 0 .667 Won Division Final series, 2–1 (Waterloo)
Won Semifinal series, 2–1 (Lakehead)
Won Championship, 4–0 (Quebec–Trois-Rivières) 		Lost Pool A Round-Robin, 3–8 (Moncton), 0–3 (Saskatchewan)
2005–06 OUA 24 21 2 1 0 – 43 T–1st 27 22 4 1 .833 Lost Division Final series, 1–2 (Lakehead)
2006–07 OUA 28 17 6 3 2 – 39 4th 34 20 11 3 .632 Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (Brock)
Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Waterloo)
2007–08 OUA 28 18 5 – 1 4 41 3rd 34 21 9 4 .676 Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (York)
Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Brock)
2008–09 OUA 28 19 7 – 2 0 41 3rd 38 26 12 0 .684 Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (Guelph)
Won Division Semifinal series, 2–0 (York)
Won Division Final series, 2–0 (Wilfrid Laurier)
Won Championship, 2–1 (McGill) 		Won Pool B Round-Robin, 3–4 (McGill), 7–2 (Saint Mary's)
Lost Championship, 2–4 (New Brunswick)
2009–10 OUA 28 21 7 – 0 0 42 3rd 35 25 10 0 .714 Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (Ontario Tech)
Won Division Semifinal series, 2–0 (Windsor)
'Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Lakehead)
2010–11 OUA 28 20 3 – 2 3 45 2nd 38 27 8 3 .750 Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Windsor)
Won Division Semifinal series, 2–1 (Waterloo)
Won Division Final series, 2–0 (Guelph)
Lost Championship, 2–6 (McGill) 		Lost Pool B Round-Robin, 3–2 (Calgary), 0–4 (New Brunswick)
2011–12 OUA 28 21 4 – 1 2 45 2nd 39 29 8 2 .769 Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Wilfrid Laurier)
Won Division Semifinal series, 2–0 (Brock)
Won Division Final series, 2–1 (Windsor)
Lost Championship, 1–4 (McGill) 		Won Pool B Round-Robin, 3–2 (3OT) (Quebec–Trois-Rivières), 3–2 (New Brunswick)
Lost Championship, 3–4 (OT) (McGill)
2012–13 OUA 28 21 5 – 1 1 44 1st 33 24 8 1 .742 Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Ontario Tech)
Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Waterloo)
2013–14 OUA 28 21 6 – 1 0 43 4th 34 24 10 0 .706 Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (Guelph)
Lost Division Semifinal series, 1–2 (Windsor)
2014–15 OUA 27 19 7 – 1 0 39 5th 29 19 10 0 .655 Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Lakehead)
2015–16 OUA 28 18 10 – 0 0 36 7th 37 24 13 0 .649 Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Wilfrid Laurier)
Won Division Semifinal series, 2–1 (Toronto)
Won Division Final series, 2–1 (Guelph)
Lost Championship, 3–4 (OT) (Quebec–Trois-Rivières) 		Lost Quarterfinal, 1–5 (New Brunswick)
2016–17 OUA 28 8 16 – 2 2 20 17th 28 8 18 2 .321
2017–18 OUA 28 14 11 – 2 1 31 12th 31 15 15 1 .500 Lost Division Quarterfinal series, 1–2 (Ryerson)
2018–19 OUA 28 15 12 – 0 1 31 T–9th 35 19 15 1 .557 Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Wilfrid Laurier)
Won Division Semifinal series, 2–1 (Brock)
Lost Division Final series, 1–2 (Guelph)
Lost Bronze Medal Game, 0–3 (Carleton)
2019–20 OUA 28 11 13 – 4 0 26 15th 39 18 21 0 .462 Won Division Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (Toronto)
Won Division Semifinal series, 2–1 (Ryerson)
Lost Division Final series, 1–2 (Guelph)
Won Bronze Medal Game, 5–2 (Concordia) 		Won Quarterfinal, 3–2 (Saskatchewan)
Remainder of tournament cancelled
2020–21 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021–22 OUA 14 7 7 – 0 0 .500 T–11th 15 7 8 0 .467 Lost First Round, 4–5 (2OT) (Ryerson)
2022–23 OUA 27 11 11 – 5 0 27 T–12th 27 11 16 0 .407
2023–24 OUA 28 10 18 – 0 0 20 16th 28 10 18 0 .357
Totals GP W L T/SOL % Championships
Regular Season 1361 874 400 89 .674 1 Central Division Title, 9 Far West Division Titles, 9 West Division Titles, 3 OUAA Championships, 6 OUA Championships
Conference Post-season 188 102 86 0 .543 1 OUAA Championship, 2 OUA Championships
U Sports Postseason 25 11 14 0 .440 13 National Tournament appearances
Regular Season and Postseason Record 1576 987 500 89 .655 1 National Championship

Note: Totals include results from 1964–65 onward.

Notable players

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Western has had multiple NHL and All-Canadian players over the years. These include:

References

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  1. ^ "Hockey (M): Past Champions". Ontario University Athletics. Archived from the original on October 16, 2013.
  2. ^ "Past Champs". english.cis-sic.ca.
  3. ^ "JP Metras Sports Museum". www.lib.uwo.ca. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Gage, Bob (2000). Mustang Tales: A history of men's sports in the 20th century at Western. London, Ontario, Canada: W Club. ISBN 0968938604.
  5. ^ "JP Metras Sports Museum". www.lib.uwo.ca. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  6. ^ "Western U Sextet Play At Brantford". Brantford Expositor. Brantford, Ontario. October 26, 1936. p. 13. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  7. ^ "Rucchin: Focus was key to Kariya's success". NHL.com. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  8. ^ "Ontario University Athletics (OUA)". oua.ca. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  9. ^ "Elite Prospects - Clarke Singer Team Staff Profile". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  10. ^ "MEN'S HOCKEY". Western Mustangs. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
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