OUA men's ice hockey tournament explained

Ontario University Athletics men's ice hockey tournament
Optional Subheader:Conference hockey championship
Sport:Ice hockey
Conference:Ontario University Athletics
Format:Single-elimination
Years:1998–present
Trophy:Queen's Cup

The Ontario University Athletics ice hockey tournament is an annual conference championship held between member teams. The winner receives an automatic bid to the U Sports men's ice hockey championship.

History

Four division league

In 1997, the OUAA changes its name to Ontario University Athletics (OUA). Coinciding with the rebranding was a change to the playoff format. The OUA used the same qualifications as the OUAA had; the four division winners received byes into the quarterfinal round while the second- and third-place teams met in the first round. The first round was changed to a two-game series where if the teams remained tied after the two matches than a 20-minute mini-game was used as a tiebreaker (mini-games are unofficial matches that are not counted for any statistical category). The Divisional Finals were also altered, becoming a best-of-five series. This format lasted for only one year and the following season the mini-game was replaced by a regular best-of-three series while the second round went from best-of-five to best-of-three.

The playoff format remained constant for several years but saw a small change in 2005. The OUA paired the eastern and western divisions for the postseason. The four division champions were still given byes into the second round, however, the remaining four teams for each bracket were selected based upon their regular season record and seeded accordingly. Additionally, the division final round was now also changed to a best-of-three series.

Two division league

In the later half of the 00s, OUA added three more schools to the lineup. After the arrival of Nipissing, the league abandoned the cumbersome four division format and switched to eastern and western halves. Additionally, the tournament was expanded to 16 teams with all beginning play in the division quarterfinal round. The league also would hold a third place game in alternating years starting with 2012. When the national tournament expanded to 8 teams in 2015, it began offering three automatic bids to the OUA, causing the conference to make the third place game a permanent fixture.[1]

As a result of the restrictions during the 2021–22 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league was temporarily rearranged into four division. Additionally, all rounds were switched to single-elimination for this season. Furthermore, the teams were not reseeded after the first round due to the short time between matches. After the COVID restrictions ended, the league contracted its tournament, limiting entry to 12 teams and giving byes to the top two teams from each division.

Tournaments

1998

Far EastMid EastMid WestFar West
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1Quebec–Trois-Rivières20–4–21Guelph17–5–41York13–11–21Windsor22–3–1
T–2Concordia13–11–22Toronto10–13–32Brock10–15–12Waterloo15–7–4
T–2McGill12–10–43Queen's8–16–23Laurentian9–16–13Western Ontario15–8–3
4Ottawa13–12–14Royal Military College2–20–44Ryerson3–19–44Wilfrid Laurier6–18–2
Mini-games in italics.
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

1999

Far EastMid EastMid WestFar West
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1Quebec–Trois-Rivières20–5–11Guelph11–10–51York8–10–71Windsor17–6–3
2Concordia16–7–32Queen's5–14–72Brock10–14–22Wilfrid Laurier14–7–5
3Ottawa17–9–03Toronto6–16–43Laurentian8–13–53Waterloo11–8–7
4McGill13–9–44Royal Military College4–21–14Ryerson6–19–04Western Ontario14–12–0
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2000

Far EastMid EastMid WestFar West
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1Quebec–Trois-Rivières20–2–41Guelph10–12–41Brock13–10–31Western Ontario19–3–4
2McGill21–5–02Toronto10–13–3T–2Laurentian9–14–32Windsor11–9–6
3Concordia14–9–33Queen's9–15–2T–2York9–14–33Wilfrid Laurier11–10–5
4Ottawa8–14–44Royal Military College3–23–04Ryerson9–16–14Waterloo9–16–1
Note: York forfeited six wins during the season for using an ineligible player.Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2001

Far EastMid EastMid WestFar West
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1Quebec–Trois-Rivières21–1–21Toronto13–10–11York15–6–31Western Ontario21–3–0
2Concordia10–9–52Queen's6–16–2T–2Brock11–11–22Waterloo15–7–2
3McGill10–11–33Royal Military College5–19–0T–2Guelph11–11–23Wilfrid Laurier9–11–4
4Ottawa6–16–24Ryerson4–20–04Windsor8–14–2
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2002

Far EastMid EastMid WestFar West
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
T–1Ottawa15–8–11Toronto13–7–41York17–4–31Western Ontario22–0–2
T–1Quebec–Trois-Rivières15–8–12Ryerson10–14–02Guelph11–12–12Lakehead13–8–3
3McGill13–9–23Royal Military College8–15–1T–3Brock7–13–43Windsor8–15–1
4Concordia11–12–14Queen's4–19–1T–3Wilfrid Laurier8–14–24Waterloo3–20–1
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2003

Far EastMid EastMid WestFar West
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1Quebec–Trois-Rivières20–2–21Toronto16–5–31York17–6–11Western Ontario24–0–0
2McGill16–6–22Queen's7–17–02Wilfrid Laurier12–11–12Lakehead18–6–0
3Ottawa13–9–23Royal Military College6–17–13Brock8–16–03Windsor8–15–1
4Concordia9–13–24Ryerson2–21–14Guelph6–17–14Waterloo1–22–1
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2004

Far EastMid EastMid WestFar West
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1Ottawa17–3–3–11Toronto9–10–4–11York15–5–4–01Western Ontario21–3–0–0
2Quebec–Trois-Rivières14–5–4–12Queen's9–13–2–02Brock13–8–3–02Lakehead18–4–2–0
3Concordia11–10–3–03Royal Military College3–20–0–13Wilfrid Laurier10–8–3–33Waterloo8–14–0–2
4McGill9–9–4–24Ryerson3–21–0–04Guelph8–12–2–24Windsor7–17–0–0
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2005

Far EastMid EastMid WestFar West
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1McGill17–6–1–01Toronto12–11–1–01York12–6–5–11Western Ontario17–6–0–1
2Quebec–Trois-Rivières15–5–3–12Royal Military College8–10–0–62Wilfrid Laurier12–10–2–02Lakehead15–8–1–0
3Concordia14–8–1–13Queen's8–14–0–23Guelph8–11–4–13Waterloo13–8–3–0
4Ottawa13–8–2–14Ryerson1–22–0–14Brock6–16–1–14Windsor7–10–4–3
Note: Scores for individual games in the first three rounds are mostly unavailable. The aggregate results presented are for the series.
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2006

Far EastMid EastMid WestFar West
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1McGill20–1–3–01Toronto8–13–2–11Wilfrid Laurier13–8–2–11Western Ontario21–2–1–0
2Quebec–Trois-Rivières16–6–2–02Royal Military College7–12–5–02York10–11–1–22Waterloo15–6–3–0
3Ottawa13–8–2–13Queen's7–15–1–13Brock9–11–2–23Lakehead13–9–2–0
4Concordia7–11–3–34Ryerson1–21–1–14Guelph7–14–3–04Windsor7–12–3–2
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2007

Far EastMid EastMid WestFar West
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1Quebec–Trois-Rivières17–5–3–31Toronto18–9–1–01Wilfrid Laurier22–5–1–01Waterloo21–4–2–1
2McGill15–7–5–12Queen's8–14–5–12York13–10–3–22Western Ontario17–6–3–2
3Ottawa11–12–3–23Royal Military College7–16–4–13Brock14–12–1–13Lakehead13–10–3–2
4Concordia8–16–3–14Ryerson2–23–2–14Guelph7–14–3–44Windsor10–17–0–1
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2008

Far EastMid EastMid WestFar West
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1Quebec–Trois-Rivières22–5–0–11Queen's13–12–0–31Brock17–8–1–21Lakehead23–4–0–1
2McGill18–9–0–12Toronto13–13–0–22York14–11–2–12Western Ontario18–5–1–4
3Ottawa14–12–0–23Royal Military College10–16–0–23Guelph12–13–1–23Waterloo18–10–0–0
4Carleton12–13–2–14Ryerson9–16–1–24Ontario Tech6–19–2–14Wilfrid Laurier16–9–1–2
5Concordia11–14–2–15Windsor6–21–0–1
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2009

Far EastMid EastMid WestFar West
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1Quebec–Trois-Rivières21–4–3–01Toronto14–11–1–21York14–11–0–31Wilfrid Laurier22–5–1–0
2McGill18–8–1–12Queen's12–13–1–22Guelph14–12–1–12Western Ontario19–7–2–0
3Concordia14–12–0–23Royal Military College8–18–1–13Brock9–14–3–23Waterloo18–7–0–3
4Carleton13–11–3–14Ryerson5–22–0–14Ontario Tech7–16–4–14Lakehead18–8–1–1
5Ottawa12–11–3–25Windsor13–13–0–2
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2010

EastWest
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1Quebec–Trois-Rivières23–3–1–11Western Ontario21–7–0–0
2McGill22–6–0–02Waterloo20–7–0–1
3Toronto15–9–2–23Lakehead19–7–0–2
4Carleton15–10–1–24Wilfrid Laurier17–7–4–0
5Queen's14–12–1–15Guelph14–10–0–4
6Ryerson12–13–0–36York12–13–3–0
7Nipissing12–15–0–17Windsor10–13–3–2
8Concordia8–16–1–38Ontario Tech11–15–0–2
9Royal Military College6–18–3–19Brock9–17–1–1
10Ottawa6–20–2–0
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2011

EastWest
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1McGill24–2–0–21Western Ontario20–3–2–3
2Quebec–Trois-Rivières19–8–1–02Wilfrid Laurier15–7–2–4
3Carleton18–8–0–23Lakehead16–9–3–0
4Nipissing17–8–0–34Guelph15–10–1–2
5Queen's14–11–3–05Brock13–9–4–2
6Toronto10–11–5–26Waterloo15–12–0–1
7Concordia12–14–2–0T–7Ontario Tech12–12–2–2
8Ottawa11–14–1–2T–7Windsor12–12–2–2
9Ryerson8–18–1–19York10–16–1–1
10Royal Military College5–22–1–0
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2012

EastWest
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1McGill22–4–2–01Western Ontario21–4–1–2
2Quebec–Trois-Rivières19–7–1–12Lakehead19–9–0–0
3Nipissing17–7–1–33Waterloo15–9–3–1
4Toronto16–9–2–14York14–10–1–3
5Carleton15–10–1–25Windsor15–12–0–1
T–6Ottawa14–13–0–16Brock13–14–1–0
T–6Ryerson13–12–1–27Guelph9–14–3–2
T–8Queen's13–13–0–28Wilfrid Laurier9–17–1–1
T–8Concordia13–13–1–19Ontario Tech6–21–1–0
10Royal Military College3–23–2–0
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2013

EastWest
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1Quebec–Trois-Rivières21–6–0–11Western Ontario21–5–1–1
2Carleton19–7–1–12Windsor18–9–0–1
3McGill17–7–0–4T–3Lakehead17–9–1–1
4Ottawa16–8–2–2T–3Guelph17–9–0–2
5Toronto13–9–3–35Wilfrid Laurier14–12–2–0
6Nipissing14–12–1–16Waterloo12–11–0–5
7Queen's10–11–6–17York14–14–0–0
8Ryerson12–16–0–0T–8Ontario Tech11–16–0–1
9Concordia8–15–2–3T–8Brock9–14–4–1
10Royal Military College3–22–2–1
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2014

EastWest
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1Carleton22–5–1–01Western Ontario21–6–1–0
T–2Quebec–Trois-Rivières22–6–0–02Lakehead17–8–2–1
T–2McGill21–5–1–1T–3Ryerson17–11–0–0
4Queen's17–6–2–3T–3Windsor17–11–0–0
5Ottawa17–10–0–1T–5Toronto15–11–1–1
6Concordia11–13–2–2T–5Brock14–10–2–2
7Ontario Tech8–16–3–1T–7York13–13–1–1
8Nipissing7–16–2–3T–7Guelph12–12–2–2
9Laurentian5–22–0–1T–7Waterloo12–12–2–2
10Royal Military College3–22–2–110Wilfrid Laurier9–17–2–0
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2015

EastWest
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1McGill21–5–0–01Windsor22–4–1–0
T–2Carleton20–5–0–12Western Ontario19–7–1–0
T–2Quebec–Trois-Rivières19–4–1–23Waterloo17–8–1–1
4Laurentian14–9–3–04Ryerson14–12–1–0
5Queen's13–12–1–05Toronto13–13–1–0
6Nipissing12–12–2–06Guelph11–13–3–0
7Ontario Tech10–15–1–07Lakehead10–14–3–0
8Concordia8–17–1–08Brock10–15–2–0
9Royal Military College0–23–3–0T–9Wilfrid Laurier10–16–1–0
T–9York9–15–2–1
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2016

EastWest
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1Quebec–Trois-Rivières24–3–1–01York16–7–4–1
2McGill21–6–1–02Western Ontario18–10–0–0
3Carleton20–7–0–1T–3Guelph16–11–1–0
T–4Ontario Tech18–8–1–1T–3Waterloo16–11–1–0
T–4Queen's17–7–3–15Windsor14–11–1–2
6Nipissing12–12–3–16Ryerson14–13–1–0
7Concordia10–12–6–07Wilfrid Laurier14–14–0–0
8Laurentian7–15–5–18Toronto11–15–2–0
9Royal Military College4–21–3–09Lakehead8–16–3–1
10Brock6–15–6–1
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2017

EastWest
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1McGill21–4–2–11Ryerson22–4–2–0
2Concordia19–7–2–02York18–6–3–1
3Queen's18–7–2–13Wilfrid Laurier15–9–3–1
T–4Quebec–Trois-Rivières16–9–1–24Guelph15–12–1–0
T–4Carleton16–9–2–15Brock14–13–1–0
T–4Ottawa15–8–4–1T–6Windsor13–13–1–1
7Ontario Tech16–11–1–0T–6Lakehead13–13–2–0
8Laurentian11–12–5–0T–6Waterloo12–12–4–0
9Nipissing8–18–1–19Western Ontario8–16–2–2
10Royal Military College6–20–1–110Toronto5–21–0–2
Note: In January 2018, Quebec–Trois-Rivières was ruled to have used an ineligible player and required to forfeit a total of 7 games from this season. The records here are what the standings were at the beginning of the tournament.[2] Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2018

EastWest
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1McGill22–4–1–11Guelph21–6–1–0
2Queen's19–6–3–0T–2York17–10–0–1
3Concordia18–7–2–1T–2Ryerson15–10–1–2
4Carleton17–7–2–2T–4Wilfrid Laurier15–10–1–2
5Ottawa16–8–3–1T–4Brock14–9–3–2
6Ontario Tech15–9–3–16Western Ontario14–11–2–1
7Nipissing9–15–2–2T–7Lakehead11–12–3–2
8Laurentian10–17–0–1T–7Windsor10–11–4–3
T–9Quebec–Trois-Rivières9–18–1–09Toronto11–16–1–0
T–9Royal Military College7–16–5–010Waterloo9–15–3–1
Note: In January 2018, Quebec–Trois-Rivières was ruled to have used an ineligible player and required to forfeit a total of 11 games from this season.[2] Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2019

EastWest
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1Ottawa22–2–1–31Ryerson20–5–2–1
2Carleton18–5–2–32Brock19–5–4–0
3McGill17–7–3–13Western Ontario15–12–0–1
4Queen's18–10–0–04Guelph13–11–0–4
5Ontario Tech14–9–4–1T–5Windsor13–14–0–1
6Concordia15–11–1–1T–5Wilfrid Laurier13–14–1–0
7Quebec–Trois-Rivières14–11–2–1T–7York12–14–2–0
8Laurentian9–18–1–0T–7Toronto11–13–3–1
9Nipissing8–19–1–0T–9Lakehead12–15–0–1
10Royal Military College7–19–2–0T–9Waterloo10–13–4–1
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2020

EastWest
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1Carleton24–3–1–01Toronto21–5–2–0
2Quebec–Trois-Rivières19–6–1–22Ryerson20–5–2–1
3Ottawa17–7–2–23Guelph17–6–4–1
4McGill16–10–2–04Windsor15–10–0–3
5Concordia13–10–5–05Brock14–12–2–0
6Ontario Tech13–12–3–0T–6Wilfrid Laurier13–12–2–1
7Queen's12–13–1–2T–6Lakehead13–12–3–0
T–8Royal Military College9–18–1–08Western Ontario11–13–4–0
T–8Nipissing8–17–1–29Waterloo11–15–2–0
10Laurentian5–21–1–110York9–17–2–0
Note: Windsor was required to forfeit two games during the season for using an ineligible player.Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2021

Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

2022

Far EastEastWestFar West
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1Quebec–Trois-Rivières10–3–1–11Queen's17–1–0–11Ryerson11–4–0–01Windsor12–3–1–0
2Concordia9–5–0–12Nipissing10–7–0–12Toronto9–6–2–02Wilfrid Laurier8–7–1–0
3Ottawa9–8–1–03Ontario Tech8–8–0–13Brock7–5–2–0T–3Western Ontario7–7–0–0
4Carleton4–4–2–14Royal Military College2–15–3–04York16–10–2–0T–3Waterloo8–8–0–0
5McGill6–11–0–05Lakehead6–9–0–15Guelph4–9–1–2
Note: Due to unbalanced schedules, the teams were sorted based upon winning percentage rather than points.
Note: Guelph was required to forfeit three games due to violating OUA rules governing team composition.Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

2023

EastWest
SeedSchoolStandingsSeedSchoolStandings
1Quebec–Trois-Rivières21–4–1–0T–1Lakehead18–6–2–1
2Concordia19–7–0–0T–1Windsor18–6–3–0
3McGill14–8–3–13Brock17–9–0–1
4Carleton14–9–2–14Toronto Metropolitan16–9–2–0
5Ontario Tech13–10–3–05Toronto14–10–3–0
6Ottawa13–11–2–0T–6Wilfrid Laurier13–13–1–0
7Queen's12–12–2–0T–6Western Ontario11–11–5–0
8Royal Military College7–17–1–1T–6Guelph10–10–7–0
9Nipissing4–17–4–19York12–13–2–0
10Waterloo6–18–1–2
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Championships

SchoolChampionships
10
5
2
2
2
2
1
1

See also

References

Men's Hockey Champions

Notes and References

  1. Web site: CIS National Championships: Format Changes. March 27, 2014. Canadian Interuniversity Sport. April 2, 2016.
  2. Web site: UQTR forfeits 13 games, T-Wolves gain two wins . TBNews Watch . January 18, 2018 . February 7, 2024.