Sherbrooke Cougars


The Sherbrooke Cougars of Collège Champlain are a Junior ice hockey team from Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. They were part of the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League from 2002 to 2015.

History

The Champlain Cougars were founded in the 1970s, and played in collegiate leagues until 2002, when they joined the QJAAAHL in 2002.
The team played its first season as the Lennoxville Cougars, using the W.B. Scott Arena on the Bishop's University campus as their home arena, before moving to Sherbrooke in 2003 to fill in for the departed Sherbrooke Castors who relocated to Lewiston, Maine. In 2012, the Cougars moved out of the Palais des Sports to make way for the Sherbrooke Phoenix. The team now plays in the Thibault GM Complex.
In 2002-03, the Cougars won the Napa Cup as LHJAAAQ champions. They defeated the Longueuil College Francais in the finals. Lennoxville won the Fred Page Cup by defeating the CJHL's Nepean Raiders in the final and traveled to Charlottetown for the Royal Bank Cup, where they bowed out of the semi-finals to the Camrose Kodiaks of the AJHL.
In 2008 and 2009, the Cougars returned to the Fred Page Cup, but did not make the finals. In 2014, the Cougars played a close series with the Granby Inouk, who lost the series in 7 games. Sherbrooke came close again, against the Longueuil College Francais in the 2015 Napa Cup finals losing in 7 games, despite leading the series 2-0 and 3-2.
In 2015 the hockey team made a request to return to the re-established collegiate league for the 2016-2017 season. Following acceptance, the Sherbrooke Cougars were expelled by the QJAAAHL, so they would not be able to participate in the draft or play in the 2015-2016 season. The Sherbrooke Cougars were one of the most-dominant teams in the QJAAAHL. The Director of Athletics at Champlain College Lennoxville then made a special request to rejoin the collegiate league for the 2015-2016 season, and it was accepted.
The Champlain Cougars will play all home games at the new arena in the recently renovated John H. Price Sports Complex on campus.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
SeasonGP W L T OTLGF GA PointsFinishPlayoffs
2002-035041522231136861st QJAAAHLWon Championship
2003-0450202253212205488th QJAAAHL
2004-0548232401187166478th QJAAAHL
2005-065138904213146802nd QJAAAHLLost Semi-final
2006-0754272412204193577th QJAAAHLLost Quarter-final
2007-0852341314203162733rd QJAAAHLWon Championship
2008-09493414-1192115691st QJAAAHLWon Championship
2009-10513016-5219173656th QJAAAHLLost Quarter-final
2010-1149379-3231163771st QJAAAHL Lost Semi-final
2011-1249348-7227143751st QJAAAHL
2012-13522720-5230184598th QJAAAHLLost Semi-final
2013-14522720-5230184593rd QJAAAHLLost Final