U Sports women's ice hockey championship
The Golden Path Trophy is a national collegiate sports award, presented annually to the women's ice hockey champions of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. The trophy was donated by Katherine Cartwright in 1998, which is when the championship was first contested. Cartwright was the first head coach of the Queen's Gaels women's hockey program in 1971 and led the movement to reinstate women's hockey at the collegiate level in 1960, following a nine-year hiatus.[1]
| Golden Path Trophy | |
|---|---|
| First played | 1998 |
| Most recently played | 2019 |
| Current champions | Guelph Gryphons |
| Current runners-up | McGill Martlets |
| Most titles | Alberta Pandas (8) |
| Website | usports |
The 2020 championship tournament was cancelled after two semi-final games had been played due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] On October 15, 2020, it was announced that the 2021 national championship was also cancelled.[3]
History
The championship has been competed for in U Sports since 1998, when the sport was established in what was then known as the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union. Prior to that, only teams from Ontario would compete for a women's ice hockey championship.
With the completion of the 2017 championship, 12 different teams have played in the national championship final. Eight different teams have won the national championship.
With the completion of the 2018 championship, the Alberta Pandas have won the most national championships, with eight wins in 10 appearances, followed by the McGill Martlets, with four wins in nine appearances. The Concordia Stingers and Montreal Carabins are next with two national championship wins, followed by five teams with one win each.
The Alberta Pandas hold the record of three consecutive championships, from 2002 through 2004.
Champions
Championship appearances
| Appearances | Team | Wins | Losses | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Alberta Pandas | 8 | 2 | .800 |
| 9 | McGill Martlets | 4 | 6 | .400 |
| 5 | Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks | 1 | 4 | .200 |
| 4 | Montreal Carabins | 2 | 2 | .500 |
| 1 | Guelph Gryphons | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 3 | Toronto Varsity Blues | 1 | 2 | .333 |
| 2 | Concordia Stingers | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2 | Calgary Dinos | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| 1 | Western Mustangs | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| 1 | Manitoba Bisons | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 1 | Regina Cougars | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| 1 | Ottawa Gee-Gees | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| 1 | St. Francis Xavier X-Women | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| 1 | UBC Thunderbirds | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Ontario champions pre-1998 national championship
Previously, the only significant Canadian university women's ice hockey championship was the determination of the champions in the large Ontario associations, as the few non-Ontario teams tended to play against local or regional community teams rather than in organized interuniversity associations. In Ontario, the Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Union (WIAU) existed from 1921–22 to 1970–71, then merged with the Ontario-Quebec University Athletic Association to forme the Ontario Women's Interuniversity Athletic Association (OWIAA), competing from 1971–72 to 1996–97. The OWIAA awarded the Dr. Judy McCaw trophy to its annual champion.
WIAU champions (1921–1971)
- 1921–22 University of Toronto
- 1922–23 University of Toronto
- 1923–24 University of Toronto
- 1924–25 University of Toronto
- 1925–26 Queen's University
- 1926–27 University of Toronto
- 1927–28 University of Toronto
- 1928–29 University of Toronto
- 1929–30 University of Toronto
- 1930–31 Queen's University
- 1931–32 University of Toronto
- 1932–33 University of Toronto
- 1933–34 University of Toronto
- 1934–35 University of Toronto
- 1935–36 University of Toronto
- 1936 at 1948 No official competition
- 1948–49 University of Toronto
- 1949–50 University of Toronto
- 1950–51 University of Toronto
- 1951 to 1960 No official competition
- 1960–61 University of Toronto
- 1961–62 University of Toronto
- 1962–63 University of Toronto / Queen's University
- 1963–64 University of Toronto
- 1964–65 University of Toronto
- 1965–66 University of Toronto
- 1966–67 University of Guelph
- 1967–68 University of Guelph
- 1968–69 University of Guelph
- 1969–70 University of Guelph
- 1970–71 McMaster University
OWIAA champions (1972–1997)
- 1971–72 University of Guelph
- 1972–73 Queen's University
- 1973–74 University of Guelph
- 1974–75 Queen's University
- 1975–76 McMaster University
- 1976–77 Queen's University
- 1977–78 McMaster University
- 1978–79 Queen's University
- 1979–80 University of Toronto
- 1980–81 University of Toronto
- 1981–82 University of Toronto
- 1982–83 York University
- 1983–84 University of Toronto
- 1984–85 University of Toronto
- 1985–86 University of Toronto
- 1986–87 York University
- 1987–88 University of Toronto
- 1988–89 University of Toronto
- 1989–90 University of Toronto
- 1990–91 University of Toronto
- 1991–92 University of Toronto
- 1992–93 University of Toronto
- 1993–94 Université de Toronto
- 1994–95 University of Guelph
- 1995–96 University of Toronto
- 1996–97 York University
Reference[15]
References
- U Sports Women's Hockey History
- "U Sports hockey championships cancelled due to COVID-19 outbreak". Sportsnet. 12 March 2020.
- "U Sports unable to offer national championships in winter 2021". usports.ca. U Sports. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- http://cis.infinityprosports.com/2004/index.php?page=schedule&season_id=2008&sport_name=whockey
- http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wice/2009-10/releases/20100314-final
- National Champions
- Dinos win CIS Women's Hockey Championship
- Fouracres scores in 2OT, Martlets edge archrivals for national title
- Fouracres nets winner in double OT as McGill conquers Carabins, wins fourth CIS title
- http://news.westernu.ca/2015/03/mustangs-nab-cis-womens-hockey-championship/
- http://en.cis-sic.ca/championships/wice/2016/boxscores_champ/20160320_mapm.xml
- http://en.usports.ca/championships/wice/2017/boxscores_champ/20170319_cbzj.xml
- CIS Past Champions
- Ontario University Athletics OUA Women's Hockey