Sherbrooke Cougars
| Sherbrooke Cougars of Collège Champlain | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada |
| League | RSEQ Quebec Cégep Hockey League |
| Division | Guilbault |
| Founded | 1970s |
| Home arena | John H. Price Sports Complex |
| Colours |
Navy Blue and Silver |
| General manager | Martin Lapré |
| Head coach | Pascal Rhéaume |
| Franchise history | |
| 1970s - 2002 | Champlain Cougars (collegiate) |
| 2002-2003 | Lennoxville Cougars |
| 2003-Present | Sherbrooke Cougars |
The Sherbrooke Cougars of Collège Champlain are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team from Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. They were part of the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League from 2002 to 2015.
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 (not the required two-year wait), and it was accepted.
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