Team History

Since the inception of the BC Intercollegiate Hockey League, the University of Victoria Hockey Club has been a perennial powerhouse. The team claimed the championship in the BCIHL's innaugural 2006-07 season and again in 2008-09. Possibly more impressive than the club's success is how the UVIC Hockey Club has become the professional, high calibre club it is today.

In 2005, the UVIC Hockey Club was as the name implied, a club. One small group of hockey enthusiasts would get together once or twice a week for a game of shinny. Occaisionally the club would travel to the mainland and play a friendly game with the SFU and TWU clubs. One of the members of the UVIC club was Rishi Mahal. In the summer of 2006, Mahal worked together with now BCIHL President Jeff Dubois and others who saw the void in BC for high calibre hockey past the Junior level. Driven by the desire of these individuals to promote education and hockey the BCIHL was created.

At the outset of the 2006-07 season, volunteer coach Harry Schamhart signed on to be a part of this new league and team. Try-outs were held and the first competitive hockey team at UVIC since the 1970s was born. The team was nearly perfect with a 13-0-1 record and went on to win all four games in the BCIHL Championships to capture the first title in league history with their undefeated season. The team was lead by Captain Drew Davis who, following the season, was offered a try-out with the Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL. The 2007-08 season saw SFU earn the crown but UVIC player Justin Cormier was promptly offered a Division III NCAA scholarship while goaltender Gord Neave was named an emergency back up goaltender for the Salmon Kings.

In 2008-09 the UVIC Hockey Club returned to form under the guidance of coach Steve Foster. After earning a spot in the BCIHL Championships for the third straight year, UVIC stunned the previously unbeatten SFU Clan 3-1 in the Finals to win their second banner. Brett Campbell was named the BCIHL League MVP. The following season SFU took top spot once again and today the UVIC Hockey Club is looking to take back top spot.

Through all of these years the team and the league has grown dramatically. Where teams were once likened to low Junior B or Senior league calibre the league is comprised mostly of players from Junior B, Junior A or WHL backgrounds. For UVIC, the growing pains have been stiff. The team has an annual budget shortfall of roughly $20,000 that is raised by the team members and student leaders. Ice times are hard to come by in Victoria and some games are started after 10PM. Today the team prides itself on its calibre of hockey and their involvement in the community and in doing so the club is quickly gaining recognition in the community in the form of sponsorship and ice allocations.

Players for the UVIC Hockey Club are met with the club's mantra "Pursuit of Education, Pursuit of Passion" at the beginning of each season and continuously reminded that education always comes first. The student-athletes that comprise the UVIC Hockey Club are dedicated students that simply love the game of hockey.