St. Thomas fielded an ice hockey squad at least as early as 1916, however, the sparse records do not indicate whether or not this was a varsity team. The records for an official squad do not begin until the Tommies joined the Maritime Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1937. In the early years, the team found itself lagging behind its contemporaries, however, the team's situation changed after returning following World War II. St. Thomas steadily improved throughout the 1950s and won its first regular season title in '59. Two years later, the Tommies captured their first league championship.
Unfortunately, the team was unable to sustain their success and began slipping down the standings afterwards. By the mid-70s, St. Thomas was playing so poorly that they won just 2 games over a 3-year span. The team suspended operations in 1975 but returned four years later, hoping that the time off could do them some good. For the first half of the 1980s, little appeared to have changed for the Tommies; the team routinely finished at the bottom of the standings and couldn't get a sniff of the postseason. The team was finally able to put together a winning season in 1986 and, three years later, made its first playoff appearance in nearly 20 years. That season saw the Tommies come achingly close to making their first appearance in the national tournament but a loss in the conference championship put those dreams on hold. Over the succeeding decade, the Tommies were mostly a mediocre team in their conference but they began to raise their level of play at the end of the 90s. After a few near misses, St. Thomas was finally able to win a second conference championship in 2001. The squad was quickly bounced from the national tournament, losing both round-robin games, and then finished last in the standings the following year.
Hopes were renewed in 2003 when St. Thomas won a regular season title but they were upset in the Semifinal round. The program declined afterwards, sinking to the bottom of the conference by 2010. Over a 7-year span, St. Thomas finished last every season save one and didn't make a single postseason appearance. With little hope on the horizon, the school's administration decided to end the program and invest the money elsewhere. At the time the team was running a deficit of approximately $250,000 per year with little to show for the price tag. Dawn Russell, the then-university president, reasoned that funding a competitive ice hockey team was beyond the means of the school.[1]
Season-by-season results
Senior and collegiate play
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points
