Laurentian Voyageurs women's ice hockey
Laurentian University women's ice hockey program, discontinued in 2021.
The Laurentian Voyageurs women’s ice hockey team, often called the Lady Vees, competed for Laurentian University within the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports. The program was shut down in 2021, after the 2020–21 season was called off.
The team was part of the 705 Challenge Cup, a rivalry that began with a soccer match between Laurentian and Nipissing University for the Riley Gallo Cup. In 2016, the cup was expanded to include all regular season games between the two schools’ varsity teams in men’s and women’s basketball, ice hockey, and soccer. The overall win-loss record across these sports decided the annual cup winner. Nipissing’s Lakers claimed their first 705 Challenge Cup in the 2019–20 athletics season. The scores listed below show only the women’s ice hockey matchups from the cup’s introduction.
Head coach Stacey Colarossi, along with forwards Morgan McCann and Taylor Weber, represented Canada at the 2019 Winter Universiade.
Quick Facts
- Team Name
- Laurentian Voyageurs women's ice hockey
- First Season
- 2014–15
- University
- Laurentian University
- Conference
- Ontario University Athletics
- Conference Short
- OUA
- Governing Body
- U Sports
- Location
- Sudbury
- Coach
- Stacey Colarossi
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Voyageurs women's ice hockey program was part of the 705 Challenge Cup, a rivalry first established as a challenge between the varsity soccer teams of two Northern Ontario universities (Laurentian vs. Nipissing), with the winning team awarded the Riley Gallo Cup. The rivalry expanded in 2016 with the introduction of the 705 Challenge Cup, which comprised the results of all regular season games between the Lakers and the Voyageurs varsity teams for men’s and women’s basketball, ice hockey and soccer to determine the annual Cup winner. The Lakers won their first 705 Challenge Cup during the 2019-20 athletics season.
Following the cancellation of the 2020–21 season, the Laurentian Voyageurs discontinued their women's ice hockey program in 2021. The program had international representation: head coach Stacey Colarossi coached at the 2019 Winter Universiade, and forwards Morgan McCann and Taylor Weber played for Canada at ice hockey at the 2019 Winter Universiade.
Reader's Guide
The Laurentian Voyageurs women's ice hockey program, though short-lived, was part of a distinctive Northern Ontario rivalry formalized through the 705 Challenge Cup. This cup, originally a soccer challenge between Laurentian and Nipissing for the Riley Gallo Cup, expanded to include multiple varsity sports, including women's ice hockey, creating a comprehensive annual competition. The program's discontinuation in 2021, after the cancellation of the 2020–21 season, marked the end of women's ice hockey at Laurentian University. The program's legacy includes its participation in the 705 Challenge Cup and its contribution to Canadian university hockey, as evidenced by the involvement of head coach Stacey Colarossi and players Morgan McCann and Taylor Weber at the 2019 Winter Universiade. The Lady Vees name and the team's history remain part of the broader narrative of U Sports women's hockey in Ontario.
Did You Know?
- The team was also known as the Lady Vees.
- The 705 Challenge Cup was introduced in 2016, expanding a rivalry that began with soccer.
- Head coach Stacey Colarossi coached Canada at the 2019 Winter Universiade.
More in Defunct Ice Hockey Teams, Part 5 1-24
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