Brandon University Athletics

The 1980-81 Bobcat men's hockey team was arguably the best one to ever lace up their blades at Brandon University.
 
It was the high point for the program as the team achieved a No. 1 ranking in Canada for the only time in school history under the guidance of Great Plains Athletic Conference Coach of the Year Andy Murray.
 
BU went a near perfect 23-and-1 in the regular season, won the GPAC and earned a berth at nationals.
 
Brandon started their season with a bang in October. The team travelled to Grand Forks and defeated the defending NCAA national champions, the University of North Dakota, 7-5 in an exhibition game.
 
Another major highlight was a journey to Finland during the Christmas break. BU played a number of Finnish Division 1 and Division 2 teams during that trip.
 
After returning from Finland, the Bobcats cemented their top ranking in Canada by winning a holiday tournament hosted by Concordia University in Montreal. 
 
Brandon won the conference title in a best-of-three final over the Manitoba Bisons. The Bobcats beat the Bisons 6-3 and 7-4 to sweep the series and advance to the University Cup. BU came up short of winning the Canadian championship after going 0-and-2 in the round-robin at nationals.
 
The Bobcats were loaded with talent, with the roster including all-Canadians Vernon Mott and Rich Little.
 
Mott and Little were named league all-stars along with Brad White, Rod Winkler, John Swan, Tim Morrison and Garry Kaluzniak.
 
Kaluzniak won the GPAC scoring title with 48 points, and served as co-captain along with White and Kit Harrison.
 
Three team members went on to become Olympians with three different countries at the 1988 Winter Games. Vaughn Karpan played with Canada; Mott was on Norway's roster and Bruno Rogger represented Switzerland.