Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Saint Pierre and Miquelon is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France, located in the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of Canada. It has a population of 6,345 people, and its capital is Saint-Pierre.

History of hockey in Saint Pierre and Miquelon

The Cougars in 1977-78.

Saint Pierre and Miquelon has several teams and an indoor ice rink.

In the early 1970s, two teams competed on the island, USSEM and the Evanians Hockey Club. Recruitment took place among the two, and the Cougars (CHSP) were formed in 1974. Their first president was Eugène Couépel. Championship games were being played at the USSEM ice rink between the Cougars and Missiles by 1975. In April 1977, the Cougars competed in Series C of the Newfoundland Cup, facing the Marystown Wings. They lost both games in Marystown, and the first two in St. Pierre, before winning the third. They went on to win the cup five times, taking the Series C in 1978 and 1979 and Series B in 1983-1984 and from 1987 to 1989.

The Cougars also faced teams from Newfoundland in 1986 and 1989 and Montreal in 1997 and 1999. In 1988 they received a visit from the Quebec Titans of Laval. The club visited France in 1979 and 1985. In the second trip, they won all six games, and even faced a team from San Sebastian, Spain. Another visit to France was organized in 2022.

The men's national team played its first game in 2008 against France in Saint-Pierre, Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Saint Pierre and Miquelon lost the exhibition game 8–6. They team has not played a game since their international debut. The team is controlled by the Association du Hockey Mineur SPM.

The following was written about the local league back in 2017: "The Ligue de Hockey de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon (LHSPM) runs all levels of hockey in the French Overseas Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, including a two-club senior league. The two clubs are Hockey Sporting Club (HSC) or les Missiles, who wear blue, and Club de Hockey de Saint-Pierre (CHSP) or les Cougars, who wear green. Games are played in the Patinoire de Saint-Pierre, which can accommodate 740 spectators.

The league plays a 15-game schedule, which is divided into five three-game cups. In 2015-16 the cups were the Coupe Air Saint-Pierre , the Coupe Marcel Dagort, the Coupe SPM Telecom, the Coupe Collectivite Territoriale, and the Coupe Helene et Fils. No doubt the cup names change year by year according to sponsorship. In 2015-16 les Missiles won 4 of the 5 cups, and 11 of the 15 games. The clubs also play against senior Newfoundland teams."

On March 19-20, 2016, the Bell Island Blues and Southern Shore Breakers from the Avalon East Senior Hockey League in Newfoundland and Labrador were invited to play the Missiles and the Cougars to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the St. Pierre rink.

The Missiles won the championship in 2018, locking it up with an 8-4 win over the Cougars on March 10, for their fifth win in six games. In 2019 the Missiles clinched the title with a 5-1 victory over the Cougars on March 30. In the 12th game of the 2021 season, played on April 11, the Missiles clipped the Cougars 4-3 to secure the title. The final game of the season to decide the 2022 championship was set to take place on March 30. The Cougars had 13 points, and the Missiles had 11 entering it. The Missiles were crowned champions after a narrow 5-4 triumph. There was no championship played in 2022-23 as the local ice rink was still undergoing construction. The Missiles and Cougars met twice a week for training and also organized informal matches against one another. In 2024 the Missiles clinched the league championship with a 5-3 win over the Cougars in the 9th game of the season.