The Sorel Éperviers (Black Hawks) were a junior ice hockey team in the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...

from 1969 to 1981. The team was one of the founding members of the QMJHL. They mostly played at the Colisée Cardin in

Sorel-Tracy Sorel-Tracy (; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada and the geographical end point of the Champlain Valley. It is located at the confluence of the Richelieu River and the St. Lawrence River, on the western edge of Lac Saint-Pierre, downstr ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, but also spent a few seasons at the Verdun Auditorium in the

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

suburb of Verdun, Quebec.

Rodrigue Lemoyne George Rodrigue (March 13, 1944 – December 14, 2013) was an American artist who in the late 1960s began painting Louisiana landscapes, followed soon after by outdoor family gatherings and southwest Louisiana 19th-century and early 20th-centu ...

served as the team's general manager.

Ray Bourque Raymond Jean Bourque (born December 28, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He holds records for most career goals, assists, and points by a defenceman in the National Hockey League (NHL). He won the James Norris Memoria ...

is also the only former Épervier in the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Éperviers originated in the Quebec Junior Hockey League, and were the league's champion in 1969. Sorel were finalists in the eastern Canadian championship for the George Richardson Memorial Trophy, losing 3 games to 1 to the

Montreal Junior Canadiens The Montreal Junior Canadiens were a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Junior Hockey League from 1933 to 1961, and the Ontario Hockey Association from 1961 to 1972. They played out of the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. History Th ...

. The 1973–74 QMJHL season sparked an offensive explosion, unmatched in

Canadian Hockey League The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey ‒ LCH) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey ...

history. Sorel set a CHL record of 620 goals scored as a team. Three Sorel players,

Pierre Larouche Pierre Roland Larouche (born November 16, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Montreal Canadiens, Hartford Whalers, and New York Rangers between 1974 and ...

, Michel Deziel and Jacques Cossette, had more than 90 goals and 200 points each. Sorel goaltender Claude Legris also posted the highest

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on ...

of 4.50 goals per game for a Jacques Plante Memorial Trophy winner. In 1981 the franchise moved to Granby, Quebec where they became the Granby Bisons. They won the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between ...

there in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...

. The franchise is today the Cape Breton Eagles.

NHL alumni

Season-by-season record

* Sorel Éperviers (1969–1977)Sorel Éperviers season-by-season record on www.hockeydb.com
/ref> * Verdun Éperviers (1977–1979) * Verdun/Sorel Éperviers (1979–1980)Verdun/Sorel Éperviers season-by-season record on www.hockeydb.com
/ref> * Sorel Éperviers (1980–1981) ''Note'' :Pct = Winning percentage

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorel Eperviers Defunct Quebec Major Junior Hockey League teams Sport in Sorel-Tracy Ice hockey clubs established in 1969 Sports clubs disestablished in 1981 1969 establishments in Quebec 1981 disestablishments in Quebec