Forty years ago, a hockey program rewrote the CCAA record books by winning all their post season games to retain a conference championship and a national championship.

The 1985-86 NAIT Ooks built on the foundation of the two previous campaigns. The team repeated as CCAA champions and Viking Cup champions. Like their immediate predecessors, the team also defeated the eventual University Cup champions on the way to raising the CCAA Championship Bowl. The team also became the first ACAC hockey team to win three consecutive conference titles.

For the third straight campaign, the Ooks scored the most goals (212) and allowed the fewest (83) as they finished first in the regular season standings with a record of 22 wins and three losses.

The Ooks faced the Red Deer College Kings in one best of three semi final. J.C. McEwan and John Walker each pocketed a pair for NAIT as they outscored Red Deer 9-3. Brent Weller then netted the winner with 11:42 gone in the second to propel the Ooks to a 2-1 win.

The Ooks met the Mount Royal College Cougars in the finals. John Walker paced NAIT with four goals in an 8-2 series opening victory and two goals in a 9-2 win the next game. The Ooks completed the sweep in the best of five series with a 5-2 triumph. Ron Amyotte, Mike Spencer, Mark Schultz, Scott Melnyk and Darren Schmidt bent the twine for the winners.

At the 1986 CCAA National Hockey Championship in Kamloops, the Ooks needed three wins to become the third team to repeat as champions. Jamie Bartman scored one goal and assisted on four more while Kevin Stapleton stopped 12 shots to post the shutout as the Ooks blanked B.C.'s Douglas College Royals 13-0. Hugh McCaskill completed the hat trick and Mike Spencer chipped in a pair for NAIT in a 7-3 semi final win over Manitoba's Red River College Rebels. The Ooks then overcame two goal deficits on three occasions en route to an 8-6 triumph over Ontario's Humber College Hawks in the winner take all finale. John Walker tallied twice for the Ooks.

Beyond, the ACAC and the CCAA, the Ooks posted a pair of monumental wins. Mike Spencer's five point performance powered the Ooks to a 7-5 victory over the eventual 1985-86 CIAU champion University of Alberta Golden Bears at Face Off '86 in front of 10,184 attendees. In the gold medal game of Viking Cup '86, NAIT rallied with three second period goals en route to a 5-1 come from behind triumph over the host Camrose Lutheran College Vikings.

Among Alberta's 16 national champions, the team's winning percentage (.909) and average scoring margin per game (5.18) rank third. The only team to best them in both categories was their immediate predecessors. As a result, their dominance is often overlooked.

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