Draft:Glasgow Stags

The Glasgow Stags are a Scottish ice hockey team that play in the British Universities Ice Hockey Association. Founded in 2019, they are one of only three BUIHA clubs based in Scotland, along with the Edinburgh Eagles (Ice Hockey) and St. Andrews Typhoons.

Background
The Stags were founded in 2019, created from a desire for BUIHA ice hockey in the West of Scotland, as the Eagles, Typhoons and (at the time) Steel Queens all played in the East of Scotland.

2019-20
At the club's inception, the Stags did not enter the BUIHA's Cup competition, instead playing challenge games (friendlies) throughout the season. The club's first game was an 11-3 defeat against the newly reformed Edinburgh B team. The Stags won their first ever match on February 2nd, 2020 against [Bradford Sabres]] by a score of 11-8.

Sadly, the Stags were prevented from competing in their first ever BUIHA Nationals Tournament due to it being cancelled as result of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

2021-22
The BUIHA returned for the 2021-22 season after 2020-21 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Instead of the set home and away game format of the BUIHA Cup competition, due partially to complications from the Pandemic and smaller rosters, the "Merit Cup" format was introduced for this season. With a minimum number of games played, teams could organise their own fixtures and were ranked in a table based on winning percentage. This was done to appropriately sort teams for the Nationals tournament.

Stags A were placed in the Merit Bowl (Div 3) and Stags B in the Merit Vase (Div 4). After a first half of the season which consisted solely of challenge games, the A team won their two Cup games played, and the B team won 4 games and drew 1.

At the Nationals' Tournament, the Stags also debuted a C team, which were placed in the Non-Checking Division 3. Stags B played Non-Checking Division 2 and Stags A played Non-Checking Division 1, ensuring the Stags were represented at every non-checking level.

All three teams placed in the upper half of the group stage, allowing them to play for the top trophies in their divisions. Sadly, the C team would lose to a competitive Cambridge Huskies side, the B team fell in a shootout to the Sheffield Bears, and the A team would progress past the Kent Knights in the knockout quarterfinals but would lose to the Nottingham Mavericks in the semifinals.

2022-23
This season would mark the first true Cup season for the Stags, as the pre-Pandemic format returned. The Stags A team would play in Non-Checking Division 1 and the B team in Non-Checking Division 3.

Both the A and B squads won big in route to the first two division titles in club history. The A team went undefeated in Cup competition, and the B team staved off a challenge from the Nottingham Mavericks to secure their division title.

Due to their success, both the A and B squads were promoted at the Nationals tournament to the Checking and Non-Checking 1 divisions respectively, with the C team entering Non-Checking 2.

It proved to be a very successful nationals as the B team were one game away from playing for the Non-Checking 1 title, and the A team fought alongside the BUIHA's best in Checking competition for the first time in club history.