(U-WIRE) HANOVER, N.H. – The University of Vermont cancelled the remainder of its men’s hockey season – beginning with a game scheduled against Dartmouth this past Saturday – because players lied to investigators about team hazing practices.

Men’s hockey coach Mike Gilligan, other members of the athletic department, the university president and Board of Trustees decided to terminate all remaining 16 regular season games and any chance of post-season play based on evidence of hazing yet unreleased to the media.

“We have received credible information which indicates that a number of players were not completely truthful during our investigation of hazing allegations,” UVM President Judith Ramaley said at a Friday night press conference.

“As we said during our investigation, any indication that players did not provide accurate, truthful, complete information would result in serious consequences. This new information has triggered those consequences.”

UVM ordered an independent investigation of an October off-campus party after it was cited in a legal complaint filed by a player who had left the hockey team and the school because of the alleged hazing.

The investigation revealed that players had lied during an earlier University inquiry.

Corey LaTulippe, who sued UVM on Dec. 10, alleged that upperclass members of the hockey team forced sexual contact and excessive drinking on younger players during the party, which Gilligan told The Boston Globe had occurred about a half mile from campus.

The suit brought into the open long-rumored hazing practices that college officials had previously been unwilling to discuss.

After receiving a letter from LaTullippe, who had left the school to seek psychological help, on Oct. 28, UVM hired a law firm to look into his allegations.

The investigation turned up evidence of hazing, and UVM responded by suspending one player for each game.

Before the original investigation, Gilligan had warned his players to tell the truth. Gilligan now recognizes that his players ignored his admonitions.

“I know those guys pretty well, and they had me fooled,” Gilligan told the local Vermont paper, the Rutland Herald.

“I think the players were scared. I think they didn’t want to hurt people and embarrass themselves and hurt the program and maybe embarrass their great fans.”

The university president defended the school’s own investigation, placing full blame on the players.

“The questions that were asked were the appropriate questions,” Ramaley told the Herald. “The problem was with the answers.”

However, it is unclear why the original investigation failed where the independent one succeeded.

According to the Herald, there was rampant speculation that the university was trying to cover up the incident.

A Jan. 4 report by UVM shows e-mail messages that reveal university officials would not even discuss the matter forthrightly with the campus police chief when he inquired about the rumors.

LaTulippe’s lawsuit forced the university to address the matter directly.

Vermont Attorney General William Sowell is now investigating the hazing incident and the university’s response at the request of Governor Howard B. Dean.

The university has “responded very forcefully and appropriately,” Dean said. “I think it’s a tragedy for the UVM hockey program but I think it’s a good thing for the honor of UVM and it sends a good message for the behavior we will and will not tolerate at the university.”

Besides the cancellation of the season, the university apparently has no other punitive intentions.

Assuming players now honestly answer questions about the hazing incident, they will retain their scholarships and academic standing.

The team’s 20 underclassmen – UVM only suited up three seniors this season – will be welcomed back for next season and will likely be joined by at least five recruits the school has already signed.

The premature end to the season, which Gilligan announced to his players in an approximately 40-minute meeting on Friday, concludes what had been a subpar year for the Catamounts. The team stood at 5-9-3, 3-2-2 in the Ivy League.

UVM’s Sports Information Director Gordon Woodworth told The Dartmouth several Vermont players refused to speak with The Boston Globe when they were approached at a women’s hockey game this weekend.