1925–26 WHL season

Professional ice hockey league season August 2023 March 2026 The 1925–26 WHL season was the fifth and last season for the now defunct Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), which was renamed Western Hockey League (WHL) at the start of the season due to one of its Canadian teams, the Regina Capitals, moving to Portland, Oregon in the United States and being renamed the Portland Rosebuds. Six teams played 30 games each. At season's end, some of the teams reorganised to create a semi-pro league called the Prairie Hockey League that lasted for two seasons. The WHL was the last league other than the National Hockey League to contest for the Stanley Cup. Off-season Regina's team folded, and a Portland club was formed and the Regina players transferred to it. There was discussions of moving the Edmonton team to Regina but it stayed in Edmonton. The new New York Americans bought Joe Simpson, John Morrison and Roy Rickey from Edmonton,Ottawa Citizen November 6, 1925 Western Canada Hockey Squads Prepare for Championship Grind 11 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7VkuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=m9kFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5080%2C5875174 but Edmonton would have enough talent left to win the WHL title. Teams 1925–26 Western Hockey League Team City Arena Capacity Calgary Tigers Calgary, Alberta Victoria Arena N/A Edmonton Eskimos Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton Stock Pavilion 2,000 Portland Rosebuds Portland, Oregon Portland Ice Arena 2,000 Saskatoon Sheiks Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Crescent Arena N/A Vancouver Maroons Vancouver, British Columbia Denman Arena 10,500 Victoria Cougars Victoria, British Columbia Patrick Arena 4,000 Map of teams left 10px WHL Teams 1570 400 375 390 525 Canada 1200 Canada 51.04 -114.06 Red pog.svg 100 bottom Tigers Canada 53.57 -113.46 Red pog.svg 100 top Eskimos Canada 45.53 -122.69 Red pog.svg 100 bottom Rosebuds Canada 52.14 -106.69 Red pog.svg 100 bottom Sheiks Canada 49.29 -123.13 Red pog.svg 100 top Maroons Canada 48.43 -123.32 Red pog.svg 100 bottom Cougars Regular season Final standing Note GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points Team GP W L T GF GA Pts Edmonton Eskimos 30 19 11 0 94 77 38 Saskatoon Sheiks 30 18 11 1 93 64 37 Victoria Cougars 30 15 11 4 68 53 34 Portland Rosebuds 30 12 16 2 84 110 26 Calgary Tigers 30 10 17 3 71 80 23 Vancouver Maroons 30 10 18 2 64 90 22 Playoffs As in the previous season, the third place Victoria Cougars won the playoff championship. In the semi-final, the Cougars met the Saskatoon Sheiks. Date Away Score Home Score NotesMarch 12 Victoria 3 Saskatoon 3 March 16 Saskatoon 0 Victoria 1 8'10" overtime Victoria wins two-game, total-goals series 4–3. In the final, the Cougars faced off against the Edmonton Eskimos. As there was no ice available in Edmonton, Edmonton's 'home' game was played in Vancouver. Date Away Score Home Score NotesMarch 20 Edmonton 1 Victoria 3 March 22 Victoria 2 Edmonton 2 Victoria wins two-game, total-goals series 5–3. Stanley Cup Finals 1926 Stanley Cup Finals The Cougars faced the National Hockey League champion Montreal Maroons in a best-of-five series, losing three games to one. After the WHL folded at the end of this season, the Stanley Cup would no longer be contested as a challenge tournament between league champions, but would be automatically awarded to the NHL champion, a custom formalized in 1947. Date Away Score Home Score NotesMarch 30Victoria Cougars0Montreal Maroons3April 1Victoria Cougars0Montreal Maroons3April 3Victoria Cougars3Montreal Maroons2April 6Victoria Cougars0Montreal Maroons2 Player statistics Scoring leaders Player Team GP Games played G Goals A Assists Pts Points PIM Penalties in minutesBill Cook Saskatoon Sheiks 30 31 13 44 26Dick Irvin Portland Rosebuds 30 31 5 36 29Corb Denneny Saskatoon Sheiks 30 18 16 34 12Art Gagne Art Gagné Edmonton Eskimos 30 21 12 33 20George Hay George Hay (ice hockey) Portland Rosebuds 30 19 12 31 4Duke Keats Edmonton Eskimos 30 20 9 29 134Harry Oliver Harry Oliver (ice hockey) Calgary Tigers 30 13 12 25 14Frank Fredrickson Victoria Cougars 30 18 8 24 89Frank Boucher Vancouver Maroons 29 15 7 22 14Barney Stanley Edmonton Eskimos 29 14 8 22 47 Goaltending averages Name Club GP GA SO Avg.Hap HolmesVictoria 30 53 4 1.8George HainsworthSaskatoon 30 64 4 2.1 Herbert StuartEdmonton 30 77 2 2.6 Hal WinklerCalgary 30 80 6 2.7 Hugh LehmanVancouver 30 90 3 3.0 Red McCuskerRegina 30 110 3.7 See also List of Stanley Cup champions List of pre-NHL seasons 1925–26 NHL season 1925 in sports 1926 in sports References External links HockeyDB 1924–25 WCHL season 1926–27 PHL season WHL seasons Category:Western Canada Hockey League seasons WCHL WHL