1897 AHAC season

Ice hockey season March 2026 1897 AHAC season Amateur Hockey Association of Canada Ice hockey January 9 – March 6, 1897 5 1897 Montreal Victorias Champions Amateur Hockey Association of Canada AHAC 1896 AHAC season 1896 1898 AHAC season 1898 The 1897 Amateur Hockey Association of Canada season was the eleventh season of play of the ice hockey league. Each team played 8 games, and Montreal Victorias were again first with a 7–1 record, retaining the Stanley Cup. The club won the Stanley Cup back from the Winnipeg Victorias prior to the season. This was their third-straight league championship. League business Executive J.A. Findlay, Montreal (President) J. H. Dunbar, Quebec (1st. Vice-Pres.) Weldy Young, Ottawa (2nd. Vice-Pres.) At the annual meeting on December 12, 1896, the secretary reported that the association had lost all of its records in a fire, except for its minutes. Rule Changes No more than a 15-minute delay during a game No raising the stick above the shoulder except for 'lifting.' Executives were given the power to suspend club or player for foul play. Protests of games had to be made within two days. Season Clare McKerrow of Montreal HC set a new record with six goals in the opening game against Quebec on January 9. The Ottawa club moved to new Dey's Arena. Final standing Note GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against Team GP W L T GF GA Montreal Victorias 8 7 1 0 48 26 Ottawa Hockey Club 8 5 3 0 25 18 Montreal Hockey Club 8 5 3 0 31 26 Quebec Hockey Club 8 2 6 0 22 46 Montreal Shamrocks 8 1 7 0 27 37 Results Month Day Visitor Score Home Score Jan. 9 Quebec HC 2 Montreal HC 8 9 Shamrocks 1 Ottawa HC 4 12 Montreal HC 4 Victorias 5 16 Quebec HC 1 Ottawa HC 4 16 Shamrocks 2 Montreal HC 3 23 Victorias 6 Shamrocks 4 23 Montreal HC 4 Quebec HC 2 30 Victorias 9 Quebec HC 4 30 (†) Ottawa HC 0 Montreal HC 1 Feb. 6 Quebec HC 1 Shamrocks 9 6 Victorias 4 Ottawa HC 2 10 Montreal HC 5 Shamrocks 1 13 Ottawa HC 3 Victorias 1 13 Shamrocks 3 Quebec HC 6 17 (‡) Ottawa HC 4 Montreal HC 0 20 Quebec HC 2 Victorias 8 20 Montreal HC 4 Ottawa HC 3 27 Ottawa HC 1 Quebec HC 4 27 (††) Victorias 7 Montreal HC 3 Mar. 3 Shamrocks 4 Victorias 8 6 Ottawa HC 4 Shamrocks 3 † Protested by Ottawa who scored the tying goal in last few seconds but the goal was disallowed by the referee. The protest was upheld and the game replayed. ‡ Replay of January 30 protested game. ₳ Victorias clinch league championship. Exhibitions Montreal played the Halifax Wanderers in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on February 25, 1897. The Wanderers defeated Montreal 4–3 on a second-half goal after the teams were tied 3–3 at half-time.St. John Daily Sun February 26, 1897 Wanderers defeat Montreal 8 Player Stats Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals scored Name Club GP G Clare McKerrow Montreal HC 8 12 Alf Smith Ottawa HC 8 12 Billy Barlow Montreal HC 8 10 Ernie McLea Victorias 8 8 Bill Dobby Shamrocks 8 7 Albert E. Swift Quebec HC 8 6 Harry Westwick Ottawa HC 8 6 Cam Davidson Victorias 6 5 Pat Doyle Quebec HC 8 5 Herbert Horsfall Montreal HC 8 5 Goaltending averages Note: GP = Games played, GA = Goals against, SO = Shutouts, GAA = Goals against average Name Club GP GA SO GAA Fred Chittick Ottawa HC 8 18 1 2.3 Gordon Lewis Victorias 8 26 3.3 Herb Collins Montreal HC 8 26 3.3 Ernest Pagnuelo Shamrocks 8 37 4.6 Frank Stocking Quebec HC 6 25 5.8 Stanley Cup challenge thumb|right|The 1897 Montreal Victorias posing for a team photograph with the Stanley Cup (trophy at left) and two other trophies. Prior to the season, Victorias would defeat the Winnipeg Victorias of the (Manitoba Hockey Association) 6–5, on December 30, 1896, to reclaim the Cup they had lost in the previous season to Winnipeg. Victorias vs. Winnipeg at Winnipeg The Montreal Victorias submitted their challenge on November 11, 1896, and they arrived in Winnipeg on December 27 for the one-game playoff on December 30.Zweig 2010 19 The challenge, the first outside of Montreal attracted national interest.Zweig 2010 20 Excitement for the game in Winnipeg sent the price of $1 tickets to $5, with reports of tickets being sold for over $10. The Montreal Vics' practice in the McIntyre Rink itself drew a crowd of 700.Zweig 2010 20 The game was reported back to Montreal by telegraph, with the score available at train stations or telegraph offices throughout Canada.Zweig 2010 20 Hundreds of standing-room tickets were sold on the night of the game.Zweig 2010 20 Date Winning Team Score Losing Team LocationDec. 30, 1896Montreal Victorias6–5Winnipeg Victorias Granite Rink, Winnipeg Game description The game itself was very exciting. Ernie McLea scored a hat-trick, including the game and Stanley Cup winning goal. The game started at 8:22 pm local time. Dan Bain scored at 6:30 to put Winnipeg ahead. Winnipeg opened up a 3–0 lead before Montreal scored twice (McLea and Shirley Davidson) to close the gap while Toat Campbell served a penalty. Attie Howard scored just before the half to put Winnipeg ahead 4–2 at the half. In the second half, Montreal's Davidson scored his second goal, then McLea tied the score at four with his second goal of the match. Robert MacDougall, on an end-to-end rush, put Montreal ahead, but Bain tied it at five with four minutes to play. With two minutes to play, Graham Drinkwater passed to McLea, who beat George Merritt on a breakaway to put Montreal ahead 6–5 and win the game.Zweig 2010 21–23 The goal is considered one of the greatest ice hockey goals of all time.Zweig 2010 17–24 Game summary Montreal 6 Winnipeg 5+ Dec. 30, 1896 Gordon Lewis G George Merritt Howard Henderson P Rod Flett Mike Grant CP Charles Johnstone Robert MacDougall 1 F Colin "Toat" Campbell Graham Drinkwater F Jack Armytage 1 Shirley Davidson 2 F Attie Howard 2 Ernie McLea 3 F Dan Bain 2 Referee – Weldy Young, Ottawa Umpires – A. Shearer, Montreal; D. Clark, Winnipeg, Shaw, Ottawa Source: Montreal GazetteMontreal Gazette December 31, 1896 Winnipeg's Woe 8 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0qstAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qn4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=6999%2C4734132 February 7, 2014 Stanley Cup engravings + 1896 Montreal Victorias Players Forwards Graham Drinkwater (rover) Cam Davidson ^ Shirley Davidson ^ Dave Gillilan ^ Robert MacDougall ^ Ernie McLea ^ William Wallace ^ Stanley Willett ^ Defence Howard Henderson(point) Mike Grant (Cover point) (Captain) Hartland MacDougall (point) Goaltenders Robert Jones Gordon Lewis @ & Unknown first name ^ Unknown who played Center, Right Wing and Left Wing, so the players are listed as forwards @ Missing from the team picture non-players= Watson Jack (President) Fred Meredith (Hon President) Frank Howard Wilson (Hon Vice President) P.M. Desterneak (Secretary/Treasurer)& William Grant (Vice President) engraving-notes= 1896 MONTREAL VICTORIAS Winnipeg Feb 20th It is unknown what Feb 20th stood for. Winnipeg Victorias or the Montreal Victorias never played a Stanley Cup challenge game that day in any season. + 1897 Montreal Victorias Players Forwards Graham Drinkwater(rover) Cam Davidson ^ @ Shirley Davidson ^ Jack Ewing ^ @ Robert MacDougall ^ Ernie McLea ^ @ Harry Messy ^ @ Percy Molson ^ @ David McLellan ^ @ Defencemen Howard Henderson(point) Hartland MacDougall(point) @ Mike Grant(cover point – Captain) Goaltender Gordon Lewis & First names are unknown ^ Unknown who played Center, Right Wing and Left Wing, so the players are listed as forwards @ Missing from the team picture non-players= Watson Jack (President) Fred Meredith (Hon. President) William Grant (Vice President) Fred Howard Wilson (Hon. Vice President) P.M. Desterneck (Secretary/Treasurer)& See also List of Stanley Cup champions List of pre-NHL seasons References Coleman Charles L. The Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol. 1, 1893–1926 inc. 1966 Podnieks Andrew Hockey Hall of Fame 2004 Lord Stanley's Cup Triumph Books 1-55168-261-3 Twenty Greatest Hockey Goals Zweig Eric 2010 Dundurn Press 978-1-55488-789-7 registration https://archive.org/details/twentygreatestho0000zwei Notes Winnipeg Victorias1896 Montreal Victorias1898 Montreal VictoriasStanley Cup Champions 1897 1896 AHAC season 1898 AHAC season AHAC seasons 1897 1897 AHAC