The 1926 Stanley Cup Finals saw the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL) champion

Montreal Maroons The Montreal Maroons (officially the Montreal Professional Hockey Club) were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL). They played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926 and 1935. They were the las ...

, in their first Finals appearance, defeat the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior ...

(WHL) and defending

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

champion

Victoria Cougars The Victoria Cougars were a major league professional ice hockey team that played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) from 1911 to 1924 under various names, and (after the PCHA's merger with the Western Canada Hockey League) in the W ...

three games to one in the best-of-five game series. This was the last time a non-NHL team would contest for the Cup – the WHL folded following the 1926 Finals leaving the Cup to be contested solely by NHL clubs thereafter.

Paths to the Finals

The Cougars finished the 1925–26 WHL regular season in third place, but eventually upset the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Comm ...

in the WHL championship by a combined score of 5–3 to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. Meanwhile, the Maroons finished the NHL regular season in second place. Montreal went on to beat the third seed

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

and then defeated the first place

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member ...

2–1 in a two-game total goals series, thus capturing the

Prince of Wales Trophy The Prince of Wales Trophy, also known as the Wales Trophy, is a team award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL). Named for Prince Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII and then Duke of Windsor), it has been awarded for diffe ...

and the right to play Victoria for the Cup.

Game summaries

All of the games in the 1926 Cup Finals were played at the

Montreal Forum Montreal Forum (french: Le Forum de Montréal) is a historic building located facing Cabot Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by '' Sporting News'', it was an indoor arena which served as t ...

. Aided by three future

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame (french: Temple de la renommée du hockey) is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) rec ...

rs, the Maroons ended up dominating the series. Goaltender

Clint Benedict Clinton Stevenson "Praying Benny" Benedict (September 26, 1892 – November 12, 1976) was a Canadian professional lacrosse goalie, ice hockey goaltender who played for the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Maroons. He played on four Stanley Cup-win ...

, who previously helped Ottawa in three Cup championships, recorded three shutouts. Rookie

Nels Stewart Robert Nelson "Old Poison" Stewart (December 29, 1899 – August 21, 1957) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Maroons, New York Americans and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League. He is an Honoure ...

scored 6 of Montreal's 10 overall goals in the 4 games.

Punch Broadbent Harold Lawton "Harry" "Punch" Broadbent, MM (July 13, 1892 – March 6, 1971) was a Canadian ice hockey player. Broadbent played for the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Maroons and the New York Americans in the National Hockey Association (NHA) and Nat ...

also recorded a goal for the Maroons. The Cougars' lone win came in game three, 3–2. Nels Stewart scored both goals in the fourth game to win the series. Stewart had given his stick to a fan after the playoff series against Ottawa. He asked for and retrieved the stick back from the fan prior to the fourth game. He then gave back the stick to the fan after game four.

Stanley Cup engraving

The 1926 Stanley Cup was presented to Maroons captain Dunc Munro by the trophy's trustee

William Foran William Michael Foran (February 4, 1871 – November 30, 1945) was an ice hockey executive, Stanley Cup trustee and government official. For over 50 years, he was secretary of the Board of Civil Service Examiners and its follow-up organization ...

, following the Maroons 2–0 win over the Cougars in game four. The following Maroons players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup 1925–26 Montreal Maroons

References

* * * * * ;Notes {{1925–26 NHL season by team

Stanley Cup Finals Stan Western Canada Hockey League postseason Stanley March 1926 sports events April 1926 sports events Sports competitions in Montreal 1920s in Montreal 1926 in Quebec

Paths to the Finals

Game summaries

Stanley Cup engraving

See also

References