The 1896 Amateur Hockey Association of Canada season was the tenth season of play of the league. Each team played eight games, and

Montreal Victorias The Victoria Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was an early men's amateur ice hockey club. Its date of origin is ascribed to either 1874, 1877 or 1881, making it either the first or second organized ice hockey club after McGill University. ...

were first with a 7–1 record. During the season, on February 14 the Victorias hosted a Stanley Cup challenge match with the

Winnipeg Victorias The Winnipeg Victorias were a former amateur senior-level men's amateur ice hockey team in Winnipeg, Manitoba, organized in 1889. They played in the Manitoba Hockey Association (MHA) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Victorias wo ...

club. Winnipeg won 2–0 to win the Cup.

Executive

* Watson Jack, Victorias (President) * Weldy Young, Ottawa (1st. Vice-Pres.) * Clarence Mussen, Montreal (Sec.-Treasurer)

Season

The Crystals were allowed to change their name to Shamrocks, which matched their new affiliation with the Shamrock A.A.A.

Highlights

The Victorias were truly the class of the league and only lost once, 3–2 to Ottawa. Their regular season team goal total was nearly double that of Ottawa.

Final Standing

Playoffs

There were no playoffs as Montreal won first place exclusively.

Exhibitions

After the season, Montreal and Shamrocks played an exhibition series of games in the United States: ; Washington, March 7, 1896: * Shamrocks 3, Montreal 1 ;Baltimore, March 9, 1896: * Montreal 6, Shamrocks 5 ; New York, March 10, 1896: * Montreal 1, Shamrocks 1 ( completed March 11 with Shamrocks winning 2–1) The Montreal Victorias travelled to New York City for an exhibition against the New York Athletic Club. The Athletic Club records the date as March 4, (although the date conflicts with an AHAC game), won by the Vics 6–1.

Stanley Cup challenge

Victorias vs. Winnipeg at Montreal

The first successful challenge to the Cup came in February 1896 by the

, the champions of the

Manitoba Hockey Association The Manitoba Hockey Association (MHA) was an early men's senior ice hockey league playing around 1900 in Manitoba, Canada. The league started as an elite amateur league in 1892, became professional in 1905, had a professional and an amateur leagu ...

(MHA). On February 14, Winnipeg beat defending champion Montreal Victorias, 2–0, becoming the first team outside the AHAC to win the Cup. Winnipeg took a 2–0 lead in the first half of the game on goals by Armytage and Campbell, then played on the defensive in the second half.

Stanley Cup engraving

1896 Winnipeg Victorias

Schedule and results

† Victorias clinch league championship.

Player statistics

Goaltending averages

Note: GP = Games played, GA = Goals against, SO = Shutouts, GAA =

Goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending ...

Scoring leaders

References

* * Podnieks, Andrew Lord Stanley Cup, Fenn Publishing Company, Ltd. 2004 * * ;Notes {{s-end Amateur Hockey Association of Canada seasons AHAC