1897 Stanley Cup championship
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The 1897
Amateur Hockey Association of Canada The Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) was an amateur men's ice hockey league founded on 8 December 1886, in existence until 1898. It was the second ice hockey league organized in Canada, after one in Kingston, Ontario started in 1883. ...
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 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 ...
. 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 Minutes, also known as minutes of meeting (abbreviation MoM), protocols or, informally, notes, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting and may include a list of attendees, a state ...
''.


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 Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
club moved to new
Dey's Arena Dey's Arena, also known as Dey Brothers Rink, Dey's Skating Rink and The Arena, were a series of ice rinks and arenas located in Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Otta ...
.


Final Standing


Stanley Cup challenge

Prior to the season, Victorias would defeat the Winnipeg Victorias 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 ...
) 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. The challenge, the first outside of Montreal attracted national interest. 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. The game was reported back to Montreal by telegraph, with the score available at train stations or telegraph offices throughout Canada. Hundreds of standing-room tickets were sold on the night of the game. ;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 Shirley Davidson (September 23, 1874 – August 5, 1907) was a Canadian ice hockey player for the Montreal Victorias during the late 19th century. He was a member of several Stanley Cup Championship teams in the 1895, 1896 and 1897 AHAC seasons. ...
) to close the gap while Toat Campbell served a penalty.
Attie Howard Thomas Acheson "Attie" Howard (January 5, 1871 – November 18, 1945) was a Canadian amateur ice hockey player in the era before professional ice hockey. He was a member of the 1896 Winnipeg Victorias Stanley Cup championship team. He later playe ...
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. The goal is considered one of the greatest ice hockey goals of all time. ;Game summary Referee –
Weldy Young Weldon "Weldy" Champness Young (October 4, 1871 – October 27, 1944) was a Canadian businessman and athlete. Young was an ice hockey player for the Ottawa Hockey Club, playing in its founding years in the 1880s and in the 1890s. Young later beca ...
, Ottawa
Umpires – A. Shearer, Montreal; D. Clark, Winnipeg, Shaw, Ottawa Source: ''Montreal Gazette''


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.


Schedule and results

† ''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.


Player statistics


Goaltending averages

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


Scoring leaders


Stanley Cup engravings


1896 Montreal Victorias


1897 Montreal Victorias


See also

* List of Stanley Cup champions * List of pre-NHL seasons


References

* * * ;Notes {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahac Seasons
1897 Events January–March * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a puniti ...
AHAC The Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) was an amateur men's ice hockey league founded on 8 December 1886, in existence until 1898. It was the second ice hockey league organized in Canada, after one in Kingston, Ontario started in 1883. ...