The Toronto 228th Battalion (NHA) was an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team, composed entirely of troops in the 228th (Northern Fusiliers) Battalion of the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF; French: ''Corps expéditionnaire canadien'') was the expeditionary warfare, expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed on August 15, 1914, following United Kingdom declarat ...

, in the

National Hockey Association The National Hockey Association (NHA), initially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor of today's National Hockey Leagu ...

(fore-runner to the modern

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

) for the 1916–17 season. The battalion assumed the place of the former

Toronto Shamrocks Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the fourth-most populous city in North America. The city ...

franchise, which had been dormant since the end of the 1914–15 season, and played out of the

Mutual Street Arena Mutual Street Arena, initially called Arena Gardens or just the Arena, was an ice hockey arena and sports and entertainment venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1912 until 1931, with the opening of Maple Leaf Gardens, it was the premier site o ...

. Also known as the Northern Fusiliers, the team played wearing khaki military uniforms and was the league's most popular and highest scoring club until the unit was ordered overseas in February 1917 and the team was forced to withdraw. A scandal ensued when several stars were subsequently discharged and alleged they had been promised commissions solely to play hockey. The NHA then sued the military for $3000 and some game revenues due to the team leaving the league. This lawsuit was not successful.

Team roster

Results

References

* * {{cite book, title=Deceptions and Doublecross: How the NHL conquered hockey, last=Holzman, first=Morey, year=2002, isbn=978-1-55002-413-5 Military sport in Canada National Hockey Association teams Ba Military ice hockey teams 1916 establishments in Ontario 1917 disestablishments in Ontario Ice hockey clubs established in 1916 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1917

Team roster

Results

See also

References