1896 AHAC season
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 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 club. Winnipeg won 2–0 to win the Cup.
| 1896 AHAC season | |
|---|---|
| League | Amateur Hockey Association of Canada |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | January 3, 1896 – March 7, 1896 |
| Number of teams | 5 |
| 1896 | |
| Champions | Montreal Victorias |
Executive
| Part of a series on the |
| Emergence of the NHL |
|---|
 |
| Early development |
| Leagues |
 Ice hockey portal |
- 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
| Team | Games Played | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals For | Goals Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Victorias | 8 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
41 |
24 |
| Ottawa HC | 8 |
6 |
2 |
0 |
22 |
16 |
| Quebec | 8 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
23 |
23 |
| Montreal HC | 8 |
2 |
6 |
0 |
24 |
33 |
| Montreal Shamrocks | 8 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
16 |
30 |
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:[1][2]
- 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.[3]
Stanley Cup challenge
Victorias vs. Winnipeg at Montreal
The first successful challenge to the Cup came in February 1896 by the Winnipeg Victorias, the champions of the Manitoba Hockey Association (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.
| Date | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 14, 1896 | Winnipeg Victorias | 2–0 | Montreal Victorias | Victoria Skating Rink |
Stanley Cup engraving
Players
- Dan Bain(center)
- Colin "Tote" Campbell(left-wing),
- Tom "Attie" Howard(right-wing),
- Robert "Bobby" R Benson (Spare-left-right wing),
- Rod Flett (point)
- Fred Higginbotham (cover point)
- Charles Johnstone(cover-point
- Jack "J.C." Armytage(rover- Captain)
- George Whitey Merritt
- Jack Sheppard (played 1 regular-season game in goal)
Coaching and administrative staff
- E.B. Nixon (President)&
- Able Code (Vice President/Manager)
- J. Carter (Mascot/Trainer)&
Stanley Cup engraving
- VICTORIAS
- - OF -
- WINNIPEG
- 1895
- Winnipeg included the year 1895 instead of 1896, because they defeated the 1895 defending Stanley Cup Champions Montreal Victorias before the 1896 season had been completed. This is not an engraving error.
- An interesting factoid for this 2-0 win over the similarly named Montreal Victorias is that the very first Stanley Cup Parade was held in Winnipeg on Main Street celebrating this victory.
- Two non-players first names are unknown&
Schedule and results
| Month | Day | Visitor | Score | Home | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. | 3 | Victorias | 7 | Montreal | 5 |
| 4 | Ottawa | 2 | Shamrocks | 1 | |
| 10 | Montreal | 5 | Shamrocks | 3 | |
| 11 | Victorias | 7 | Quebec | 5 | |
| 18 | Montreal | 1 | Ottawa | 3 | |
| 18 | Quebec | 2 | Shamrocks | 1 | |
| 25 | Ottawa | 2 | Quebec | 5 | |
| 25 | Shamrocks | 1 | Victorias | 5 | |
| Feb. | 1 | Ottawa | 3 | Victorias | 2 |
| 1 | Montreal | 1 | Quebec | 3 | |
| 5 | Shamrocks | 5 | Montreal | 3 | |
| 8 | Shamrocks | 1 | Quebec | 4 | |
| 8 | Victorias | 3 | Ottawa | 2 (6'00 overtime) | |
| 15 | Ottawa | 3 | Montreal | 2 | |
| 22 | Quebec | 2 | Montreal | 3 | |
| 25 | Montreal | 4 | Victorias | 7 | |
| 29 | Shamrocks | 2 | Ottawa | 3 | |
| 29 | Quebec | 2 | Victorias | 4 | |
| Mar. | 4 (†) | Victorias | 6 | Shamrocks | 2 |
| 7 | Quebec | 0 | Ottawa | 4 | |
† Victorias clinch league championship.
Player statistics
Goaltending averages
Note: GP = Games played, GA = Goals against, SO = Shutouts, GAA = Goals against average
| Name | Club | GP | GA | SO | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Chittick | Ottawa | 8 | 16 | 1 | 2.0 |
| Frank Stocking | Quebec | 8 | 23 | 2.9 | |
| Robert Jones | Victorias | 8 | 24 | 3.0 | |
| James Drysdale | Shamrocks | 8 | 30 | 3.8 | |
| George Hamilton | Montreal | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | |
| Herbert Collins | Montreal | 6 | 25 | 4.1 | |
Scoring leaders
| Name | Club | GP | G |
|---|---|---|---|
| McDougall, Robert | Victorias | 6 | 10 |
| McKerrow, Clare | Montreal | 6 | 8 |
| Davidson, Shirley | Victorias | 7 | 8 |
| Swift, Albert E. | Quebec | 8 | 8 |
| Westwick, Harry | Ottawa | 8 | 8 |
| Drinkwater, Graham | Victorias | 8 | 7 |
| Smith, Alf | Ottawa | 8 | 7 |
| Doyle, Pat | Quebec | 8 | 6 |
| Gillilan, David | Victorias | 3 | 5 |
| Mussen, Aubrey | Montreal | 5 | 5 |
References
- Coleman, Charles L. (1966), The Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol. 1, 1893–1926 inc.
- Podnieks, Andrew Lord Stanley Cup, Fenn Publishing Company, Ltd. 2004
- McKinley, Michael (1993), The Official Book Hockey Hall of Fame Legends, p. 66
- Bringall, Richard (2011), The Forgotten Heroes – Winnipeg Hockey Heritage, p. 28
- Notes
- "Hockeyists in New York", The Globe, p. 8, March 11, 1896
- "After the puck", The Globe, p. 10, March 12, 1896
- A monthly magazine devoted to the interests of the New York Athletic Club, vol. 5–6, New York Athletic Club, p. 45.