![Ottawa hockey club 1895](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Ottawa_hockey_club_1895.JPG)
The 1895
Amateur Hockey Association of Canada season lasted from January 3 until March 8. Each team played 8 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 6–2–0 record. After a required
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 ...
challenge played between the
1894 winners,
Montreal HC and
Queen's, champion of the
Ontario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...
, the Victorias inherited the Stanley Cup as league champions.
Executive
* Watson Jack, Victorias (President)
* A. Laurie, Quebec (1st. Vice-Pres.)
*
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 (2nd. Vice-Pres.)
* J. A. Findlay, Montreal (Sec.-Treasurer)
Regular season
Highlights
The Crystals suffered three straight defeats to open the season. After this, they decided independently to merge with the
Montreal Shamrocks
The Montreal Shamrocks were an amateur, later professional, and then amateur again men's ice hockey club in existence from 1886 to 1924, based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They were spun off from the Montreal Shamrocks lacrosse club. Starting off ...
. On February 2, this new team defeated Quebec 2–1. The game was protested by Quebec and the result was cancelled and not replayed.
Another game involving Quebec was noteworthy, on February 23 against Ottawa, won by Ottawa 3–2. The game, played at Quebec, was very rough and the crowd became hostile towards the visitors. At the end of the match, the crowd pursued referee Hamilton and Umpire Findlay as they left the arena, and dragged them back to force them to declare the game a draw. Police were called to break up the demonstration. Subsequent to the match, the AHAC decided to suspend the Quebec hockey club for the rest of the season.
Final Standing
Schedule and results
† Game void following protest by Quebec over Crystals use of ineligible players.
†† Quebec team suspended after attack on officials after game of February 23.
††† 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 on s ...
Note: Although A. Mcdougall is recorded in most hockey sources as to playing goal for the Montreal Victorias on January 12, 1895, and allowing one goal only, primary sourcing can show that Hartland MacDougall actually played goal for the Vics between January 12 and January 26 before being replaced by Robert Jones.
Leading scorers
; Source:
Coleman(1966) pp. 22–24.
Stanley Cup challenges
Montreal vs. Queen's
On March 8, 1895, the
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. ...
won the 1895 AHAC title, finishing the season with a 6–2 record. Under the Stanley Cup rules, the team would also be awarded the Stanley Cup as league champions. However, the trustees ruled that a challenge between the previous year's champion Montreal HC and the squad from
Queen's University, the champions of the
Ontario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...
(OHA), would have to be played first to determine if the Cup remained with the AHAC. Thus, it was decided that if the Montreal HC won the challenge match, the Victorias would become the Stanley Cup champions. The Montreal HC would eventually win the game, 5–1, and their crosstown rivals were crowned the champions.
Billy Barlow
William McKenzie Barlow (November 2, 1870 – February 14, 1963) was a Canadian amateur ice hockey player in the late 19th century. He played for the Montreal Hockey Club, champions of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) from 1 ...
, the star player of Montreal was not able to play and
Clarence McKerrow
Clarence Douglas "Clare" McKerrow (January 18, 1877 – October 20, 1959) was a Canadian athlete. McKerrow competed in lacrosse for Canada in the 1908 Summer Olympics. McKerrow also played ice hockey with the Montreal Hockey Club and ...
took his place. McKerrow had not played any games for Montreal, and could be considered a
ringer, but there was no protest from Queen's. The Queen's team, although described as looking fast in their tiger jerseys, were no match for Montreal and the game proved uninteresting. R. McLennan of Queen's would later play for Dawson City in its 1905 challenge of Ottawa.
Queen's U at Montreal
Referee—F. C. Chittick
Umpires—Fred McRobie and Alex Robertson
;Source:
Coleman(1966) pp. 24–25
Stanley Cup Engravings
While the Montreal Hockey Club won its challenge 5–1, it was not presented with the Stanley Cup.
1895 Montreal Amateur Athletic Association
1895 Montreal Victorias
* note: Jim Fenwick would leave the team at the end of the season.
* Some sources say A. MacDougall, and Hartland MacDougall each played the one game in goal. There no official records of an A. MacDougall ever playing hockey for the Montreal Victorias. So it was most likely that Hartland played both games, and an H just looked like an A. (page 22, 24 Trail of Stanley Cup Vol 1., by Charles Coleman)
.
Social and Personal
The Metropolitan (Montreal). May 4, 1895.
See also
* List of pre-NHL seasons
Prior to the first season of the National Hockey League (NHL), which commenced on December 19, 1917, there had been many seasons of ice hockey played by various amateur and professional leagues, often held contemporaneously, going back to the 188 ...
* List of Stanley Cup champions
The Stanley Cup is a trophy awarded annually to the playoff champion club of the National Hockey League (NHL) ice hockey league. It was donated by the Governor General of Canada Lord Stanley of Preston in 1892, and is the oldest professional sp ...
References
Bibliography
*
* Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). ''Lord Stanley's Cup''. Bolton, Ont.: Fenn Pub. pp 12, 50.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:1895 Ahac Season
Amateur Hockey Association of Canada seasons
AHAC