The 1904–05 Federal Amateur Hockey League (FAHL) season lasted from December 31, 1904, until March 3. Teams played an eight-game schedule.

League business

The

Ottawa Hockey Club 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 of ...

, who officially joined the FAHL prior to the end of the last season, played its first full season in the league. Montreal Le National left the league and joined the rival Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL). Ottawa had negotiated with the CAHL to return, along with the Wanderers joining, but this was turned down. The Ottawa Capitals also left the FAHL.

Pre-season

The Wanderers played an exhibition series in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in December 1904. One game, versus the New York City Athletic Club, was noted for its rough play by the Wanderers.

Regular season

The newly transferred Ottawa Hockey Club won the league championship – and retained 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 ...

– with a record of seven wins and one loss.

Highlights

Ottawa's Frank McGee scored five goals against the Montagnards on February 4.

Final standings

Results

† Ottawa HC lock down League Championship, retain

Goaltending averages

Scoring leaders

Stanley Cup challenges

Ottawa vs. Dawson City

The Klondike Hockey Club, in a letter dated August 24, 1904, from team president

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 ...

, a former Ottawa player, issued a challenge to the Ottawa Hockey Club. The Dawson City team had won no championships and was not a member of any recognized senior league, yet Stanley Cup trustees P.D. Ross and JohnSweetland approved the challenge. Author Paul Kitchen has speculated that the series was approved because Young knew both Ross and federal government minister

Clifford Sifton Sir Clifford Sifton, (March 10, 1861 – April 17, 1929), was a Canadian lawyer and a long-time Liberal politician, best known for being Minister of the Interior under Sir Wilfrid Laurier. He was responsible for encouraging the massive amount o ...

. In January 1905, the Dawson City Nuggets travelled 4,000 miles (6,400 km) from the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

to Ottawa for a best-of-three Cup challenge series. The Nuggets actually left Dawson City on December 19, 1904, and travelled on a month-long journey by dog sled (Dawson to Whitehorse), ship (Skagway to Vancouver), and train (Whitehorse to Skagway, and Vancouver to Ottawa). The team was no match for the Silver Seven. Ottawa defeated them in the first game, 9–2. Numerous Stanley Cup records were then set in game two, including Frank McGee's 14 goals, which included eight consecutive goals scored in less than nine minutes, and a 23–2 rout, the largest margin of victory for any challenge game or Stanley Cup Final game to date. Several players playing for Dawson were from the Ottawa area. Jim Johnstone was from Ottawa. Norman Watt was from

Aylmer, Quebec Aylmer is a former city in Quebec, Canada. It is located on the north shore of the Ottawa River and along Route 148. In January 2002, it amalgamated into the city of Gatineau, which is part of Canada's National Capital Region. Aylmer's popul ...

. Randy McLennan had played in a Stanley Cup challenge for

Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to: *Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK **Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950) **Queen's University of Belfast ...

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

. Another player has Stanley Cup challenge experience: Lorne Hanna, "formerly of the Yukon", had played for Brandon Wheat City in their 1904 challenge of Ottawa. Sources: * ''The Globe'', January 14, 1905 * Fischler Sources: * ''The Globe'', January 17, 1905 * Fischler After the series, Ottawa held a banquet for Dawson City at the Ottawa Amateur Athletic Association (OAAA) clubhouse. There is a Stanley Cup legend that after the banquet, the Stanley Cup was

drop kick A drop kick is a type of kick in various codes of football. It involves a player dropping the ball and then kicking it as it touches the ground. Drop kicks are used as a method of restarting play and scoring points in rugby union and rugby league ...

ed into the frozen

Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal, also known unofficially as the Rideau Waterway, connects Canada's capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, to Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River at Kingston. It is 202 kilometres long. The name ''Rideau'', French for "curtain", ...

nearby and retrieved the next day. However,

Bill Westwick William George Westwick (August 2, 1908June 19, 1990) was a Canadian sports journalist. He wrote for the ''Ottawa Journal'' from 1926 to 1973, was mentored by Basil O'Meara, then served as the paper's sports editor from 1942 until retirement. W ...

, ''Ottawa Journal'' sports editor and the son of Silver Seven player

Rat Westwick Harry "Rat" Westwick (April 23, 1876 – April 3, 1957) was a Canadian athlete in ice hockey and lacrosse. Westwick – nicknamed the ''Rat'' for his small size – is most noted for his play with the Ottawa Hockey Club, nicknamed the ''Silver ...

, and NHL commissioner Frank Calder both deny it ever happened.

Ottawa vs. Rat Portage Thistles

In March 1905, the

Rat Portage Thistles The Kenora Thistles, officially the Thistles Hockey Club, were a Canadian ice hockey team based in Kenora, Ontario. Founded in 1894, they were originally known as the Rat Portage Thistles. The team competed for the Stanley Cup, the ice hockey ...

issued another challenge to the Ottawas. McGee did not play in the first game and the Thistles crushed Ottawa, 9–3. However, he returned to lead Ottawa to 4–2 and 5–4 victories in games two and three, respectively. McGee returned in game two, with his good forearm wrapped in a cast, and only a light bandage on his broken wrist, to decoy the Thistles. Alf Smith scored three goals in game two on slow ice, which the Thistles claimed was salted to slow down the Thistles. There was hard ice in game three, and the lead exchanged hands several times. The Thistles led 2–1 at halftime and 3–2 midway through the second half. Ottawa took a 4–3 lead, before Tommy Phillips scored his third of the game to tie the score. However, McGee came through with the winning score late in the game to win it for Ottawa. * Spare - Rat Portage - Roxy Beaudro -LW/D * Spare - Ottawa - Arthur "Bones" Allen -D, Billy Bawlf -F Bill Gilmore -LW, Fred White -F * Spare - Rat Portage - Roxy Beaudro - LW/D * Spare - Ottawa - Arthur "Bones" Allen -D, Billy Bawlf -F, Hamby Shore -RW, Fred White -F * Spare - Rat Portage - Roxy Beaudro - LW/D * Spare - Ottawa - Arthur "Bones" Allen - D, Billy Bawft - F, Hamby Shore - RW, Fred White - F

Stanley Cup engraving

The following Ottawa Hockey Club players and staff were members of the Stanley Cup winning team. 1905 Ottawa Hockey Club Silver Sevents Silver7

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:1904-05 FAHL season Federal Amateur Hockey League seasons

FAHL Pella ( gr, Πέλλα, ) was an ancient city in what is now northwest Jordan, containing ruins from the Neolithic, Chalcolithic,Bronze Age, Iron Age, Canaanite, Hellenistic and Islamic periods. It is located in a rich water source within the e ...