Ernest Hope "Ernie" McLea (February 5, 1876 – June 17, 1931) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player. McLea played in the 1890s for 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. ...

and was a member of four

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 ...

-winning teams. He scored the first

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

in Stanley Cup play, and scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in a challenge game in 1896.

Personal life

McLea was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. He was the fifth and final child of John Brine McLea and Phoebe Elizabeth (Currie) McLea, who were both born in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

and moved to Quebec in the 1860s, then to Montreal in the 1870s. As a youth, McLea attended the Bishop's College School boarding school in

Lennoxville Lennoxville is an ''arrondissement'', or borough, of the city of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Lennoxville is located at the confluence of the St. Francis and Massawippi Rivers approximately five kilometres south of downtown Sherbrooke. Lennoxvi ...

, where he met future Victorias team-mates

Hartland MacDougall Hartland Brydges MacDougall (March 10, 1876 – April 28, 1947) was a Canadian ice hockey player and businessman. MacDougall was generally regarded as one of the most versatile players of the pre-NHL era of the sport. He initially played the posit ...

and

Robert MacDougall Robert Ernest MacDougall (March 2, 1876 – March 26, 1950) was a notable Canadian ice hockey player and businessman. He played in the early days of organized ice hockey, before professionalism. He played the position of forward for the Montreal ...

(not related). He followed this with studies at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

where he played

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

. Ernest McLea died on June 17, 1931 in his apartment on McGill College Avenue in Montreal due to a self-inflicted gunshot. McLea left a note.

Playing career

McLea joined the senior

for the 1896 season, playing two games during the season. In December 1896, the Victorias challenged the

Winnipeg Victorias The Winnipeg Victorias were a former amateur senior-level men's amateur ice hockey team in Winnipeg, Manitoba, organized in 1889. They played in the Manitoba Hockey Association (MHA) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Victorias wo ...

for the Stanley Cup. In a one-game playoff, McLea scored a hat trick, the first ever in Stanley Cup play, including the winning goal with two minutes to go, that won the game 6–5. The winning goal is considered one of hockey's "greatest goals" by author Eric Zweig. McLea would go on to play in five seasons with the Victorias, scoring 17 goals in 24 regular season games with the club. After his playing days, McLea did remain involved in hockey as an on-ice official.

References

* * ;Notes

Personal life

Playing career

References

See also