Henry Judah "Flip" Trihey (December 25, 1877 – December 9, 1942) 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 ...
amateur 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 h ...
player and executive in the era before professional ice hockey. Trihey played the
centre forward position for 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 ...
from 1897 to 1901, and was regarded as the best forward of his day during his playing years.
After his retirement as a hockey player, Trihey became a noted lawyer in Montreal, operating his own law firm and partnering in others while serving as an executive in the
Canadian Amateur Hockey League
The Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL) was an early men's amateur hockey league founded in 1898, replacing the organization that was formerly the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) before the 1898–99 season. The league existed for s ...
. He served in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
first as commanding officer of the newly raised
militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
unit, the
55th Regiment, The Irish Canadian Rangers, then overseas with the newly raised CEF battalion, the
199th Battalion Duchess of Connaught's Own Irish Rangers, CEF, and held the post of Port Commissioner for the
Montreal Harbor Commission in later years. He is an Honoured Member of the
Hockey Hall of Fame.
Playing career
![St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/St._Mary%27s_College_hockey_team%2C_Montreal%2C.jpg)
Before making his major senior debut, Trihey starred in high school hockey with St. Mary's of Montreal between 1893 and 1896, and also appeared with the Montreal Orioles of the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association in 1896.
By the age of 17 Trihey was already well-known for his playing ability and in 1897 he made his senior-level debut, playing in a single game with the Montreal Shamrocks of the
Amateur Hockey Association of Canada in 1897; he secured a regular shift with the club the following year. Teamed with linemates
Arthur Farrell
Arthur "Art" Farrell (February 8, 1877 – February 7, 1909) was a Canadian ice hockey player, author and businessman. Farrell played for St. Mary's College in the 1890s and later the Montreal Shamrocks in the Amateur Hockey Association of Cana ...
and
Fred Scanlan in 1899, Trihey was named captain of the "Fighting Irish" and had a breakout season, leading the league in scoring with 19 goals.
On February 4, 1899, Trihey amassed ten goals in one game in a match versus
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 ...
, which remains the record for the most goals scored by a single player in a major senior regular season match.
He went on to score the only goal of the second to the last game of the regular season against the perennial champion
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. ...
, which clinched the regular season title for the Shamrocks and earned them the right to defend the
Stanley Cup. The defence took place on March 14 against
Queen's University of Ontario, a match won by the Shamrocks 6–2, led by Trihey's three goals. In the off-season, he also served on the athletic club's lacrosse side.
Already respected enough to serve on a competition committee regarding the adoption of goal nets and to be quoted as the preeminent authority on forward play by his linemate
Arthur Farrell
Arthur "Art" Farrell (February 8, 1877 – February 7, 1909) was a Canadian ice hockey player, author and businessman. Farrell played for St. Mary's College in the 1890s and later the Montreal Shamrocks in the Amateur Hockey Association of Cana ...
in his 1899 book,
Trihey continued his high level of play in 1900, once again leading the Shamrocks to an easy league championship, while repeating his league scoring championship with 17 goals.
His best match during the regular season came against the Victorias on January 18, when he scored five goals.
The Shamrocks had two defenses of the Stanley Cup that season, the first a best-of-three match against the team from
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...
in February. Trihey led the Shamrocks in scoring with seven goals, scoring the game-winning goals in both of the Montreal victories.
After the regular season was over, the Shamrocks made a second defense as champions of the
Canadian Amateur Hockey League
The Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL) was an early men's amateur hockey league founded in 1898, replacing the organization that was formerly the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) before the 1898–99 season. The league existed for s ...
against the
Halifax Crescents The Halifax Crescents were an early amateur and later, professional ice hockey team operating in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The team operated in several leagues, gone defunct and been resurrected. The original club challenged for the Stanley Cu ...
in March; Trihey added five more goals to his playoff total as Montreal overwhelmed the Maritimers in 10-2 and 11-0 victories, securing the Shamrocks' third and final Cup win.
Hampered by an injured hand, Trihey lost considerable form in 1901, scoring only seven goals in seven regular season matches. The Shamrocks defended the Stanley Cup one last time, again against
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 ...
in January, but lost in two games. Trihey was again injured in the final game, scoring his last goal in that match, and retired from organized play.
Later life and legacy
![Irish Canadians enlist in an Irish and Canadian Battalion](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Irish_Canadians_enlist_in_an_Irish_and_Canadian_Battalion.jpg)
Noted for being a strategic minded player, Trihey had two lasting impacts on the sport. Firstly, he was the first known player to plan advance
forward line strategies rather than improvising on the ice.
Secondly, reversing the accustomed practice of defencemen flipping the puck into the air and over their opponents' heads, Trihey insisted that they rush the puck up the ice, passing the puck off as the situation warranted.
These innovations are regarded as having been crucial to the Shamrocks' success during Trihey's tenure and were widely adopted thereafter.
He was also a strong proponent of physical conditioning and diet, unusual to the era.
Even after his retirement, he continued to proffer advice on how best to play the game.
Trihey served as secretary-treasurer and president of the CAHL following his retirement as a player until 1904, as well as developing a successful law practice. He also served as a referee both for league and Stanley Cup play and sat on the advisory board of the
Montreal Wanderers
The Montreal Wanderers were an amateur, and later professional, ice hockey team based in Montreal. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League (FAHL), the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA), the National Hockey Association ...
Hockey Club. During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he was a
lieutenant colonel first commanding the newly raised
55th Regiment, The Irish Canadian Rangers in the
Canadian Militia and soon after the
199th Battalion Irish Canadian Rangers
The 199th (Duchess of Connaught's Own Irish Rangers) Battalion, CEF was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during the First World War.
History
The battalion was founded by the CEF to improve their recruitment success by having an all ...
of the
Canadian Expeditionary Force. Trihey resigned his commission and returned to Montreal in 1917 after the British army reversed its earlier promise to send the Rangers into battle as a discrete unit, instead choosing to plug them into the front line as reinforcements, and in the wake of unrest over the
Easter Rising in Ireland in 1916. Later in life, he was a partner in the law firm of Plimsoll and Coonan from the 1920s to 1932, and served as a Port Commissioner of the Montreal Harbor Commission.
Trihey lived in
Westmount after his playing days, and had three children, Harry Henry O'Neill, Elizabeth Alice Mary and Mary Patricia.
He was posthumously inducted into the
Hockey Hall of Fame in 1950.
Career statistics
''Assists were not yet awarded in this era of hockey''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trihey, Harry
1877 births
1942 deaths
Canadian ice hockey centres
Canadian people of Irish descent
Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
Ice hockey people from Ontario
Montreal Shamrocks players
Sportspeople from Kitchener, Ontario
Stanley Cup champions