The Montreal Winter Carnival Ice Hockey Tournaments were a series of annual

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 ...

tournaments held in the 1880s in conjunction with the Montreal Winter Carnival, in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

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 thirte ...

, Canada. First held in 1883, these tournaments are considered to be the first championship ice hockey tournaments and the predecessor to the first championship ice hockey league, the

Amateur Hockey Association of Canada The Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) was an amateur men's ice hockey league founded on 8 December 1886, in existence until 1898. It was the second ice hockey league organized in Canada, after one in Kingston, Ontario started in 1883. ...

History

In 1883, the

Montreal Amateur Athletic Association Montreal Amateur Athletic Association is Canada's oldest athletic association, located in Montreal, Quebec. It was renamed as the ''Club Sportif MAA'' or just ''MAA'' (Montreal MAA) in 1999 after a brush with bankruptcy, but is still widely known ...

was asked to add sports to the events to be held with the Montreal Carnival. The association was affiliated with the Montreal Snow Shoe Club. Along with the McGill Hockey Club, they organized a four-team tournament, played partly outdoors on the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

. The trophy for this tournament is on display at the

McCord Museum The McCord Stewart Museum (french: Musée McCord Stewart) is a public research and teaching museum dedicated to the preservation, study, diffusion, and appreciation of Canadian history. The museum, whose full name is McCord Museum of Canadian His ...

in Montreal. In 1884, the location changed to a rink made on the

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 Univer ...

grounds. It was moved indoors subsequently. The carnival was not held in 1886 and 1888. In December 1886, the

was founded by the four Montreal teams (McGill, Montreal Hockey Club, Montreal Crystals, Montreal Victorias) and the Ottawa Hockey Club.

Season-by-season record

* 1883: Montreal

Winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...

Carnival Hockey Tournament (winner

McGill McGill is a surname of Scottish and Irish origin, from which the names of many places and organizations are derived. It may refer to: People * McGill (surname) (including a list of individuals with the surname) * McGill family (Monrovia), a promin ...

), held on the St. Lawrence River * 1884: Montreal Winter Carnival Hockey Tournament (winner Victorias), held at McGill's outdoor rink * 1885: Montreal Winter Carnival Hockey Tournament (winner

), held at the Crystal Rink * 1886: ''No tournament; Carnival cancelled'' — Dominion Championship (winner

Crystals A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

) * 1887: Montreal Winter Carnival Hockey Tournament (winner

) * 1888: ''No tournament; Carnival cancelled'' * 1889: Montreal Winter Carnival Hockey Tournament (winner Victorias)

1883

The carnival was held from January 23 to 28. Montreal, McGill and Quebec teams contested the trophy and McGill won the tournament. The trophy for this tournament is on display at the Musee McCord Museum in Montreal. ''McGill wins hockey tournament''

Rosters

The following players were part of the hockey teams participating in the 1883 Montreal Winter Carnival.

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. ...

: C. Lamothe (c.), S. Abbott, J. Arnton, E. Sheppard, E. Stevenson, J. Muir, D. Watt. Quebec HC: W. Scott (c.), F. Ashe, A. Scott, M. Swift, A. Colley, S. Valler, A. Davidson.

: A. Low, J. Elder, T. Green, R. Smith, W. Murray, J. Kinlock (c.), P. Foster. Source: ''Montreal Daily Witness''

1884

The 1884 tournament saw several games lost due to rain. The outdoor rink was unplayable on February 6 and the Crystals and Wanderers did not show at the rink for their games. Both teams lost by default although the games could not have been played. The tournament was the first appearance of 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 ...

(which would eventually field a team in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

) in competitive play. The club made it to the final game before losing to the Victorias 1–0. ''Victorias win Winter Carnival Tournament'' Source: ''Montreal Gazette''

1885

''Montreal wins Winter Carnival Tournament'' Source: ''Montreal Gazette''

Rosters

The following players were part of the hockey teams participating in the 1885 Montreal Winter Carnival.

: J. Arnton, J. Muir Montreal HC: Tom Paton, Fred Larmonth, Billy Aird, Billy Hodgson, Richard Smith, F. W. Barlow, Duncan McIntyre.

: G. W. Stephens, J. M. Elder, Hanbury Arthur Budden, J. A. Kinlock, H. D. Johnson, R. E. Palmer, C. P. Brown.

Montreal Football Club The Montreal Football Club was a Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec that played in the Quebec Rugby Football Union from 1883 to 1906 and in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union from 1907 to 1915. The club was a founding member of ...

: A. Elliott, R. Campbell, W. J. Cleghorn, A. J. Campbell, R. Sterling, D. Robertson.

Montreal Crystals The Montreal Crystals (''Crystal Hockey Club'') were an ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that existed from 1884 to 1895. One of the first established ice hockey teams, the Crystals played various challenges against other clubs in ...

: William Hutchison, James A. Stewart, Robert Laing, Jack A. Findlay, Allan Cameron, W. McCaffrey, D. Labonte.

Ottawa HC The Ottawa Senators were an ice hockey team based in Ottawa, which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League (NHL) and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934. The c ...

: William O'Dell, G. Currier, Thomas D. Green, Tom Gallagher, Frank Jenkins (c.), Jack Kerr, Halder Kirby. Source: ''Montreal Gazette''

1887

In February, the Montreal teams of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada participated in the Montreal Winter Carnival hockey tournament. The tournament, which was scheduled to play outdoors on an ice rink at the Ice Palace, was disrupted by two days of storms, and was not completed until February 25. During this time, no challenges were played. ''Montreal wins Winter Carnival Tournament'' Source: ''Montreal Gazette''

Rosters

The following players were part of the hockey teams participating in the 1887 Montreal Winter Carnival. Montreal HC: W. Hutchison, J. Stewart, A. Cameron, J. Findlay, A. Hodgson, J. Virtue, W. Hodgson. Montreal Victorias: T. Arnton, J. Muir, J. Campbell, A. Shearer, J. Arnton, J. Craven, E. Barlow. Montreal Crystals: W. Norris; D. Brown, C. Ellard; R. Laing, J. McDonald, S. McQuisten, J. McGoldrick, D. Elliott. McGill: H. McNutt, A. Shanks, C. Wylde, F. Lucas, H. Budden, D. Hamilton, W. Warden. Source: ''The Montreal Daily Herald''

1889

The 1889 Winter Carnival featured the first game of ice hockey witnessed by

Lord Stanley Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm ...

, who would later donate 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 ...

. ''Montreal Victorias win Winter Carnival Tournament'' Source: ''Kitchen 2000, p.12''

1886 Burlington Winter Carnival

The Burlington Coasting Club proposed a winter carnival for the city of

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

as a rival attraction to the Montreal Winter Carnival, with the hope of inaugurating the event. It was scheduled to begin on February 15, 1886 and featured five days of winter sports activities. A committee from the club had been visiting Montreal to obtain attractions for the carnival as well as gain tips on how to manage the event. The Montreal Snow Shoe Club, along with several organisations from

were invited to the carnival to participate in the events. The

and the

Montreal Hockey Club The Montreal Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was a senior-level men's amateur ice hockey club, organized in 1884. They were affiliated with Montreal Amateur Athletic Association (MAAA) and used the MAAA 'winged wheel' logo. The team was ...

accepted the invitation, as did the

, which later withdrew due to scheduling conflicts. A local team was quickly assembled from the employees of the Van Ness House, a hotel in Burlington. Montreal HC won the gold medal, and the Crystals won the silver. Originally scheduled for February 15–19, the organizers were forced to move the events one week later due to unseasonable weather. The carnival was held on February 22–26. The hockey games were played on

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/ Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type ...

in heavy wind. The first game was played on the morning of February 26, with two 20-minute halves. There was no score through 40 minutes, and Montreal's R. Smith scored in overtime. The second game was between Montreal HC and Van Ness House, and it was the first international ice hockey game. The players representing Van Ness House did not have any hockey experience, having only gone through a few practices prior to the carnival. The two teams played two 15-minute periods, with Montreal winning 3–0 and thus claiming the gold medal. The final game was played in two 10-minute periods, with Joseph McGoldrick of the Crystals scoring the only goal to capture the silver medal. ''Montreal wins Winter Carnival Tournament'' Source: ''Lord Stanley: The Man Behind the Cup'' ()

Rosters

The following players were part of the hockey teams participating in the 1886 Burlington Winter Carnival. Van Ness House: Lewis C. Johnson, Charles H. Whitcomb, Maxwell A. Kilvert, William F. Waters, Edward. S. Griffing, Howard Crane, Walter A. Laduke (captain)
Montreal HC: Tom L. Paton, George S. Lowe, Duncan McIntyre, Francis Barlow, Francis Crispo, William C. Hodgson, Richard F. Smith, Fred M. Larmonth (captain)
Montreal Crystals: Allan Cameron, Jonathan A. Findlay, Edward McCaffrey, Joseph F. McGoldrick, William Hutchison, James Virtue, Robert Laing (captain)

References

* * ;Notes {{NHL topics Ice hockey in Montreal Outdoor ice hockey games 1883–84 in Canadian ice hockey 1884–85 in Canadian ice hockey 1885–86 in Canadian ice hockey 1886–87 in Canadian ice hockey 1887–88 in Canadian ice hockey 1888–89 in Canadian ice hockey

History

Season-by-season record

1883

Rosters

1884

1885

Rosters

1887

Rosters

1889

1886 Burlington Winter Carnival

Rosters

See also

References