Montreal Winter Carnival ice hockey tournaments
Encyclopedia
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
tournaments held in the 1880s in conjunction with the Montreal Winter Carnival, in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. 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.
History
In 1883, the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association (MAAA) was asked to add sports to the events to be held with the Montreal Carnival. The MAAA was affiliated with the Montreal Snowshoe Club. Along with the McGill Hockey Club, they organized a four-team tournament, played partly outdoors on the Saint Lawrence RiverSaint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
. The trophy for this tournament is on display at the McCord Museum
McCord Museum
The McCord Museum is a public research and teaching museum dedicated to the preservation, study, diffusion, and appreciation of Canadian history...
in Montreal. In 1884, the location changed to a rink made on the McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
grounds. It was moved indoors subsequently. The carnival was not held in 1886 and 1888.
In December 1886, the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) 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 Carnival Hockey Tournament (winner McGill), held on the St. Lawrence River
- 1884: Montreal Winter Carnival Hockey Tournament (winner VictoriasMontreal VictoriasThe 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. The club played at its own rink, the Victoria Skating...
), held at McGill's outdoor rink - 1885: Montreal Winter Carnival Hockey Tournament (winner MontrealMontreal Hockey ClubThe 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 and used the MAAA 'winged wheel' logo. The team is notable for winning the first Stanley Cup in 1893, and in a...
), held at the Crystal Rink - 1886: No tournament; Carnival cancelled — Dominion Championship (winner CrystalsMontreal CrystalsMontreal Crystals were an ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that existed from 1886 to 1895. The Club was a member of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada . The team won the Canadian championship twice. In 1895, the team became the Montreal Shamrocks...
) - 1887: Montreal Winter Carnival Hockey Tournament (winner MontrealMontreal Hockey ClubThe 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 and used the MAAA 'winged wheel' logo. The team is notable for winning the first Stanley Cup in 1893, and in a...
) - 1888: No tournament; Carnival cancelled
- 1889: Montreal Winter Carnival Hockey Tournament (winner VictoriasMontreal VictoriasThe 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. The club played at its own rink, the Victoria Skating...
)
1883
The carnival was held from January 23 to January 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.Note: this table is incomplete.
| Date | Team | Score | Team | Score | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament | |||||
| January 26 | Montreal | - | Quebec | - | St. Lawrence River rink |
| January 26 | McGill | - | Montreal | - | St. Lawrence River rink |
| January 27 | McGill | 2 | Quebec | 2 | Crystal Rink |
| January 27 | Quebec | 1 | Victorias | 1 | Victoria Rink |
| January 28 | Quebec | - | Victorias | - | |
| January 28 | McGill | - | Quebec | - | |
McGill wins hockey tournament
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 in competitive play. The club made it to the final game before losing to the Victorias 1–0.
| Date | Team | Score | Team | Score | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exhibitions | |||||
| February 1 | Crystals | 5 | Wanderers | 0 | Crystal Rink |
| Tournament | |||||
| February 4 | Victorias | 1 | McGill | 0 | McGill Rink |
| February 5 | Crystals | 1 | Wanderers | 0 | McGill Rink |
| February 6 | McGill | W | Crystals | L(default) | McGill Rink |
| February 6 | Wanderers | L(default) | Victorias | W | McGill Rink |
| February 7 | McGill | 1 | Ottawa | 0 | McGill Rink |
| February 8 | Ottawa | 1 | Victorias | 0 | McGill Rink |
| February 8 | Wanderers | L(default) | McGill | W | McGill Rink |
| February 9 | Ottawa | 3 | McGill | 0 | McGill Rink |
| February 9 | Victorias | 2 | Crystals | 0 | McGill Rink |
| February 11 | Victorias | 1 | Ottawa | 0 | McGill Rink |
Victorias win Winter Carnival Tournament
Source: Montreal Gazette
1885
| Date | Team | Score | Team | Score | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament | |||||
| January 27 | Ottawa | 3 | Crystals | 0 | Crystal Rink Crystal Palace (Montreal) The Crystal Palace was an exhibition hall built for the Montreal Industrial Exhibition of 1860, originally located at the foot of Victoria Street between St. Catherine and Cathcart Streets. It was used for temporary exhibitions, and in winter, housed an ice skating rink.-Construction:The building... |
| January 28 | Montreal | 3 | Montreal Football Club | 0 | Crystal Rink |
| January 29 | McGill | 2 | Crystals | 0 | Crystal Rink |
| January 30 | Ottawa | 2 | Montreal | 2 | Crystal Rink |
| January 31 | Montreal | 1 | Ottawa | 0 | Crystal Rink |
| January 31 | Montreal | 1 | McGill | 0 | Crystal Rink |
Montreal wins Winter Carnival Tournament
Source: Montreal Gazette
1887
In February, the Montreal teams of the AHAC participated in the Montreal WinterCarnival 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 AHAC challenges were played.
| Date | Team | Score | Team | Score | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exhibitions | |||||
| February 7 | Victorias | 2 | Montreal | 0 | Ice Palace Rink |
| February 15 | Crystals | 6 | Montreal | 3 | Crystal Rink |
| Tournament | |||||
| February 21 | Crystals | 0 | Montreal | 1 | Crystal Rink |
| February 23 | Victorias | 5 | McGill | 1 | Crystal Rink |
| February 25 | Victorias | 0 | Montreal | 1 | Crystal Rink |
Montreal wins Winter Carnival Tournament
Source: Montreal Gazette
1889
The 1889 Winter Carnival featured the first game of ice hockey witnessed by Lord StanleyFrederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby
Frederick Arthur Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby KG, GCB, GCVO, PC , known as Frederick Stanley until 1886 and as Lord Stanley of Preston between 1886 and 1893, was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom who served as Colonial Secretary from 1885 to 1886 and the sixth Governor General...
, Governor General of Canada
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
, who would later donate the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
.
| Date | Team | Score | Team | Score | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 4 | Victorias | 2 | Montreal | 1 | Victoria Rink Victoria Skating Rink The Victoria Skating Rink was an indoor skating rink located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which opened in 1862. The building was used during winter seasons for pleasure skating, ice hockey and skating sports on a natural ice rink. In summer months, the building was used for various other events,... |
| February 9 | Crystals | 7 | McGill | 3 | Victoria Rink |
| February 18 | Victorias | 3 | Crystals | 2 | Victoria Rink |
Montreal Victorias win Winter Carnival Tournament
Source: Kitchen 2000, p.12
1886 Burlington Winter Carnival
Since the Montreal Winter Carnival was not held in 1886, the city of Burlington, VermontBurlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
decided to stage a similar event, and invited several Canadian hockey teams for a tournament. The Montreal Crystals
Montreal Crystals
Montreal Crystals were an ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that existed from 1886 to 1895. The Club was a member of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada . The team won the Canadian championship twice. In 1895, the team became the Montreal Shamrocks...
and the Montreal Hockey Club
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 and used the MAAA 'winged wheel' logo. The team is notable for winning the first Stanley Cup in 1893, and in a...
accepted, as did the Ottawa Hockey Club, 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 Crystal won the silver. Originally scheduled for February 15–19, the organizers were forced to move the events up a week due to unseasonable weather. The carnival was held on February 22–26. The hockey games were played on Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
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 J. McGoldrick of the Crystals scoring the only goal to capture the silver medal.
| Date | Team | Score | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 26 | Montreal HC | 1 (OT) | Crystals | 0 |
| February 26 | Montreal HC | 3 | Van Ness House | 0 |
| February 26 | Crystals | 1 | Van Ness House | 0 |
Montreal wins Winter Carnival Tournament
Source: Lord Stanley: The Man Behind the Cup (ISBN 1-55168-281-8)