Crashing the Net

After their tenure with the Renfrew Millionaires ended at the close of the 1910 season, Frank and Lester Patrick moved west, to Nelson, British Columbia, to work in their father’s lumber business. Joe Patrick, though, had had enough of it, and sold the business off in January 1911, leaving the brothers far from the hockey circles in which they’d become so well known. Rather than being a setback, this became a springboard for Frank and Lester to bring the business of professional hockey to the West Coast, funded by Joe’s lumber profits.

Given the vagaries of the Pacific climate, natural ice was anything but guaranteed, so the league’s rinks were all built using artificial ice. Moving quickly, the brothers purchased land upon which they planned to build rinks by the end of February, and ground was broken in April in both Vancouver and Victoria.

The Victoria rink would seat 4,000 spectators, and was built at a reported cost of $110,000; the Vancouver one 10,500 and at a cost of $210,000. Both would be completed and ready for play in December of 1911, and the league opened play with three teams— the Victoria Senators, Vancouver Millionaires and New Westminster Royals. When it became apparent that the league would be ready to play, the Patricks went off raiding for players, turning to their old haunts in the National Hockey Association. Because the Patrick brothers were operating the league themselves, players were paid directly by the league, rather than by their teams. The total number of players would also be limited- the first season, the league had a total of twenty-three players, including Frank and Lester- allowing for seven (six skaters- the league would still use the old style with point, cover-point and rover -and a goaltender) for each team and two substitutes in case of injury.

The Victoria rink would open with an exhibition game played on Christmas Day, 1911; and the league would formally open play on 2 January 1912, with the New Westminster Royals claiming an 8-3 victory over Lester Patrick’s Victoria Senators. Goaltender Hughie Lehman- one of the few players ‘imported’ who didn’t come from the NHA, but rather from Berlin of the Ontario Professional Hockey League- would lead the Royals to the inaugural league crown registering nine wins and six losses, two victories more than either the Millionaires or Senators. Lehman would lead the league’s three goaltenders, allowing 77 goals during the season for a 5.13 goals against average. Vancouver’s Newsy Lalonde would claim the scoring title with twenty-seven, netting one more than New Westminster’s Harry Hyland. After the season, Lalonde would return to Montreal.

For the 1912-1913 season, Frank and Lester would finally succeed in enticing the player they most wanted to showcase- Fred “Cyclone” Taylor. Cyclone Taylor would replace Lalonde on the Vancouver roster and would remain with the team throughout the rest of his playing career. Taylor wouldn’t bring a title to Vancouver that season, as his Millionaires won only seven games while losing nine, finishing with three fewer wins than the Victoria Senators. Victoria’s Bert Lindsay would register the best statistics among the goaltenders, giving up only fifty-six goals in this fifteen games and registering the league’s first shutout. Victoria’s Tommy Dunderdale would lead all scorers with twenty-four goals, eight more than Vancouver’s Carl Kendall.

For the first time, the PCHA champs would challenge for the Stanley Cup, but the challenge was declined, as the PCHA season (as previously noted, not dependent on natural ice) ran three weeks longer than in the East, not leaving any suitable ice for the defence. The final two games played in the regular season- both featuring the Millionaires and Royals- were played in Calgary, Alberta and Regina, Saskatchewan- the highest profile games for either town at that point.

Before the 1913-1914 season, the Victoria team would change its name from the Senators to the Aristocrats, and the rink in New Westminster would finally be completed, allowing the Royals to host games in their own facility rather than being semi-permanent guests in Vancouver. It wouldn’t prove sufficient to lift the Royals to the league’s crown, though, as they’d finish second behind the Aristocrats. Victoria’s Lindsey and Dunderdale would lead goalkeepers and scorers respectively, each for the second time in as many years. The Aristocrats would play a three game series against the WHA champion Toronto Blueshirts, but would drop all three games. More significantly, though, the two leagues would agree upon the leagues’ champions facing off for the Stanley Cup, officially ending the Cup’s days as a challenge award. The PCHA would also add another innovation which remains a feature of the game today- adding the blue lines on the ice to separate the surface into three zones.

The 1914-1915 season saw a significant change- the New Westminster Royals team moved to Portland, Oregon, where it was renamed the Rosebuds. The defending champs would fail to repeat, being bested by the Millionaires, who then hosted the first Stanley Cup series, winning three games against the Ottawa Senators and becoming the first West Coast team to claim the trophy. For the following year, the league was again growing, expanding by adding the Seattle Metropolitans. The Seattle team was largely stocked from the unfortunate Toronto Blueshirts, who lost four players, most notably goaltender Harry “Hap” Holmes. The raiding, though, went both directions this time, with NHA teams swiping four players back, highlighted by netminder Bert Lindsay from Victoria. Two years removed from New Westminster, the Portland Rosebuds took the league crown with a 13-5 record, and went on to face the Montreal Canadiens in for the Stanley Cup, falling in five games.

The war in Europe was starting to have significant impact at home- much of the raiding was the result not only of PCHA expansion, but also to many of the able-bodied men who had played being called to serve, leaving teams with depleted rosters. With PCHA teams generally carrying fewer players than their NHA counterparts, the losses were more acutely felt in the western league.

The Victoria Aristocrats moved after the close of the 1916-17 season, relocating to Spokane, Washington, and changing their name to the Canaries. The team would fail to draw significant crowds east of the Cascade Mountains, and would become a permanent road team on the 15th of February, 1915, and would fold at the season’s close. The relocation of the Aristocrats left the Vancouver Millionaires as the only remaining team in the PCHA located in Canada. The Millionaires would have a fairly successful season, winning fourteen games while only losing nine, but would place second behind the Metropolitans 16-8 record. The Seattle side would represent the PCHA against the WHA champion Montreal Canadiens, and would be the first team outside the Dominion of Canada to claim the Stanley Cup.

The visiting Canadiens, led by former PCHA star Didier Pitre, would claim victory in the first game at the Seattle Arena 8-4, only to fall in the next three. Montreal would manage only a single goal in each of the final three games of the series, while Seattle benefited by having fourteen of their twenty-three total goals scored by forward Bernie Morris. Six of the nine tallies in the 9-1 Seattle rout of the visitors from Montreal in the fourth game came from Morris’ stick. Morris had also led the Mets’ in the regular season, accounting for 37 of the team’s 125 goals in the twenty-four games of the PCHA season.

The following season, NHA internal struggles led to three of the four owners withdrawing their teams from the NHA to form the new National Hockey League which would assume the NHA’s agreement to play the PCHA champions for the Stanley Cup. With the war still raging, the league contracted to three teams, not replacing the Spokane Canaries, and another Frank Patrick innovation entered the game- the concept of established league playoffs. The Seattle side would claim the best record in the league, posting eleven wins in eighteen games, two more than Vancouver’s, but would fall in a two-game playoff to the Millionaires, losing 2-1 and 1-0. Vancouver would go on to play the Toronto “Arenas” (the Toronto team was operated by the Arena ownership, but had no formal name, and was often referred to as the Blueshirts- although the name probably still belonged to the Toronto team of the all-but defunct NHA), but would fall in the best-of-five series to the hosts from Toronto. The Millionaires claimed both games of the series played under PCHA rules (six skaters a side, no substitutions, forward passing in the neutral zone) by 6-4 and 8-1 margins; but dropped the first, third and fifth games which were played under NHL rules (five skaters, substitutions, no forward passing) by the tallies of 5-3, 6-3, and finally 2-1. Vancouver’s Mickey MacKay and Toronto’s Alf Skinner tied with ten points apiece- MacKay with five goals and five assists; Skinner with eight markers and a pair of helpers, while Cyclone Taylor had nine goals for the Millionaires. Hap Holmes won the goalkeeping duel in the Toronto nets, and repeated as Cup champion, as he had backstopped the Seattle Metropolitans the previous year.

1919 would see the Portland Rosebuds suspend operations and the revival of the Victoria Aristocrats- who assumed the contracts of the players under contract to Portland. Vancouver, led by the league’s scoring leader, Cyclone Taylor, edged Seattle by a single game, claiming the regular-season crown with a 12-8 record. Demonstrating the old adage that turnabout is fair play, the second-place Metropolitans knocked off the Millionaires in the playoffs, claiming the edge on total goals after splitting the two games.  Bernie Morris continued to lead the Mets offense, trailing Taylor by a single goal; and Holmes returned to backstop Seattle- thus having the third opportunity to contest for the Cup in as many years.

The 1919 Stanley Cup Final is unique amongst those in the sport- it marks the only time in history where the Cup was not awarded after the final series started. The PCHA rules were to have been effect for the first, third and fifth games of the series, the NHA ones for the second and fourth, and, as had been the situation previously, neither team prevailed in a game played under the other’s rules. The host Metropolitans struck first- and often,taking advantage of the Canadiens, who had just arrived earlier in the day- tallying twice in the opening period, three times in the second, before closing out the Canadiens with another two goals en route to a 7-0 triumph in the first match. Seattle left wing Hugh “Muzz” Murray and defenceman Bobby Rowe were knocked out of the game with injuries.

The visitors from Montreal were undaunted. Coupled with three days rest and a shortened Seattle bench- with Murray and Rowe out of the lineup, Seattle only dressed seven players, Montreal came back to take the second match 4-2, with Montreal’s Newsy Lalonde- formerly a Vancouver Millionaire- scored all four goals for the Canadiens in a game the Habs had clearly in hand were it not for a pair of markers by Seattle’s Frank Foyston and Bernie Morris within a thirty-two second span in the latter half of the third period. Montreal’s Joe Hall would leave the game after taking a puck in the face off of the stick of Seattle right wing Carol “Cully” Wilson.

In the third game, back under PCHA rules, the Mets jumped out to an early 4-0 lead. The injury roll would continue to grow, with Montreal rearguard Bert Corbeau sustaining a shoulder injury after taking a hard check and falling awkwardly to the ice. After a scoreless second period, the Mets would top the Habs 3-2 in the third to claim the victory 7-2 and take a 2-1 edge heading into game four.

The fourth game qualifies as one of the early classics of Stanley Cup competition. With both the physical toll of the series and the (at that point still unknown) Spanish influenza epidemic starting to wear on both sides, the game would end in a draw after three periods of regulation play and an additional twenty minutes of overtime. An apparent Frank Foyston goal at the close of the first period was waved off, with the goal judge and referee agreeing the puck did not cross the goal line before time expired in the period. Bobby Rowe- playing on a fractured ankle- was forced into service as an injury replacement for Seattle in the overtime period after both Ranald MacDonald and Roy Rickey were knocked out of the game with injuries, even though Rowe himself was unable to put any weight onto his hurt foot. Louis Berlinguette of the Canadiens had perhaps the best chance of the game in overtime, with Holmes redirecting the puck just wide. Finally, with exhaustion and injury evident, the officials declared the game a draw. Both teams left the ice to a standing ovation from the fans in attendance.

The fifth game would be viewed from the perspective of the rules as a continuation of the fourth- that is, under NHL rules; although it was agreed that in the future, no game would be abandoned without a winner, providing for the ‘play until someone wins’ playoff system which is familiar to playoff hockey fans today. Four of the Seattle players and three from Montreal were playing in spite of significant injuries. After two periods, Seattle had a 3-0 advantage. During the third period, Montreal would rally to force overtime led by two goals from Newsy Lalonde, but both Seattle’s Cully Wilson and Montreal’s Joe Hall were carried off the ice and taken to hospital after collapsing. Montreal’s Jack McDonald would end the game, tallying the deciding goal at 15:57 of overtime, paving the way for a deciding game.

Unfortunately, that game would never be played. With Seattle’s Wilson and Rowe hospitalized along with Montreal’s Hall, Lalonde, Berlinguette, Coutu and McDonald- all having the flu and sporting temperatures reported between 101 and 105 Fahrenheit. The balance of the Montreal team were also ill, as were several of the Seattle players, leaving neither side able to proceed with the deciding game on the first of April. In fact, the Seattle city health department called for the cancellation of the game in the wake of the flu epidemic. Montreal manager George Kennedy- himself hospitalized with the flu- offered to forfeit the Cup to Seattle, but Seattle president/manager/coach Pete Muldoon refused to accept, given the circumstances. Montreal asked to borrow players from Victoria, but was declined by PCHA president Frank Patrick, who settled on the draw.

Although most of the afflicted players recovered from their illness, Montreal’s Joe Hall died on the fifth of April as a result of it, at the age of thirty-six.

The Metropolitans would successfully defend their PCHA championship in the 1919-1920 season, winning the regular season with a 12-10 record, and then hold off the second-place Vancouver Millionaires to win a two-game, total-goals series 7-3 (losing the first 3-1 in Vancouver before winning the rematch 6-0 at home). Seattle’s Hap Holmes would lead goaltenders, yielding 55 goals in the 22 games of the regular season, posting four shutouts and a 2.5 goals against average. Frank Foyston of the Mets would also lead all scorers with twenty-six goals, one more than Victoria’s Tommy Dunderdale.

This time Seattle would travel east to contest for the Cup, where they’d battle the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. Due to potential confusion between the team’s sweaters- the Metropolitans sported red, white and green horizontal stripes, the Senators red, white and black ones, the hosts agreed to wear white ones for the series- the first documented instance of “alternate” jerseys being used in a sporting event.

Reproduction of an Ottawa Senators sweater, circa 1920

Reproduction of a Seattle Metropolitans sweater, circa 1920

Ottawa would win the first game, 3-2 on a goal from Jack Darragh, and would ride a Clint Benedict shutout to a 3-0 victory to take a two game edge before Seattle rallied for a 3-1 win in Game Three. Slushy ice resulting from late March temperatures in Ottawa forced the remaining games of the series to be relocated to Arena Gardens in Toronto, as the Ottawa Arena did not have artificial ice. Frank Foyston was the hero for Seattle in the fourth match, scoring twice while leading his side to a series tie after a 5-2 win. Unfortunately for the visitors, Frank Nighbor and Darragh would dominate the final game, with Darragh’s hat trick sealing the Senators’ 6-1 victory.

In its tenth season, the PCHA would see its regular season victor also take the playoff series victory, as the Vancouver Millionaires went 13-11-0, a single point better than Seattle’s 12-11-1; and then top the Metropolitans in total goals, taking the first 7-0 and the second 6-2. Seattle’s Hap Holmes would record the fewest goals against (68) and the best GAA (2.83); while the Aristocrats’ Frank Fredrickson (20G, 12A) and Millionaires’ Smokey Harris (15 G, 17A) both edged leading goal scorer Foyston (26 G, 5A) to take the scoring title.

Vancouver would host the defending Cup champions from Ottawa at Denman Arena to record-setting crowds- the first game of the series drew over 11,000 to an arena with an official capacity of 10,000, and the total attendance for the five game series is cited as over 51,000. The huge crowd wouldn’t see the Cup return to Vancouver, though, as the Millionaires lost in five, taking the first and fourth games in dropping the 3-2 decision, although each game in the series was closely fought and decided by just a single goal.

1921-1922 had it as Seattle’s turn to win the regular season by a single point, registering a 12-11-1 record to edge out the 12-12 Millionaires. Holmes again took the goalkeeping honours, with Jack Adams of Vancouver leading all scorers with 26 goals and 4 assists for thirty points, five better than his teammate Mickey MacKay and Victoria’s Frank Fredrickson (both 15 G, 10A). In the playoffs, Vancouver prevailed in a pair of 1-0 shutouts. The Millionaires would then take on the Western Canada Hockey League champs, the Regina Capitals for the right to take on the Toronto St. Patricks for the Cup. Vancouver’s Jack Adams- previously a Toronto player- tallied six times for the Millionaires, but the team was bested 3-2 in a five game series.

By 1922-1923, the PCHA season had been expanded to 30 games, eight of which were played against Western Canada Hockey League teams, paving the way for the merger of the two leagues after the next season. Vancouver- now the Maroons, no longer the Millionaires- prevailed atop the league again, registering a 17-12-1 record and splitting the playoff series with Victoria to take a 5-3 total goal advantage (3-0, 2-3). Victoria’s Frank Fredrickson topped all scorers, posting 39 goals and 55 points; while Vancouver’s Hughie Lehman registered four shutouts and a 2.44 GAA.

The playoff series format changed for this year- Vancouver’s Denman Arena hosted all the games, but this time the NHL Ottawa Senators had to take on the WCHL’s Edmonton Eskimos for the Cup, having dispatched the Maroons three games to one before sweeping the first two games of a best of three to retain the Stanley Cup.

1923-1924 was to be the final hurrah of the PCHA. Despite an overall losing record at 14-16-0, the Seattle Metropolitans won the regular season title, but lost the playoff to Vancouver. The Maroons’ Art Duncan took the scoring crown with 30 points, and tied with teammate Mickey MacKay with 21 goals. Vancouver’s Hughie Lehman posted a 2.67 GAA to lead goaltenders, while Seattle’s Hap Holmes two shutouts led that statistical category. Vancouver lost a three-game series with the WCHL’s Calgary Tigers for the right to proceed directly to the Cup final, taking the first game 3-1 before losing the next two by 5-3 and 3-1 margins.  With Calgary advancing to the finals, the Maroons faced the Montreal Canadiens for the right to challenge Calgary, but lost both at Montreal, 3-2 and 2-1, with Montreal’s Billy Boucher scoring both game-winners. The Canadiens would go on to sweep Calgary in similar fashion to claim the Cup.

Drastically reduced attendance in Seattle led to the Metropolitans folding after the season, and resulted in Vancouver and Victoria merging into the Western Canada Hockey League. Seattle’s attendance had dropped to about 1,000 per game, and led to operational costs exceeding revenues, leaving the team in the red and without a place to play, as the arena owners refused to renew the team’s lease, effectively ending the team’s lifespan.

The thirteen year run of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association saw the game evolving into a form more closely resembling that resembles today’s game. Its innovations included the forward pass, the addition of the blue lines creating the neutral zone, the concept of the All-Star team and Most Valuable Player; first naming an All-Star team to play against a touring company assembled from the NHA after the conclusion of the 1913-1914 campaign and first naming an MVP after the 1916-1917 season.

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