1918 Stanley Cup Finals

1918 Stanley Cup Finals
1918 Stanley Cup Finals
Location(s)	Toronto: Arena Gardens
Format	best-of-five
Coaches	Toronto: Dick Carroll ; Vancouver: Frank Patrick
Dates	March 20–30, 1918
Series-winning goal	Corb Denneny (10:30, third)
Hall of Famers	Toronto:; Jack Adams (1959); Harry Cameron (1963); Rusty Crawford (1963); Hap Holmes (1972); Reg Noble (1962); Millionaires:; Si Griffis (1950); Hughie Lehman (1958); Mickey MacKay (1952); Barney Stanley (1963); Cyclone Taylor (1947); Coaches:; Frank Patrick (1950)

Last updated June 08, 2024

The 1918 Stanley Cup Finals was contested by the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Toronto and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champion Vancouver Millionaires. In a series held entirely in Toronto, the Toronto team won the series by three games to two in the best-of-five game series to win the Stanley Cup.^[1] It was the first series contested by the new NHL and subsequently the first Stanley Cup win by the Toronto NHL franchise team.

Paths to the Finals

Prior to the 1917–18 season, the National Hockey Association (NHA) had suspended operations as the result of a power play to oust Toronto Blueshirts owner Eddie Livingstone. The remaining clubs then met in November 1917 to form the NHL, using the same constitution and playing rules of the NHA. The NHL took the NHA's place in competing for the Cup in a playoff series with the Pacific Coast Hockey Association.^[2]

The Toronto NHL players were assigned from the Toronto NHA franchise, and played for a 'temporary' Toronto NHL franchise, operated by the Toronto Arena owners. This is why it is often called the 'Arenas' although no hockey club with the official name "Arenas" existed until after the 1917–18 season. The team at the time used no nickname; it was often referred to at the time as the "Blueshirts", the nickname of the NHA franchise, as it was announced by the NHA that the franchise had been sold, although Eddie Livingstone had not agreed to this as he wanted to resume his franchise or be compensated under his terms.^[3]

Toronto won the second half of the split regular season, while the Montreal Canadiens won the first half. Toronto then won the NHL title by defeating the Canadiens in a two-game, total-goals series, 10–7.

Meanwhile, Vancouver finished the 1917–18 PCHA regular season in second place with a 9–9 record behind the 11–7 Seattle Metropolitans. However, Vancouver beat Seattle in that league's two-game, total-goals finals, 3–2, with a 1–0 game two victory.

Teams

Canadiens

Arenas

Metropolitans

Millionaires

NHL Teams

PCHA Teams

League	Team	City	Arena	Capacity
1918 Stanley Cup playoffs
NHL
	Montreal Canadiens	Montreal, Quebec	Jubilee Rink	3,200
	Toronto Arenas	Toronto, Ontario	Arena Gardens	7,500
PCHA	Seattle Metropolitans	Seattle, Washington	Seattle Ice Arena	4,000
	Vancouver Millionaires	Vancouver, British Columbia	Denman Arena	10,500

Bracket

League Championships					Stanley Cup Finals

N1	Montreal Canadiens	3	4	7

N2	Toronto	7	3	10
					NC	Toronto	5	4	6	1	2	3

					PC	Vancouver Millionaires	3	6	3	8	1	2
P1	Seattle Metropolitans	2	0	2

P2	Vancouver Millionaires	2	1	3

Game summaries

As with the three previous NHA-PCHA Cup Final series, the series alternated between the NHL champion and the PCHA champion each year, while the differing rules for the leagues alternated each game. This meant that all of the games for the 1918 championship series were played at Toronto's Arena Gardens.

Two of the major differences between the two leagues' rules proved to be a major factor in the series. The PCHA allowed forward passing (adopted in the 1913–14 season) and played with seven players per side; the NHL did not adopt forward passing until the following season, and only played with six players. In every game, the winner was the one playing under its league's rules. The Torontos won Games 1 and 3 with victories of 5–3 and 6–3, and the Millionaires recorded 6–4 and 8–1 wins in Games 2 and 4. Because game five was played under NHL rules, it helped Toronto's Corbett Denneny to score the series winning goal in a 2–1 victory. The Torontos outscored the Millionaires by a combined total of 13–7 in the three games played under NHL rules. Conversely, Vancouver recorded a 14–5 margin in the games under PCHA rules.

Toronto goaltender Hap Holmes recorded a 4.20 goals-against average during the series, while Alf Skinner led Toronto with eight goals. Cyclone Taylor scored nine goals for Vancouver.

March 20	Vancouver Millionaires		3–5	Toronto Arenas	Mutual Street Arena	Recap
16:00 – Cyclone Taylor (1) 17:00 – Cyclone Taylor (2)		First period		Reg Noble (2) – 08:00 Harry Meeking (4) – 10:00 Reg Noble (3) – 11:00 Alf Skinner (1) – 19:50
10:00 – Mickey MacKay (1)		Second period		Alf Skinner (2) – 13:00
No scoring		Third period		No scoring
Hugh Lehman		Goalie stats		Hap Holmes

March 23	Toronto Arenas		4–6	Vancouver Millionaires	Mutual Street Arena	Recap
Alf Skinner (3) – 17:00		First period		18:00 – Cyclone Taylor (3)
Harry Cameron (2) 16:00		Second period		02:00 – Cyclone Taylor (4) 06:00 – Mickey MacKay (2) 14:00 – Mickey MacKay (3)
Alf Skinner (4) – 08:00 Alf Skinner (5) – 16:00		Third period		06:00 – Si Griffis (1) 10:00 – Mickey MacKay (3)
Hap Holmes		Goalie stats		Hugh Lehman

March 26	Vancouver Millionaires		3–6	Toronto Arenas	Mutual Street Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period		05:00 – Harry Cameron (3) 08:00 – Alf Skinner (6) 13:00 – Corb Denneny (1)
Ran McDonald (1) – pp – 06:00 Cyclone Taylor (5) – 16:00		Second period		11:00 – Harry Cameron (4) 14:00 – Corb Denneny (2)
Cyclone Taylor (6) – 03:00		Third period		13:00 – Alf Skinner (7)
Hugh Lehman		Goalie stats		Hap Holmes

March 28	Toronto Arenas		1–8	Vancouver Millionaires	Mutual Street Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period		05:00 – Cyclone Taylor (7)
Ken Randall (1) – 04:26		Second period		04:00 – Barney Stanley (1) 11:06 – Mickey MacKay (5) 13:06 – Barney Stanley (2)
No scoring		Third period		06:00 – Cyclone Taylor (8) 13:00 – pp – Lloyd Cook (1) 13:45 – pp – Ran MacDonald (2) 15:00 – pp – Lloyd Cook (2)
Hap Holmes		Goalie stats		Hugh Lehman

March 30	Vancouver Millionaires		1–2	Toronto Arenas	Mutual Street Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period		No scoring
No scoring		Second period		No scoring
Cyclone Taylor (9) – 09:30		Third period		00:30 – Alf Skinner (8) 10:30 – Corb Denneny (3)
Hugh Lehman		Goalie stats		Hap Holmes

Toronto won series 3–2

Player stats

Toronto	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Alf Skinner	5	8	2	10	18
Harry Mummery	5	0	6	6	21
Harry Cameron	5	3	1	4	12
Corb Denneny	5	3	1	4	0
Reg Noble	5	2	1	3	12
Harry Meeking	5	1	2	3	18
Ken Randall	5	1	0	1	21

Goaltender	GP	W	L	Min	GA	SO	Avg
Hap Holmes	5	3	2	300	21	0	4.20

Vancouver	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Mickey MacKay	5	5	5	10	12
Cyclone Taylor	5	9	0	9	15
Ran MacDonald	5	2	2	4	9
Lloyd Cook	5	2	0	2	12
Barney Stanley	5	2	0	2	6
Si Griffis	5	1	0	1	9
Leo Cook	5	0	0	0	6
Speed Moynes	5	0	0	0	6

Goaltender	GP	W	L	Min	GA	SO	Avg
Hugh Lehman	5	2	3	300	18	0	3.60

Stanley Cup engraving

The 1918 Stanley Cup was presented by the trophy's trustee William Foran. The Arenas never did engrave their name on the Cup for their championship season.

It was not until the trophy was redesigned in 1948 that the words "1918 Toronto Arenas" was put onto its then-new collar.

The following Arenas players and staff were members of the Stanley Cup winning team.

1917–18 Toronto Arenas

Players

Centres

Wingers

Defencemen

Goaltenders

31-1 Harry Hap Holmes

Coaching and administrative staff

Charlie Querrie (President/Manager), Dick Carroll (Coach)
Frank Carroll (Trainer)

‡ Played rover position in the Stanley Cup Finals
† Missing from team picture.

Stanley Cup engraving

Although the Vancouver team was not the winner of the series, the Vancouver club had the words "Vancouver/Defeated Seattle/1917–18/Score 1–0" engraved on the Cup after winning the PCHA championship over the Metropolitans, who won the previous year's Cup finals. This was consistent with the practice at that time of the trophy being officially passed on to the winner of the league championship of the previous Cup champion's league.

The Toronto club never did engrave their name on the Cup to memorialize their series victory over Vancouver. At the time, the NHL club was in a dispute with the owner of the NHA Toronto franchise holder over the Stanley Cup revenues. In 1948, the NHL engraved "1918 Toronto Arenas" on the Cup.^[4]

Dick Carroll was not only the first NHL coach to win the Stanley Cup in his first NHL season, Carroll was also a rookie coach.

Related Research Articles

The Toronto Arenas or Torontos were a professional men's ice hockey team that played in the first two seasons of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was operated by the owner of the Arena Gardens, the Toronto Arena Company. As the ownership of the National Hockey Association (NHA) Toronto Blueshirts franchise was in dispute, the new NHL league was started, and a temporary Toronto franchise was operated. The NHL itself was intended to only be a one-year entity until the NHA could be reactivated, although it never was.

The National Hockey Association (NHA), initially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor of today's National Hockey League (NHL), and much of the business processes of the NHL today are based on the NHA. Founded in 1909 by Ambrose O'Brien, the NHA introduced 'six-man hockey' by removing the 'rover' position in 1911. During its lifetime, the league coped with competition for players with the rival Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), the enlistment of players for World War I and disagreements between owners. The disagreements between owners came to a head in 1917, when the NHA suspended operations in order to get rid of an unwanted owner, Eddie Livingstone.

The Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) was a professional ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). The PCHA was considered to be a major league of ice hockey and was important in the development of the sport of professional ice hockey through its innovations.

The 1917–18 NHL season was the first season of the National Hockey League (NHL) professional ice hockey league. The league was formed after the suspension of the National Hockey Association (NHA). Play was held in two halves, December 19 to February 4, and February 6 to March 6. The Canadiens won the first half, and Toronto the second half. The season was contested by four teams, down from six in the previous season, finishing with only three, in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. The Montreal Wanderers withdrew early in January 1918 after their rink, the Westmount Arena, burned down. Toronto won the NHL playoff and then won the Stanley Cup, by defeating the PCHA's Vancouver Millionaires three games to two in a best-of-five series.

The Seattle Metropolitans were a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle, Washington, playing in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) from 1915 to 1924. During their nine seasons, the Metropolitans were the PCHA's most successful franchise, as they went 112–96–2 in their nine years as a franchise. The Metropolitans also won the most regular season PCHA championships, winning five times, with Seattle finishing second on three other occasions. The Metropolitans played their home games at the 2,500 seat Seattle Ice Arena located downtown at 5th and University.

The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blueshirts, was a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They were a member of the National Hockey Association (NHA). The club was founded in 1911 and began operations in 1912. The club won its sole Stanley Cup championship in 1914.

John Phillip "Jack" Walker was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Toronto Blueshirts, Seattle Metropolitans, Victoria Cougars, and Detroit Cougars. He played in all the big professional leagues at the time: the National Hockey Association (NHA), Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), and National Hockey League (NHL).

Francis Alexis Patrick was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, head coach, manager, and executive. Along with his brother Lester, he founded the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), the first major professional hockey league in Western Canada. Patrick, who also served as president of the league, took control of the Vancouver Millionaires, serving as a player, coach, and manager of the team. It was in the PCHA that Patrick would introduce many innovations to hockey that remain today, including the blue line, the penalty shot, and tracking assists, among others.

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 club, which was officially the Ottawa Hockey Club, was known by several nicknames, including the Generals in the 1890s, the Silver Seven from 1903 to 1907 and the Senators dating from 1908.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corbett Denneny</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Charles Corbett "Corb" Denneny was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played professionally from 1912 to 1931, including nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Arenas, Toronto St. Pats, Hamilton Tigers and Chicago Black Hawks. Corbett also played for the Vancouver Maroons of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) and the Saskatoon Sheiks of Western Canada Hockey League. He twice won the Stanley Cup with the original versions of the NHL's Toronto franchise.

The 1917 Stanley Cup Finals was contested by the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champion Seattle Metropolitans and the National Hockey Association (NHA) and Stanley Cup defending champion Montreal Canadiens. Seattle defeated Montreal three games to one in a best-of-five game series to become the first team from the United States to win the Cup. The series was also the first Stanley Cup Finals to be played in the United States, and the last Stanley Cup Finals to not feature a National Hockey League team, as the NHA rebranded as the NHL in November 1917.

The 1914–15 NHA season was the sixth season of the National Hockey Association and played from December 26, 1914, until March 3, 1915. Each team played 20 games. The Ottawa Senators won the NHA championship in a two-game, total goal playoff against the Montreal Wanderers. The Senators, however fell to the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association in the Stanley Cup championship. It was the second 'World's Series' between the NHA and the PCHA for the Stanley Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1913–14 NHA season</span> National Hockey Association season

The 1913–14 NHA season was the fifth season of the National Hockey Association (NHA). At the end of the regular season, a tie for first place necessitated a playoff to determine the championship. The Toronto Hockey Club defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6–2 in a two-game, total-goals playoff. The Torontos then played the Victoria Aristocrats of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) in the first Stanley Cup 'World's Series' between the leagues.

The 1922 Stanley Cup Finals was contested by the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Toronto St. Patricks and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champion Vancouver Millionaires. The St. Pats defeated Vancouver three games to two in the best-of-five game series to win their only Stanley Cup as the St. Pats.

The 1917–18 PCHA season was the seventh season of the professional men's ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league. Season play ran from December 28, 1917, until March 8, 1918. The season was reduced to 18 games per team. The Seattle Metropolitans club would be regular-season PCHA champions, but lost the play-off to the Vancouver Millionaires. The Millionaires then played in the Stanley Cup Finals series against Toronto, the NHL champions. Toronto won the best-of-five series 3-2 to win the Cup.

The 1917–18 Toronto Hockey Club season was the first season of the new Toronto franchise in the newly-organized National Hockey League (NHL). The team was intended as a 'temporary' franchise, operating without an official club nickname and without a formal organization separate from the Toronto Arena Company that managed the Arena Gardens. Despite this, the team came together to win the first NHL Championship, competing against existing teams that had transferred directly from the National Hockey Association (NHA). Toronto would go on to win the Stanley Cup by defeating the Pacific Coast Hockey Association champion Vancouver Millionaires – the first Stanley Cup for an NHL team and the second Cup for a Toronto team after the Toronto Blueshirts' victory in the 1913–14 season of the NHA. To this day, the Toronto Arenas are the only team in the four major North American sports to win the title in their first season as a franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the National Hockey League (1917–1942)</span> History of the Canadian league

The National Hockey League (NHL) was founded in 1917 following the demise of its predecessor league, the National Hockey Association (NHA). In an effort to remove Eddie Livingstone as owner of the Toronto Blueshirts, a majority of the NHA franchises suspended the NHA and formed the new NHL. The Quebec Bulldogs, while a member, did not operate in the NHL for the first two years. Instead the owners of the Toronto Arena Gardens operated a new Toronto franchise. While the NHL was intended as a temporary measure, the continuing dispute with Livingstone led to the four NHA owners meeting and making the suspension of the NHA permanent one year later.

The 1917–18 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's ninth season and first as a member of the new National Hockey League (NHL). The Canadiens sided with other members of the National Hockey Association (NHA) and voted to suspend the NHA and start the NHL to expel the Toronto Blueshirts ownership. The Canadiens qualified for the playoffs by winning the first half of the season, but lost the playoff to the temporary Toronto franchise, made up of Blueshirts players.

The 1917–18 Montreal Wanderers season was the 15th and final season of play of the Montreal Wanderers ice hockey club. Along with the Canadiens, Ottawa and Quebec, the club voted to suspend the National Hockey Association (NHA) and form the National Hockey League (NHL) to freeze out the Toronto NHA franchise owner. On the ice club still had difficulties fielding a competitive club, and when the Montreal Arena burned down, owner Sam Lichtenhein elected to suspend the club. The team is officially credited with having played six games, though they only actually played the first four; the other two were declared forfeit.

References

Citations

↑ "Schedule | Mar 20, 1918 ET". NHL.com. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
↑ "Stanley Cup Champions 1918-1929". NHL.com. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
↑ Holzman, Morey (2002). Deceptions and Doublecross.
↑ Holzman & Nieforth 2002, p. 197

Bibliography

"1917–18 Stanley Cup Winner: Toronto Arenas". Hockey Hall of Fame . Retrieved October 16, 2010.
"hockeyleaguehistory.com – Pacific Coast Hockey Association". Archived from the original on July 3, 2006. Retrieved July 3, 2006.
"All-Time NHL Results".
Dan Diamond, ed. (1992). The Official National Hockey League Stanley Cup Centennial Book. Firefly Books. pp. 49–50. ISBN 1-895565-15-4.
Duff, Bob (2017), The First Season: 1917–18 and the Birth of the NHL, Windsor, Ontario: Biblioasis, ISBN 978-1-771961-84-4
Holzman, Morey; Nieforth, Joseph (2002), Deceptions and Doublecross: How the NHL Conquered Hockey, Toronto: Dundurn Press, ISBN 1-55002-413-2
Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books. pp. 12, 50. ISBN 1-55168-261-3.

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1918 Stanley Cup Finals

Contents

Paths to the Finals

Teams

Bracket

Game summaries

Player stats

Stanley Cup engraving

Players

Coaching and administrative staff

Stanley Cup engraving

Related Research Articles

References

Citations

Bibliography

See also