History
The Amazons were founded in 1918, originally as a student club of women attending Vancouver's King George High School. That year, the team challenged and upset the more established Vancouver Ladies Hockey Team, eventually securing themselves as the dominant force in local women's hockey. [1]
The Amazons frequently played during intermissions of the men's Vancouver Millionaires games, whose owner Frank Patrick came to sponsor the women's team as an affiliate.
In 1919, the Amazons played one-off games against the Calgary Regents, champions of the Alberta women's circuit, and in 1920 held an exhibition games against the University of Washington and the Seattle Vamps. [2]
The Amazons were the first women's hockey team from Vancouver to participate in the invitational women's hockey tournament sponsored by the Banff Winter Carnival known as the Alpine Cup, first participating in 1921. The Amazons qualified for the final that year but were defeated by the Regents. [3] [2]
Patrick would go on organize a tournament featuring the Amazons, the Seattle Vamps and the Victoria Kewpies, known as the International Ladies' Hockey League. [2] As the tournament featured a team from the United States, many consider this the first ever international women's hockey competition. The Amazons went undefeated in the tournament and did not allow a goal, and were thus crowned West Coast Women's champions. [3]
At the Banff tournament in 1922, Elizabeth Hinds became the first woman from British Columbia to score a hat trick in a game. Phebe Senkler was captain of the Amazons and her sister Norah played on defense. The forwards were Kathleen Carson and Nan Griffith, while the goaltender was Amelia Voitkevic. The bench featured Lorraine Cannon and Mayme Leahy. The Amazons qualified for the 1922 final and played the Calgary Regents. In the third period, the Amazons were down 1–0, and Kathleen Carson tied the game. Carson would score the game-winning goal in overtime and were awarded the Alpine Club Cup. [3]
The team returned to Banff to participate the Alpine Cup each consecutive year until 1927. [4]