1925 Stanley Cup Finals
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The 1925 Stanley Cup Finals saw the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) champion Victoria Cougars defeat the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Montreal Canadiens 3 games to 1 in the best-of-five game series. The Cougars were the last non-NHL team to win the Cup as the WCHL (renamed the Western Hockey League for the 1925–26 season) folded after the 1926 Cup Finals, leaving the trophy entirely to the NHL.
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[edit] Path to the Final
Prior to the season, the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) folded and two of its teams, the Cougars and the Vancouver Maroons joined the WCHL. Victoria finished the 1924–25 WCHL regular season in third place, but eventually upset the Calgary Tigers in the two-game total goals WCHL championship series by a combined score of 3–1.
Meanwhile, the Canadiens also finished the NHL regular season in third place. In the NHL playoffs, Montreal went on to beat the second place Toronto St. Patricks, 5–2, in a two game total goals series. The winner of that series was to go on and play the first place Hamilton Tigers. However, the Tigers were suspended after Hamilton players staged a strike in an attempt to receive more compensation because the league extended the regular season from 24 to 30 games. As a result, the Canadiens were declared the 1924–25 NHL champions.
[edit] The series
With the demise of the PCHA, the Stanley Cup Playoffs reverted back to a one best-of-five series to determine the champion. However, the Cup Finals still annually rotated between the east and the west, and thus all of the games in the 1925 Finals were played at the Patrick Arena in Victoria. The Cougars jumped to a 2–0 series lead with 5–2 and 3–1 victories, but the Canadiens won Game 3, 4–2. In Game 4, Gizzy Hart scored the game-winning goal in Victoria's 6–1 win to clinch the Cup.
Cougars goaltender Hap Holmes recorded a 2.00 goal-against average for the series. Jack Walker led Victoria in goals with 4, while Frank Fredrickson scored 3. Overall, eight different player combining for the Cougars' 16 goals.
| Game-by-Game | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 21 | Victoria Cougars | 5–2 | Montreal Canadiens | Patrick Arena |
| 2 | March 23 | Victoria Cougars | 3–1 | Montreal Canadiens | |
| 3 | March 27 | Montreal Canadiens | 4–2 | Victoria Cougars | |
| 4 | March 30 | Victoria Cougars | 6–1 | Montreal Canadiens | |
| Cougars win best-of-five series 3 games to 1 | |||||
[edit] Victoria Cougars 1925 Stanley Cup champions
Hap Holmes (goal), Harold Halderson (D), Frank Fredrickson (RW), Gord Fraser (D), Harry Meeking (LW), Frank Foyston (RW), Harold "Gizzy" Hart (LW), Jocko Anderson (C), Jack Walker (RW), Wally Elmer (LW), Clem Loughlin (D-Captain).
- Non Players
Lester Patrick (President/Manager-Coach), Larry Brunnell (Trainer).
[edit] Stanley Cup engravings
After the series win, a new angled ring with the words "Won/By/'Cougars' Victoria, B.C. 1925" was added between the original bowl of the Cup and the original first ring of the base. All players and manager were included on the new ring, but trainer Larry Brunnell was left off.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- 1924–25 Stanley Cup Winner: Victoria Cougars. Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved on 2006-07-06.
- Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books, 12, 57. ISBN 1551682613.
- (1992) in Dan Diamond (ed.): The Official National Hockey League Stanley Cup Centennial Book. Firefly Books, 58–59. ISBN 1895565154.
| Preceded by Montreal Canadiens 1924 |
Victoria Cougars Stanley Cup Champions 1925 |
Succeeded by Montreal Maroons 1926 |
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