1911-12 Newsy Goes West

In 1911, hockey was the fastest growing sport in Canada, and its popularity had spread from coast to coast like wild fire. With demand for top quality hockey reaching a zenith in more regions than just the East, money was there to be made in spades for savvy entrepreneurs with dreams of a bigger and better hockey world.

As it always has been, to make money, one often has to put it forth first, and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association began a bidding war with the NHA for the services of its better players.

The PCHA was founded by the Patrick brothers, Frank and Lester, who had left the Renfrew hockey club after the 1910-11 season. After selling off their interests in a very profitable lumber company, they set their sights on making their mark in the business of hockey in the Vancouver area, where an appetite for the sport was widely evident.

It is impossible to account for all of what the Patricks did for the game of hockey in one paragraph. In short order, they created a new league that would compete against the NHA, built arenas with artificial ice, structured a league's rules and teams, managed, coached, operated, and played for the franchises they were financing. Along the way, they reinvented the game of hockey as it is known today - 22 rule changes brought in by the brothers are still in existance - and changed the face of the game forever.

The pioneer Patrick's zest affected the NHA immediatly. They lured 11 star players from the NHA to the PCHA and gave them more lucrative deals. The players they took in comprised almost half of the new leagues three teams.

The Patricks went after some of the best, and the Canadiens lost its star Newsy Lalonde and forward Georges Poulin. The Wanderers for their part went without Jimmy Gardner and Ottawa lost Cyclone Taylor.

The NHA was being watered down, and the Renfrew franchise did not survive. It would proceed as a four team league for 1911-12 with the Creamery Kings players being spread across the remaining clubs.

While Lalonde would go on to win the PCHA scoring race with 27 goals in 15 games, his absence hit the Canadiens hard, and despite the continued excellence of goalie George Vezina, they headed back down to a last place finish - just a pair of wins away from the first place, and Stanley Cup winning Quebec Bulldogs. With the schedule upped to 18 games from 16 the season before, the Habs goal total would drop from 66 to 59. Didier Pitre would account for almost half that sum himself.

Transition was again the name of the game for the Canadiens, as manager Jack Laviolette reappointed himself coach in Lalonde's leave. After coach Adolphe Lecours' demands for more money left him twisting in the wind, one of the team's co-owners, Napoleon Dorval, assumed duties behind the bench.

Six Canadiens players from 1910-11 remained after the departures of Lalonde and Poulin. Returning for duty with the Habs were Vezina, Pitre, and Laviolette, who composed the core of the team, as well as Eugène Payan, Évariste Payer, and Hector Dallaire. Replacing Art Bernier, Lorenzo Bertrand and James Power were Ernie Dubeau, Frank Glass, Edgar Leduc, Alphonse Jetté, Louis Berlinguette, and Pierre Vezina.

When it came to facing the Canadiens, Didier Pitre was now the man to stop. Since being converted from a defenseman to playing the rover position, his devastating shot began to terrorize opposition goaltenders. Percy Lesueur of the Senators, fearfull of the rising shots, asked permission of the NHA to begin wearing a mask to protect himself. Wanderers goalie Riley Hern, a four time Cup champion in the early 1900's, quit from fear of being dinged by one of Pitre's blasts. It was a common sight at games, when Pitre wound up, to see fans jumping behind seats to protect themselves.

It was at this time that the Montreal Canadiens were beginning to be referred to as "the Flying Frenchmen" in the other cities in which they played. Laviolette had a certain knack for finding and signing players, such as Lalonde and Pitre, that could termed electrifying for their time. Through word of mouth, an inherant curiosity developed from the mystique of the language and seeing them perform their fast paced style of hockey.

Perhaps it was because the Canadiens played a wide open style of hockey, that word would spread in other cities that "the Flying Frenchmen" were in town. History has traced the term back to a journalist in Ottawa after a Habs win in January of 1911, but others credit an American scribe for coining the term at a later date. One thing is for sure, the Ottawa writers were quite impressed by the team that was literally "flying on the ice" that night, and the term has stuck with the team throughout the decades.






















Upon its formation in December of 1909, the Canadiens were created with the Wanderers rivalry in mind. In doing so, the NHA understood that in order to make the rivalry reach a boil, a french versus english approach would suit their needs best. They designated that the Canadiens would hold exclusive rights to all french speaking players in order to achieve the identity needed to meet this criteria.

Ambrose O' Brien, who knew a dollar when he saw one, was a firm believer that the method would lead to success and the other three team's owners went along with it when the league was formed in December of 1909. As the NHA changed with each passing season, so did perceptions, and with O'Brien now out of the NHA hockey ownership picture by 1911-12, a certain jealousy arose in Quebec City and Ottawa over the designation that kept players such as Lalonde, Pitre, Laviolette and Vezina in a Canadiens uniform.

It wasn't that these players had made the Canadiens more successful on the ice - it hadn't yet - what upset owners, and brought out their envy, were the gate receipts that the Canadiens drew. It could be argued that the other franchises also had their star attractions, and that each of the three franchises - the Wanderers, the Senators, and the Bulldogs - won successive Stanley Cups with their respective approaches. If anyone was being shortchanged by the ruling, it was more likely Montreal, who could not align players from a larger english speaking pool. The french clientele in Quebec and Ottawa, remained a little miffed.

Not without coincidence, it was the Canadiens who first broke and challenged the agreement by signing former Wanderers captain Frank "Pud" Glass, a veteran of four Stanley Cup battles. The Ottawa Senators were furious, and lodged a complaint with the NHA. In a meeting several days later, Glass was ordered to remain a Canadien, and the Senators representative, one Charles Sparks, was beside himself in disbelief. He could not understand why a team that fought so strongly to maintain its hold on aligning french speaking players could now argue for signing an english player.

An amendment to the ruling was later brought forth, with the Canadiens being allowed 2 english speaking players and the remaining three teams allowed 2 french speaking players each. Glass had little effect on the Canadiens fortunes for 1911-12, scoring but 7 goals in 16 games before retiring from the professional hockey scene.

Prior to the start of the season, the league met and continued to make refinements to the game. Their first order of business was to transfer its two dormant franchises to Toronto ownership. Ambrose O' Brien's Renfrew team would become the Toronto Blueshirts and the dormant Canadiens entry that was O' Brien's as well in 1910, was to become the Toronto Tecumsehs. Due to the fact that these transactions were made late in the year, the two new teams would not begin to operate until the 1912-13 season.

The league also made adjustments to the rules and the way that the game was played. The rule changes implemented in 1911 introduced a format of play that foreshadowed what is modern day hockey.

The first change was the elimination of the rover position. Hockey had up until then, been a 7 player team sport. Along with the goalie, the center and two wing positions we know today, there was a rover who played above or behind the center, a point player who positioned himself near to the goaltender, and a coverpoint player who ventured out further up ice. As the game evolved, the point and coverpoint positions had now become known as defenseman and were more likely to play alonside one another than in the prior setup.

The removal of the rover was brought on by two motivations. The first was said to be a willingness to open up the game, and the second was purely financial - there would be one less salary to pay!

A team's six starting players still played the majority of the game but were now allowed substitutions at any stoppage in play. The season before, 1910-11, the NHA switched to a three 20 minute period format from 2 half hours frames and allowed substitutions at the 20 minute mark. Subs had only been permitted at the halfway point prior to that. There was no limit to how often the subs could be employed and it was stipulated that if a player left a game due to injury, he could not return.


In 1911-12, the NHA brough about the distinction between minor and major fouls. These penalties in the most primitive form sought two ideals - the ejection of players and the accumulation of dollars.

Major fouls included throwing a stick to prevent a goal, cross-checking, charging, deliberate tripping and hooking, and foul language. In each case, the player would be banished for the match and fined $5. If a player's fines reached $25, special discipline was warranted by the league president. In the event of a tossed player, teams could substitute.

Minor fouls identified as kicking an opponent, throwing, holding or batting a puck with the hand, use of the stick above the shoulder for anything other than shooting the puck, and being offside - which was termed "loafing".

For each minor fouls, a player drew one "caution" and when he reached a total of three fouls he was removed from the game.

Other details included the home team being given the choice of choosing which end they would play in and games would now go into overtime if tied after 60 minutes.

Of the Canadiens newcomers in 1911-12, left winger Berlinguette would have the longest tenure with the team. Berlinguette was a member of the 1909-10 Haileybury Comets before joining Galt of the OPHL for one season. In 1911-12, Belinguette started the season with Moncton of the MPHL, scoring 7 goals in 9 games. He was signed by the Canadiens on January 30, 1912 and appeared in 4 of the team's final 10 contests. He returned to the Moncton squad for a Stanley Cup challenge against the Bulldogs on March 12 and 13. Berlinguette, often mispelled as "Berlinquette", would participate in 6 NHA and 6 NHL seasons with the team.

Born in Papineau, Quebec in 1887, Berlinguette was at his best in the early 1920's when he registered 11 and 13 goal performances playing alongside Odie Cleghorn. He retired from professional hockey in 1927 and passed away in 1959 at the age of 72.

Pierre Vezina would become a footnote in Canadiens history. The brother of goalie Georges, the pair became the first siblings to suit up for the Habs, albeit for just one game. He was brought in as a substitute player for the season, and for personal reasons in regards to his brother. While he practiced with the Canadiens all season and remained on their roster, it was once said that he was taken on mainly to prevent his goalie brother from being lured to the PCHA. Pierre Vezina remained property of the Chicoutimi hockey club while associated with Montreal, who never officially signed him to a contract. He made his one game NHA appearance on Febuary 9, 1912.

Ernie Dubeau signed with the Canadiens on November 27, 1911 and would remain with the team through 4 season until he was traded to Toronto for Skene Ronan on January 17, 1916. He would score 16 goals in 76 career games with the Canadiens.

Edgar Leduc had two brief 3 game stints with the Canadiens, first appearing on loan from the National of the Montreal City hockey league in 1910. Borrowed by the Habs on March 3 of that year, Leduc scored 3 goals in as many games for the last place Canadiens. He returned to the National for one season before resigning with Montreal on December 21. 1911. His three apperances in 1911-122 produced no goals and he was not brought back the following season.

Alphonse Jetté was signed by the Canadiens on February 12 of this season, and appeared in the team's final 3 games. Used sparingly as a sub on wing and defense, Jetté would total but 19 games, a goal and an assist, in his four year association with the Canadiens.

Perhaps the most visionary of the changes the NHA addressed was the addition of number armbands on each player in order for them to be more readily identifiable by fans. The Canadiens employed 10 numbers during the 1911-12 season for the 12 players who suited up:

Georges Vezina (1), Ernie Dubeau (2), Jack Laviolette (3), Frank Glass (4), Didier Pitre (5), Edgar Leduc and Alphone Jetté (6), Eugène Payan (7), Louis Berlinguette and Pierre Vezina (8), Hector Dallaire (9), and Évariste Payer (10).

For the third successive season, the Canadiens on ice fashions were again altered. Gone were the red sweaters adorned with a "CA" stylized on a green maple leaf, and replacing them were a mostly white concoction, with diagonal bars of red and blue streaming from the right top shoulder down to the left hip. The double colour bars also ran the width of the sweater's base and sleeves. The scripted "CA" was then placed over the heart. Unfortunately for historians, there is nary a photo of these renderings to be found today. Hockey cards of the era, simply ran most of the previous season's photographs.

The 1912 Montreal Canadiens started the season off with high hopes despite the loss of Lalonde and Poulin to the PCHA. Things did not start out well however, and they were handed a 5-0 shutout courtesy of the Wanderers at the Westmount Arena, January 3, on opening night. The Canadiens bounced back quickly, defeated the Bulldogs in Quebec three days later.

Back in Montreal on January 10, they avenged the loss to the Wanderers, disposing them by a 6-1 score. Next up were a home and home pair against the Senators, with Ottawa winning the first 4-3, before the Habs travelled to edge the Senators 5-4. Montreal won their next contest on January 20, beating the Wanderers by a 6-3 score. It would be the last time until the end of the hockey calandar that the Canadiens would post two successive wins.

The Canadiens then began to follow a lose/win pattern over the next four games from January 24 to February 3. It started with 6-2 loss in Quebec before rebounding to beat the Bulldogs 5-3, three nights later. The Wanderers took the Habs 2-1 in a close one to close out a busy January, but then the Canadiens thumped Ottawa 9-3.

The Canadiens would not win another game for 25 days and took on the look of the hapless team from it's initial season.

The Senators brought the Habs back down to size with a 4-2 win on February 7 in Ottawa. Two nights later, in Quebec, Montreal lost 5-2. Their first successive losses on the season only brought more.

In Montreal on February 14, the Bulldogs edged Montreal 2-1. The team was at a low when it hit Ottawa four days later and was scalped 6-1.

Things soon hit rock bottom in a 9-1 defeat by the Wanderers in their home on February 21.

The Habs were in a tough spot, needing three wins to finish out the schedule combined with losses to Quebec, Ottawa, and the Wanderers in order to have a chance to tie for first place. Unfortunately, these teams could not lose to each other without someone winning.

Before games on February 25, the Bulldogs and Wanderers were tied with 16 points each. Ottawa was close with 14 and the Canadiens just behind with 12. The Habs and Bulldogs had 3 games remaining and Ottawa and the Wanderers had 4 due to the rescheduling of a January 24 game, a 10-6 Ottawa win that was in dispute. Chances were slim, and all the Canadiens could hope for at best was a four way tie - four teams all with 9-9 records.

On February 25, Quebec beat the Wanderers 2-1 while the Canadiens fought hard and lost 3-2 in overtime to Ottawa. For all intents, their season was over.

They finished out the schedule by beating the first place Bulldogs 6-3 in Montreal on the 28th and edging the Wanderers 2-1 on March 2.

With an 8-10 record, the Canadiens finished fourth, two wins behind the eventual Stanley Cup winning Bulldogs, who had a 10-8 mark. Ottawa and the Wanderers were 9-9. With such parity among the four clubs, it was easy to see where a gamebreaker the likes of Newsy Lalonde would have made a great difference.

Returning Lalonde would be the Canadiens first order of business for the 1912-13 campaign.

1912-13 Newsy Returns

Newsy Lalonde's one year exile with the Vancouver Millionaires ends when the Canadiens outbid the PCHA team for his services, but his return to Montreal's lineup causes some rumbling amongst other players. Now earning more money per season than any other player on the team, Lalonde's salary brought out anger and envy in Didier Pitre, a constant star with the team since day one.

The Canadiens also lured Donald Smith, who had finished third in scoring with 16 goals in as many games with Renfrew two years prior. Smith had played with the Victoria Aristocrats of the PCHL the year before, and was now permitted to suit up for Montreal due to the loosening of english player restraints initially set forth in 1909. The Canadiens could now dress two english speaking players per game and the other teams were each allowed two french speaking players.

The addition of these two players makes Pitre quite unhappy, and he gives serious thought to heading where there is better money for him out west in PCHL. He had been given a car by the Canadiens supporters, and promptly sold it with such intentions in mind.



























The battle between the NHA and the PCHA reaches new heights as players now have bargaining chips that they did not previously enjoy. George Kennedy, however, thwarts Pitre's plans of heading out west by trading him to New Westminster for the rights to Goldie Prodgers. A clause in the trade gives the Canadiens the rights to recall him at their whim, and Pitre never reports. Instead he signs a contract with the Quebec Bulldogs before NHA president Emmet Quinn steps in and annuls both deals and declares Pitre a Montreal Canadien for the season.

Pitre was not content with the solution, and walked out on the Canadiens with 3 games remaining in the season. Montreal then subtracts $450 from Pitre's $3,000 a year deal.

Smith was signed as a free agent by the Canadiens on November 26, 1912. Born in Cornwall, Ontario, he went on to play Senior hockey in his hometown for three years before making stops in Portage La Prairie, and later turning pro in the Ontario Professional Hockey League in 1908. Smith switched teams in each of the next three years with stints with the Montreal Shamrocks, the Renfrew Creamery Kings and the Victoria Aristocrats before settling in Montreal for good in 1912.

Smith would be halfway through his third season with the Canadiens when the club would sell his rights to the cross town rival Wanderers during the 1914-15 season. After playing one full season with the Wanderers. Smith's career was put on hold as he served his country in World War I for three years. He would return to hockey in 1919 when he was resigned by Canadiens.

During the season, Lalonde, Pitre, and Smith respond with 25, 24, and 19 goals respectively, but the Canadiens finish fifth in a 6 team NHA that now includes the Toronto Blueshirts and Toronto Tecumsehs.

More changes for the Canadiens this season include new barber pole coloured sweaters, striped red white and blue and featuring a maple leaf with a centered "CAC" as a logo. Complaints by the Senators, who wear a similar barber pole scheme of red white and black causes Montreal to adopt an alternate red sweater for games against Ottawa, In the first meeting between the teams in the nation's capital, fans actually became confused and cheered Montreal on at certain points. The sweaters last one season and were abandonned thereafter for another new design in 1913-14.

Other than Smith, the Canadiens add Fred Povey, Clayton Fréchette and Hyacinthe Guevremont as players and the the club's payroll reaches $8,000, well over the mandated cap of $5,000 per team.

In the team photo, there are three players in the back row listed as being Pete Degrowy, Cy Denneny, and Shorty Coderre. None of the three are known for ever having played an official game with the Canadiens in the NHA.


As the Canadiens 1912 training camp was underway, players as usual, were invited to try out. Cy Denneny, 21 years old at the time, was a future Hall Of Famer, who had yet to join the NHA, and had most recently played with the Cornwall Internationals of the Lower Ottawa Valley Hockey League in 1911-12. In 1917-18, he would join the NHL's Ottawa Senators and go on to play 11 seasons, retiring as the NHL's all time leading goal scorer, with 248, in 1929.

The Canadiens had signed Denneny to a contract on November 29, 1912, but like the other two players in the photo, he was released when training camp ended. There are varying stories as to why Denneny was let go, and one in particular has it that Canadiens management were unable to convince league authorities that Denneny was in fact french speaking, a ruling that they still were required to adhere to. The Canadiens were able to align a pair of english speaking players, and that season the roles were filled by Donald Smith and Fred Povey.

There is no accounting of where Denneny played hockey during the 1912-13 season, and his name did not resurface in NHA circles for another two seasons when he signed a contract with the Toronto Shamrocks.

The dog in the photo is a reference to the Stanley Cup champion Quebec Bulldogs, whose previous season's team photo included a Bulldog mascot. Superstitions being what they are, the Canadiens tried their luck to less successful results.

Public opinion is divided over the new 6 man game versus the former 7 man lineup. Canadiens owner Kennedy convinces the league to play the second half of the schedule in the old format, while letting the fans decide by voting in newpapers, such as la Presse and others. The 6 man game wins out easily.

The first local goal judges apeared in 1912 due to complaints from fans as well. Called umpires at the time, they stood behind the net and waved white flags to signify a goal rather than the officials doing so. Leo Dandurand served in this capacity for games in Montreal. Fans also found it unfair that there were no french canadian officials for games, and Dandurand became the first to serve there also in experimetal form on March 5, 1913.





















The Canadiens would open the season with a three game winning streak and their record at midseason is 7–3. The Quebec Bulldogs came on strong with an 11 game win streak to win the league championship and Montreal finished third behind Quebec and the Wanderers.

The season began on December 25, 1912 for the Canadiens, and they welcomed the Toronto Blueshirts to the NHA with a 9-5 win. Smith, in his first game for Montreal, scored four goals against Harry "Hap" Holmes. Three days later, the Canadiens doused the Blueshirts once more, this time in Toronto by an 8-5 score. They stretched their win streak to three games, edging the Tecumsehs 4-3 on New Years Day, 1913.

Montreal's first loss of the season came at the hands of the Ottawa Senators by a 7-3 mark on January 4, but they returned to winning form four days later, defeating the Wanderers 4-3. The Canadiens and Bulldogs played a home and away series on the 11th and 15th with Quebec winning 4-3 at home and Montreal doing the same four nights later by a 5-4 score.











Montreal hit a season peak on January 18, shutting down the Senators by a 6-0 mark. It would be the first shutout in Canadiens history, thanks to Georges Vezina, but the wins would be few and far between from this point on. The Canadiens lost their next contest to the Wanderers 4-3 on January 22 and rebounded to win 5-4 in overtime three nights later against the Tecumsehs.

The second half of the season would see the Canadiens plummet ro fifth place with only 2 wins in the final 10 games. What might not have helped was an NHA decision to revert to a seven man game once more, an idea which was abandoned for good shortly thereafter. In this format, the Canadiens lost three straight games to the Senators, the Tecumsehs and the Blueshirts before beating the Wanderers 6-4 on January 12.

A longer losing streak awaited them with four losses in a row to Ottawa, the red hot Bulldogs twice, and the Wanderers all one or two goal defeats. The first of March saw them come out superior to the equally feable Tecemsehs 3-1, before closing the books with 6-2 pounding by the Blueshirts.














Despite the talent and high salaries on the Canadiens, they could not escape another season ending drought. Quebec, who ended the season on an 11 game win streak, would claim the Stanley Cup for a second straight year. The Canadiens would finish the season with a 9-11 record, scoring 83 goals and allowing 81 - the NHA's second lowest total.

The distractions on and off the ice for the Canadiens were of no help. Captain Lalonde, despite a good scoring year, took out his frustrations regularly in fiery fashion. Fines for on ice indiscipline were a problem all season for the Canadiens, who had three of the four highest docked players in the NHA in Pitre ($75), Smith ($54), and Lalonde ($51).










Newsy got the shenanigans rolling in a December 21 exhibition game against the Wanderers when he threw a questionable hit on Odie Cleghorn in the heat of action. Odie's brother Sprague retaliated with a stick to Lalonde's face, injuring his jaw and forehead. Lalonde was tossed from the contest, but the trouble didn't end there. With news that Lalonde was off to the hospital to receive a dozen stiches, fans sympathetic to the Canadiens cause took on the Wanderers players on their return to the dressing room. A general brawl erupted and the police had to be called in. Sprague Cleghorn was arrested and fined $50 by both the police and the NHA.

Two months later, Lalonde got into it again with his old rival Joe Hall of the Bulldogs. The two had a mutual hatred stemming from previous incidents and on February 22 things reached a fever pitch. After Newsy hacked away at Hall with liberties and a wooden shaft, Hall replied with a viscious crosscheck when Lalonde was not in possesion of the puck. In the second period, when Lalonde was about to get even once more, Hall swung a two hander for Lalonde's head, knocking him cold and earning a suspension from the game.

It was all part of what was becoming business as usual in the NHA, especially in the city of Montreal where the Canadiens Wanderers rivarly had taken hold. Team owners offered players on both sides bonuses for the winning side. Rich businessmen would dangle up to $250 for wins and first place finishes. Scalpers outside the arenas knew a quick buck was to be made and they started buying up chunks of $3 seats that would be resold for up to $5 by gametime.

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1913-14 Rising Canadiens Miss Cannonball

Starting the fifth NHA season, league trustees continued to refine the rules governing the game. Changes included referees now dropping the puck for faceoffs instead of placing it on the ice, placing a dark line between the goal posts along the ice, and the recording of assists.

Goalkeeper sticks would now be limited in width to 3 1/2 inches, and goalkeepers lying down to stop a puck would receive a minor penalty and $2 fine. All minor penalties were set at $2 fine and major fouls would cost more per incident, starting a $3 and 5 minutes off, to $5 and 10 minutes off, to $10 and a match penalty. Deliberate injury was a $15 fine and banishment until the injured player returned to play.

The league achieved a certain amount of stability, with all six teams from the previous season returning. The only minor change was a name switch - the Tecumsehs would now be known as the Toronto Ontarios.

Bigger changes overall would come at the term of the 1913-14 season, for both the NHA and PCHL. Prior to the start of the next NHA season, league officials worked out an agreement on territorial rights for players with the Pacific Coast Hockey Association. As players were using the two leagues as leverage for salary increases, the owners were being hit in the pocketbook and the agreement was seen as a move towards stability for all franchises. Much to the detriment of the players, they would be suspended by both leagues if they failed to report in the eventuality of a trade from one league to another.

In a September of 1914 meeting in Montreal, it was decided that Port Arthur, Ontario, now known as Thunder Bay, would be the dividing line separating each league's territory. There was one stipulation made that each league could recruit 3 players from the other's protected area.

The leagues also conferred on a decision that marked the end of the Stanley Cup as a challenge cup. The trustees for both leagues negotiated an agreement to have the champions of the NHA and the PCHA meet each year to determine a champion, beginning in with the 1914 -15 season.

The final would be a best of five affair. The ruling was brought upon by controvery following the 1914 final between the Toronto Blueshirts and the Victoria Aristocrats after it was discovered that the PCHA champions had never formally applied to challenge for the cup.

The new season saw the unveiling of the first Canadiens sweater to resemble to modern day look presently sported. The mostly red sweater had a larger blue bar across the torso, on which the "CA" logo was positioned. The blue bar was outlined in white and the logo had gone from a stylized old english lettering to a more refined oval shape. There were no colour bars on the arms as of yet, and the bottom of the sweater was ourline with a simple small white bar.

Just as many hockey fans would later be curious about the origin of the letter "H" in the logo, many fans looking back on the team's look in 1913 have wondered about the origin of the letter "A" in this seasons version. The "A" had actually been a part of the logo design since the team had become owned by Le Club Athlétique Canadien since the 1910-11 season, and it remained so until the purchase of the team by Le Club de Hockey Canadiens in a matter of years. Still, legions of fans believe the "H" stands for Habs, a term that was not used in reference to them until the mid 1920's, close to 10 seasons after the "H" had been incorporated into the logo.





















The 1913-14 season would be an interesting one for the Montreal Canadiens, and this time around adversity would not be their downfall.

Many players on the 1912-13 rosters were to return, but Canadiens management sought to shake up the team's compostion and did the unthinkable by trading Newsy Lalonde to the Vancouver Millionaires.

Of course, Newsy wouldn't have any of that, and he refused to report to the PCHA team.
The deal was Lalonde to the Millionaires for former Wanderers star Jimmy Gardner and five hundred dollars. Gardner was all too willing to return to his home turf, and upon Lalonde's refusal, the Canadiens offered Donald Smith instead.

Vancouver was not interested.

Finally, after Newsy wrote a letter to the Patrick brothers, owners of the Vancouver franchise, promising to head out west the following season, a deal was worked out that satisfied all parties for the time being. The Millionaires would aquire Didier Pitre for one season, returning him to Montreal in 1914-15, conditional upon Lalonde's promised arrival the following season.

Lalonde and Pitre were both content that they would not have to put up with each other for the season.

The always combustible Lalonde would celebrate that moral victory with a continuation of his personal war on hated rival Joe Hall of the Quebec Bulldogs.











In the second game of the season on December 30, as Quebec inaugurated a new arena, Lalonde sought vengeance for last season's battles and wacked Hall in the head, opening an eight stitch cut. He was tossed from the game and fined. Two weeks later on January 14, Hall got even, charging Lalonde violently from behind. Newsy crashed head first into the boards, requiring ten stiches. With Hall up ten stiches to eight, this war was far from over.

The Canadiens lineup for the season returned 10 players from the previous year. Other than Lalonde, Montreal brought back mainstays Vezina, Laviolette, Smith, Dubeau, Berlinguette and Dallaire, with Eugene Payan, Alphonese Jetté and Clayton Fréchette suiting up again as spares. Only Pitre and spares Fred Povey and Hyacinthe Guevremont would not return.

New to the team were Harry Scott, Emile Marchildon and Lorenzo Bretrand, who had subbed with the Canadiens during the 1910-11 season.

The biggest addition would be that of Gardner, who was named the team's captain and coach. Gardiner had previously coached the Wanderers for two seasons.

The Canadiens began their season on the road December 27th, losing to a strong Toronto Blueshirts squad by a 3-0 shutout. Three nights later they were in Quebec, and they defeated the Stanley Cup champions 4-3, in a game highlighted by the ongoing Lalonde and Hall feud and inherant shenanigans.

January was very good to Montreal as they would rack up six wins. After edging the renamed Ontarios 4-3 in Montreal on the third of the month, they travelled to Ottawa four nights later and were shut out the Senators by a commanding 6-0 score.


















Montreal bounced back and unloaded their artiliary on the Wanderers January 10th, pounding them 8-2 in front of a hometown crowd. Lalonde scored six goals in the single handed dismantling. Four days later, a rematch with the Bulldogs ended in the same 4-3 score in Montreal, that included Round 4 of the Lalonde and Hall tilt.

The Canadiens kept their winning ways up when they ventured to Toronto and drubbed the Ontarios with a 9-3 shellacking on the 17th.

Four nights later, a resilient Senators squad bounced the Canadiens 4-3. Undeterred, Montreal steamrolled the Wanderers before their fans on the 24th, walloping them 9-3. On the 28th they won again, this time revenging the opening night loss to the Blueshirts by a 4-3 margin. They returned home on the final day of the month, losing the contest 6-4 to a weak Ontarios team.

On February 4, it was back up to Quebec city, where a 6-1 clubbing by the Bulldogs grounded the team. The Canadiens then asserted their claim for the NHA elite with a 9-3 manhandling of the Blueshirts on the 7th in Montreal. A return date with the Wanderers on February 11 offered another high scoring rout, this time by a 6-2 score.

On home ice on the 14th, against an improving Senators club, the Canadiens needed six minutes and fourty seconds of overtime to solve Ottawa goalie Clint Benedict for a 1-0 win. The win was a costly one for the Canadiens, who lost Newsy Lalonde for the remainder of the season after he was slashed in the ankle by the Senators Eddie Gerard. In his fall, Lalonde fell heavily to the ice, fracturing his clavicle, Gardner was also gone for the year from a knee injury sustained in this rough contest. In all five Canadiens left the game on stretchers.

The hurting Canadiens were at home against the Bulldogs four nights later, and with many spares in starting roles, edged Quebec by a 2-1 score.

The Canadiens were on the verge of a team record fifth straight win when they headed to Toronto on the 21st, trying to make it three wins in a row against the Blueshirts. A 3-2 setback dropped them from grabbing the season series with the Blueshirts and they moved onto Ottawa four days later for another one goal loss to the Senators, a 6-5 overtime game that required an additional 30 minutes to settle.

February 28 saw the Canadiens sweep the season series against the Wanderers for the first time, with a 6-5 win on home ice. Along the course of the 20 game season, the Canadiens had often complained of the treatment reserved for them by english officials. Oddly, it was a francophone referee would got under the ire of Canadiens owner George Kennedy in a game on February 28. Heading down to ice level, the Canadiens owner grabbed official Leo Dandurand by the throat, and insulted him publicly as per the letter sent to the NHA president by the official. The league took no action following the complaint.

With the Blueshirts loss to the Quebec on the same night, Toronto and the Canadiens were tied for first place with the Bulldogs four points behind. A Montreal win combined with a Blueshirts loss to the Wanderers on the season's final night of March 4 would give the Canadiens the NHL title.

It was not to be, as both teams lost their chance to gain the upper hand. The Blueshirts dropped their Wanderers matchup by a 7-5 score while the Canadiens found a way to lose to the last place Ontarios by a 5-3 mark.

The final regular season standings looked like this:

Toronto Blueshirts 20 13 7 26 93 65
Montreal Canadiens 20 13 7 26 85 65
Quebec Bulldogs 20 12 8 24 111 73
Ottawa Senators 20 11 9 22 65 71
Montreal Wanderers 20 7 13 14 102 125
Toronto Ontarios 20 4 16 8 61 118

A two game total goals showdown would be needed to declare a league champion. The Canadiens got off to a strong start, shutting out the Blueshirts 2-0 in the first game before hometown fans on March 7. Three nights later, the Blueshirts tightened up their league leading defense and shut the Canadiens down to take the game 6-0 and the total goals series 6-2. Without Lalonde and Gardner in the lineup, the Canadiens were no match for the Blueshirts - a disappointing ending to what the was far and away the Canadiens best season.

In the final season of the challenge Cup era, the Blueshirts defeated the Victoria Aristocrats in three straight games to give the city of Toronto its first Stanley Cup championship.

1914-15 A Hard Fall To Last Place

The Canadiens sixth season is marred by contract squabbles and the ongoing tug of war over players with the Pacific Coast Hockey Association.

The one year delay in Newsy Lalonde's promise to the Vancouver Millionaires to head west and play for them in the 1914-15 season gave him just enough time for him to change his mind.

Just before the beginning of the season, the teams are informed of Lalonde's decision in November, and the Canadiens suggest that Vancouver keep Didier Pitre for another season. Of course, Pitre won't have any of this, as he feels the pull of Montreal hockey fans who desperately want him back. Vancouver is left with no other choice but to trade Pitre back to the Canadiens for a sum of money, which suits the Canadiens just fine.

Lalonde's contract is another problem as Newsy holds out for more money, wanting a better renumeration than Pitre, George Vezina, Jack Laviolette and Don Smith. Manager George Kennedy refuses to barter, and suspends Lalonde, fining him $100, and a subsequent $100 for each week of the season that he misses. Jimmy Gardner remains on as team captain.

In February, the Canadiens trade Smith to the Wanderers for cash shortly after Lalonde returns, having worked out a deal secretly with Kennedy. Newsy is not back for long, as the team suspends him once again, this time for lacklustre play. In all, Lalonde plays but seven games for the Canadiens in 1915, scoring four goals and three assists.

The personel squabbles make for a difficult start to the season for Montreal, and they drop their first four contests and never recover. Despite high hopes with 9 returning players in addition to Pitre, it would be a miserable season for the Canadiens. They would finish with a 6-14 record and they would surrender almost an additional goal per game. Vezina, who was named the league's best goaltender in three of his first four seasons, finishes third in goals against.

Five new players joined the Canadiens ranks in 1914-15 and they included Albert Corbeau, Jack Fournier, Nick Bawlf, Ed Lowrey and Marcel Béliveau. Corbeau, a right shooting defenseman, who signed with the team on December 23, would spend 8 seasons in total with the Canadiens.

The off ice commotion left many scars on the team throughout the season. Gardner, as coach and captain, asked for a pay raise in light of his cummulative duties following the season. His stand was rebuffed, and he retires to officiating.

George Vezina's temper emerged in a few matches. On one occasion against Quebec, he is penalized and tossed from the game for hitting Lalonde's rival Joe Hall - even though it is Vezina who goes flying and takes the goal net with him. With the Bulldogs behind 3-2, Laviolette replaces him in goal, and Quebec ties the game. As was then permitted, Vezina returns in extra play, only to surrender the fifth Quebec goal in a game that went on record as the longest overtime to that point. Fifty minutes and 28 seconds of additional play for needed to settle the contest.

The Canadiens finally won in their ninth game, a 7-2 win over the Wanderers on January 23. The game was marked by a 5 goal performance by Didier Pitre, who was one of the few Canadiens having a good season. Pitre would finish second in the NHA in goals this season with 30, and along the way becomes the first Canadiens player in history to net 100 career goals. On January 30, Pitre would notch a pair against Percy Lesueur of the Toronto Ontarios to achieve the feat in only 74 games.

Strangely enough, the Canadiens dressed six english speaking players in 1915, in contravention of the two player ruling. Other than Gardner and Pitre, Harry Scott, Bert Hunt, Nick Bawlf and Ed Lowrey were english speaking. The Canadiens tried to sign and dress a seventh, the legendary Art Ross, but the league governors stepped up to stop it.

Ross, who incidently had no connection to the Canadiens whatsoever beyond this boardroom battle, had his case argued for heavily by Montreal manager Kennedy. A rugged defenseman in his day, who never shied away from conflicts with authority, Ross had been banned from the NHA in this season for attempting to launch his own league. He had been organizing it quietly on the sidelines, and had signed on close to a dozen players when he was sniffed out by the league. Had Ross named the players he had signed, his suspension would have been lifted, but he refused to do so and it took Kennedy's effort to get him reinstated. Once that was accomplished however, he was not allowed to join the Canadiens. Upon his January 7 reinstatement, Ross signed with the Ottawa Senators.

Art Ross would go on to play and coach with the Wanderers, Hamilton, and later in Boston. He became a highly respected league governor, despite punch ups with NHL presisent Red Dutton and Detroit owner James Norris. It is curious in hindsight to note that although today's NHL leading scorer trophy is named after him, Ross only ever scored one goal in the National Hockey League. The reason for that oddity is that when Ross donated the trophy in his name in the late 1930's, it was to be given to the player judged as the league's most spectacular. Being that it was difficult to agree on how to judge such, the trophy went unawarded until 1948, whereupon it was given to the league's leading point scorer.















There was a little more controversy after the season had ended when it was revealed by players on the Bulldogs and Canadiens that they had been approached by gamblers offering wine bottles to them to help fix games. The ringers were not punished in light of a brief investigation that found no scores had been tampered with.

Towards the end of the year, the directors of the Westmount Arena announced that starting in 1915-16, there would be artificial ice at the arena. Other changes incurring in the NHA during 1915 included the Ontarios changing their name to the Shamrocks. The former Tecumsehs, now on their third name change, would not survive the year.


New rulings in the game included pucks played after rebounding from goalkeepers no longer being ruled offside, players standing a minimum of five feet away in distance from players facing off, and match fouls were now penalized by 10 minutes off and $15 fine. Charging a player into the boards is added as a major foul.

Even without Newsy Lalonde, the Vancouver Millionaires became a powerhouse. In the first year of PCHA champs meeting the NHA winners, Vancouver won the Stanley Cup over the Ottawa Senators three games to none.
























Some photo notes: What you see directly above is an "Official Score Card" from a Wednesday, January 13th, 1915 game at the Quebec Arena between the Bulldogs and the visiting Montreal Canadiens. The flimsy and tattered paper piece has multiple creases and was plasticized at some point to prevent further deterioration and allow for handling. And what a treat to handle! The Canadiens’ lineup featured Hall-of-Famers Georges Vezina, Newsy Lalonde, Didier Pitre and Jack Laviolette, the latter relieving Vezina in goal during overtime play when Vezina was assessed a penalty for clipping Joe Hall! Joining Hall for Quebec was goalie Paddy Moran, while Joe Malone is listed in the lineup but did not play because of an ankle injury. Newspaper accounts relate that Quebec City had never witnessed a more hotly contested or sensational game than this one which ended after 50 minutes of overtime when Jack McDonald’s second goal of the game gave Quebec a 4-3 victory. Don Smith, twice, and Pitre had scored for Montreal, with Harry Mummery and Rusty Crawford getting Quebec’s other goals. Remarkable pre-NHL relic measures 10-3/4" by 8-1/4" and is museum worthy.

The photo of skates are those belonging to the Georges Vezina in this era.

Another photo note: The picture of Newsy Lalonde in the "CA" logo is a composite, photoshopped by someone with a creative side. Considering that Lalonde spent more time away from the Canadiens team than he spent time playing in 1914-15, there are precious few photos of him in a "CA" from this era. The head of Newsy is from an entirely different photo, and the "CA" logo was either drawn onto this sweater erroneously. The backdrop is actually a Seattle photo shoot from 1919.
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1915-16 A First Of Many Stanleys

The Canadiens had endured a miserable season in 1914-15 and team owner George Kennedy was determined that the situation would not repeat itself. He offered contracts to defenseman Goldie Prodgers and Howard McNamara - who he'd soon name captain - as well as Georges Poulin and Amos Arbour. Later in the season, Kennedy would add Skene Ronan, the NHA's leading scorer from 1911-12.

The addition of Ronan caused a bit of a stir, as the Canadiens had only been allowed to dress only one english speaking player per game. Dressing Ronan in a January 20 match against the Quebec Bulldogs bent the rule, and a complaint was filed with the league. Agreements had been previously drafted whereupon the Montreal Wanderers, the city's other NHA franchise would be stocked almost entirely with english speaking players. From the Ronan incident on, and after a $100 fine and the forfeiting of a point gained in a tie game, the language restrictions were dropped for both teams.

Newsy Lalonde, who had played only 7 games for the Canadiens due to a contract dispute the previous season, returned to the team full time, satisfied with his new deal. He would center a line featuring Jack Laviolette on the left side and Didier Pitre on the right. Pitre would total 39 points ( 24 goals,15 assists ), but officially the scoring championship was won by Lalonde with 28 goals, as assists did not yet count in the scoring race.

Kennedy had difficulty coming to a contract with coach Jimmy Gardner, who opted to become a referee instead, so the owner turned to Lalonde to assume the duties as a playing coach.

The lineup for the Canadiens in 1915-16 included Newsy Lalonde (center/rover/playing coach), Amos Arbour (left wing), Louis Berlinguette (left wing), Albert Corbeau (defense), Jack Fournier (right wing), Howard McNamara (defense/team captain), Harold McNamara (defense), Didier Pitre (right wing/rover), Georges Poulin (center), Goldie Prodgers (defense), Skene Ronan (center), and Georges Vezina (goaltender).

Things began roughly for Lalonde as coach, with the team winning just 6 of their first 11 games. Early in February, an unhappy Kennedy served an ultimatum to his coach that delivered results. On February 12, Lalonde would score his 100th goal in his 75th game in a Canadiens uniform, in a win over the Ottawa Senators.

Towards the end of the season, the Canadiens demolished the Wanderers in a 15-5 rout. Four Habs - Lalonde, Pitre, Ronan, and defenseman McNamara - recorded hat tricks.

The Canadiens went on to win 10 of their final 11 games, capturing the league title and the O' Brien Cup. They would go onto meet the PCHL champion Portland Rosebuds for the Stanley Cup in a five game series played at the Westmount Arena.

Being that all games of the best of five series were on Montreal ice, they would play games one, three, and five by NHA rules, and games two and four by PCHL rules. The Rosebuds, the first American team in a Stanley Cup final, boasted a PCHL best record of 13-5, while the Canadiens finished up with a 16-7-1 record.

The five game series would go the distance and the Rosebuds won the opening contest with a 2-0 shutout of the Canadiens on March 20. Montreal bounced back two nights later, edging Portland 2-1 to even the series. On March 25th, the Canadiens took the lead in series with a 6-3 win, but the Rosebuds made up for it with a 6-5 win on March 28.

The series deciding game would be played on March 30 under NHA rules, and both teams played a tighter game than the previous two. Portland's Tommy Dunderdale gave his team a 1–0 lead before Skene Ronan tied the game later in the first period.

The seldom used Goldie Prodgers came in as a late game substitution and scored the game winner with four minutes left in the third period to clinch the Cup for the Canadiens with a 2-1 win.

During the entire series, future Hockey Hall Of Fame goaltender Georges Vézina aided Montreal by posting a 2.60 goals against average, while Didier Pitre led the Canadiens in scoring with 4 goals.

Then, as now, the city was swept up by the moment, with many fans not able to get tickets for games gathering at several spots where updates were being telegraphed.

The day following the win, a six paragraph writeup on the final appeared in the Montreal paper.

Written in the hockey terminology of the day, the piece aptly captures the excitement and drama of the first Stanley Cup championship in Montreal.

Both of the Winners' Goals Were Tallied by Players Used in Early Season as Substitutes

Goldie Prodgers, who has been used as a substitute by his club throughout the greater part of their scheduled season and who has been the sensation of the world's professional series which terminated last night, scored the deciding goal that gave the Canadiens possession of the Stanley Cup and his team mates the winners' share of the amount to be divided amongst the players. Following an attack on the Flying Frenchmen's nets Lalonde and Prodgers faked a play that turned the tide for the local club and accounted for their narrow margin victory, they beating the Portland Rosebuds by a score of 2 to 1.

Lalonde took the puck after Vezina cleared from a shot by Harris and started around the goal while he yelled at Prodgers to come on. The big defence player started from the other direction and taking the rubber as Lalonde left it in the corner, started on his way for Portland's end. He was given a rough journey, having to force his way past some of the opposing forwards and then the two outside defence men. He beat Harris in a rush for the centre of the ice by swinging around and starting in an opposite direction. Prodgers then skated into Irvine and his weight toppled the Portland player over, while it was an easy matter to skate around Johnson. Prodgers took his time in shooting in an effort to draw Murray out. As the Portland goaltender came out to meet him, Prodgers skated around him and lobbed the puck into the nets. That play spelled defeat for Portland, as there was less than four minutes to play and the Flying Frenchmen had little trouble in holding out their opponents for the remaining time by playing back on the defence.

TEAMS WELL MATCHED

That there was little to choose between the teams is best shown by the score of the final meeting. The Canadiens scored their first goal in the opening session, it coming from Ronan, another of the club's substitutes who has also made good in the series. The advantage was held by the Flying Frenchmen until well on in the third period, the middle session being a scoreless one. In the third session Dunderdale, who was sent in to relieve Harris, scored the goal that tied the score in a spectacular manner. He started to go between Corbeau and McNamara after getting clear of the forwards and then swung around and skated behind Corbeau, going almost into the nets before shooting. Following this score came the gruelling session of the contest, the players, ready to drop from exhaustion, became desperate in their efforts and through their over-anxiety to tally tossed away many chances from which goals would have been scored under other conditions.

The Canadiens allowed themselves to become bottled up and only the good generalship of their leader, Newsy Lalonde, enabled Prodgers to get his start. As the players went after Lalonde, Prodgers was on his way and was never overtaken. The exhibition of hockey furnished was not as brilliant as some of the previous games of the series, the checking being too close and hard to permit of the spectacular end to end rushes so conspicuous in former games. From the commencement of the play the players showed signs of ill feeling and slashed and cross-checked one another, which accounted for the almost steady procession of players to the penalty bench. The play was well handled by Harvey Pulford and Johnny Brennan, only their prompt ruling holding the players in control. During the first session there were fifteen minors and two major penalties handed out. This almost gave the game an appearance of burlesque, but it had the desired effect on the players and checked them up so that they played cleaner and more brilliant hockey in the remaining two sessions.

MADE HOCKEY HISTORY

In winning this series the Canadiens added to hockey history. They are the first French team to ever hold the coveted trophy, while through mistakes made from their bench in the fourth game they made it necessary for the series to go the full five games before a winner was determined. The victory of last night shows that the leaving of Newsy Lalonde on the bench in the final period of the game on Tuesday night was an error that might have cost the Flying Frenchmen the championship. The only advantage held by the winners under the six-man rules was their better supply of substitutes and, even with almost a second team on the bench, the regulars played throughout the better part of the match. The six-man game added to the number of substitutes on the Portland bench, as it gave them three men to send in to relieve the regulars and all of them were whipped into service at one time or another.

The game was played over a sheet of ice that was as nearly perfect as possible, which enabled the players to maintain the fast pace at which they started. The greatest number of changes were made in the opening period, these being necessary through the numerous penalties, which also served to give the regulars a rest occasionally, which served them well at the finish.

The play was witnessed by another disappointingly small attendance, so that the clubs will not reap a very rich financial harvest from the final match. The crowd of last night looked to be the smallest of the series, showing that even with the Stanley Cup at stake that the public have grown tired of hockey throughout the prolonged season.



SUBSTITUTES THE STARS

The series just brought to a finish brought together two of the fastest hockey teams who have perhaps ever competed for the Stanley Cup.

In the days when the trophy represented the amateur championship the game was not as fast as at the present time, while the meeting between the winners of the West and the East during the past two years have not brought forth the speed shown in the games played between Portland and Canadiens.


The Canadiens showed themselves the speediest aggregation in the National Hockey Association this season, and are the only team who could have kept pace with the Westerners.










The outstanding feature of the series has been the making good of men who have been used as substitutes throughout the scheduled season; Arbour, Prodgers and Lalonde have been the outstanding stars of the locals, while on the few occasions that Ronan was used he made good. His goal of last night was perhaps a flukey one, but it counted and started the French club on their victorious march. Manager Savage, of the Portland team, took exception to the scoring of the Canadiens' first goal. He claimed that the puck had not touched the ice as Referee Pulford dropped it for a face-off before Ronan batted it into the nets. Manager Savage had the option of protesting, but the decision of a referee or goal umpire is final in all matches.






















PLAYERS WERE NERVOUS

From the commencement of the play the teams started out in a cautious manner, neither showing any anxiety to leave their defence open for attacks. As the game progressed the players mastered their nervous condition and went at their work with more confidence and determination. The Canadiens were the first to break away for a combined effort, Lalonde, Prodgers and Pitre going down the ice almost apace. Lalonde shot, but missed, and the play was carried back to the locals' end by Irvine. As Corbeau came out to meet Irvine the Portland player passed over to Tobin, who shot without a great deal of accuracy and Vezina had little trouble in taking care of it. Corbeau checked Johnson in a strenuous manner and was sent to the bench, drawing the first penalty. Arbour was sent in to replace him, and Prodgers dropped back on the defence. Lalonde and Johnson then came together, and Lalonde was penalized, while Poulin replaced him. With two of the regulars on the bench the Canadiens played an almost airtight defence and held their opponents out.




























Ronan replaced Poulin, while Lalonde replaced McNamara on the defence, the latter being penalized. Following a rush of Prodgers, Harris took the puck offside and a face-off followed near the Portland nets. Ronan struck the puck as it dropped from Pulford's hand and it landed in the nets, giving Canadiens their first advantage, with nine minutes remaining in the period. Following the scoring of this goal the locals dropped back on the defensive and played a three-man defence, allowing only two to go up the ice at a time. On changing over for the second period, both clubs started their original teams. For the first few minutes the visitors had the edge and had the locals bottled up, but were unable to beat Vezina. On two occasions Tobin was inside the local defence, but failed to score. The players battled up and down the ice, being on the offensive and defensive in turn until the call of time for the resting interval.
















CANADIENS FINISHED STRONG

Again at the commencement of the third period were the visitors the first to assume the aggressive. They showed more speed than the locals, and for a time had them well bottled up. From a face-off near the centre of the ice, Dunderdale got the better of the draw, and after a brilliant play, tied the score. This was the commencement of even more gruelling play than had been shown in either of the two previous periods.





















Harris and Tobin got away for a combined effort and were in on top of the local defence when Corbeau stopped both of them. He bodied Tobin so that he went down and then reached out and tripped Harris, for which he was given a major penalty. Tobin continued to play, while Harris was replaced by Johnson, who had been serving a penalty. Following a shot on the locals' net Lalonde started the play from which the winning goal was scored, and the remaining time was devoted by the winners to purely defensive work, while Portland played five of their six men on the attack in an effort to tie the score, but without result.
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