1914–15 PCHA season
The 1914–15 PCHA season was the fourth season of the professional men's ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league. Season play ran from December 8, 1914, until March 9, 1915. The schedule was made for each team to play 18 games, but like the previous three seasons, one game was cancelled. The Vancouver Millionaires club were the PCHA champions. After the season the club faced off against the Ottawa Senators, NHA champions for the Stanley Cup, winning the series and becoming the first west-coast team to win the Cup.
League business
The franchise of the New Westminster Royals was transferred to Portland, Oregon, and renamed the "Rosebuds." The league established a "farm system" called the Boundary Hockey League in the British Columbia towns of Grand Forks, Greenwood and Phoenix.[1]
- Rule changes
The league banned body checking within 10 feet (3.0 m) of the boards.[1]
Regular season
Rookie Mickey MacKay led the league with 33 goals, while Cyclone Taylor won the scoring title. The two led the Vancouver Millionaires to the league title, winning 13 of 17 games.[1]
Final standings
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against
| Pacific Coast Hockey Association | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver Millionaires | 17 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 115 | 71 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 91 | 83 |
| Victoria Aristocrats | 17 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 64 | 116 |
Results
| Month | Day | Visitor | Score | Home | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. | 8 | Vancouver | 6 | Portland | 3 |
| 11 | Victoria | 3 | Vancouver | 5 | |
| 15 | Portland | 8 | Victoria | 4 | |
| 18 | Portland | 3 | Vancouver | 6 | |
| 26 | Victoria | 1 | Portland | 8 | |
| 29 | Vancouver | 4 | Victoria | 3 (12:06 OT) | |
| Jan. | 5 | Vancouver | 4 | Portland | 3 (11:00 OT) |
| 8 | Victoria | 2 | Vancouver | 9 | |
| 12 | Portland | 3 | Victoria | 4 (3:35 OT) | |
| 15 | Portland | 3 | Vancouver | 2 | |
| 19 | Victoria | 5 | Portland | 10 | |
| 22 | Vancouver | 1 | Victoria | 4 | |
| 26 | Vancouver | 4 | Portland | 10 | |
| 29 | Victoria | 5 | Vancouver | 12 | |
| Feb. | 2 | Portland | 5 | Victoria | 6 (18:20 OT) |
| 5 | Portland | 8 | Vancouver | 3 | |
| 9 | Victoria | 2 | Portland | 3 | |
| 12 | Vancouver | 6 | Victoria | 4 | |
| 16 | Vancouver | 5 | Portland | 0 | |
| 19 | Victoria | 3 | Vancouver | 10 | |
| 23 | Portland | 3 | Victoria | 4 | |
| 26 | Portland | 3 | Vancouver | 13 | |
| 27 | Portland | 3 | Vancouver | 11 | |
| Mar. | 2 | Vancouver | 14 | Victoria | 11 |
| 4 | Victoria | 1 | Portland | 9 | |
| 6 | Victoria | 2 | Portland | 6 | |
| 9a | Victoria | Vancouver | |||
- a Cancelled
A game between Vancouver and Victoria was cancelled at the end of the season.
Source: Coleman, p. 271
Playoffs
The champion Vancouver Millionaires hosted the finals against the Ottawa Senators, NHA champions. Vancouver won the series and became the first west-coast team to win the Cup.
| Game-by-Game | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Rules Used | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 22 | Vancouver Millionaires | 6–2 | Ottawa Senators | PCHA | Denman Arena, Vancouver |
| 2 | March 24 | Vancouver Millionaires | 8–3 | Ottawa Senators | NHA | |
| 3 | March 26 | Vancouver Millionaires | 12–3 | Ottawa Senators | PCHA | |
| Millionaires win best-of-five series 3 – 0 | ||||||
Player statistics
Goaltending averages
| Name | Club | GP | GA | SO | Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugh Lehman | Vancouver | 17 | 71 | 1 | 4.2 |
| Mike Mitchell | Portland | 18 | 83 | 4.6 | |
| Bert Lindsay | Victoria | 17 | 116 | 6.8 | |
Scoring leaders
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyclone Taylor | Vancouver Millionaires | 16 | 23 | 22 | 45 | 9 |
| Mickey MacKay | Vancouver Millionaires | 17 | 33 | 11 | 44 | 9 |
| Frank Nighbor | Vancouver Millionaires | 17 | 23 | 7 | 30 | 12 |
| Eddie Oatman | Portland Rosebuds | 18 | 22 | 8 | 30 | 23 |
| Ran McDonald | Portland Rosebuds | 18 | 22 | 7 | 29 | 24 |
| Tommy Dunderdale | Victoria Aristocrats | 16 | 17 | 10 | 27 | 22 |
| Art Throop | Portland Rosebuds | 18 | 16 | 8 | 24 | 43 |
| Dubbie Kerr | Victoria Aristocrats | 17 | 14 | 4 | 18 | 15 |
| Smokey Harris | Portland Rosebuds | 18 | 14 | 3 | 17 | 39 |
| Lester Patrick | Victoria Aristocrats | 17 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 15 |
Vancouver Millionaires 1915 Stanley Cup champions
Players
- Fred Cyclone Taylor‡
- Duncan Mickey MacKay
- Jean Johnny Matz
- Russell Barney Stanley
- Frank Nighbor
- Lloyd Cook
- Silas Griffis (captain)
- Frank Patrick (president/manager/coach/defence)
- Jim Seaborn
- Ken Mallen
Coaching and administrative staff
- None - Defenseman Frank Patrick was owner/president/manager/coach. He ran the whole team.
‡ Played Rover, a position between both Defences and behind the Centre
Stanley Cup engraving
The Senators had the words "Ottawa/NHA Champions/1914–15" engraved on the base of the trophy's original bowl even though they did not win the Cup finals. This was similar to the practice prior to the NHA-PCHA agreement when the trophy was officially passed on to the winner of the league championship of the previous Cup champion's league. The previous Cup winner was the 1913–14 NHA champion Toronto Blueshirts.
After the finals, "Vancouver B.C./1914–15/Defeated Ottawa/3 Straight Games" was added to the Cup. Eight players' names and the manager's name were also engraved inside the bowl along the fluted sides.
Two players were left off the Stanley Cup, even though there was room. Kenny Mallen played 14 of 16 regular season games, and two of three games in the finals. Mallen's name was left off by mistake. Jean Matz was left off, because he only played one game.
References
- Boileau & Wolf 2000, p. 52.
- Boileau, Ron; Wolf, Philip (2000), "The Pacific Coast Hockey Association", in Diamond, Dan (ed.), Total Hockey, pp. 51–54, ISBN 1-892129-85-XCS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Coleman, Charles (1966). The Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol. 1, 1893–1936 inc.
| Preceded by 1913–14 PCHA season |
PCHA seasons 1914–15 |
Succeeded by 1915–16 PCHA season |