1888–89 AHAC season

1888–89 AHAC season
League	Amateur Hockey Association of Canada
Sport	ice hockey
Duration	December 15, 1888 – March 27, 1889
Number of teams	6
1888–89
Champion	Montreal Hockey Club

The 1888–89 AHAC season was the third season of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada. Play was in challenges and started on December 15, 1888. The Montreal Hockey Club would win the final challenge of the season to win the Canadian championship for the second season in a row.

League business

The annual meeting of the Amateur Hockey Association was held in the Victoria Skating Rink, Montreal, on November 16, 1888. Representatives from most of the hockey clubs were present. The election for the ensuing year resulted as follows:^[1]

• President, Mr. J. Stewart;
• first vice-president, A. Shearer;
• second vice-president, D. B. Holden;
• secretary-treasurer, A. Hodgson.
• Council — H. Kinghorn (McGill), S. Lee (Crystal), T. Arnton (Victoria), A. C. Higginson (Montreal).

Rule changes

The league reverted to the challenge system, hoping to attract teams from outside Montreal. Quebec would return to play in the AHAC. The number of games was reduced to only four.^[1]

The league adopted a rule where the placement of the 'bully' or faceoff, could be played at the point of infringement, or at the point of play stoppage, at the choice of the captain of the offended team after a rules infraction.^[1]

Regular season

This season saw two teams from outside of Montreal and Ottawa to make challenges. Halifax(Dartmouth) had not challenged for the national championships before, while Quebec had played in the Montreal tournaments. McGill did not return to mount a challenge this year. Ottawa did not play a challenge, but did play an exhibition against the Montreal Hockey Club in Ottawa.^[2]

Halifax Chebuctos would play two games in Montreal, both played half under "Montreal rules", half under "Halifax rules". Halifax would lose 6–1 to Montreal and 4–1 to Crystals. Both games were played at the Crystal Palace skating rink.^[3] The two games are recorded in the overall record.

The Chebuctos would play two games against Quebec, losing 8–0 and 5–1.^[4]

Overall record

Team	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against
Montreal Hockey Club	7	6	1	0	26	9
Montreal Crystals	6	3	3	0	17	16
Montreal Victorias	3	1	2	0	7	11
Quebec Hockey Club	1	0	1	0	2	3
McGill	1	0	1	0	4	8
Halifax Chebuctos	2	0	2	0	2	10

Schedule and results

Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Location
Exhibition play
December 15	Montreal HC	3	Montreal Victorias	1	Victoria Rink
January 11	Montreal Crystals	8	McGill	4	Crystal Rink
January 18	Montreal HC	2	Montreal Crystals	1	Crystal Rink
January 31	Montreal Victorias	5	Montreal Crystals	2	Crystal Rink
February 26	Montreal HC	6	Halifax Chebuctos	1	Crystal Rink
February 27	Montreal Crystals	4	Halifax Chebuctos	1	Crystal Rink
AHAC Challenge play
February 2	Montreal Crystals	3	Montreal HC	2	Crystal Rink
No challenges during Montreal Tournament (February 4–18)
March 1	Montreal HC	4	Montreal Crystals	0	Crystal Rink
March 7	Montreal HC	3	Quebec	2	Crystal Rink
March 27	Montreal HC	6	Montreal Victorias	1	Crystal Rink

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals scored

Name	Club	GP	G
Archie McNaughton	Montreal	5	7
Archie Hodgson	Montreal	5	6
Sam Lee	Crystals	4	5
Jack Findlay	Montreal	5	5
William Virtue	Victorias	2	2
Desse Brown	Crystals	4	2
George Lowe	Montreal	4	2

Goaltending averages

Note: GP = Games played, GA = Goals against, SO = Shutouts, GAA = Goals against average

Name	Club	GP	GA	SO	GAA
Paton, Tom	Montreal	5	7	0	1.17
Norris, Jack	Crystals	3	6	0	2.0
Arnton, Tom	Victorias	1	2	1	2.0
Laurie, A.	Quebec	1	3	0	3.0
Scanlan, Robert	Crystals	1	4	0	4.0
Brown, J.	Chebuctos	2	10	0	5.0
Jones, Robert	Victorias	1	6	0	6.0

Montreal HC 1889 AHAC champions

Roster

  Forwards

• Barlow, F.,
• Findlay, J.,
• Hodgson, A.
• Low, G.S.
• McNaughton, A.

  Defencemen

• Cameron, A.,
• Stewart, J.A.

  Goaltenders

• Paton, T.L.

References

• "Our Monthly Record". Outing. February 1889.
• Fitsell, J.W. (1987). Hockey's Captains, Colonels & Kings. Boston Mill Press.
• Kitchen, Paul (2000). "Before The Trail of the Stanley Cup". In Diamond, Dan. Total Hockey. pp. 8–15. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
• Kitchen, Paul (2008). Win, Tie or Wrangle. Manotick, Ontario: Penumbra Press. ISBN 978-1-897323-46-5.
• Weir, Glen (1991). Ultimate Hockey. Stoddart Publishing.

Notes

1. Kitchen 2000, p. 12.
2. Kitchen 2008, p. 40.
3. Fitsell 1987, pp. 43–47.
4. Fitsell 1987, p. 48.