1914–15 Vancouver Millionaires season
The 1914–15 Vancouver Millionaires season was the fourth season of the professional men's ice hockey Vancouver Millionaires team of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association league. The Millionaires were the PCHA champions. After the season the club faced off against the Ottawa Senators, NHA champions for the Stanley Cup. The Millionaires won the series to become the first west-coast team to win the Cup. This was the first time that a team from Vancouver won the Stanley Cup.
Regular season
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 |
Schedule and results
| Month | Day | Visitor | Score | Home | Score | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. | 8 | Vancouver | 6 | Portland | 3 | 1–0 |
| 11 | Victoria | 3 | Vancouver | 5 | 2–0 | |
| 18 | Portland | 3 | Vancouver | 6 | 3–0 | |
| 29 | Vancouver | 4 | Victoria | 3 (12:06 OT) | 4–0 | |
| Jan. | 5 | Vancouver | 4 | Portland | 3 (11:00 OT) | 5–0 |
| 8 | Victoria | 2 | Vancouver | 9 | 6–0 | |
| 15 | Portland | 3 | Vancouver | 2 | 6–1 | |
| 22 | Vancouver | 1 | Victoria | 4 | 6–2 | |
| 26 | Vancouver | 4 | Portland | 10 | 6–3 | |
| 29 | Victoria | 5 | Vancouver | 12 | 7–3 | |
| Feb. | 5 | Portland | 8 | Vancouver | 3 | 7–4 |
| 12 | Vancouver | 6 | Victoria | 4 | 8–4 | |
| 16 | Vancouver | 5 | Portland | 0 | 9–4 | |
| 19 | Victoria | 3 | Vancouver | 10 | 10–4 | |
| 26 | Portland | 3 | Vancouver | 13 | 11–4 | |
| 27 | Portland | 3 | Vancouver | 11 | 12–4 | |
| Mar. | 2 | Vancouver | 14 | Victoria | 11 | 13–4 |
| 9a | Victoria | Vancouver | 13–4 | |||
- a Cancelled
A game between Vancouver and Victoria was cancelled at the end of the season.
Source: Coleman, p. 271
Player statistics
Goaltending averages
| Name | GP | GA | SO | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugh Lehman | 17 | 71 | 1 | 4.2 |
- Lehman led the PCHA in goals against average and shutouts.
Scoring leaders
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyclone Taylor | 16 | 23 | 22 | 45 | 9 |
| Mickey MacKay | 17 | 33 | 11 | 44 | 9 |
| Frank Nighbor | 17 | 23 | 7 | 30 | 12 |
- Taylor led the PCHA in points and assists, and MacKay led the PCHA in goals.
Playoffs
In the second "world series" of ice hockey, the Millionaires played the Ottawa Senators, NHA champions. Vancouver won the best-of-five series in three games 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 | ||||||
Vancouver Millionaires 1915 Stanley Cup champions
Players
- Fred Cyclone Taylor‡
- Duncan Mickey MacKay
- Jean Johnny Matz
- Frank Nighbor
- Russell Barney Stanley
- Lloyd Cook
- Silas Griffis (captain)
- Frank Patrick (president/manager/coach/defence)
- Jim Seaborn
- Ken Mallen
- Hugh Lehman
Coaching and administrative staff
- None - Defenseman Frank Patrick was owner/president/manager/coach. He ran the whole team.
Taylor, MacKay, Nighbor, Stanley, Griffis, Patrick, and Lehman were all eventually inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
‡ 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 final. 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 final. Mallen's name was left off by mistake. Jean Matz was left off, because he only played one game.
See also
References
- Coleman, Charles (1966). The Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol. 1, 1893–1936 inc.