1897 AHAC season

The 1897 Amateur Hockey Association of Canada season lasted from January 9 until March 6. Each team played 8 games, and Montreal Victorias were again first with a 7–1 record, retaining the Stanley Cup. The club won the Stanley Cup back from the Winnipeg Victorias prior to the season. This was their third-straight league championship.

League business

Executive

• J.A. Findlay, Montreal (President)
• J. H. Dunbar, Quebec (1st. Vice-Pres.)
• Wendell Young, Ottawa (2nd. Vice-Pres.)

At the annual meeting on December 12, 1896, the secretary reported that the association had lost all of its records in a fire, except for its minutes.

Rule Changes

• No more than a 15 minute delay during a game
• No raising the stick above the shoulder except for 'lifting.'
• Executives were given the power to suspend club or player for foul play.
• Protests of games had to be made within two days.

Season

Clare McKerrow of Montreal HC set a new record with six goals in the opening game against Quebec on January 9.

The Ottawa club moved to new Dey's Arena.

Final Standing

Team	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against
Montreal Victorias	8	7	1	0	48	26
Ottawa	8	5	3	0	25	18
Montreal	8	5	3	0	31	26
Quebec	8	2	6	0	22	46
Montreal Shamrocks	8	1	7	0	27	37

Stanley Cup challenges

Victorias vs. Winnipeg at Winnipeg

Prior to the season, Victorias would defeat the Winnipeg Victorias of the (Manitoba Hockey Association) 6–5, on December 30, 1896, to reclaim the Cup they had lost in the previous season to Winnipeg.

Date	Winning Team	Score	Losing Team	Location
December 30, 1896	Montreal Victorias	6 – 5	Winnipeg Victorias	Granite Rink, Winnipeg

Montreal	(6)	at	Winnipeg	(5)
Gordon Lewis		G	George Merritt
Harold Henderson		P	Rod Flett
Mike Grant		CP	Charles Johnstone
Robert McDougall		F	Colin "Tote" Campbell
Graham Drinkwater	1	F	Jack Armitage	1
Shirley Davidson	2	F	Attie Howard	2
Ernest McLea	3	F	Dan Bain	2

Referee - Wendy Young, Ottawa
Umpires - A. Shearer, Montreal; D. Clark, Winnipeg

Exhibitions

Montreal played the Halifax Wanderers in Halifax, Nova Scotia on February 25, 1897. The Wanderers defeated Montreal 4–3 on a second-half goal after the teams were tied 3–3 at half-time.

Schedule and Results

Month	Day	Visitor	Score	Home	Score
Jan.	9	Quebec	2	Montreal	8
	9	Shamrocks	1	Ottawa	4
	12	Montreal	4	Victorias	5
	16	Quebec	1	Ottawa	4
	16	Shamrocks	2	Montreal	3
	23	Victorias	6	Shamrocks	4
	23	Montreal	4	Quebec	2
	30	Victorias	9	Quebec	4
	30 (†)	Ottawa	0	Montreal	1
Feb.	6	Quebec	1	Shamrocks	9
	6	Victorias	4	Ottawa	2
	10	Montreal	5	Shamrocks	1
	13	Ottawa	3	Victorias	1
	13	Shamrocks	3	Quebec	6
	17 (‡)	Ottawa	4	Montreal	0
	20	Quebec	2	Victorias	8
	20	Montreal	4	Ottawa	3
	27	Ottawa	1	Quebec	4
	27 (††)	Victorias	7	Montreal	3
Mar.	3	Shamrocks	4	Victorias	8
	6	Ottawa	4	Shamrocks	3

† Protested by Ottawa who scored the tying goal in last few seconds but the goal was disallowed by the referee. The protest was upheld and the game replayed.

‡ Replay of January 30 protested game.

†† Birthday of the Champion.

Player statistics

Goalkeeper averages

Name	Club	GP	GA	SO	Avg.
Chittick, Fred	Ottawa	8	18	1	2.3
Lewis, Gordon	Victorias	8	26		3.3
Collins, Herb	Montreal	8	26		3.3
Pagnuello, E.	Shamrocks	8	37		4.6
Stocking, Frank	Quebec	6	25		5.8

Scoring Leaders

Name	Club	GP	G
McKerrow, Clare	Montreal	8	12
Smith, Alf	Ottawa	8	12
Barlow, Billy	Montreal	8	10
McLea, Ernie	Victorias	8	8
Dobby, John	Shamrocks	8	7
Swift, Arthur E.	Quebec	8	6
Westwick, Harry	Ottawa	8	6
Davidson, Cam	Victorias	6	5
Doyle, Pat	Quebec	8	5
Horsfall, Herbert	Montreal	8	5

Members of Montreal Victorias who won the Stanley Cup on December 30, 1896

Roster

  Forwards

• Cam Davidson,
• Shirley Davidson,
• Dave Gillilan,
• Robert MacDougall,
• Ernest McLea,
• William 'Reg' Wallance,
• Stanley Willett

  Defencemen

• Harold Henderson(point),
• Mike Grant (Coverpoint-Captain)
• Hartland MacDougall(point)
• Graham Drinkwater(rover)

  Goaltenders

• Robert Jones
• Gordon Lewis

  Coaching and Administrative Staff

W. Jack (President), Fred Meredith (Hon President), F.H. Wilson (Hon Vice President), P.M. Desterneak (Secretary/Treasurer), G.R. Hooper(Director).

Stanley Cup engraving

• VICTORIAS
• -- of --
• MONTREAL
• 1896
• Winnipeg Feb 20th

• Unknown what Feb 20th stood for. Winnipeg Victorias or the Montreal Victorias never played a Stanley Cup challenge game that day in any season. Maybe that was the day Winnipeg received the Stanley Cup from Montreal or the day their team name was engraved on the Stanley Cup?

Montreal Victorias 1897 Stanley Cup champions

Roster

  Forwards

• Cam Davidson,
• Shirley Davidson,
• Jack Ewing,
• Robert McDougall,
• Ernest McLea,
• David McLellan,
• Harry Messy,
• Percy Molson

  Defencemen

• Harold Henderson(point),
• Hartland MacDougall(point),
• Mike Grant(coverpoint - Captain),
• Graham Drinkwater(rover),

  Goaltenders

Gordon Lewis(goal)

  Coaching and Administrative Staff

W. Jack(President), Fred Meredith (Hon. President), W. Grant (Vice President), F.H. Wilson (Hon. Vice President), P.M. Desterneck (Secretary/Treasurer)

See also

• List of Stanley Cup champions
• List of pre-NHL seasons

References

• Coleman, Charles L. (1966). The Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol. 1, 1893–1926 inc. 
• Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books, 12, 50. ISBN 1-55168-261-3.

Notes

Preceded by Winnipeg Victorias 1896	Montreal Victorias Stanley Cup Champions 1897	Succeeded by Montreal Victorias 1898
Preceded by 1896	AHAC seasons 1897	Succeeded by 1898