1915 Stanley Cup Finals
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The 1915 Stanley Cup Finals was played from March 22 to March 26, 1915. The Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champion Vancouver Millionaires swept the National Hockey Association (NHA) champion Ottawa Senators 3 games to 0 in the best-of-five game series. The Millionaires became the first team based on the West Coast to host, and win, the Cup.
This was also the first Stanley Cup Finals played under the then-new agreement by the Cup's trustees, the NHA, and the PCHA in which the two leagues' respective champions would face each other for the Cup at the end of the season. The Cup trustees accepted the 1915 NHA-PCHA proposal because they became dependent on the professional game; the top amateur teams were now playing for the Allan Cup. Under the new agreement, the Stanley Cup Final series alternated between the east and the west each year, while the differing rules of the NHA and PCHA alternated each game. In 1915, the finals were scheduled to be played at the PCHA champions' home ice, with Games 1, 3, and 5 played under PCHA rules.
Vancouver finished the 1914-15 PCHA regular season in first place, and thus winning that league's title, with a record of 13-4. Meanwhile, Ottawa and the Montreal Wanderers both finished the 1914-15 NHA regular season tied for first place with identical 14-6 records, and thus had to play a two game total goals series to determine the NHA champion. In this playoff series, the Senators recorded two shutouts to advance to the Cup Finals.
As per the NHA-PCHA agreement, all of the games of the 1915 Stanley Cup Finals were played at Vancouver's Denman Street Arena, the home of the PCHA champion Millionaires. Vancouver ended up sweeping the series with victories of 6-2, 8-3, and 12-3, scoring 26 total goals while limiting the Senators to just eight overall. Cyclone Taylor led the Millionaires with 6 goals. Future Hockey Hall of Famer Barney Stanley scored 5 goals, including 3 in the second period of Game 3.
| Game-by-Game | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Rules Used | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 22 | Vancouver Millionaires | 6-2 | Ottawa Senators | PCHA | Denman Street 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 games to 0 | ||||||
Even though they officially did not win the Cup during this season, the Senators had the words "Ottawa/NHA Champions/1914-15" engraved on the base of the trophy's original bowl. 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. All of the players' names were also engraved inside the bowl along the fluted sides.
- 1914-15 Stanley Cup Winner: Vancouver Millionaires. Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved on 2006-07-01.
- hockeyleaguehistory.com - Pacific Coast Hockey Association. Retrieved on 2006-07-01.
- Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books, 12, 47. ISBN 1-55168-261-3.
- (1992) in Dan Diamond (ed.): The Official National Hockey League Stanley Cup Centennial Book. Firefly Books, 46. ISBN 1-895565-15-4.
| Preceded by Stanley Cup Challenge Games (1893-1914) |
Stanley Cup Champions | Succeeded by 1916 Stanley Cup Finals |