1.
Brantford
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Brantford is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River. It is the seat of Brant County, but it is politically separate with a government independent of the county, Brantford is sometimes known as the Telephone City, former city resident Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone at his fathers home, the Bell Homestead. In 1876 he conducted the first long-distance telephone call, making it from Brantford to Paris, Brantford is also the birthplace of hockey player Wayne Gretzky, comedian Phil Hartman, as well as Group of Seven member Lawren Harris. Brantford is named after Joseph Brant, an important Mohawk chief during the American Revolutionary War and later, many of his and other First Nations citizens live on the neighbouring reserve of Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, the most populous reserve in Canada. This town, like the rest of their settlements, was destroyed when the Iroquois declared war in 1650 over the fur trade, in 1784, Captain Joseph Brant and the Six Nations Indians of the Iroquois Confederacy left New York State for Canada. As a reward for their loyalty to the British Crown, they were given a land grant, referred to as the Haldimand Tract. The original Mohawk settlement was on the edge of the present-day city at a location favourable for landing canoes. Brants crossing of the river gave the name to the area. By 1847, European settlers began to further up the river at a ford in the Grand River. The Mohawk Chapel, built in the original Mohawk settlement, is Ontarios oldest Protestant church, Brantford was incorporated as a city in 1877. The history of the Brantford region from 1793 to 1920 is described at length in the book At The Forks of The Grand, decades later and particularly since the late 20th century, numerous scholarly and artistic works have explored the detrimental effects of the schools in destroying Native cultures. Healing the Legacy of the Residential Schools, a number of historic monuments have been erected within the city marking those events and Brantfords contributions to the Commonwealths defense of the realm. Her Majestys Royal Chapel of the Mohawks is located in Brantford and is an important reminder of the agreements made with Queen Anne in 1710. After the American Revolution, in 1784, Sir Frederick Haldimond granted the Six Nations their land treaty which was six miles on side of the river from the mouth to the source. Joseph Brant led a group of Six Nations members to new settlement called the Mohawk Village, the Mohawk Chapel was built in 1785 as a reminder of the original agreements made with the British. In 1904 the Mohawk Chapel received Royal status for the alliance between the British and Six Nations. He developed early improvements to it in 1876, as part of the invention and development of the telephone, Canadas first telephone factory was built here, and the city was called Brantford, The Telephone City. These buildings constituted one of the longest blocks of pre-Confederation architecture in Canada, included in the list of demolitions were one of Ontarios first grocery stores and an early 1890s office of the Bell Telephone Company of Canada, now Bell Canada
2.
Ontario
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Ontario, one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada, is located in east-central Canada. It is Canadas most populous province by a margin, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all Canadians. Ontario is fourth-largest in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and it is home to the nations capital city, Ottawa, and the nations most populous city, Toronto. There is only about 1 km of land made up of portages including Height of Land Portage on the Minnesota border. Ontario is sometimes divided into two regions, Northern Ontario and Southern Ontario. The great majority of Ontarios population and arable land is located in the south, in contrast, the larger, northern part of Ontario is sparsely populated with cold winters and is heavily forested. The province is named after Lake Ontario, a thought to be derived from Ontarí, io, a Huron word meaning great lake, or possibly skanadario. Ontario has about 250,000 freshwater lakes, the province consists of three main geographical regions, The thinly populated Canadian Shield in the northwestern and central portions, which comprises over half the land area of Ontario. Although this area mostly does not support agriculture, it is rich in minerals and in part covered by the Central and Midwestern Canadian Shield forests, studded with lakes, Northern Ontario is subdivided into two sub-regions, Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario. The virtually unpopulated Hudson Bay Lowlands in the north and northeast, mainly swampy. Southern Ontario which is further sub-divided into four regions, Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario, Golden Horseshoe, the highest point is Ishpatina Ridge at 693 metres above sea level located in Temagami, Northeastern Ontario. In the south, elevations of over 500 m are surpassed near Collingwood, above the Blue Mountains in the Dundalk Highlands, the Carolinian forest zone covers most of the southwestern region of the province. A well-known geographic feature is Niagara Falls, part of the Niagara Escarpment, the Saint Lawrence Seaway allows navigation to and from the Atlantic Ocean as far inland as Thunder Bay in Northwestern Ontario. Northern Ontario occupies roughly 87 percent of the area of the province. Point Pelee is a peninsula of Lake Erie in southwestern Ontario that is the southernmost extent of Canadas mainland, Pelee Island and Middle Island in Lake Erie extend slightly farther. All are south of 42°N – slightly farther south than the border of California. The climate of Ontario varies by season and location, the effects of these major air masses on temperature and precipitation depend mainly on latitude, proximity to major bodies of water and to a small extent, terrain relief. In general, most of Ontarios climate is classified as humid continental, Ontario has three main climatic regions
3.
Ice hockey
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Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice, usually in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponents net to score points. Ice hockey teams usually consist of six each, one goaltender. A fast-paced, physical sport, ice hockey is most popular in areas of North America, Ice hockey is the official national winter sport of Canada, where the game enjoys immense popularity. In North America, the National Hockey League is the highest level for mens hockey, the Kontinental Hockey League is the highest league in Russia and much of Eastern Europe. The International Ice Hockey Federation is the governing body for international ice hockey. The IIHF manages international tournaments and maintains the IIHF World Ranking, worldwide, there are ice hockey federations in 74 countries. Ice hockey is believed to have evolved from simple stick and ball games played in the 18th and 19th century United Kingdom and these games were brought to North America and several similar winter games using informal rules were developed, such as shinny and ice polo. The contemporary sport of ice hockey was developed in Canada, most notably in Montreal, some characteristics of that game, such as the length of the ice rink and the use of a puck, have been retained to this day. Amateur ice hockey began in the 1880s, and professional ice hockey originated around 1900. The Stanley Cup, emblematic of ice hockey club supremacy, was first awarded in 1893 to recognize the Canadian amateur champion, in international competitions, the national teams of six countries predominate, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States. Of the 69 medals awarded all-time in mens competition at the Olympics, in the annual Ice Hockey World Championships,177 of 201 medals have been awarded to the six nations. In Russia and the Ukraine, where hockey can also refer to bandy, the name hockey has no clear origin. The English historian and biographer John Strype did not use the word hockey when he translated the proclamation in 1720, the 1573 Statute of Galway banned a sport called hokie—the hurling of a little ball with sticks or staves. A form of this word was thus being used in the 16th century, though much removed from its current usage. According to the Austin Hockey Association, the word derives from the Scots Gaelic puc or the Irish poc. The blow given by a hurler to the ball with his caman or hurley is always called a puck. Stick-and-ball games date back to pre-Christian times, in Europe, these games included the Irish game of hurling, the closely related Scottish game of shinty and versions of field hockey. IJscolf, a game resembling colf on a surface, was popular in the Low Countries between the Middle Ages and the Dutch Golden Age. It was played with a curved bat, a wooden or leather ball
4.
National Hockey League
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Headquartered in New York City, the NHL is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the playoff champion at the end of each season. At its inception, the NHL had four teams—all in Canada, the league expanded to the United States in 1924, when the Boston Bruins joined, and has since consisted of American and Canadian teams. After a labour-management dispute that led to the cancellation of the entire 2004–05 season, in 2009, the NHL enjoyed record highs in terms of sponsorships, attendance, and television audiences. The league draws many highly skilled players from all over the world, canadians have historically constituted the majority of the players in the league, with an increasing percentage of American and European players in recent seasons. The National Hockey League was established in 1917 as the successor to the National Hockey Association, founded in 1909, the NHA began play one year later with seven teams in Ontario and Quebec, and was one of the first major leagues in professional ice hockey. Realizing the NHA constitution left them unable to force Livingstone out, the four teams voted instead to suspend the NHA, frank Calder was chosen as its first president, serving until his death in 1943. The Bulldogs were unable to play, and the remaining owners created a new team in Toronto, the first games were played on December 19,1917. The Montreal Arena burned down in January 1918, causing the Wanderers to cease operations, the NHL replaced the NHA as one of the leagues that competed for the Stanley Cup, which was an interleague competition back then. Toronto won the first NHL title, and then defeated the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association for the 1918 Stanley Cup. The Canadiens won the title in 1919, however their Stanley Cup Final against the PCHAs Seattle Metropolitans was abandoned as a result of the Spanish Flu epidemic. Montreal in 1924 won their first Stanley Cup as a member of the NHL, the Hamilton Tigers, won the regular season title in 1924–25 but refused to play in the championship series unless they were given a C$200 bonus. The league refused and declared the Canadiens the league champion after defeated the Toronto St. Patricks in the semi-final. Montreal was then defeated by the Victoria Cougars of the Western Canada Hockey League for the 1925 Stanley Cup and it was the last time a non-NHL team won the trophy, as the Stanley Cup became the de facto NHL championship in 1926 after the WCHL ceased operation. The National Hockey League embarked on rapid expansion in the 1920s, adding the Montreal Maroons, the Bruins were the first American team in the league. The New York Americans began play in 1925 after purchasing the assets of the Hamilton Tigers, the New York Rangers were added in 1926. The Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Cougars were also added after the league purchased the assets of the defunct WCHL, a group purchased the Toronto St. Patricks in 1927 and immediately renamed them the Maple Leafs. The first NHL All-Star Game was held in 1934 to benefit Ace Bailey, the second was held in 1937 in support of Howie Morenzs family when he died of a coronary embolism after breaking his leg during a game
5.
Stanley Cup
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The Stanley Cup is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoff winner. The first Cup was awarded in 1893 to Montreal HC, and subsequent winners from 1893 to 1914 were determined by challenge games, Professional teams first became eligible to challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1906. After a series of mergers and folds, it was established as the de facto championship trophy of the NHL in 1926. There are actually three Stanley Cups, the bowl of the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, the authenticated Presentation Cup. The NHL has maintained control over both the trophy itself and its associated trademarks. Nevertheless, the NHL does not actually own the trophy, the original bowl was made of silver and is 18.5 centimetres in height and 29 centimetres in diameter. The current Stanley Cup, topped with a copy of the bowl, is made of a silver and nickel alloy, it has a height of 89.54 centimetres. Unlike the trophies awarded by the major professional sports leagues of North America. Originally, the winners kept it until a new champion was crowned, currently, winning teams get the Stanley Cup during the summer and a limited number of days during the season. It is unusual among trophies to include winning members names, every year since 1924, a select portion of the winning players, coaches, management, and club staff names are engraved on its bands. However, there is not enough room to include all the players and non-players, initially a new band added each year, though this caused the trophy to grow in size, earning the nickname Stovepipe Cup. In 1958 the modern one-piece Cup was designed with a barrel which could contain 13 winning teams per band. To prevent the Stanley Cup from growing, when the band is full, the oldest band is removed and preserved in the Hockey Hall of Fame. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanleys Cup, The Holy Grail, the Stanley Cup is surrounded by numerous legends and traditions, the oldest of which is the celebratory drinking of champagne out of the cup by the winning team. Since the 1914–15 season, the Cup has been won a combined 100 times by 18 active NHL teams, prior to that, the challenge cup was held by nine different teams. The Montreal Canadiens have won the Cup a record 24 times and are the most recent Canadian-based team to win the cup, the Stanley Cup was not awarded in 1919 because of a Spanish flu epidemic, and in 2005, as a consequence of the 2004–05 NHL lockout. After the Lord Stanley of Preston was appointed by Queen Victoria as Governor General of Canada on June 11,1888, he, Stanley was first exposed to the game at Montreals 1889 Winter Carnival, where he saw the Montreal Victorias play the Montreal Hockey Club. The Montreal Gazette reported that he expressed his delight with the game of hockey
6.
Western Pennsylvania Hockey League
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The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, was a semi-professional ice hockey league founded in 1896 and existing through the 1910s. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the league was the pre-eminent ice hockey league at the time in the United States and it was the first league to openly hire and trade players. In 1895, Pittsburgh officials, constructed the Schenley Park Casino which featured the first artificial ice-making plant in North America, the 1895-96 winter season also saw the first introduction of hockey in the city. On December 30,1895, the Pittsburgh Press made mention of an international hockey. The paper noted that 2,500 to 3,000 fans showed up to watch the game, no score or records were reportedly kept but the paper did note that the team from Queens University outplayed the Pittsburghers, who had never played the game before. The city quickly realized that in order to make money they would need to have more events than just speed skating, family skates and they decided that since hockey was a relatively new game, it could catch on in Pittsburgh. The PAC was managed by Charles S. Miller, who became the leagues president, the league played at the Casino twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday nights. The first big league game was November 17,1896 between Duquesne and PAC, won by Duquesne 2–1. Play continued until December 16, when the Casino rink was destroyed by fire, the league dissolved without a championship. The league would remain dormant until 1899 and the erection of a rink at the Duquesne Gardens. The league was revived with three teams, the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, Pittsburgh Duquesne and Western University, the PAC won the leagues first championship. The following season the Pittsburgh Bankers, which was composed entirely of bankers, were admitted to the league, despite the fact that the league could be traced back to 1895, the WPHL wasnt officially started until the 1901-02 season. In 1901, Arthur Sixsmith, a member of the Ottawa Senators, traveled to Pittsburgh. The two men, along with the manager of the Duquesne Gardens, James Wallace Conant, then established the WPHL. By 1902, Sixsmith convinced several Canadian players, including his brother Garnet Sixsmith, to come to Pittsburgh, also in 1901, the Keystone Bicycle Club was admitted to the league, replacing Western University. The Keystones were instrumental in changing the league from amateur to professional, the Pittsburgh Athletic Club repeated as champions, although the Keystones were instantly competitive. In one memorable game occurred during this era, the WPHLs Garnet Sixsmith scored 11 goals in a game at the Duqesne Gardens. The 1901–02 season is considered the first season whereby the league was recognized as professional, the league had three teams in 1901-02, Pittsburgh Bankers, Pittsburgh Athletic Club and the Pittsburgh Keystones
7.
Montreal Wanderers
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The Montreal Wanderers were a Canadian amateur, and later professional, mens ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League, the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association, the Wanderers were four-time Stanley Cup winners. Prior to the formation of the NHL, the Redbands were one of the most successful teams in hockey, James Strachan announced the formation of the new club on December 1,1903. McKerrow President, James Strachan Vice-president, George Guile Secretary, Tom J. Hodge The club had formed over a dispute over the control of the Montreal Hockey Club, the Wanderers nickname was the namesake of several earlier Montreal teams. The first had played in the Montreal Winter Carnival hockey tournament in 1884, another was an independent team that played in 1893. A third played in the Independent Amateur Hockey League in 1885, along with teams rejected for membership in the Canadian Amateur Hockey League, the club helped found the Federal Amateur Hockey League on December 5,1903. Many of the early Wanderers had been members of the Montreal Hockey Club team of 1902–03 and that team had been known as the Little Men of Iron because of the players tenacity and small stature, and the nickname carried over to the new club. The Wanderers first Stanley Cup challenge was played against the Ottawa Hockey Club on March 2,1904, the Wanderers would refuse to continue the series unless the tie was replayed in Montreal, and forfeited the series. This was the start of a rivalry as Ottawa and the Wanderers would split the championship between them from 1903 until 1911. Ottawa and the Wanderers would meet again in 1906, after a regular season tie for first place in the ECAHA, and played a total goals series for the league championship. The Wanderers won the first game in Montreal 9–1, Montreal defended the Cup in its first challenge as champions in December 1906. The Wanderers defeated the New Glasgow Cubs 17–5 in a total goals series. Montreal repeated as champions in 1907, then faced the Kenora Thistles in a Cup challenge in January 1907. Kenora defeated Montreal 4–2 and 8–6, taking the Cup back to Northern Ontario, the Wanderers would regain the Cup from Kenora two months later in Winnipeg, Manitoba, defeating the Thistles 7–2 and 5–6. The Wanderers won their third league title in 1908 while defending the Cup in a mid-season challenge by the Ottawa Victorias in January. After their third consecutive ECAHA title, the Wanderers were given its trophy, the Cup is on display in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. After the 1908 regular season, Montreal defended the Stanley Cup twice in March 1908, in challenges by the Winnipeg Maple Leafs, the 1908 Wanderers team scratched their names inside the bowl, which was just prior to the second band being added to the Cup. The team included five future Honoured Members of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Moose Johnson, Hod Stuart, Riley Hern, Lester Patrick, before the 1909 season started, Montreal defended its Cup in a challenge by the Edmonton Eskimos, winning 13–10 in two games
8.
National Hockey Association
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The National Hockey Association, officially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the predecessor to todays National Hockey League. Founded in 1909 by Ambrose OBrien, the NHA introduced six-man hockey by removing the rover position in 1911, during its lifetime, the league coped with competition for players with the rival Pacific Coast Hockey Association, the enlistment of players for World War I and disagreements between owners. The disagreements between owners came to a head in 1917, when the NHA suspended operations in order to get rid of an unwanted owner. The remaining NHA team owners started the NHL in parallel as a measure, to continue play while negotiations went on with Livingstone. A year later, after no progress was reached with Livingstone, the NHAs rules, constitution and trophies were continued in the NHL. In November 1909, the Eastern Canada Hockey Association, holder of the Stanley Cup, the Montreal Wanderers team of the ECHA had been bought by P. J. Doran, owner of the Jubilee Rink in Montreal and he intended to move the teams games there. The Jubilee was smaller than the Wanderers current rink, the Montreal Arena which meant visiting teams would earn less on their trips to play the Wanderers. On November 25,1909, the teams in the league disbanded the ECHA and formed the new Canadian Hockey Association. The team had applied to the Stanley Cup trustees as champions of the Federal League, at the November 25 CHA founding meeting, held at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal, OBrien applied to join the CHA but the application was rejected. Sitting in the lobby of the hotel after the CHA meeting, OBrien met Jimmy Gardner of the Wanderers, together, they decided to form their own league, the National Hockey Association. At the same time, to build a rivalry and capture francophone interest in Montreal, OBrien and Gardner conceived of creating a team consisting of francophone players, to be managed by francophones. In all, OBrien and his father, Michael John OBrien, were financing four teams in the league, the Renfrew Creamery Kings, Cobalt, Haileybury, the Cobalt and Haileybury clubs were from the Timiskaming Professional Hockey League and Renfrew from the Federal Hockey League. Along with the Wanderers, the league had five teams, the OBriens were determined to win the Stanley Cup and a bidding war for players immediately started. Frank Patrick and Lester Patrick were each signed by the Renfrew Millionaires for $3,000 apiece, Renfrew also signed star player Cyclone Taylor of the champion Ottawa Senators team, reputedly at $5,000 per season. Attendance at the CHA games was poor and a meeting of the NHA was held on January 15,1910 to discuss a merger of the two leagues. Instead, the NHA admitted Ottawa and the Montreal Shamrocks to the NHA, the owners of the Montreal Le National were offered the ownership of the Canadiens but turned it down. The Quebec Bulldogs and the teams of the CHA were not even considered for membership
9.
Toronto Professional Hockey Club
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The Toronto Professional Hockey Club was Torontos first professional ice hockey team, founded in 1906. The team played the 1906–07 season in games against other professional teams. In 1908, the team was one of the founders of the Ontario Professional Hockey League, the club operated for two seasons in the OPHL,1908 and 1909, before disbanding. The club challenged unsuccessfully for the Stanley Cup in 1908 and they were usually referred to as the Toronto Argonauts. On November 14,1906, the Ontario Hockey Association banned Bruce Ridpath, Rolly Young, the three had been receiving money to play, strictly banned by the OHA. On November 22, Ridpath announced the formation of the Toronto Pros, Ridpath would be captain, and Alexander Miln was named as manager. Miln was manager of the Mutual Street Rink and had managed the Toronto Wellingtons. On November 24, Miln attended a meeting of the International Hockey League, for the initial season, the Toronto Pros would play only exhibition games. Toronto would play its first game on December 28,1906 against the Canadian Soo team of the IHL, the team did not receive its new white and purple sweaters in time for the game, and played the first game in used sweaters of the Marlboros. The team won the championship in their first OPHL season. After the season, the Torontos would challenge for the Stanley Cup,1908 Stanley Cup challenge On March 14,1908, the team played a Stanley Cup challenge match against the Montreal Wanderers in Montreal. The Wanderers won the game 6-4, Stanley Cup challenge game roster Chuck Tyner Con Corbeau Rowley Young Bert Morrison Newsy Lalonde Bruce Ridpath Wally Mercer Jack Marks The 08–09 season would be the Torontos last. The team did not ice a consistent roster from game to game, a game against Berlin turned into a brawl. The team suffered player raids from the Temiscaming League, Con Corbeau and Skene Ronan joined Haileybury. Bruce Ridpath joined the Cobalt Silver Kings in February 1909, the team would finish the season in fourth place. On November 19,1909, manager Alexander Miln announced that the club was exiting from the OPHL, Miln noted that the Mutual Rink would be used only for amateurs play for 1909–10. Newsy Lalonde - future Hall of Famer Jack Marks - three-time Stanley Cup champion with Quebec Bulldogs and Toronto Arenas, Bruce Ridpath - Stanley Cup champion with Ottawa Senators, and would manage the Toronto Blueshirts. Trail of the Stanley Cup, vol.1, 1983-1926 inc, a Great Game, The Forgotten Leafs and the Rise of Professional Hockey
