1926 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1926 Stanley Cup Final saw the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Montreal Maroons, in their first Final series appearance, defeat the Western Hockey League (WHL) and defending Stanley Cup champion Victoria Cougars three games to one in the best-of-five game series. This was the last time a non-NHL team would contest for the Cup – the WHL folded following the 1926 Finals leaving the Cup to be contested solely by NHL clubs thereafter.
Paths to the Final
The Cougars finished the 1925–26 WHL regular season in third place, but eventually upset the Edmonton Eskimos in the WHL championship by a combined score of 5–3 to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. Meanwhile, the Maroons finished the NHL regular season in second place. Montreal went on to beat the third seed Pittsburgh Pirates and then defeated the first place Ottawa Senators 2 goals to 1 in a two game total goals series, thus capturing the Prince of Wales Trophy and the right to play Victoria for the Cup.
The series
All of the games in the 1926 Cup Final were played at the Montreal Forum. Aided by three future Hockey Hall of Famers, the Maroons ended up dominating the series. Goaltender Clint Benedict, who previously helped Ottawa in three Cup championships, recorded three shutouts. Rookie Nels Stewart scored 6 of Montreal's 10 overall goals in the 4 games. Punch Broadbent also recorded a goal for the Maroons. The Cougars' lone win came in game three, 3–2.
Nels Stewart scored both goals in the fourth game to win the series. Stewart had given his stick to a fan after the playoff series against Ottawa. He asked for and retrieved the stick back from the fan prior to the fourth game. He then gave back the stick to the fan after game four.[1]
| Game-by-Game | Rules | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 30 | NHL | Montreal Maroons | 3–0 | Victoria Cougars | Montreal Forum |
| 2 | April 1 | WHL | Montreal Maroons | 3–0 | Victoria Cougars | |
| 3 | April 3 | NHL | Victoria Cougars | 3–2 | Montreal Maroons | |
| 4 | April 6 | WHL | Montreal Maroons | 2–0 | Victoria Cougars | |
| Maroons win best-of-five series 3 games to 1 | ||||||
See also
References
- "1925–26 Stanley Cup Winner: Montreal Maroons". Hockey Hall of Fame. http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SilverwareTrophyWinner.jsp?tro=STC&year=1925-26. Retrieved 2006-06-29.
- Podnieks, Andrew (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books, 12, 58. ISBN 1-55168-261-3.
- (1992) in Dan Diamond (ed.): The Official National Hockey League Stanley Cup Centennial Book. Firefly Books, 67–68. ISBN 1-895565-15-4.
- (2012) Stanley Cup: 120 years of hockey supremacy. Firefly Books. ISBN 978-1-77085-104-7.
- Notes
- ↑ "Maroons Captured Stanley Cup From Victoria Cougars", Montreal Gazette, April 7, 1926, p. 18.
| Preceded by Victoria Cougars 1925 |
Montreal Maroons Stanley Cup Champions 1926 |
Succeeded by Ottawa Senators 1927 |
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