1902-03 in French ice hockey

This was the 1902-03 season in French ice hockey:

Season Overview

On December 14, 1902, a match was organized by Club des Patineurs on Lake Enghien in collaboration with the newspaper L'Auto-Vélo and players from HCP. The club had mostly ceased activities since the closure of the Pôle Nord in 1898.

A thaw cancelled the match, but five days later HCP's captain, former French cycling champion Henri Couturier, known as Dickard, requested the club be merged with Club des Patineurs.

On January 15, 1903, several French newspapers announced that a hockey game was going to be played, mistakenly reporting that it was Club des Patineurs participating (it was actually Hockey Club des Paris).

The following day (January 16) Le Matin reported that the match did not take place due to a "lack of sufficient material" to play with. The Journal, however, offered a detailed report of the match between HCP and HC Enghien. It was reported that 1000 people watched the game.

The teams planned to meet again three days later, but a thaw prevented this. Dickard then decided to assemble a team to travel to Switzerland to play a match in Davos.

Five days after the failed January 18 match Dickard took a new initiative. Realizing that dependence on weather conditions not conducive to the development of "Canadian" hockey, he persuaded 9 players of the Hockey Club de Paris (Paul Wasse, Armand Rischmann, Georges Bauer, Georges Codoni, Édouard Malaret, Édouard Blondel la Rougery, Charles Flamand, Louis Méline, Albert Parenty) to enter with him into the Club des Patineurs. The players agreed to do so, provided that Club des Patineurs would be renamed Club des Patineurs de Paris, in order to hold onto part of the club's old name. On January 29, 1903, the merger was completed.

The very next day in the press, it was announced that the Parisians would play two games against SC Lyon at the Palais de Glace de Lyon. The matches were to be played for an annual "Challenge Cup" between Paris and Lyon. Dickard reached an agreement with the Lyon president to share the travel costs of the Paris team.

Despite tireless efforts of Dickard, only three players traveled with him from Paris to Lyon (Flamand, Marx, Malaret). Because of this, the hosts lent them to players and moved the matches one day later. The outcome of the match was virtually a foregone conclusion as the Parisians had not had much practice prior to the trip.

1000 spectators watched the game, which was won by Lyon, 4-0. Binding, the SC Lyon president, served as the official. These were the team rosters: SCL: Roman; Lehmann; Aubert (cap.) - Serve - Kimmerling. CPP: Stockhammer*; Gros*; "Dickard" (cap.) - Malaret - Flamand. *Players lent by SC Lyon.

As mentioned above, the Challenge Cup was to be played in two games. But after the first game, it was agreed that the second match should be postponed, as the games ought to be serious contests and the Parisians came to Lyon with a skeletal roster. The second match was rescheduled for March 8 at the Palais de Glace.

After the defeat in Lyon, the Parisians returned home and Dickard appealed to the director of the Ice Palace on the Champs Elysees for practice time. As a result, twice a week (Tuesdays and Fridays) the team was given the evening for training and inter-club matches.

After several practices, the team embarked on some inter-club matches. The players were divided into two teams: the first was called "bleu" (blue), the second - "rouge" (red). The players often changed positions and even the teams they were playing on. Captain Dickard did not participate in these games. Instead he was carefully watching them, to identify the players who would go with him to Lyon.

There were five inter-club games staged. Here are the results: "Bleu" - "Rouge" - 4: 4, 3:5, 4:1, 1:0, ?:?. The last game took place on March 3. It is known that goaltender Maurice del Valle broke his nose in the last game. Charles Sabouret was thus named the goalie for the trip to Lyon.

On the day of the final game between the "bleu" and "rouge" teams, March 3, 1903 several Parisian newspapers reported on the upcoming matches for the Challenge Cup. Moreover, the newspaper Le Matin even published the full rules of the competition. It was planned that the Challenge Cup between Paris and Lyon would be held annually, beginning with qualifiers in each city, and ending with the final match between the best teams in the cities.

The second match for the Challenge Cup was played on March 8. Club des Patineurs de Paris earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over SC Lyon. Their hard work and practice had paid off. During the hame, there were many heated arguments between the referee and the captains of since the opponents had different interpretations of the rules of hockey. These were the rosters from this match: SCL: Stockhammer; Gros - Roman; Serve - Kimmerling - Aubert (cap.). CPP: Sabouret; "Dickard" (cap.) - Planque; Magnus - Morel - Carié.

There is some question as to which club won the Challenge Cup in 1903. There are some reports that a third match was staged on March 9 and was won by SC Lyon. However, nothing seems set it stone. A note from the Lyon-sport newspaper, published at the end of 1904, named their victory over the "best" team of Paris 4:0 as one of the most important games in club history. On the one hand, it is obvious that the team Club des Patineurs de Paris fielded in the first game can not be called the best, as they had to be lent two players by Lyon. So it is possible this was referring to the unconfirmed third match. On the other hand, two games with a score of 4:0 is also unlikely. So a mystery it remains.