1923 Stanley Cup playoffs
Ice hockey tournament
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The 1923 Stanley Cup playoffs was an ice hockey tournament held at the conclusion of the 1922â23 season. This was the second year that the National Hockey League (NHL) champions, the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champions, and the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) champions competed for the Stanley Cup. It began on March 16, 1923, and concluded on March 31 when the NHL champion Ottawa Senators defeated the WCHL champion Edmonton Eskimos in the final series, two games to zero.
| Dates | March 16âMarch 31, 1923 |
|---|---|
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Ottawa Senators |
| Runners-up | Edmonton Eskimos |
| Third place | Vancouver Maroons |
Throughout these playoffs, injuries had thinned Ottawa's line-up. But after seeing the gritty show put on by the undermanned Senators, Frank Patrick, the head coach of the PCHA champion Vancouver Maroons, called Ottawa the greatest team he had ever seen.
Background
National Hockey League
The Ottawa Senators finished first overall in the 1922â23 NHL regular season standings with a 14â9â1 record. They then went on to defeat the 13â9â2 second place Montreal Canadiens in the two-game total-goals NHL championship series, 3 goals to 2, to win the NHL title. Cy Denneny scored the series-clinching goal in Game 2 for the Canadiens.
Pacific Coast Hockey Association
The Vancouver Maroons finished the 1922â23 PCHA regular season in first place with a 17â12â1 record, then went on to defeat the 16â14 second place Victoria Cougars in the two-game total-goals PCHA championship series by a combined score of 5â3.
Western Canada Hockey League
The 1922â23 WCHL season ended with the 19â10â1 first place Edmonton Eskimos defeating the 16â14 second place Regina Capitals in the WCHL championship series. Edmonton clinched the WCHL title after Duke Keats scored the series-winning overtime goal in Game 2.
Format
Both rounds of the 1923 Stanley Cup playoffs were played at Denman Street Arena in Vancouver. This year, the NHL and the PCHA champions played in the best-of-five semifinal round, with the winner facing the WCHL champion in the best-of-three Cup Final.
Semifinals
The Ottawa-Vancouver best-of-five series marked the first time in Stanley Cup history that brothers faced each other. In fact, there were two sets of brothers: Cy and Corb Denneny, and George and Frank Boucher. Cy and George played for the Senators, while Corb and Frank skated for the Maroons.[1] A third Boucher brother, Billy, was to have replaced Ottawa's Jack Darragh who was injured, but Frank Patrick, the PCHA president, disallowed Billy from joining the Senators.[2]
Ottawa won the first game 1â0, with Punch Broadbent's winning goal in the third period. Vancouver, led by two goals by Duncan and two by Frank Boucher, took the second game 4â1, which led to more injuries for the Senators. Benedict took a puck in the mouth, Gerard was injured due to a heavy check and Cy Denneny injured his elbow.[3] The Senators again asked if Billy Boucher could join the team, but were again refused by Patrick. In the third game, the Senators lost Gerard to a dislocated shoulder, but won the game 3â2. King Clancy took his place for the fourth game, and the Senators won it 5â1, to win the series. Broadbent ended up leading Ottawa with five goals in the series. After watching the gritty show by the undermanned Senators, Patrick called them the greatest team he had ever seen.[4]
| March 16 | Ottawa Senators | 1-0 | Vancouver Maroons | Denman Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Punch Broadbent (1) - 15:00 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hugh Lehman | ||||||
| March 19 | Ottawa Senators | 1-4 | Vancouver Maroons | Denman Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 1:18 - Art Duncan (1) 3:37 - Frank Boucher (1) 14:45 - Frank Boucher (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 13:51 - Art Duncan (2) | ||||||
| Buck Boucher (1) - 1:58 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hugh Lehman | ||||||
| March 23 | Ottawa Senators | 3-2 | Vancouver Maroons | Denman Arena | Recap | |||
| Punch Broadbent (2) - 6:33 Punch Broadbent (3) - 14:35 |
First period | 5:23 - Alf Skinner (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 16:47 - Mickey MacKay (1) | ||||||
| Frank Nighbor (1) - 2:13 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hugh Lehman | ||||||
| March 26 | Ottawa Senators | 5-1 | Vancouver Maroons | Denman Arena | Recap | |||
| Buck Boucher (2) - 7:35 Eddie Gerard (1) - 17:25 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Punch Broadbent (4) - 10:07 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| King Clancy (1) - 9:15 Punch Broadbent (5) - 19:56 |
Third period | 16:46 - Smokey Harris (1) | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hugh Lehman | ||||||
| Ottawa won the series 3-1 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
Ottawa swept Edmonton in the best-of-three final series, winning both games by one-goal margins. In the first game, Cy Denneny scored 2:08 into overtime to give the Senators a 2â1 win. Then Punch Broadbent scored the only goal in the second game to give Ottawa a 1â0 victory and the championship.
| March 29 | Ottawa Senators | 2-1 | OT | Edmonton Eskimos | Denman Arena | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 10:05 - John Morrison (1) | ||||||
| Lionel Hitchman (1) - 13:04 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cy Denneny (3) - 2:08 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hal Winkler | ||||||
| March 31 | Ottawa Senators | 1-0 | Edmonton Eskimos | Denman Arena | Recap | |||
| Punch Broadbent (6) - pp - 11:23 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hal Winkler | ||||||
| Ottawa won the series 2-0 | |
Cup engravings
The Senators never did engrave their names on the Cup for their 1923 championship. It was only until the trophy was redesigned in 1948 that the words "1923 Ottawa Senators" were put onto its then-new collar.