1924-1925 Victoria Cougars Hockey (1997)

In 1924/25, Victoria fans were in hockey heaven for 10 days. They knew they would be seeing some colorful eastern hockey players like Howie Morenz, Auriel Joliat and Georges Vezina in action against the hometown Cougars. There was a ticket frenzy as fans lined up the night before and by morning a line extended down to Government Street. The first game had to be played under Western rules and it proved to be an exhibition of speed, stick handling, passing and shooting by the Cougars as they won 5-2. The second game, played in Vancouver under eastern rules, saw the Canadiens play better but not good enough, losing 3-1. Morenz was really flying in the third game and scored three goals on breakaways for a 4-2 Montreal victory. In the fourth match-up the Cougars took the series with an amazing display of speed and talent and a final score of 6-1. After referee Mickey Ion blew the final whistle there was delirium in the arena. At last the Stanley Cup had come to Victoria. Today, many people are surprised to see Victoria's name on the cup and it is hard for newcomers to believe that we once had a world championship hockey team.