1912–13 Toronto Hockey Club season

1912–13 Toronto Hockey Club
1912–13 record9–11–0
Home record7–3–0
Road record2–8–0
Goals for86
Goals against95
Team information
General managerBruce Ridpath
Coach
ArenaArena Gardens

The 1912–13 Toronto Hockey Club season was the first season of the Toronto franchise in the National Hockey Association (NHA). The team was also known as the Blueshirts.

Team business

Operation of the ice-making equipment at the new Arena Gardens was delayed a week when the pipes had to be relaid. Local pipefitters, unfamiliar with ice-making equipment, had installed the pipes improperly, and W. H. Magee of New York, advisor to the Arena, ordered the pipes removed and reinstalled.[1][2]

Off-season

The Torontos' manager Bruce Ridpath built the team from new prospects, rather than signing established professionals, like the Tecumsehs, the other Toronto NHA club. Ridpath signed Scotty Davidson, who had been playing in Calgary; Frank Foyston of the Toronto Eatons, Roy McGiffin of the Simcoes, Cully Wilson of Winnipeg, and Harry Cameron and Frank Nighbor of Port Arthur. Only Archie McLean from the PCHA had previous big-league experience.[3]

Regular season

Seven men in row standing in front of brick wall. Six of the seven are wearing hockey sweaters and uniforms
Members of the 1912–13 Toronto Blueshirts Cully Wilson, Harry Cameron, Frank Foyston, Bruce Ridpath (manager), Frank Nighbor, Archie McLean, Hap Holmes

Cully Wilson scored the first-ever goal for the Torontos, in their opening night 9–5 loss to the Canadiens.[4] The team started the season poorly under the coaching of Ridpath, but Ridpath signed Jack Marshall, the former star of the Montreal Wanderers as coach. The team continued to struggle until Marshall decided to become a playing coach with the team. His veteran presence helped the Blueshirts to win some games, eventually finishing third in the standings.

Nighbor was the scoring star for the Blueshirts, scoring 23 goals.

Final standings

National Hockey Association
GP W L T GF GA
Quebec Bulldogs 20 16 4 0 112 75
Montreal Wanderers 20 10 10 0 93 90
Toronto Hockey Club 20 9 11 0 86 95
Montreal Canadiens 20 9 11 0 83 81
Ottawa Senators 20 9 11 0 87 81
Toronto Tecumsehs 20 7 13 0 59 98

[5]

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against


Schedule and results

# Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts
1 December 25 Montreal Canadiens 9–5 Toronto 0–1–0 0
2 December 28 Toronto 5–8 Montreal Canadiens 0–2–0 0
3 January 1 Toronto 1–7 Ottawa Senators 0–3–0 0
4 January 4 Montreal Wanderers 3–5 Toronto 1–3–0 2
5 January 8 Toronto 5–10 Quebec Bulldogs 1–4–0 2
6 January 11 Toronto 2–5 Toronto Tecumsehs 1–5–0 2
7 January 15 Toronto Tecumsehs 1–6 Toronto 2–5–0 4
8 January 18 Toronto 1–3 Montreal Wanderers 2–6–0 4
9 January 22 Quebec Bulldogs 3–6 Toronto 3–6–0 6
10 January 25 Ottawa Senators 9–5 Toronto 3–7–0 6
11 February 1 Toronto 2–3 Montreal Wanderers 3–8–0 6
12 February 5 Ottawa Senators 0–2 Toronto 4–8–0 8
13 February 8 Montreal Canadiens 3–5 Toronto 5–8–0 10
14 February 12 Quebec Bulldogs 11–2 Toronto 5–9–0 10
15 February 15 Montreal Wanderers 3–10 Toronto 6–9–0 12
16 February 19 Toronto 7–3 Toronto Tecumsehs 7–9–0 14
17 February 22 Toronto Tecumsehs 3–5 Toronto 8–9–0 16
18 February 26 Toronto 4–6 Quebec Bulldogs 8–10–0 16
19 March 1 Toronto 2–3 Ottawa Senators 8–11–0 16
20 March 5 Toronto 6–2 Montreal Canadiens 9–11–0 18

Source: Coleman 1966[6]

Player stats

Player Pos. No. GP G A Pts PIM
Frank Nighbor C 9 19 23 2 25 13
Scotty Davidson RW 3 20 20 2 22 69
Cully Wilson RW 5 19 12 3 15 45
Harry Cameron D 2 20 10 2 12 20
Frank Foyston C 4 16 8 3 11 8
Roy McGiffin LW 11 15 7 1 8 83
Jack Marshall C 13 3 1 4 8
Archie McLean D 10 9 2 0 2 4
Steve Gunnlaugson F 3 1 0 1 0
Fred Doherty RW 6 1 0 0 0 0
Victor Jopp F 8 1 0 0 0 0
Mickey O'Leary C 1 0 0 0 0
Ken Randall RW 12 2 0 0 0 0
Jack Walker F 7 1 0 0 0 0

Source: Society for International Hockey Research (SIHR)

See also

References

  • Harper, Stephen J. (2013). A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs and the Rise of Professional Hockey. Simon & Schuster Canada. ISBN 978-1-4767-1653-4.
Notes
  1. ^ "Rowing Club are to join junior hockey ranks". Toronto World. December 3, 1912. p. 5.
  2. ^ "Arena to be ready Monday". Toronto World. December 8, 1912. p. Sports p. 1.
  3. ^ Harper 2013, pp. 239–240.
  4. ^ "Torontos Beaten By Canadiens". Toronto World. December 26, 1912. p. 4.
  5. ^ Standings: Coleman, Charles (1966). Trail of the Stanley Cup, vol. 1, 1893-1926 inc. National Hockey League. p. 239.
  6. ^ Coleman, Charles (1966). The Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol. 1, 1893–1926 inc. NHL.


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