The 1914–15 PCHA season was the fourth season of the professional men's ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league. Season play ran from December 8, 1914, until March 9, 1915. The schedule was made for each team to play 18 games, but like the previous three seasons, one game was cancelled. The Vancouver Millionaires club were the PCHA champions. After the season the club faced off against the Ottawa Senators, NHA champions for the Stanley Cup, winning the series and becoming the first west-coast team to win the Cup.
League business
The franchise of the New Westminster Royals was transferred to Portland, Oregon, and renamed the "Rosebuds." The league established a "farm system" called the Boundary Hockey League in the British Columbia towns of Grand Forks, Greenwood and Phoenix.[1]
Rule changes
The league banned body checking within 10 feet (3.0 m) of the boards.[1]
Rookie Mickey MacKay led the league with 33 goals, while Cyclone Taylor won the scoring title. The two led the Vancouver Millionaires to the league title, winning 13 of 17 games.[1]
Final standings
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals against
A game between Vancouver and Victoria was cancelled at the end of the season.
Source: Coleman, p. 271
All-Star games
On March 15 and 17 two All-Star games were played in Portland between the league champions Vancouver Millionaires and a PCHA All-Star aggregation made out of players from the Portland Rosebuds and the Victoria Aristocrats. Vancouver won the first game at the Portland Ice Hippodrome 9 goals to 8, with Cyclone Taylor scoring four times for the winning side, and with Lester Patrick having an impressive five goals and three assists for the losing side, figuring in all of the All-Stars goals.[2]
Vancouver managed to win also the second game by a one-goal margin, defeating the All-Stars 4 goals to 3. Frank Nighbor made a good showing for the winning side with two goals, and for the All-Stars Ran McDonald scored twice.[3]
The champion Vancouver Millionaires hosted the finals against the Ottawa Senators, NHA champions. Vancouver won the series and became the first west-coast team to win the Cup.
None - Defenseman Frank Patrick was owner/president/manager/coach. He ran the whole team.
‡ Played Rover, a position between both Defences and behind the Centre
Stanley Cup engraving
The Senators had the words "Ottawa/NHA Champions/1914–15" engraved on the base of the trophy's original bowl even though they did not win the Cup finals. This was similar to the practice prior to the NHA-PCHA agreement when the trophy was officially passed on to the winner of the league championship of the previous Cup champion's league. The previous Cup winner was the 1913–14 NHA champion Toronto Blueshirts.
After the finals, "Vancouver B.C./1914–15/Defeated Ottawa/3 Straight Games" was added to the Cup. Eight players' names and the manager's name were also engraved inside the bowl along the fluted sides.
Two players were left off the Stanley Cup, even though there was room. Kenny Mallen played 14 of 16 regular season games, and two of three games in the finals. Mallen's name was left off by mistake. Jean Matz was left off, because he only played one game.
