Pacific Coast Hockey Association
The Pacific Coast Hockey Association ( PCHA ) was a professional North American Hockey League, which was founded in December 1911 and existed until 1924.
History
The beginnings of the PCHA (1911-1913)
The brothers Frank and Lester Patrick moved with her father Joseph, a businessman who had earned a considerable fortune with his logging business, from Quebec to British Columbia. Following the successful relocation of the operation, Joseph Patrick retired from the business and supported his two sons financially in this endeavor own professional ice hockey league in western Canada to set up. On December 7, 1911 it was officially announced the formation of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association. The rules and constitution of the league you took mostly from the National Hockey Association, a league that was active at that time in eastern Canada and the one now entered into the competition. One of the biggest differences was that the PCHA still acted with seven players per team, while the position of the rover had been abolished in the NHA. First President of the League was W. P. Irving, who had taken previously in the Ontario Hockey Association a leading role in management. In its premiere season, the league began with three teams - the New Westminster Royals, Vancouver Millionaires and Victoria senator. To obtain a similar value as the competing NHA or those even surpass, it was decided to build an arena in Vancouver, which could accommodate 10,000 spectators and cost $ 175,000. This was the second largest arena in North America after the Madison Square Garden in New York City and the first in Canada, was in played on artificial ice. Other projects included the construction of a 4,000 -seat arena in Victoria and the construction of an arena in New Westminster. The latter, however, was not completed in time, so that the Royals decided their home games at first also in Vancouver unsubscribe. To be able to offer good quality infrastructure Hockey addition, the Patrick brothers decided to poach several players from the NHA, a measure which has been increasingly intensified in the following years. First Master of the PCHA, due to their first place in the regular season, the New Westminster Royals were, as there were no playoffs at this time. For the season 1912/13, took over C.E. Doherty office as President of the PCHA. Due to the great popularity of the sport in Western Canada, it was decided to at the end of the second season two games in Calgary, Alberta and Regina, Saskatchewan to hold. As a result of the increased acceptance of the PCHA, took the Quebec Bulldogs of the National Hockey Association, which simultaneously reigning Stanley Cup winners were the challenge of the Victoria Senators, who were at the second attempt PCHA champion, and played a series of three games against each other, the games at that time were still pure test character. As this problem proved to the different number of players who were used in the different leagues. Ultimately, they decided to games 1 and 3 with seven players per team as in the PCHA usual and the second game after NHA model with six players per team to contest. In the end, both teams each won the games that have been played as it was usual in the league of its own.
Competition with the NHA and expansion in the United States (1913-1918)
For the season 1913/14, Frank Patrick himself took over the office of President of the PCHA. By season's end the band decided to indebted New Westminster Royals to Portland, Oregon, to relocate, making the PCHA the first professional sports league has ever, the expanded from Canada to the United States. The Rosebuds were also the first team that had the theoretical way to play to play the Stanley Cup. In 1914, the reigning PCHA champion Victoria Aristocrats as the first team in the league officially playoffs for the Stanley Cup in part, with the officials of the PCHA forgot to dispatch an official challenge. In any case, the Cougars lost the best-of -three series against the Toronto Blue Shirts of NHA with a sweep. In the 1914/15 season, the Vancouver Millionaires made history. First, they won the championship title of the PCHA, after which she was the first team in the league won the Stanley Cup ever, after the Ottawa Senators beat the challenge games with three wins in three games. For the season 1915/16, another American team was recorded with the Seattle Metropolitans.
For the following season, it was decided to Victoria Artistocrats, which attracted because of their last table fleshed few spectators, to Spokane, Washington, to relocate. There she played a year under the name Spokane Canaries. This was the first and only season in which the PCHA played more American teams, while Canada was represented only by the Vancouver Millionaires. In that season, the Seattle Metropolitans won the PCHA title and finally as the first American team Stanley Cup, when they beat the Canadiens de Montréal from the NHA 3-1 victory in the best- of-five series. Thus, they were also the last team in the PCHA, which prevailed in the games for the Stanley Cup. For the season 1917/18 the Spokane Canaries were excluded from the league and this reduced back to the original number of three teams. At the same time we introduced two playoffs one for the title between the first and second place, but the team with the better combined score won the championship title.
Decline of the PCHA (1918-1924)
At the beginning of the season 1919, the PCHA undertook another franchise change. The Portland Rosebuds presented due to low audience popularity, a game operation, while the Victoria Artistocrats took up the game running again after a two year break. One of the biggest changes for the PCHA in 1921 followed by the establishment of the Western Canada Hockey League. Now another competitor regarding the obligation of the best Canadian players emerged. In addition, the master of the PCHA now had to first compete against the winner of the WCHL in order to compete against the winners of the National Hockey League was founded in 1917 for the Stanley Cup are allowed. From the season 1922/23, we took the new situation with three major leagues as a chance and the PCHA played from then on during the regular season against the teams in the Western Canada Hockey League. For this reason, a solution of the problem had to be found that you still took the PCHA with seven players while the NHL and the WCHL six players inserting in their competitions. Finally, the PCHA also the position of the Rovers decided to give up and took care of its own rules in important respects to that of the other two professional leagues. The Vancouver Millionaires changed after eight years its name to Vancouver Maroons. While initially the crews of the PCHA in their games were still dominant against the opponents of the WCHL, they lost in the season 1923/24, a total of 29 of 48 games against competition from the WCHL. Following this season, the Seattle Metropolitans were dissolved and the remaining two teams in the PCHA from Vancouver and Victoria joined the Western Canadian Hockey League. Some of the players from Seattle were also transferred into the WCHL.
Innovations of the PCHA
The brothers Frank and Lester Patrick resulted in their league a number of innovations to the game rules, which were later adopted by the National Hockey League, and finally are still valid today worldwide. This includes the introduction of the forward pass, the division of the field into three zones, assigning Penaltyschüssen, two- minute penalties, however, that you can play the puck to the ice, this may not score as well as numerous other large and small rule changes.
PCHA president
- W. P. Irving (1911-1912)
- C.E. Doherty (1912-1913)
- Frank Patrick (1913-1924)
Team
- New Westminster Royals (1912-1914, were Portland Rosebuds )
- Portland Rosebuds (1914-1918)
- Seattle Metropolitans (1915-1924)
- Spokane Canaries (1916-1917)
- Vancouver Millionaires (1912-1924)
- Victoria Aristocrats (1912-1916, were Spokane Canaries; 1918-1924)