1904–05 Ottawa Hockey Club season

Off-season

After resigning from the CAHL in January 1904, the Club made plans to join the FAHL. However, before the season started, the Club investigated returning to the CAHL and to helping create a merger of the FAHL with the CAHL. The teams of the CAHL were opposed to both initiatives and the Club played the season in the FAHL.

Two personal tragedies occurred during the off-season. Jim McGee died in a horse-riding accident in May. The McGee family did not wish Frank to continue to play hockey with only one good eye but Frank chose to play the season. Harvey Pulford's wife Annis died giving birth to a son in December 1904.

Bouse Hutton retired from ice hockey, continuing in lacrosse. Dave Finnie took his place.

Regular season

The Club won the league championship with a record of seven wins and one loss.

Highlights

Frank McGee would score five goals against the Montagnards on February 4.

Ottawa vs. Dawson City

The first interest in a challenge from Dawson City was indicated in a letter from Weldy Young to the Ottawa Citizen, in 1900. The Stanley Cup trustees received a letter from G. T. Kirkson and C. Shannon of Dawson on June 7, 1901, challenging the then-champion Winnipeg Victorias. After P. D. Ross wrote back to Dawson, nothing further was heard from the Dawson club until September 9, 1904, when Ross received a challenge from Young for a Dawson City All-Star team to challenge the Silver Seven. Ross authorized the challenge in December 1904.

In January 1905, the Dawson City Nuggets travelled 4,000 miles (6,400 km) from the Yukon to Ottawa for a best-of-three Cup challenge series. The Nuggets actually left Dawson City on December 19, 1904, and travelled on a month-long journey by dog sled (Dawson to Whitehorse), ship (Skagway to Vancouver), and train (Whitehorse to Skagway, and Vancouver to Ottawa). They were no match for the Silver Seven. Ottawa defeated them in the first game, 9–2. Numerous Stanley Cup records were then set in game two, including Frank McGee's 14 goals, which included eight consecutive goals scored in less than nine minutes, and a 23–2 rout, the largest margin of victory for any challenge game or Stanley Cup Final game to date.

Several players playing for Dawson were from the Ottawa area. Jim Johnstone was from Ottawa. Norman Watt was from Aylmer, Quebec. Randy McLennan was from Glengarry County, Ontario and had played in a Stanley Cup challenge for Queen's University of Kingston, Ontario. Another player had Stanley Cup challenge experience: Lorne Hanna, "formerly of the Yukon", had played for Brandon Wheat Cities in their 1904 challenge of Ottawa.

Sources:

Sources:

After the series, Ottawa held a banquet for Dawson City at the Ottawa Amateur Athletic Association (OAAA) clubhouse. After the banquet the Stanley Cup was drop kicked into the frozen Rideau Canal. It was retrieved the next day.

Ottawa vs. Rat Portage

In March 1905, the Rat Portage Thistles issued another challenge to the Senators. McGee did not play in the first game and the Thistles crushed Ottawa, 9–3. However, he returned to lead the Senators to 4–2 and 5–4 victories in games two and three, respectively.

Roster

† Substitute/on team picture/dressed, but did not play &-Missing from the team picture.

Stanley Cup engraving

Weldy Young, a former member of the Ottawa team in the 1890s, and the captain of the Dawson City team, engraved his name on the Cup with a pen knife. He had missed playing for Dawson as he was working in the federal election, although he did arrive in Ottawa during the series.