Introduction
On December 8, 1886, the teams that made up the circuit for the Montreal Winter Carnival Hockey Tournament (MWC) decided to create a stand-alone hockey league that did not coincide with the popular winter festival. The league was called the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) and was made up by the Montreal Hockey Club, McGill University, Montreal Crystals, Montreal Victorias, and the Ottawa Hockey Club. These five teams participated in a season of series challenges at the Crystal and Victoria hockey rinks.
While the AHAC shared the same teams and play format as the MWCHT, the AHAC was its own entity, bringing together the best players in Hockey to play in a dedicated league. This was the first time ever that a league dedicated to Hockey was created, following the format established by Baseball’s National League. The biggest difference was that the AHAC was purely Amateur.
The AHAC decided to return to the balanced schedule format from 1888 and 1893, with each team playing one another twice. The season ended with a four-way tie, necessitating a playoff to decide the league and Stanley Cup championships. The Montreal Hockey Club defeated the Ottawa Hockey Club in the final playoff game to claim the title.
1894 was Season 8 of play for the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada and took place 130 years ago.
Classification / Layer
Season Length
January 5, 1894 to March 10, 1894
Season Champion
Montreal Hockey Club
# of Teams
5
Season Standings (Overall Champion Challenge Record)
Season Playoffs (Stanley Cup Challenges)
The first Stanley Cup playoff game occurred on March 17, 1894. At the end of the 1894 season, four teams tied for the AHAC championship with records of 5–3–0. This created problems for the AHAC governors since there was no tie-breaking system in place. After long negotiation and the withdrawal of Quebec from the championship situation, it was decided that a three-team tournament would take place in Montreal, with Ottawa getting a bye to the finals (being the sole “road” team). The Montreal HC defeated the Montreal Victorias, 3 – 2. Five days later on March 22, 1894, Montreal successfully defended their title with a 3 – 1 win over Ottawa. The OHA champion Osgoode Hall challenged for the Cup, but this was abandoned due to the lack of natural ice.
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