First indoor ice hockey game - wikipedia First indoor ice hockey game 1893 hockey game at the same rink On March 3, 1875, the first recorded indoor ice hockey game took place at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Organized by James Creighton, who captained one of the teams, the game was between two nine - member teams, using a wooden ' puck '. Members used skates and sticks used for outdoor hockey and shinny games in Nova Scotia, where Creighton was born and raised. It is recognized as the first organized ice hockey game. Contents 1 Victoria Rink 2 The game 2.1 The first game 2.2 After - game fight 3 IIHF recognition 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Victoria Rink Main article : Victoria Skating Rink The Victoria Skating Rink was a long ( 252 by 113 feet ( 77 m × 34 m ) ), two - story brick edifice with a 52 - foot ( 16 m ) - high pitched roof supported from within by curving wooden trusses, which arched over the entire width of the structure. Tall, round - arched windows punctuated its length and illuminated its interior, while evening skating was made possible by 500 gas - jet lighting fixtures set in coloured glass globes. At a later date, the lighting was converted to electric, making the building the first in Canada to be electrified. The ice surface measured 204 by 80 feet ( 62 by 24 m ), dimensions very similar to today 's National Hockey League ( NHL ) ice rinks. It was surrounded by a 10 - foot ( 3.0 m ) - wide platform, or promenade, which was elevated approximately 1 foot ( 30 cm ) above the ice surface and upon which spectators could stand or skaters could rest. Later, a gallery was added with a royal box for visiting dignitaries. At the time of its construction, the rink 's location at 49 Drummond Street ( now renumbered to 1187 ) placed it in the centre of the English community in Montreal, in the vicinity of McGill University. The area is known today as the `` Square Mile '', the area of central Montreal populated then by rich English industrialists and the budding centre of commerce in Canada. One block east was Dominion Square, where annual outdoor winter sporting events and later the Montreal Winter Carnival were held. Across the street to the east, the Windsor Hotel, a long - time centre of social life and meeting place of several sports organizations, was built in 1875. Nearby is old Windsor Station, which was the eastern terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway, built in 1889. The game In 1873, James Creighton, a member of the Victoria Skating Club and a figure skating judge, started organizing sessions of shinny at the rink, played informally between members of the Club and friends. The rules followed were developed from the informal rules of the outdoor game played in Nova Scotia where Creighton was born and raised, and adapted to the indoors setting and the rink 's size. The first game On March 3, 1875, the Rink hosted what has been recognized as the first organized ice hockey game, between members of the Victoria Skating Club, organized by Creighton. The match lays claim to this distinction because of factors which establish its link to modern ice hockey : it featured two teams ( nine players per side ) with a recorded score. Games prior to this had mostly been outdoors. In order to limit injuries to spectators and damage to glass windows, the game was played with a `` flat block of wood '' instead of a lacrosse ball. The two teams, members of the club, included a number of McGill University students. Sticks for this game were imported from Nova Scotia. This first game was pre-announced to the general public in the pages of The Montreal Gazette : Announcement Victoria Rink -- A game of Hockey will be played at the Victoria Skating Rink this evening, between two nines chose from among the members. Good fun may be expected, as some of the players are reputed to be exceedingly expert at the game. Some fears have been expressed on the part of intending spectators that accidents were likely to occur through the ball flying about in too lively a manner, to the imminent danger of lookers on, but we understand that the game will be played with a flat circular piece of wood, thus preventing all danger of its leaving the surface of the ice. Subscribers will be admitted on presentation of their tickets. Game report HOCKEY -- At the Rink last night a very large audience gathered to witness a novel contest on the ice. The game of hockey, though much in vogue on the ice in New England and other parts of the United States, is not much known here, and in consequence the game of last evening was looked forward to with great interest. Hockey is played usually with a ball, but last night, in order that no accident should happen, a flat block of wood was used, so that it should slide along the ice without rising, and thus going among the spectators to their discomfort. The game is like Lacrosse in one sense -- the block having to go through flags placed about 8 feet apart in the same manner as the rubber ball -- but in the main the old country game of shinty gives the best idea of hockey. The players last night were eighteen in number -- nine on each side -- and were as follows : -- Messrs. Torrance ( captain ), Meagher, Potter, Goff, Barnston, Gardner, Griffin, Jarvis and Whiting. Creighton ( captain ), Campbell, Campbell, Esdaile, Joseph, Henshaw, Chapman, Powell and Clouston. The match was an interesting and well - contested affair, the efforts of the players exciting much merriment as they wheeled and dodged each other, and notwithstanding the brilliant play of Captain Torrance 's team Captain Creighton 's men carried the day, winning two games to the single of the Torrance nine. The game was concluded about half - past nine, and the spectators then adjourned well satisfied with the evening 's entertainment. The nine - man per side practice would last until 1880, when it was reduced during the Montreal Winter Carnival ice hockey tournaments. After - game fight Not reported in the Gazette, but reported elsewhere was that there was fighting after the game. This fighting was not between the on - ice combatants, rather, it was between the hockey players and spectators and members of the Skating Club. Members of the Skating Club were opposed to the use of the skating rink for hockey as it took away hours from other skating activities and it damaged the ice quality. According to the Kingston, Ontario, Daily British Whig `` Shins and heads were battered, benches smashed and the lady spectators fled in confusion. '' IIHF recognition In 2002, the International Ice Hockey Federation ( IIHF ) announced that it would acknowledge the site of Victoria Rink with `` a commemorative plaque or other historical site marker to remind the passers - by of the existence of the Victoria Skating Rink, the birthplace of organized hockey. '' The commemoration has been marked in two ways. On May 22, 2008, a commemorative plaque was dedicated at the nearby Centre Bell, along with a plaque honouring James Creighton. Further, the IIHF created the Victoria Cup, a trophy named for the arena, for which -- along with 1 million Swiss francs -- one National Hockey League team and the champion of the European Champions Hockey League play off annually. The first Cup match was held in Berne, Switzerland on October 1, 2008 between the New York Rangers and the Metallurg Magnitogorsk. The next, and last, edition of the Victoria Cup was held in Zurich on September 29, 2009, between the ZSC Lions and the Chicago Blackhawks. See also ice hockey portal Montreal portal Amateur Hockey Association of Canada Matthews Arena, the world 's oldest existing indoor ice hockey facility still in use for ice hockey References Bibliography Collard, Edgar Andrew ( 1962 ). Montreal Yesterdays. Toronto, Ontario : Longmans Canada. Mackay, Donald ( 1987 ). The square mile. Vancouver, British Columbia : Douglas & McIntyre Ltd. ISBN 0 - 88894 - 562 - 0. McKinley, Michael ( 2006 ). Hockey : A People 's History. Toronto, Ontario : McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 0 - 7710 - 5769 - 5. Vigneault, Michel ( 1998 ). `` Out of the Mists of Memory, Montreal, 1875 -- 1910 ''. Total hockey : the official encyclopedia of the National Hockey League. Toronto, Ontario : Total Sports. ISBN 0 - 8362 - 7114 - 9. Notes ^ Jump up to : McKinley, p. 7 ^ Jump up to : `` IIHF recognizes Victoria Skating Rink as birthplace of hockey ''. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown ( link ) Jump up ^ `` Sports Facilities ''. Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved May 14, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Montreal Hockey History ''. Hockey Heritage. Retrieved September 30, 2008. Jump up ^ Collard, p. 168 Jump up ^ Mackay, p. 7 Jump up ^ Zukerman, Earl ( March 17, 2006 ). `` McGill 's contribution to the origins of ice hockey ''. Archived from the original on March 16, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2008. ^ Jump up to : `` ' Father ' of ice hockey honoured ''. Toronto Star. May 23, 2008. p. S3. Jump up ^ McKinley, p. 9 Jump up ^ `` Victoria Rink ''. Montreal Gazette. March 3, 1875. p. 3. Jump up ^ `` Hockey ''. Montreal Gazette. March 4, 1875. p. 3. Jump up ^ `` Hockey Game ''. Daily British Whig. March 5, 1875. Jump up ^ Burnside, Scott ( March 3, 2017 ). `` First indoor game ended in melee ''. ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2017. Jump up ^ `` World federation weighs in on hockey 's origins ''. CBC. July 5, 2002. Retrieved September 29, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Rangers challenge Metallurg ''. International Ice Hockey Federation. January 26, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Rangers come back for win overseas, opener next ''. Associated Press. October 2, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2008. External links Articles IIHF recognizes Victoria Skating Rink as birthplace of hockey Virtual Museum exhibit on venue 1870 Skating carnival Podnieks article on game Hockey Games Photographs Image `` Hockey Match, Victoria Rink, Montreal, QC, composite, 1893, '' at Musee McCord Museum website Coordinates : 45 ° 29 ′ 53 '' N 73 ° 34 ′ 21 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 45.4980 ° N 73.572400 ° W ﻿ / 45.4980 ; - 73.572400 List of NHL - related topics History Pre-NHL seasons National Hockey Association 1917 -- 42 1942 -- 67 1967 -- 92 1992 -- present All - time standings All - time team performance Seasons Most frequent playoff series Retired numbers First NHL player by country Ice hockey in Canada Ice hockey in the United States Personnel Famous linemates Captains Careers with one franchise Head coaches General managers Owners Notable families Presidents and Commissioners Referees and linesmen Records League records ( individual, team ) Statistical leaders ( by country of birth ) Points, career ( min. 1000 ) Assists, career ( min. 1000 ) Goals, career ( min. 500 ) Points, season ( min. 100 ) Goals, season ( min. 50 ) 50 goals in 50 games Games, career ( min. 1000 ) Consecutive games, career ( min. 500 ) PIMs, career ( min. 2000 ) 5 + goals, game 8 + points, game Goaltender wins, career ( min. 300 ) Goaltenders who have scored Wayne Gretzky 's records Gordie Howe 's records Related International games with NHL teams International games with NHL players World Cup of Hockey Hockey Fights Cancer Other Trade deadline Player salaries Team payrolls Video games Mascots National Hockey League lore Advanced statistics NHL uniform Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=First_indoor_ice_hockey_game&oldid=845635430 '' Categories : 1875 in ice hockey History of ice hockey Sport at McGill University Ice hockey in Montreal March 1875 sports events 1875 in Quebec 19th century in Montreal Hidden categories : CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown CS1 : Julian -- Gregorian uncertainty Use mdy dates from July 2017 Coordinates on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Edit links This page was last edited on 13 June 2018, at 03 : 43 ( UTC ). 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Question: when was the first game of hockey played
Answer: March 3, 1875