1904 FAHL season

The inaugural 1904 Federal Amateur Hockey League (FAHL) season lasted from January 6 until February 24. Four teams played a six game schedule.
The FAHL had been formed on December 5, 1903. Three of the four teams had been rejected for membership by the Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL), while the fourth – the Montreal Wanderers – was a new team composed of disillusioned players from two Montreal-based CAHL teams.
==Regular season==
In their first season as a franchise, the Wanderers would dominate the regular season, going undefeated. Due to an unusual twist, the Wanderers would have to share the league championship with the Ottawa Hockey Club (HC) of the CAHL (see below).
===Highlights===
Jack Marshall of Wanderers would score six goals against the Capitals on January 20.
===Final standing===
Team 	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against
Montreal Wanderers 	6 	6 	0 	0 	38 	18
Montreal Le National	6 	3 	3 	0 	27 	27
Cornwall HC 	6 	2 	4 	0 	20 	27
Ottawa Capitals 	6 	1 	5 	0 	28 	41
===Results===
Month	Day 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	Score
Jan. 	6 	Cornwall 	3 	Le National	5
Jan. 	13 	Le National	5 	Capitals 	8
Jan. 	15 	Wanderers 	5 	Cornwall 	1
Jan. 	20 	Capitals 	6 	Wanderers 	10
Jan. 	27 	Cornwall 	5 	Capitals 	4
Jan. 	27 	Le National	2 	Wanderers 	4
Feb. 	3 	Capitals 	3 	Cornwall 	7
Feb. 	3 	Wanderers 	7 	Le National	3
Feb. 	10 	Capitals 	4 	Le National	10
Feb. 	18 (†)	Cornwall 	3 	Wanderers 	8
Feb. 	20 	Wanderers 	4 	Capitals 	3
Feb. 	24 	Le National	2 	Cornwall 	1
† Wanderers lock down League Championship.
===Goaltending averages===
Name 	Club 	GP	GA	SO	Avg.
Nicholson, Billy	Wanderers 	6 	18	0 	3.0
Grenier 	Capitals 	1 	4 	0 	4.0
Hunter, Jack 	Cornwall 	6 	27	0 	4.5
Henri Menard 	Le National	6 	27	0 	4.5
Moffatt 	Capitals 	2 	12	0 	6.0
Cope, A. 	Capitals 	2 	15	0 	7.5
Hurdman 	Capitals 	1 	10	0 	10.0
===Leading scorers===
Name 	Club 	GP	G
Jack Marshall 	Wanderers 	4 	11
Edgar Dey 	Capitals 	6 	11
Ken Mallen 	Wanderers &Cornwall	6 	10
Alphonse Prevost	Le National 	6 	9
Percy Sims 	Capitals 	5 	9
Jack Laviolette 	Nationals 	6 	8
"Pokey" Leahy 	Wanderers 	5 	7
Jimmy Gardner 	Wanderers 	6 	5
Ed Decarie 	Le National 	6 	5
Fred Strike 	Wanderers 	2 	4
==League championship and Stanley Cup challenge==
Just days after the FAHL regular season was finished, the reigning Stanley Cup champion Ottawa Hockey Club (HC) left the CAHL and joined the FAHL. The Wanderers, FAHL regular season champions, immediately played Ottawa HC for the combined Stanley Cup/FAHL championship.
===Wanderers vs. Ottawa===
A two-game series between the Montreal Wanderers and Ottawa Hockey Club was arranged, for the Stanley Cup and the FAHL championship. The teams played the first game in Montreal to a tie of 5–5. Montreal refused to play overtime, demanding that the game be considered a no-contest and proposed that the series start over as a best two-of-three series. The Cup trustees demanded that the series continued as scheduled and the Wanderers abandoned the challenge.Kitchen, pg. 140
Date 	Winning Team 	Score 	Losing Team 	Location
March 2, 1904 	Ended in a 5–5 tie 	Ended in a 5–5 tie 	Ended in a 5–5 tie 	Montreal Arena
Ottawa wins series; Montreal is disqualified for refusing to play second game in Ottawa.	Ottawa wins series; Montreal is disqualified for refusing to play second game in Ottawa.	Ottawa wins series; Montreal is disqualified for refusing to play second game in Ottawa.	Ottawa wins series; Montreal is disqualified for refusing to play second game in Ottawa.	Ottawa wins series; Montreal is disqualified for refusing to play second game in Ottawa.
According to the Gazette, the game saw "the dirtiest game ever seen between two senior teams at the Arena." Thirty-six penalties were called. Leahy was injured and replaced by Mallan. James Strachan, president of the Wanderers was quoted as saying that the Wanderers would not go to Ottawa and play with Dr. Kearns as referee. Ottawa took a 2–0 lead, before the Wanderers scored five in a row. The Ottawas came back with three, the final goal by Frank McGee.
 March 2, 1904
Ottawa (5) 	Ottawa (5) 	 	Montreal (5) 	Montreal (5)
Player 	G 	Pos 	Player 	G
Hutton 	 	G 	Nicholson 	
J. McGee 	 	P 	Strachan 	
A. Smith 	 	CP 	Bellingham 	
H. Westwick 	2 	R 	Leahy,Mallan 	11
F. McGee 	1 	C 	Marshall 	1
W. Gilmour 	1 	RW 	Gardner 	1
S. Gilmour 	1 	LW 	Blatchford 	1
Referee - Dr. KearnsUmpires - Stevens, Baskerville	Referee - Dr. KearnsUmpires - Stevens, Baskerville	Referee - Dr. KearnsUmpires - Stevens, Baskerville	Referee - Dr. KearnsUmpires - Stevens, Baskerville	Referee - Dr. KearnsUmpires - Stevens, Baskerville
Source: Montreal Gazette
The Wanderers demanded a replay of the game to be held in Montreal, which Ottawa refused. The series was cancelled, with Ottawa claiming the FAHL championship.
==Exhibition==
After the season, the Wanderers travelled to Michigan to play the Portage Lakes Hockey Club pro club. The Wanderers lost to Portage Lakes 8-4 and 9-2 in a series dubbed the "World Championship" locally. The Wanderers next travelled to Pittsburgh to play the Pittsburgh Victorias. Pittsburgh won 4-2, and 6-4.
==See also==
* 1904 CAHL season
* List of pre-NHL seasons
==References==
*
Category:Federal Amateur Hockey League seasons
Category:1904 in ice hockey