Seattle Ice Arena (1915-1924)
Backstory and Context
In 1912, former hockey players Frank and Lester Patrick formed The Pacific Coast Hockey League in British Columbia with four teams- two from the United States (Seattle and Portland) and two from Canada (Vancouver, Victoria). Financing for the league came from the family's logging business. The brothers were able to attract some of the top hockey players, including several stars from the National Hockey Association.
The Metropolitans of Seattle became the first American hockey team to win a Stanley Cup. At this Seattle ice rink on March 26, 1917 the Mets defeated the Montreal Canadians 9-1 to win the Cup which had only been won by Canadian teams in its twenty-five year history. The defending champions from Montreal were stunned by the lopsided defeat, something that was so unexpected that the team had not bothered to bring the cup to Seattle. A crowd of about 3,500 fans cheered the team on to the one historic win, but the Stanley Cup would never return to Seattle.
The Mets came close to another title win in 1919. In that year, the championship came down to a five-game series between Seattle and Montreal. The two teams were tied at two games each when the flu epidemic that killed millions worldwide led to the decision to cancel the series. That year, no championship was awarded as the flu claimed hundreds of thousands of American lives, including the life of one of the Montreal team members, Joe Hall, one of Canada’s best players. The 1919 series remains the only time the Cup was not presented to a team.
In 1920, the Seattle
Mets had another chance to claim the Cup against the Ottawa Senators. The Senators won the best-of-five series, 3-2. Despite the team's success, the team struggled to balance expenses, especially as the team became less competitive and the smaller fan base in Seattle even smaller. Financial challenges led to the owners' decision to cancel their lease on the building and the Seattle Metropolitans ended the 1923-1924 season with a 14-16 record.
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“NHL Playoff Game Scores: 1929-1920.” NHL Hockey.com. Accessed July 22, 2018 from http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=31198