The Montreal Maroons and Ottawa Senators opened their 1930-31 seasons with a game at the Ottawa Auditorium, at the intersection of O’Connor and Argyle Streets. The Aud had been built in 1923 to replace Dey’s Arena over beside the Rideau Canal, and it retained a peculiarity of the older rink: semi-circular end boards. Most hockey rinks are playing-card shaped, a rectangle with rounded corners. But the Aud had no flat surfaces behind the goal, making it “a bitch to play defence in” as one old guy told me.
Of the Senators’ sixteen players, nine were from Ottawa itself and two more were from the Ottawa Valley. Ten had played in the Ottawa City Hockey League, which was at the time one of the NHL’s major sources of talent. Bill Beveridge had played for the Shamrocks and the New Edinburghs; Connell for the Cliffsides, St Brigid’s and Gunners; Connor, Grosvenor and Kilrea for the Rideaus; Finnigan for the Montagnards; Kinsella for the Shamrocks and Rideaus; Alex Smith for the Gunners and Rideaus; Starr for the Gunners, St Brigid’s and Shamrocks; and Touhey for the St Brigid’s, Gunners and Montagnards.
Though many Ottawa Senators have gone into the Hockey Hall of Fame, none of them were on the 1930-31 team.
The 1930-31 Maroons squad had fifteen players from Ontario and only three from Quebec. This was Anglophone Montreal’s club; the Habs were for the Francophone fans. Eight Maroons had played in the Montreal City Hockey League: Brydson, Gallagher and Haynes for the Montreal AAA; Roche and Wilcox for the Victorias; Huggins and Kerr for the CPR and AAA; and Boucher for La Casquette. Nels Stewart, Babe Seibert and Hooley Smith are in the Hockey Hall of Fame. For a complete history of the Maroons see William Brown’s The Montreal Maroons: The Forgotten Stanley Cup Champions.
First period: goal by Hec Kilrea (Ottawa).
Second period: goal by Danny Cox (Ottawa).
Third period: no scoring. Three major penalties.
Final Score: Senators 2 – 0 Maroons.
Let’s follow the 1930-31 Montreal Senior Group, which begins play this week. There are five teams: Columbus, Canadiens, Victorias, AAA, and McGill. A double bill is played each Monday night at the Forum:
Game 1, November 13: Columbus 2 – 1 Canadiens
Game 2, November 13: Victorias 1 – 2 AAA
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