Jul 23, 2016 — GREENWOOD, BC (BG)

Although the history of hockey in Greenwood has been written about many times, only a fraction of Canada's hockey fans have heard about the early days of the sport here in the Boundary. The Greenwood Museum has a great display of team photos, gear and memorabilia that all hockey enthusiasts will find interesting — particularly the connection between our hockey club and early Stanley Cup competitions.

At least in part, we can thank Greenwood's local industry for bringing hockey to town. Both the mining and logging industries in the southern interior of British Columbia attracted workers from eastern Canada, who brought with them their great love of the game.

Facilities were sparse, and traveling between camps and local towns was difficult in the winter, but miners, loggers and local residents pulled together games that became a regular feature of the Boundary's 'social scene'.

The sport quickly became organized, and teams formed in Greenwood, at Camp McKinney, Phoenix and Grand Forks. In his book, "Ghost Towns and Mining Camps of the Boundary Country", author Garnet Basque writes:

[Circa 1899] "During the winter months, most communities in the Boundary Country formed hockey teams. Camp McKinney was no exception, and despite lacking an ice rink in which to play or practice, the Camp McKinney squad was still able to give a good account of itself. At a match placed in Greenwood during the middle of January, 1900, they skated to a 3-2 victory."

A number of hockey history articles found online suggest that by 1906, Grand Forks and Phoenix were racing to be the first to erect a covered rink and both had built an enclosed arena by the end of 1907, with Greenwood following just behind, erecting their own enclosed rink around 1907. However in Ghost Towns and Mining Camps, Garnet Basque puts the date much earlier:

"Back in November, 1900, William Drever announced plans to construct a skating rink in Phoenix. "The building," noted the Pioneer, "will be 70x170-feet in size and will have an ice surface of 50x150-feet." A month later the newspaper announced that the rink was nearing completion and that plans were "underway to organize a hockey team." On December 25, the skating rink was opened to the public for the first time. By this time, the hockey club had been organized, and on January 12, 1902, the Pioneer noted that the squad were holding practices four nights a week in preparation for an upcoming match against Greenwood. The first hockey game ever to be held in Phoenix was played on January 23, 1901, before "an enthusiastic crowd of 250." Greenwood silenced the crowd early by scoring its first goal only 30 seconds into the game. But the Phoenix team rallied, and won the game 8-4."

In 1908, three teams -- Greenwood (which McKinney camp blended into), Phoenix and Grand Forks — joined together to form the Boundary Hockey League (BHL), said to be the first hockey league in British Columbia.

By the end of the first season, 1908-09, Grand Forks had won the Boundary Hockey Championship Cup — not only their first, but also the first hockey trophy awarded in British Columbia.

Over the next five years, 1908 to 1912, the BHL grew to encompass neighbouring teams from the Kootenays, including the Rossland, Nelson and Trail hockey teams.

1911 was a year for the record books, as the Phoenix Hockey Club got closer to the Stanly Cup than any team from the Boundary had, or has, even to this day.

The McBride Cup, named in honour of B.C. Premier Sir Richard McBride, was awarded to provincial champions, and the winning team also won the right to put in a challenge for the Stanley Cup. For the BHL's Phoenix team in 1911, their challenge was unfortunately received by the Stanley Cup officials a little too late in the season for them to face off against the standing Cup holders, the Ottawa Hockey Club. There were already three other challenges in line before them, and not enough time to arrange dates for a fourth challenge match. However, Cup official William Foran in Ottawa offered to arrange a series of matches for Phoenix to compete in at the opening of the following hockey season.

A display panel in the Greenwood Museum exhibit states: "The Stanley Cup was awarded to teams prior to the formation of the National Hockey League. The Phoenix Hockey Club won the Triple Crown of the Boundary Hockey League; the McBride Cup, International Cup and the B.C. Championship trophy. Greenwood also won the McBride and International Cups in different years."

A few years later, the Boundary Hockey League was positioned as an unofficial farm league for the newly established Pacific Coast Hockey Association, organized by brothers Lester and Frank Patrick in 1911.

Over their early years, Greenwood had three different teams on the ice: the Greenwood Hockey Club, the Green Smelter team, and the Mother Lode team. Today, Greenwood's open air rink can be seen from Highway 3.