1946-1947 Season
Philadelphia 33-20-7 73 pts
Albany 30-24-6 66 pts
Boston 26-27-7 59 pts
New York 21-32-7 49 pts

Buffalo 30-22-8 68 pts
Toronto 29-26-5 63 pts
Montreal 24-29-7 55 pts
Ottawa 21-34-5 47 pts

On November 13th, 1946, New York and Philadelphia played the inaugural game of the NHA. Fans all across the Northeast United States and Canada welcomed back hockey as they knew it, as several stars returned from the war in Europe.

In the American Division, the Philadelphia Liberty enjoyed success in their first year in the NHA, mainly due to the return of star forward Alfred Franks. Franks, now 30, proved he still had it even after 3 years at war, netting 32 goals to put Philly in first. Goaltender Dave Allen also had a superb year, with 8 shutouts. Albany was also on the rise, thanks to the addition of 16-year old rookie Walter Morrison. Morrison had played for the local junior team, the Schenectady Bees, and scored 52 goals in just 40 games, with a goal in every game. With the Wolves, Morrison added his youth and his speed to score 33 times. Boston struggled as Goalie Jim Tyler broke his right arm in January, sidelining him for the rest of the year. New York was also on the decline, which looked to be more than a near-last place finish. Team morale was low after 2 starters from the pre-war team were killed in battle and 2 others retired.

In the Canadian Division, Buffalo’s tandem of Mel Bailey and Wilson Umbridge led the Chargers to a first place finish, thanks to their combined 62 goals. Toronto also had a good season, with every starter scoring 10 goals and all-around good play. Montreal started out hot with a 11-3-2 record in their first 16 games, but a 12-game losing streak would doom them. Ottawa was plagued with an old yet inexperienced roster, which led to their last place finish. There was some hope, however, as the Owls won 7 of their last 12.

JG36 wrote:

So a few of you guys checked out my NHA thread in sports fan fiction, which I was pretty excited to be doing until the news that it would close down. I have decided to revive it here. If you want to see uniforms/logos, check out the concepts section back at CCSLC. However, there I will be sharing current modern day uniforms, so that could include spoilers as to expansion and relocation. I will try and go in order, starting with older teams.

Now on to the NHA!


It’s 1945. World War II has just ended, and Americans and Canadians can finally get back to normal life. Of course, that means sports. Before the war, no league had really stepped up as the major hockey league. The Ontario Pro Hockey League, the Quebec Junior Hockey League, and the Atlantic Hockey League all stayed relatively amateur and no league was dominant. When the war rolled around, many teams in the league were forced to fold, as the players went to fight on the war, where some of them died, and the fans also didn’t have time or money to spend watching hockey. Now the war is over, people have time and money again. Robert Caldwell, the owner of the Toronto Lakers, one of 4 remaining teams in the Ontario League, assembled the best teams around to create the National Hockey Association. Play would begin in November of 1946. 

Teams
Albany Wolves
Boston Dragons
New York Cougars
Philadelphia Liberty
Buffalo Chargers
Montreal Monarchs
Ottawa Owls
Toronto Lakers

Just out of curiosity, how did you simulate leagues like that?

1946-1947 Playoffs

1 Philadelphia vs 4 Toronto,
2 Buffalo vs 3 Albany
Alfred Franks and the NHA-best Liberty squared off against a well-rounded Toronto team in the fabled Walt Whitman Center for Game 1. Franks put the Liberty on the board right out of the gate with a marvelous slap shot just 67 seconds in. He added another a little over 5 minutes later, and that one proved to be the winner as the Lakers could only muster 1 third period goal from George Wyden. Game two would be a high-scoring classic. The Lakers would jump out to a 3-0 lead, before the Liberty added 2 of their own. The two teams would proceed to trade goals after that. In the third down 5-4, Alfred Franks stole a bad turnover by Stephen Raines and skated all the way down the ice before flipping it over the shoulder of Thomas Reardon to tie the game at 5 with 2 minutes to go. In overtime, Raines redeemed himself with the winner to tie the series at 1 apiece. Philadelphia and Toronto each won blowouts in games 3 and 4, respectively. Game 5 was a scoreless deadlock through regulation, but Stephen Raines struck again in overtime to send the series back to Toronto up 3-2. Game 6 looked to be the same, until Tommy Green put the Lakers up with 32 seconds to go in the 2nd. The Liberty pushed hard, but the only puck go in would be from the stick of Stephen Raines, as the Lakers pulled off the upset in 6 games. The other series was a Battle of New York, as Buffalo and Albany fought for a spot in the championship. The Chargers would need to shutdown Walter Morrison, which they did as Buffalo won the first 2 games, each shutouts, 2-0 and 1-0. Albany looked to home-ice at the Hudson Ice Arena to get back in the series. It seemed they would, as the Wolves took a 1-0 lead deep into the third, but Dwight Fitzgerald and John Farley each scored in the last 3 minutes to stun Albany and go up 3-0. The Chargers would indeed seal the deal in Game 4, as Farley and Wilson Umbridge scored to send Buffalo to the Championship.

1947 NHA Championship
On the night before Game 1, it was announced by Robert Caldwell that the winning team would be given the Wilson D. Caldwell Memorial Cup, or the “Caldwell Cup,” named after his late father. Every game in the series was decided by one goal. In Game 1, Mel Bailey would score in the third and give Buffalo a 2-1 victory. Game 2 would be the same, but in overtime, as Bailey netted another winner. Toronto coach Christopher Daniels pulled every Lakers player aside and personally talked to each one of them about why they couldn’t finish the game. In Game 3, it seemed that nothing would come of this as Toronto was down 1-0 until a pivotal timeout halfway through the third. The Lakers offense finally clicked, as Raines and Wyden each had perfect wrist shots to get Toronto back into it. However, this was a brief blip in Buffalo’s dominant playoff run, as Wyden’s goal in Game 3 was the last Buffalo goaltender David Persons would let by, as Mel Bailey capped off a fantastic series with a goal in Game 4 and the OT winner in Game 5 to lead Buffalo to win the inaugural Caldwell Cup.

Toronto 1 2 Philadelphia
Toronto 6 5 Philadelphia (OT)
Philadelphia 5 1 Toronto
Philadelphia 1 6 Toronto
Toronto 1 0 Philadelphia (OT)
Philadelphia 0 Toronto 2
Toronto wins series 4-2

Albany 0 2 Buffalo
Albany 0 1 Buffalo
Buffalo 2 Albany 1
Buffalo 2 Albany 1
Buffalo wins series 4-0

Toronto 1 2 Buffalo
Toronto 2 3 Buffalo (OT)
Buffalo 1 2 Toronto
Buffalo 2 0 Toronto
Toronto 0 1 Buffalo (OT)
Buffalo wins series 4-1

Meant to post this yesterday, but I hadn’t finished the full results that I posted on the bottom, and kind of accidentally went to sleep. Should have the next season posted soon.

Last edited by JG36 (5/24/2019 9:52 pm)

1948 Caldwell Cup Playoffs

1 Buffalo vs 4 Montreal
2 Albany vs Philadelphia
Buffalo were slight favorites heading into this series. Game one saw Mel Bailey get past Claude Richard twice to give the Chargers a 1-0 series lead. However, Montreal got it together over the next 2 games, as Richard went over 83 minutes without letting a goal past him, winning 2-1 and 3-0 in Games 2 and 3, respectively. In Game 4, Buffalo held a 2-1 lead going into the third in a crucial game for the Chargers’ series hopes. With 8 minutes left, Dwight Fitzgerald was called for a minor penalty. During the penalty, defender Nathaniel Dorsey tripped Monarques forward Patric Renault on a clear breakaway, and Renault was given a penalty shot. Renault deked out goaltender David Persons to tie the game. As time wound down, fans prepared for overtime. However, Monarques center Mathieu Perrion caught Wilson Umbridge mishandling the puck and slapped a shot that went bending past Persons, and the crowd roared. Perrion had given Montreal the lead with 2.1 seconds to go! Buffalo coach Bruce Jenkins was irate, and fuming at his star. Prior to game 5, Jenkins released the starting lineup, which did not include Umbridge, a 31-goal scorer. Umbridge first came onto the ice late in the first, and would prove to Jenkins he had learned his lesson as he scored the go-ahead goal in the second period to keep the Chargers in the series. Game 6 would see the Buffalo offense not get able to get any shots past Richard, while the Monarques’ Ted Burns slipped one past David Persons in the second and Game 4 hero Mathieu Perrion got one in the third. With 3 minutes remaining, Jenkins pulled Persons, but Montreal added 2 more to upset the defending champions and move onto the finals.
In the other series, the Albany Wolves came out rolling, winning 3-1 and 2-0 at home to take a 2-0 lead. However, knowing this could be Alfred Franks’ last series, goalie Dave Allen stepped up big time, notching 2 consecutive shutouts to tie up the series. Back in Albany for Game 5, the game was tied 1-1 going into overtime. Just 1 minute in, Toby Wakefield of the Wolves flew down the ice, and Albany fans erupted as it looked like he had scored the winning goal. However, head referee George Kensington ruled that Alfred Franks had ran right into Dave Allen and the goal was invalid. The arena filled with boos, especially as Ed Sawyer went down to face Albany goaltender Louis Jacobs, until he made at great save to continue the game. 10 minutes later Walter Morrison took a shot the ended up barreling right into the head of goalie Dave Allen, striking home right below the eye. Play stopped for 20 minutes as Allen was brought off the ice. Backup goalie John Weber was forced in immediately, having played in just 3 games in his NHA career. However, 16 seconds after play was resumed, an emotional Alfred Franks sent home the winner to give the Liberty a 3-2 series lead. Despite the storylines going for Philly, John Weber was a weakness for the Liberty, as he cracked in overtime in game 6. Game 7 wouldn’t get any better, as Weber couldn’t hold on to the 2-goal lead that his offense had built, and another overtime ensued. There Albany would complete the comeback as Morrison capped a fantastic series with his 5th goal as the Wolves moved on to face the Montreal Monarques.

1948 Caldwell Cup Finals
The teams traded the first 2 games, with the Monarques stealing the first game 4-2, and the Wolves routing the Claude Richard-less visitors in Game 2. Richard had been seen vomiting before taking the ice, and was held out of the match. He would return for Game 3 like he never left, with an immaculate 42-save shutout, while Patric Renault had a hat-trick to put Montreal 2 games away from taking the cup. Game 4 was again marked by stellar goaltending, as an extra period would be needed to break the 1-1 tie. Charlie McDonald would be the one to do it, tying the series at 2 apiece. Back in Albany, Claude Richard had another shutout, stopping all 38 of the Wolves’ shots, so 2 goals by Mathieu Perrion were all that were needed to put the Monarques one win away from being champions. In Montreal for Game 6, the Albany Wolves must not of realized it was a do-or-die elimination game, as they had already dug themselves into a 3-0 hole just 3 minutes into the second period. Something finally clicked for Albany near the end of the period, when Mark Dolan brought his team within 2. In the third Walter Morrison added another to cut the lead to one. After that, as much as the Wolves pushed, Claude Richard stood on his head as he had the whole season, stopping every shot that came his way. With 13 seconds to go, Ted Burns sent the puck into a wide-open net, sealing the Caldwell Cup for the Montreal Monarques. The crowd cheered their players for an hour, celebrating their first title in over 15 years, a long time for a team that had won 9 Quebec championships in 11 years before finally breaking the drought.

1948 Caldwell Cup Playoffs
Montreal 1 2 Buffalo
Montreal 2 1 Buffalo
Buffalo 0 3 Montreal
Buffalo 2 3 Montreal
Montreal 0 1 Buffalo
Buffalo 0 4 Montreal
Montreal wins series 4-2

Philadelphia 1 3 Albany
Philadelphia 0 3 Albany
Albany 0 2 Philadelphia
Albany 0 3 Philadelphia
Philadelphia 2 1 Albany (OT)
Albany 2 1 Philadelphia (OT)
Philadelphia 2 3 Albany (OT)
Albany wins series 4-3

1948 Caldwell Cup Finals
Montreal 4 2 Albany
Montreal 1 5 Albany
Albany 0 3 Montreal
Albany 2 1  Montreal
Montreal 2 0 Albany
Albany 2 4 Montreal
Montreal wins series 4-2

Would love to know what team you are a fan of or what city you want to see have a team!

Last edited by JG36 (5/27/2019 8:55 am)