Ice Hockey
Rhode Island was at the forefront of the origin of ice hockey in the United States. The first official game of the USA’s first Intercollegiate Hockey League was won by Brown University over Harvard 6-0 on January 18, 1898. Ice Polo was an original sport when the Interscholastic League formed in 1899. However, in 1903 the league decided to switch to ice hockey. There was a great stir when Brown University had offered a cup to the best high school hockey team. In addition to the Brown Cup there was the pennant of the Interscholastic League making the fight doubly interesting that year. The idea of offering a cup was first conceived by Stephen F. Hunt. Hunt was the manager and future Captain of the hockey team at Brown that year. Hope Street High School won both the Brown Cup and Interscholastic League pennant that season. Hope would become a hockey power winning 8 titles in the first 15 years of the league. Soon amateur teams formed on ponds throughout the state. An artificial venue, East Side Skating Club, was started in 1909 on the East Side of Providence. Some of the early amateur outfits were the Providence Hockey Club and the East Side Hockey Club. When the R.I. Auditorium opened in 1926 hockey was now indoors as well. The Providence Reds starting in 1926 in the Canadian-American Hockey League (CAHL) and later the American Hockey League (AHL) would be the main attraction at the Auditorium. The team won the Calder Cup in 1938, 1940, 1949 and 1956. The first amateur league was the Industrial Hockey League in 1926-27 and the Inter-City Amateur Hockey League debuted in 1932-33 with several Rhode Island amateur stars on teams throughout the league. The Rhode Island Amateur Hockey Club formed in December 1930, the team was an All-Star team of Rhode Island's best hockey players assembled by coach "Curley" Oden. The teams would take on teams all over New England. In 1931-32 Hubert Milot took over the reins and the team was newly christened the Rhode Island Scarlets. The Scarlets went on to win the 1932 NEAAU championship and continue into the 1940s culminated with a National AHA and Atlantic Amateur Hockey League championship in 1948. Club Marquette from Woonsocket won the 1939 NEAAU championship and the Flying Frenchmen of Woonsocket made the semi-finals of the 1941 National Senior 'B" Championship. The Dunnes of Cranston made the semi-finals of the 1947 National AAU Championship. Go to www.rihockeylegacy.com for more early hockey history.
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