On , the first recorded indoor ice hockey game took place at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal, Quebec. Organized by James Creighton, who captained one of the teams, the game was between two nine-member teams, using a rubber "puck". Members used skates and sticks used for outdoor hockey and shinny games in Nova Scotia, where Creighton was born and raised. It is recognized as the first organized ice hockey game.
Victoria Rink
The Victoria Skating Rink was a long (), two-story brick edifice with a -high pitched roof supported from within by curving wooden trusses, which arched over the entire width of the structure. Tall, round-arched windows punctuated its length and illuminated its interior, while evening skating was made possible by 500 gas-jet lighting fixtures set in coloured glass globes. At a later date, the lighting was converted to electric, making the building the first in Canada to be electrified.
The ice surface measured , dimensions very similar to today's National Hockey League (NHL) ice rinks. It was surrounded by a -wide platform, or promenade, which was elevated approximately above the ice surface and upon which spectators could stand or skaters could rest. Later, a gallery was added with a royal box for visiting dignitaries.
At the time of its construction, the rink's location at 49 Drummond Street (now renumbered to 1187) placed it in the centre of the English community in Montreal, in the vicinity of McGill University. The area is known today as the "Square Mile", the area of central Montreal populated then by rich English industrialists and the budding centre of commerce in Canada. One block east was Dominion Square, where annual outdoor winter sporting events and later the Montreal Winter Carnival were held. Across the street to the east, the Windsor Hotel, a long-time centre of social life and meeting place of several sports organizations, was built in 1875. Nearby is old Windsor Station, which was the eastern terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway, built in 1889.
Game
In 1873, James Creighton, a member of the Victoria Skating Club and a figure skating judge, started organizing sessions of shinny at the rink, played informally between members of the Club and friends. The rules followed were developed from the informal rules of the outdoor game played in Nova Scotia where Creighton was born and raised, and adapted to the indoors setting and the rink's size.
First game
On March 3, 1875, the Rink hosted what has been recognized as the first organized ice hockey game, between members of the Victoria Skating Club, organized by Creighton. The match lays claim to this distinction because of factors which establish its link to modern ice hockey: it featured two teams (nine players per side) with a recorded score. Games prior to this had mostly been outdoors. In order to limit injuries to spectators and damage to glass windows, the game was played with a "flat block of wood" instead of a lacrosse ball. The two teams, members of the club, included a number of McGill University students. Sticks for this game were imported from Nova Scotia. This first game was pre-announced to the general public in the pages of The Montreal Gazette:
Announcement
Victoria Rink – A game of Hockey will be played at the Victoria Skating Rink this evening, between two nines chose from among the members. Good fun may be expected, as some of the players are reputed to be exceedingly expert at the game. Some fears have been expressed on the part of intending spectators that accidents were likely to occur through the ball flying about in too lively a manner, to the imminent danger of lookers on, but we understand that the game will be played with a flat circular piece of wood, thus preventing all danger of its leaving the surface of the ice. Subscribers will be admitted on presentation of their tickets.
