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The 1925–26 WHL season was the fifth and last season for the now defunct Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), which was renamed Western Hockey League (WHL) at the start of the season due to one of its Canadian teams, the Regina Capitals, moving to Portland, Oregon in the United States and being renamed the Portland Rosebuds. Six teams played 30 games each. At season's end, some of the teams reorganised to create a semi-pro league called the Prairie Hockey League that lasted for two seasons. The WHL was the last league other than the National Hockey League to contest for the Stanley Cup.
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Regina's team folded, and a Portland club was formed and the Regina players transferred to it. There was discussions of moving the Edmonton team to Regina but it stayed in Edmonton. The new New York Americans bought Joe Simpson, John Morrison and Roy Rickey from Edmonton,[1] but Edmonton would have enough talent left to win the WHL title.
| 1925–26 Western Hockey League | |||||
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary Tigers | Calgary, Alberta | Victoria Arena | N/A | ||
| Edmonton Eskimos | Edmonton, Alberta | Edmonton Stock Pavilion | 2,000 | ||
| Portland Rosebuds | Portland, Oregon | Portland Ice Arena | 2,000 | ||
| Saskatoon Sheiks | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | Crescent Arena | N/A | ||
| Vancouver Maroons | Vancouver, British Columbia | Denman Arena | 10,500 | ||
| Victoria Cougars | Victoria, British Columbia | Patrick Arena | 4,000 | ||
Map of teams
WHL Teams
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Final standings
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
| Western Hockey League | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmonton Eskimos | 30 | 19 | 11 | 0 | 38 | 90 | 77 |
| Saskatoon Sheiks | 30 | 18 | 11 | 1 | 37 | 93 | 64 |
| Victoria Cougars | 30 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 34 | 68 | 53 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 30 | 12 | 16 | 2 | 26 | 84 | 106 |
| Calgary Tigers | 30 | 10 | 17 | 3 | 23 | 71 | 80 |
| Vancouver Maroons | 30 | 10 | 18 | 2 | 22 | 64 | 90 |
As in the previous season, the third place Victoria Cougars won the playoff championship. In the semi-final, the Cougars met the Saskatoon Sheiks.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 12 | Victoria | 3 | Saskatoon | 3 | |
| March 16 | Saskatoon | 0 | Victoria | 1 | 8'10" overtime |
Victoria wins two-game, total-goals series 4–3.
In the final, the Cougars faced off against the Edmonton Eskimos. As there was no ice available in Edmonton, Edmonton's 'home' game was played in Vancouver.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 20 | Edmonton | 1 | Victoria | 3 | |
| March 22 | Victoria | 2 | Edmonton | 2 |
Victoria wins two-game, total-goals series 5–3.
Stanley Cup Finals
The Cougars faced the National Hockey League champion Montreal Maroons in a best-of-five series, losing three games to one. After the WHL folded at the end of this season, the Stanley Cup would no longer be contested as a challenge tournament between league champions, but would be automatically awarded to the NHL champion, a custom formalized in 1947.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 30 | Victoria Cougars | 0 | Montreal Maroons | 3 | |
| April 1 | Victoria Cougars | 0 | Montreal Maroons | 3 | |
| April 3 | Victoria Cougars | 3 | Montreal Maroons | 2 | |
| April 6 | Victoria Cougars | 0 | Montreal Maroons | 2 |
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Scoring leaders
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Cook | Saskatoon Sheiks | 30 | 31 | 13 | 44 | 26 |
| Dick Irvin | Portland Rosebuds | 30 | 31 | 5 | 36 | 29 |
| Corb Denneny | Saskatoon Sheiks | 30 | 18 | 16 | 34 | 12 |
| Art Gagne | Edmonton Eskimos | 30 | 21 | 12 | 33 | 20 |
| George Hay | Portland Rosebuds | 30 | 19 | 12 | 31 | 4 |
| Duke Keats | Edmonton Eskimos | 30 | 20 | 9 | 29 | 134 |
| Harry Oliver | Calgary Tigers | 30 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 14 |
| Frank Fredrickson | Victoria Cougars | 30 | 18 | 8 | 24 | 89 |
| Frank Boucher | Vancouver Maroons | 29 | 15 | 7 | 22 | 14 |
| Barney Stanley | Edmonton Eskimos | 29 | 14 | 8 | 22 | 47 |
Goaltending averages
| Name | Club | GP | GA | SO | Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hap Holmes | Victoria | 30 | 53 | 4 | 1.8 |
| George Hainsworth | Saskatoon | 30 | 64 | 4 | 2.1 |
| Herbert Stuart | Edmonton | 30 | 77 | 2 | 2.6 |
| Hal Winkler | Calgary | 30 | 80 | 6 | 2.7 |
| Hugh Lehman | Vancouver | 30 | 90 | 3 | 3.0 |
| Red McCusker | Regina | 30 | 110 | 3.7 | |
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