1923 Stanley Cup playoffs

Background

National Hockey League

Main article: 1922–23 NHL season, 1922–23 Ottawa Senators season

The Ottawa Senators finished first overall in the 1922–23 NHL regular season standings with a 14–9–1 record. They then went on to defeat the 13–9–2 second place Montreal Canadiens in the two-game total-goals NHL championship series, 3 goals to 2, to win the NHL title. Cy Denneny scored the series-clinching goal in Game 2 for the Canadiens.

Pacific Coast Hockey Association

Main article: 1922–23 PCHA season

The Vancouver Maroons finished the 1922–23 PCHA regular season in first place with a 17–12–1 record, then went on to defeat the 16–14 second place Victoria Cougars in the two-game total-goals PCHA championship series by a combined score of 5–3.

Western Canada Hockey League

Main article: 1922–23 WCHL season

The 1922–23 WCHL season ended with the 19–10–1 first place Edmonton Eskimos defeating the 16–14 second place Regina Capitals in the WCHL championship series. Edmonton clinched the WCHL title after Duke Keats scored the series-winning overtime goal in Game 2.

Format

Both rounds of the 1923 Stanley Cup playoffs were played at Denman Street Arena in Vancouver. This year, the NHL and the PCHA champions played in the best-of-five semifinal round, with the winner facing the WCHL champion in the best-of-three Cup Final.

Semifinals

The Ottawa-Vancouver best-of-five series marked the first time in Stanley Cup history that brothers faced each other. In fact, there were two sets of brothers: Cy and Corb Denneny, and George and Frank Boucher. Cy and George played for the Senators, while Corb and Frank skated for the Maroons. A third Boucher brother, Billy, was to have replaced Ottawa's Jack Darragh who was injured, but Frank Patrick, the PCHA president, disallowed Billy from joining the Senators.

Ottawa won the first game 1–0, with Punch Broadbent's winning goal in the third period. Vancouver, led by two goals by Duncan and two by Frank Boucher, took the second game 4–1, which led to more injuries for the Senators. Benedict took a puck in the mouth, Gerard was injured due to a heavy check and Cy Denneny injured his elbow. The Senators again asked if Billy Boucher could join the team, but were again refused by Patrick. In the third game, the Senators lost Gerard to a dislocated shoulder, but won the game 3–2. King Clancy took his place for the fourth game, and the Senators won it 5–1, to win the series. Broadbent ended up leading Ottawa with five goals in the series. After watching the gritty show by the undermanned Senators, Patrick called them the greatest team he had ever seen.

|1-1-1 =No scoring |1-1-2 =No scoring |1-2-1 =No scoring |1-2-2 =No scoring |1-3-1 =No scoring |1-3-2 =Punch Broadbent (1) - 15:00 |goalie1-1 =Hugh Lehman |goalie1-2 =Clint Benedict

|2-1-1 =1:18 - Art Duncan (1) 3:37 - Frank Boucher (1) 14:45 - Frank Boucher (2) |2-1-2 =No scoring |2-2-1 =13:51 - Art Duncan (2) |2-2-2 =No scoring |2-3-1 =No scoring |2-3-2 =Buck Boucher (1) - 1:58 |goalie2-1 =Hugh Lehman |goalie2-2 =Clint Benedict

|3-1-1 =5:23 - Alf Skinner (1) |3-1-2 =Punch Broadbent (2) - 6:33 Punch Broadbent (3) - 14:35 |3-2-1 =16:47 - Mickey MacKay (1) |3-2-2 =No scoring |3-3-1 =No scoring |3-3-2 =Frank Nighbor (1) - 2:13 |goalie3-1 =Hugh Lehman |goalie3-2 =Clint Benedict

|4-1-1 =No scoring |4-1-2 =Buck Boucher (2) - 7:35 Eddie Gerard (1) - 17:25 |4-2-1 =No scoring |4-2-2 =Punch Broadbent (4) - 10:07 |4-3-1 =16:46 - Smokey Harris (1) |4-3-2 =King Clancy (1) - 9:15 Punch Broadbent (5) - 19:56 |goalie4-1 =Hugh Lehman |goalie4-2 =Clint Benedict

Stanley Cup Finals

Main article: 1923 Stanley Cup Finals

Ottawa swept Edmonton in the best-of-three final series, winning both games by one-goal margins. In the first game, Cy Denneny scored 2:08 into overtime to give the Senators a 2–1 win. Then Punch Broadbent scored the only goal in the second game to give Ottawa a 1–0 victory and the championship.

|1-1-1 =No scoring |1-1-2 =No scoring |1-2-1 =10:05 - John Morrison (1) |1-2-2 =No scoring |1-3-1 =No scoring |1-3-2 =Lionel Hitchman (1) - 13:04 |1-4-1 =No scoring |1-4-2 =Cy Denneny (3) - 2:08 |goalie1-1 =Hal Winkler |goalie1-2 =Clint Benedict

|2-1-1 =No scoring |2-1-2 =Punch Broadbent (6) - pp - 11:23 |2-2-1 =No scoring |2-2-2 =No scoring |2-3-1 =No scoring |2-3-2 =No scoring |goalie2-1 =Hal Winkler |goalie2-2 =Clint Benedict

Cup engravings

The Senators never did engrave their names on the Cup for their 1923 championship. It was only until the trophy was redesigned in 1948 that the words "1923 Ottawa Senators" were put onto its then-new collar.

References

;Notes

before = 1922 Stanley Cup playoffs | after = 1924 Stanley Cup playoffs | title = Stanley Cup Champions | years = |

References

1. McEvoy, Colin. (February 9, 2023). "The Ultimate Sibling Rivalry: 8 Sets of Brothers Who Faced Off in Sports Championships". [[Biography (TV program).
2. (March 13, 1923). "As It Should Be". The Globe.
3. Coleman, p. 434
4. Coleman, p. 436