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Kenora Thistles 1907 Stanley Cup champions

Team members

Si Griffis	Eddie Giroux
Art Ross	Roxy Beaudro
Tom Hooper	Tommy Phillips
Billy McGimsie	Joe Hall
Russell Phillips	J.A. Link (Trainer)

Kenora is the smallest town to ever win the Stanley Cup. The Kenora Thistles hockey team's first challenge in 1905 against the Ottawa team was unsuccessful.

However, it was the Kenora team that the press heaped praises upon... They were referred to by one writer as "that speedy bunch of scintillating puck chasers". Another described them this way: "The Thistles aggregation is strong, fearless, and a beautifully balanced organization. Their skating, manoevering, and stick work was a sight beautiful to see... The defence is almost impregnable and to offset the rushes of the forwards any opposing team requires a defence entirely impregnable."

When the Thistles made their second challenge in January 1907 they faced off against the Montreal Wanderers.

After the Wanderers had defeated the Ottawa Senators at the end of the 1906 season and had captured the Stanley Cup, it was too late in the season to face the western champions. Thus it was decided by the Cup Trustees that Montreal would face the Thistles, previously known as the Rat Portage Thistles, in a two-game, total-goal series midway through the ECAHA season.

With a packed house in the Montreal suburb of Westmount, the game was knotted at two during halftime, before Tom Phillips, who had scored the previous goals for Kenora, potted two more for a 4-2 upset victory.

Game two was a physical affair with the Wanderers attempting to slow down their speedy opponents. Drawing 55 minutes in penalties, compared to the Thistles' 30, Montreal couldn't quite come back and Kenora became the smallest town (population 4,000) to capture the Stanley Cup, with an 8-6 victory.

Members of the winning Thistle team were: Roxy Beaudro, Tom Hooper, Tom Phillips, Billy McGimsie, Si Griffis, Eddie Giroux, Art Ross, Russell Phillips, and Joe Hall.

Two months later, Kenora traveled to Brandon, Winnipeg to defend their title. The Thistles handled the westerners, winning 8-6 and 4-1.

Kenora was not to bask in the glory for long, however. In late March of 1907 they were challenged by the Wanderers and the Montreal team ended up taking the cup back.