The Kenora Thistles won the Cup in January 1907 and defended it once before losing it that March in a challenge series.
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18 Facts About Kenora Thistles
2.
The Kenora Thistles were unable to cope with the advent of professionalism in ice hockey during the early 1900s.
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3.
The town's name was changed on May 11,1905, to Kenora Thistles, which was derived from the first letters of the three neighbouring municipalities: Keewatin, Norman, and Rat Portage.
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4.
The Kenora Thistles fared well in the match, but the two Winnipeg teams decided against allowing them to join the league, arguing the Kenora Thistles applied too late in the season.
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5.
The Kenora Thistles declined the offer and remained in the Manitoba league.
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6.
The Kenora Thistles were bolstered by the presence of Tommy Phillips and goaltender Eddie Giroux, the only player not from Rat Portage.
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7.
The Kenora Thistles easily won the league championship, and again challenged Ottawa for the Stanley Cup.
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8.
Kenora Thistles travelled to Ottawa for a two-game series to be decided on total goals scored.
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9.
Kenora Thistles had a mixed reaction to their first Stanley Cup challenge.
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10.
Media reports about the Kenora Thistles were more positive than those of 1903, the team being regarded as a strong chance for the Cup.
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11.
The Kenora Thistles were against this, and wanted to play only one home and one away game against the others, as they would be gone for nearly a month for their Cup challenge.
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12.
Since this would lead to an unbalanced schedule, scores in the games not including the Kenora Thistles would be combined for the purposes of the league standings, so all teams would be credited with six games played.
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13.
Kenora Thistles left for Montreal and the Cup challenge on January 12,1907.
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14.
Almost immediately after the Kenora Thistles won the Stanley Cup the Wanderers, who had won the ECAHA championship, issued a challenge for a re-match; William Foran, one of the Cup's trustees, told the Kenora Thistles they first had to win the Manitoba league title.
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15.
Kenora Thistles signed three new players, as the league season and Cup challenge had seen regular players—Hooper, Billy McGimsie, and Phillips—sidelined by injuries.
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16.
Kenora Thistles were unable to compete with the rising professionalism that was developing in ice hockey.
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17.
Kenora Thistles remains the smallest town to win the Stanley Cup, and a major North American professional championship.
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18.
Lappage has noted that during their existence, the Kenora Thistles were romanticized in the press "as a team of hometown boys who used to play shinny together on the streets of Rat Portage".
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