Ottawa Senators (senior hockey)
| Ottawa Senators | |
|---|---|
 |
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| City | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Founded | 1934 |
| Home arena | Ottawa Auditorium |
| Colors | black, red & white |
| Owner(s) | Ottawa Auditorium, Tommy Gorman |
| Championships | |
| Playoff championships | Allan Cup: 1943 and 1949 |
The Ottawa Senators, also known as the Ottawa Commandos and Senior Senators, was an amateur, later semi-professional, senior-level men's ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. In 1934, the Ottawa Auditorium, owners of the Ottawa Hockey Association decided it could no longer operate the Senators of the National Hockey League in Ottawa due to mounting financial losses. The Association split its hockey operations, relocating the NHL franchise to St. Louis, and continuing the Senators as an amateur club. The club operated from 1934 until 1955, winning the Allan Cup Canadian men's senior ice hockey championship in 1943, 1948 and 1949. During the war years from 1942 until 1944, it operated as the Ottawa Commandos.
In April 1934, after two seasons of losses, the directors of the Ottawa Auditorium, owners of the Ottawa Hockey Association, owners of the Ottawa NHL franchise, decided to relocate the NHL franchise to St. Louis, Missouri. At the same time, it was decided to continue the Senators as a senior men's amateur team in the Montreal Group of the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association (QAHA). Ottawa, being in a separate hockey grouping than Quebec, had to get the sanction of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association to join the QAHA. The application to join the QAHA was made by the manager of the Auditorium, Clare Brunton. The 'Senior Senators' took over the 'barber-pole' striped sweaters with the 'O' logo, and played in the same home arena, the Auditorium, but in an amateur league. After 1935, the NHL franchise was bought out and only the senior team was left to continue.
For the players, the team functioned as both a stepping stone to the NHL, and a place for former NHL players to play after leaving the NHL. In the 1934-35 season, Eddie Finnigan, Frank's brother, played for both the senior Senators and the St. Louis Eagles and returned to the Senators after his NHL days were over. Former NHL Senators Ray Kinsella and Syd Howe would return to Ottawa and play for the Senior Senators. Howard Riopelle, after a few years with the Canadiens, joined the Senators in 1951 and would mix working for his local business with playing for the Senators.
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