| Niagara Falls Cataracts | |
|---|---|
| City | Niagara Falls, Ontario |
| League | Canadian Professional Hockey League (1926–1929) International Hockey League (1929–1930) |
| Founded | 1926 |
| Folded | 1930 |
TheNiagara Falls Cataracts were a Canadian minor professional ice hockey team located inNiagara Falls, Ontario. The franchise played for four seasons with the first three coming in theCanadian Professional Hockey League. In 1929, the league was reformed as theInternational Hockey League.[1]
Niagara was one of the founding members of the CPHL in 1926 which consisted entirely of Canadian teams from southernOntario. The team was rather unsuccessful, finishing last in the league in two out of three seasons. Despite their struggles, the Cataracts joined the rest of the league members in 1929 by dissolving the CPHL and reforming in theInternational Hockey League. Niagara once again finished last in the standings and decided to call it quits after the season.[2]
During their final season, tragedy befell a member of the team when Edward Baker was fatally injured during a game. On January 9, against theBuffalo Bisons, Baker collided with his teammate,Lloyd Gross and suffered askull fracture as a result. Baker remained conscious and skated off of the ice under his own power. He was later taken to a local hospital where he died the following morning at the age of 26. His death was ruled to have been accidental and no inquest was held.[3]
FormerNHL star andHockey Hall of FamerNewsy Lalonde coached Niagara Falls during the 1928–29 season.
| Season | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | Place | Playoffs |
| 1926–27 | 32 | 12 | 19 | 1 | 25 | 78 | 81 | 5th | missed |
| 1927–28 | 42 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 36 | 89 | 99 | 6th | missed |
| 1928–29 | 42 | 12 | 28 | 2 | 26 | 70 | 128 | 8th | missed |
| 1929–30 | 42 | 7 | 28 | 7 | 21 | 72 | 133 | 8th | missed |
| Totals | 158 | 44 | 92 | 22 | – | 309 | 441 | – | – |
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