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Ice hockey has one of the most contested histories in all of sports. Montreal, Canada likes to take the credit for originating the sport, but more and more research points to even older origins. Early paintings depict 16th century Dutch townsfolk playing a similar-looking game on a canal. Later paintings also show a game being played on ice in Nova Scotia and in Virginia in the United States.
In 1763, when Great Britain conquered Canada from France, the winters were long and bitter, and soldiers welcomed new winter activities. Having played field hockey before, and witnessing the Mi'kmaq native tribe of Nova Scotia playing an aggressive sport called dehuntshigwa'es (lacrosse) the soldiers began infusing the two into a new sport played on frozen lakes and ponds. Since there were no ice skates yet, the men strapped cheese cutters onto their boots to increase their speed and stability when moving over the ice.
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The reason many believe Montreal to be the home to ice hockey is because on March 3, 1875 the first ever organized indoor game was played there. Two years later, some students from McGill University, including James Creighton, Henry Joseph, Richard F. Smith, W. F. Robertson, W. L. Murray, Frank Patrick, and Lester Patrick devised some simple rules to the game in order to encourage fair play.
Once the game emerged as an organized team sport, it rapidly gained popularity, which landed it an appearance in the 1883 Montreal Annual Winter Carnival. Lord Stanley of Preston, the presiding governor-general was so impressed with the sport (not to mention his two sons were also enthusiasts) that in 1888 he declared that the sport needed a championship prize. He provided funding for the first ever Stanley Cup, which to this day is still awarded to the championship team in the National Hockey League.
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Over the next hundred years and beyond, the sport would see many more advancements, mostly in the way of safety equipment. The first of which was in 1893, when players in Winnipeg began using cricket pads to protect the legs of their goalies. Over the years, these pads and others have been developed to provide players with the utmost safety protection. In 1960, Montreal Canadiens (NHL) goalie Jacques Plante participated with Fibreglass Canada in creating the first ever goalie mask.
Other advancements over the twentieth century include the formation of professional leagues, as well as natural and artificial playing surfaces. The first mechanically-refrigerated artificial rink was created in 1876, called the Glaciarium by John Gamgee. It was built near King's Road in Chelsea, London, England.
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