1931-32 NIHA Season

 

Jerseys changes

Detroit Speed: The Speed got themselves a white jersey to complete the set.

Season Summary

With the Cleveland Otters gone, the league is down to nine teams, and President Jack Haultraugh decided to change the playoff format from eight to six, with the top two teams getting byes while the four teams battle it out.

For the third season in a row, the Toronto Pros take first place by using two goalies who share starting time; however, after signing 20-year-old Shawn Trumen despite his 10-6-0 record in 16 games, he shows potential to be a full-time goalie in the future. From finishing last place in the previous season to claiming second this season, the Winnipeg Northmen made lots of roster moves, including signing the best players within Manitoba and even claiming former Cleveland Otters defenceman Peter Coswell, who improved the defence line, and their top goalie, Kevin Vaughan, from winning just six games out of 30 games last season to winning 20 in 30 games this season a big turnaround for a team that everyone wrote off as another dead last team. The Pittsburgh Iron take third place with a roster pretty much the same as last season. They had signed a 17-year-old player named Mitchell Stevenson from Ottawa, who failed tryouts with the Pros, Speed, and Mad Hatters before finally making the Iron roster, but he had to wait until next season to skate with them. The defending champion New Brunswick Brown Bears improved enough to finish fourth, proving last season was no fluke and hoping to add another championship to their belt. Taking fifth place is the Minnesota Nationals; their star forward, Nick Watertown, struggled this season, finishing with 30 points, down from 90 last season. Early in the season, the Mad Hatters struggled to stay in the playoff picture, going back and forth with the Or Rouge for the sixth and final playoff spot. In the final game of the season between the two, the Mad Hatters' star Rat Robinson scored a hat trick to help them win sixth place over the Or Rouge 5-3. Rounding out the rest were the Montreal Or Rouge in 7th place, the Chicago Lynx in 8th place, and the Detroit Speed in 9th place.

1932 NIHA Playoffs

The first round was a success for the Brown Bears as they took down the Nationals in three games, while Pittsburgh had a two-game-to-none lead until the Mad Hatters came back to even the series and win game five to move on to the second round. 

In the second round, Toronto swept New York in three games, led by Maple Thomas, who scored 10 goals, and the Pros are headed back to the Alexander Cup finals. The series between the New Brunswick Brown Bears and the Winnipeg Northmen was back-and-forth until game five, when Jack Ranger scored 2 goals to send the Brown Bears back to the Alexander Cup finals.

1932 Alexander Cup Finals

A first all-Canadian series in the NIHA era went all the way to five games as both teams went back-and-forth all the way to game five, where the Brown Bears had a two-goal lead in the third period when Maple Thomas scored two goals out of nowhere to tie the game, and for the first time in Alexander Cup history, the last game would end in overtime, with three minutes left in overtime Gil Flowers made a shot to the net due his options of passing the puck to teammates was completely covered, Shawn Trumen thought he caught the puck but it pass the glove bounced off the goal post and in the net to end the game 4-3 and the New Brunswick Brown Bears are once again the Alexander Cup Champion with a three games to two series win.