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One, they argued that two-thirds of the nascent Pirates players would be amateurs from the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets, then champions of the United Stated Amateur Hockey Association, and thus not ready for prime-time professional hockey. Second, they opposed expansion into larger American cities, fearing it would put teams on uneven financial — and thus competitive — footings.

But Ottawa dropped its opposition on Nov. 7, 1925, and Pittsburgh was awarded its franchise the same day.

“A lot of people are surprised to know about the history here,” says Kubus. “There are some in this region for whom hockey never existed before Sidney Crosby. And then there are a slew of people for whom hockey never existed before (Mario) Lemieux.

“But we can go back more than 80 years to the origin of the game.”

In favour of Pittsburgh’s NHL bid, Kubus notes, was Duquesne Gardens. Opened in 1899, it was the first rink in North America to have refrigerated ice. “They could start their leagues a month-and-a-half to two months before any of the Canadian leagues really got going,” he said.

Incidentally, Duquesne was also the first rink to use shatter-proof “Herculite” glass above the dasher boards — chicken wire was used in most NHL cities — and notably, although much later, was an early proponent of good ice when it acquired Zamboni Ice Machine No. 4.

And Pittsburgh, Kubus adds, had already laid claim to the first official professional hockey game, with the International Professional Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Pros hosting the newly formed league’s first game in 1904.