SPOKANE, Wash. – The Spokane Chiefs officially unveiled today the special throwback jerseys they will wear in their home game on December 19 versus the Portland Winterhawks. In celebration of the Western Hockey League’s 50th Season and 100 years of hockey in Spokane, the Chiefs will don one-of-a-kind Spokane Canaries jerseys which will be auctioned off during the game.

The Spokane Canaries competed in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) during the 1916-17 season and played in the city’s first hockey rink; an outdoor arena located in northwest Spokane on North Elm Street near the corner of West Maxwell Avenue.

The Canaries started 3-1-0 and held a share of the league lead after New Year’s Day with a 7-5-0 record but went downhill from there, finishing 8-15-0. Left winger Albert “Dubie” Kerr led the team with 30 goals and 11 assists. The league rival Seattle Metropolitans went on to beat the Montreal Canadiens (then of the National Hockey Association) three games to one to win the Stanley Cup.

Attendance struggled with an outdoor home rink in a cold Spokane winter and ticket prices in the $0.50 to $1 range, which was expensive for the time. With financial problems exposed, the team disbanded following the season.

With limited photographical evidence of the Canaries’ actual jerseys, the Chiefs will instead wear a “faux-back” concept based on what their design may have become if they existed today. A full gallery of the Spokane Canaries throwback jerseys can be viewed on the Chiefs’ Facebook page (click here).

One jersey has also been and will remain on display at all December Chiefs games leading up to Throwback Jersey Night.

Spokane Chiefs Throwback Jersey Night celebrating 100 years of hockey in Spokane will take place on December 19 as the Chiefs host the Portland Winterhawks at 7:05 p.m. at Spokane Arena.

Tickets for Throwback Jersey Night and all Chiefs home games are available online via TicketsWest at www.ticketswest.com and via the Chiefs’ Ticket Office over the phone at 509-535-PUCK.