Fred Lake (ice hockey)

Frederick Edgar Lake (March 12, 1883 – November 29, 1937) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was one of the first professional players and he played 181 games in various professional and amateur leagues, including the National Hockey Association, Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association, and International Professional Hockey League. Amongst the teams he played with were the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Ontarios. He won two Stanley Cups in 1909 and 1911 with Ottawa.[1]

Fred Lake
Lake with the Portage Lakes HC.
Born(1883-03-12)March 12, 1883
Moosomin, Northwest Territories, Canada
DiedNovember 29, 1937(1937-11-29) (aged 54)
Aylmer, Quebec, Canada
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
PositionDefence/Left wing
ShotRight
Played forOttawa Senators
Toronto Ontarios
Winnipeg Maple Leafs
Michigan Soo Indians
Portage Lakes Hockey Club
Pittsburgh Athletic Club
Pittsburgh Keystones
Playing career1902–1915

Playing career

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Lake with Ottawa HC on a 1911 Imperial Tobacco hockey card.

Born in Moosomin, Saskatchewan (then in the Northwest Territories), Fred Lake first played senior-level hockey for the Moosomin Hockey Club in 1900–01. In 1902, he turned professional with the Pittsburgh Keystones of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League (WPHL). In 1903, he played for the Portage Lakes Hockey Club (of Houghton, Michigan) that claimed the "US Professional Championship". For 1903–04, he would sign up for the new International Professional Hockey League (IPHL) first playing for the Michigan Soo Indians in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan before moving back to Portage Lakes, where he would play for three seasons until 1907.

Lake moved back to Canada in 1907, playing first for the Winnipeg Strathconas then the Winnipeg Maple Leafs. As a member of the Maple Leafs he would play in an unsuccessful Stanley Cup challenge against the Montreal Wanderers in 1908.

For the 1908–09 season, Lake signed with the Pittsburgh Athletic Club of the WPHL. However, after three games he was released because of his rough play. He was signed by the Ottawa Hockey Club of the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECHA) and helped Ottawa win the Stanley Cup. In the early years of his hockey career Lake had been a left winger, but with Ottawa he was converted into a defenceman. He would remain a player with Ottawa for four seasons, winning another Stanley Cup championship in 1911, before being traded to the Toronto Ontarios in 1913, where he played for one season. For his final season, he returned via a trade to Ottawa. He only played two games for the Senators that season and retired after the season.

Death

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Fred Lake was found dead in his car in an unoccupied shed at the rear end of a vacant house near Connaught Park Racetrack in Aylmer, Quebec near Ottawa on November 30, 1937, with the exhaust pipe of the automobile connected to the inside of the vehicle. Cause of death was deemed asphyxiation by carbon monoxide gas.[2] He had been involved in a motor accident two years prior and had been in ill health ever since the accident.[3] He was 54 years old.

Statistics

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Fred Lake, sitting behind the Stanley Cup, with the Ottawa Senators in 1911.

Exh. = Exhibition games

  Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
1902–03Pittsburgh KeystonesWPHL51124
Portage Lakes Hockey ClubExh.2808
1903–04Michigan Soo IndiansExh.2027027
1904–05Portage Lakes Hockey ClubIPHL241401416
1905–06Portage Lakes Hockey ClubIPHL202502513
1906–07Portage Lakes Hockey ClubIPHL232763340
1907–08Winnipeg StrathconasMPHL1423023
Winnipeg Maple LeafsMPHL10000
Winnipeg Maple LeafsStanley Cup22025
1908–09Pittsburgh Athletic ClubWPHL3303
1908–09Ottawa SenatorsECHA1260633
Ottawa SenatorsStanley Cup20005
1909–10Ottawa SenatorsCHA23034
1910NHA1160618
Stanley Cup42020
1910–11Ottawa SenatorsNHA1650512
Stanley Cup21010
1911–12Ottawa SenatorsNHA187070
1912–13Ottawa SenatorsNHA1340413
1913–14Toronto OntariosNHA2044823
1914–15Ottawa SenatorsNHA20000
IPHL totals676667269
NHA totals802643066
Stanley Cup totals1050510

Transactions

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  • Released by Pittsburgh Athletic Club (WPHL) for rough play, November 25, 1908
  • Signed as a free agent by Ottawa (ECHA), December 1, 1909
  • Traded to Toronto Ontarios (NHA) by Ottawa (NHA) for cash, December 4, 1913
  • Traded to Ottawa (NHA) by Toronto Ontarios (NHA) for Percy LeSueur and $300, December 14, 1914

References

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  1. ^ "Late Fred Lake Played With Two Ottawa Stanley Cup Teams" Ottawa Citizen. Dec. 1, 1937 (pg. 11). Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  2. ^ "Recommend Probe Be Continued Into Death of F. Lake" Ottawa Citizen. Dec. 16, 1937 (pg. 22). Retrieved 22-08-01
  3. ^ "Fred Lake Found Dead in Car Near Aylmer Rd. Track" Ottawa Citizen. Nov. 30, 1937 (pg. 1). Retrieved 2020-10-27.
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