Niagara-on-the-Lake has always been a community of firsts — the first capital of Upper Canada, the first lighthouse on the Great Lakes, and the site of the first game in the Southern Ontario Hockey Association. But hockey here wasn’t just a pastime — if we are to believe local lore, it was also a place for innovation.

In those first hockey matches of the 1890s, players battled on outdoor rinks, braving the cold with minimal gear. Scoring disputes were common, since open goal posts often led to arguments over whether a goal counted. After one dramatic match, frustrated players from this Niagara team decided to fix the problem themselves. Around 1894–95, this team is said to have invented the hockey net. Many of the players on this team were fishermen, so it’s no surprise the first net was made from an old fishing seine, fastened to the posts, with the bottom edge frozen into the ice to stop pucks from slipping underneath. Innovation didn’t stop there. Niagara players on this team are also credited with creating the wide-bladed goalie stick and helping pioneer the long-handled hockey stick, still used today. Whether it’s in World Junior tournaments, NHL showdowns or Olympic gold-medal moments, every pass, slapshot and goal on the ice today can be traced back to early hockey played in NOTL.