players had to play the full season with their team. The Thistles countered by arguing that the Wanderers brought in Hod Stuart and Riley Hern back in January. Foran defended the choice to allow Stuart, noting there had been no protest in January, and said that since Stuart and Hern spent the season with the Wanderers they were eligible. A further issue arose when Foran told the Thistles that owing to the larger arena in Winnipeg, providing greater revenue from ticket sales, the series would be played in Winnipeg, not Kenora. It would begin the day after the Thistles finished their series with Brandon and would be a best-of three-game series. The Thistles were irate. They wanted to host the series, have a three-day break before it, and play a two-game, total-goal series. They discussed the matter with the Wanderers, and both agreed instead to a two-game series in Winnipeg, and that Kenora could use both Smith and Westwick. Foran consented to this arrangement. With the details of the series settled, the first game was held on March 23, which the Wanderers won 7–2. The Thistles won the second match, on March 25, 6–5, but lost the series 12–8. Reports on the Thistles in the media noted how reliant the team was on their three imported players and that they could no longer be portrayed as a homegrown team. The Thistles' time as Stanley Cup champions ended after two months. Demise of the Thistles After losing the Stanley Cup, there were major changes to the Thistles' composition. Roxy Beaudro, Eddie Geroux, and Billy McGimsie retired before the 1907–08 season, while Tommy Phillips joined the Ottawa Hockey Club after being offered $1,500 for the season. The team brought up four junior players, all under twenty years old, and were not expected to be as competitive as earlier versions of the team. This was apparent after the first game of the season, which the Thistles lost 16–1. The club forfeited the next two games before withdrawing from the league completely, arguing they could no longer compete at that level. They attempted to join the New Ontario Hockey League, which had teams in Port Arthur and Fort William, but were refused. Instead, the Thistles played exhibition games for the rest of the season before folding. The Thistles were unable to compete with the rising professionalism that was developing in ice hockey. Located in