at that level. In January 1896 a game was held in Kenora between the senior team and a junior-aged team, with players aged 12–16. The junior players, many of whom were related to players on the senior team, felt they could compete with the older team, and subsequently won, easily defeating their opponents. In a 1953 newspaper article on the match Lowry Johnston, who was on the senior team, explained, "They were just too fast for us." A legend developed that the senior team quit hockey after that match, letting the junior players take their place in the Manitoba league. While this may not have happened as quickly as suggested, many of the players from the junior team soon joined the senior team and would hold major roles on the Thistles. Bolstered by the younger players, the Thistles finished second in the Manitoba intermediate league in 1899–1900. They won the league title in 1900–01, greatly outscoring their opponents. When the team started the 1901–02 season with a lopsided 12–0 victory, the club's executives became concerned. They felt if the games were not competitive people would not come to watch them, resulting in less revenue. Believing the team was strong enough to move up, they applied to join the senior Manitoba Hockey Association, which had two teams that season, both in Winnipeg: the Victorias and the Winnipeg Rowing Club. To prove they could compete, the Thistles played an exhibition match against the Victorias, one of the best teams in Canada, and a previous winner of the Stanley Cup, the championship trophy of ice hockey in Canada. The Thistles fared well in the match, but the two Winnipeg teams decided against allowing them to join the league, arguing the Thistles applied too late in the season. Returning to the intermediate league, the Thistles, weakened by injuries to several players, finished in a tie for second overall. After the season ended Tommy Phillips, one of the best players on the Thistles, moved to Montreal to attend McGill University. Admission to the Manitoba Hockey Association League play, 1902–1905 Before the 1902–03 season the Thistles were admitted to the senior league, along with Brandon Wheat City and the Portage la Prairie Plains. The two Winnipeg teams, still concerned about the distance to Rat Portage, opposed their inclusion (and that of Portage la Prairie), stating they would play only against Brandon, the winner of the intermediate