The Burlington Coasting Club proposed a winter carnival for the city of Burlington, Vermont as a rival attraction to the Montreal Winter Carnival, with the hope of inaugurating the event. It was scheduled to begin on February 15, 1886 and featured five days of winter sports activities. A committee from the club had been visiting Montreal to obtain attractions for the carnival as well as gain tips on how to manage the event. The Montreal Snow Shoe Club, along with several organisations from Montreal were invited to the carnival to participate in the events. The Montreal Crystals and the Montreal Hockey Club accepted the invitation, as did the Ottawa Hockey Club, which later withdrew due to scheduling conflicts. A local team was quickly assembled from the employees of the Van Ness House, a hotel in Burlington. Montreal HC won the gold medal, and the Crystals won the silver. Originally scheduled for February 15–19, the organizers were forced to move the events one week later due to unseasonable weather. The carnival was held on February 22–26. The hockey games were played on Lake Champlain in heavy wind. The first game was played on the morning of February 26, with two 20-minute halves. There was no score through 40 minutes, and Montreal's R. Smith scored in overtime. The second game was between Montreal HC and Van Ness House, and it was the first international ice hockey game. The players representing Van Ness House did not have any hockey experience, having only gone through a few practices prior to the carnival. The two teams played two 15-minute periods, with Montreal winning 3–0 and thus claiming the gold medal. The final game was played in two 10-minute periods, with Joseph McGoldrick of the Crystals scoring the only goal to capture the silver medal.
| TEAM | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | +/- | |||
 | Montreal HC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | +4 | ||
 | Mtl. Crystals | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
 | Burlington | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -4 |
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I sincerely appreciate the research work, and the information being shared. It is important and interesting history.