Comprised mainly of players of Icelandic descent, the Falcons not only had to battle for respect in British-Protestant dominated Winnipeg they had to battle for a league in which to play. Both before and after World War I, Falcons players experienced prejudice, but by 1920 they had become Canada's darlings by winning the first Olympic hockey tournament.

The 1920 event was staged in Antwerp, Belgium in April in conjunction with the Olympic Games that were to be held in the city that summer. As Allan Cup (senior amateur) champions of Canada, the Falcons were sent overseas to represent their country. Not wishing to embarrass their outclassed European opponents by running up scores, the Falcons beat Czechoslovakia 15-0 in their opening game and then all but clinched the gold medal by defeating the United States 2-0 in game two. Frank Fredrickson's seven goals then paced the Falcons to a 12-1 victory over Sweden in their final game. Many years later, Fredrickson admitted that the Falcons had allowed Sweden to score their one goal simply because they had taken a liking to the team's players.