McLea played in the 1890s for the Montreal Victorias and was a member of four Stanley Cup-winning teams.

[1] As a youth, McLea attended the Bishop's College School boarding school in Lennoxville, where he met future Victorias team-mates Hartland MacDougall and Robert MacDougall (not related).

[3][4] Ernest McLea died on June 17, 1931, in his apartment on McGill College Avenue in Montreal due to a self-inflicted gunshot.

In a one-game playoff, McLea scored a hat trick, the first ever in Stanley Cup play, including the winning goal with two minutes to go, that won the game 6–5.

After his playing days, McLea did remain involved in hockey as an on-ice official.