1944–45 Chicago Black Hawks season

The 1944–45 Chicago Black Hawks season was the team's 19th season in the NHL, and they were coming off an appearance in the 1944 Stanley Cup Finals, losing to the Montreal Canadiens in 4 games.

1944–45 Chicago Black Hawks
Division5th NHL
1944–45 record13–30–7
Home record9–14–2
Road record4–16–5
Goals for141
Goals against194
Team information
General managerBill Tobin
CoachPaul Thompson (0–1–0)
Johnny Gottselig (13–29–7)
CaptainClint Smith
ArenaChicago Stadium
Team leaders
GoalsBill Mosienko (28)
AssistsClint Smith (31)
PointsBill Mosienko and Clint Smith (54)
Penalty minutesJoe Cooper (50)
WinsMike Karakas (12)
Goals against averageMike Karakas (3.90)

The Black Hawks would lose their top scorer Doug Bentley, who was given permission to stay home in Saskatchewan and tend the family farm by the Canadian Armed Forces officials, while his brother Max Bentley would miss his 2nd season due to World War II. The club would name Clint Smith as team captain, and after the first game of the season, a loss of 11–5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, head coach Paul Thompson was replaced by former Black Hawk captain Johnny Gottselig.

The Hawks would struggle to score goals, scoring a league low 141, while allowing 194, which ranked them 4th. The team would finish the season with a 13–30–7 record, and their 33 points was their lowest point total since 1938–39. Chicago would fail to make the post-season, as they would finish 3 points behind the Boston Bruins for 4th place.

Midway through the season, the Black Hawks would be involved in a big trade with the Detroit Red Wings, as Chicago would trade Earl Seibert and Fido Purpur to the Wings for Butch McDonald, Don Grosso, and Cully Simon.

Offensively, the Hawks were led by Bill Mosienko, who led the team with 28 goals, Clint Smith with his team high 31 assists, and the two of them would tie for the team lead in points at 54. Pete Horeck would be the only other Black Hawk to score more than 10 goals, as he had 20. Joe Cooper would lead the defense all season long, earning 21 points and a team high 50 penalty minutes.

In goal, the Hawks would bring back Mike Karakas, and he would lead the team with 12 wins and a 3.90 GAA, and earn 4 shutouts. Doug Stevenson would appear in a couple of games, getting a 1–1–0 record with a GAA of 3.50.

Season standings
National Hockey League[1]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1Montreal Canadiens503884228121+10780
2Detroit Red Wings5031145218161+5767
3Toronto Maple Leafs5024224183161+2252
4Boston Bruins5016304179219−4036
5Chicago Black Hawks5013307141194−5333
6New York Rangers50112910154247−9332

Record vs. opponents
1944–45 NHL Records [2]
Team BOS CHI DET MTL NYR TOR
Boston —7–30–9–10–104–3–35–5
Chicago 5–5—5–50–8–27–1–25–4–1
Detroit 9–0–17–3—1–8–16–2–28–1–1
Montreal 10–07–1–28–1–1—9–14–5–1
New York 3–4–33–3–42–6–21–9—2–7–1
Toronto 5–56–3–11–8–15–4–17–2–1—

Game log

Regular season
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
1October 29Toronto Maple Leafs11–5Chicago Black Hawks0–1–00
2November 1New York Rangers3–8Chicago Black Hawks1–1–02
3November 5Boston Bruins6–3Chicago Black Hawks1–2–02
4November 9Chicago Black Hawks2–9Montreal Canadiens1–3–02
5November 12Montreal Canadiens4–2Chicago Black Hawks1–4–02
6November 14Chicago Black Hawks5–7Boston Bruins1–5–02
7November 18Chicago Black Hawks4–5Toronto Maple Leafs1–6–02
8November 19Toronto Maple Leafs4–3Chicago Black Hawks1–7–02
9November 23New York Rangers4–4Chicago Black Hawks1–7–13
10November 25Chicago Black Hawks4–7Detroit Red Wings1–8–13
11November 26Detroit Red Wings5–6Chicago Black Hawks2–8–15
12November 30Boston Bruins7–2Chicago Black Hawks2–9–15
13December 3Montreal Canadiens2–1Chicago Black Hawks2–10–15
14December 10Chicago Black Hawks1–1New York Rangers2–10–26
15December 17Detroit Red Wings1–2Chicago Black Hawks3–10–28
16December 20New York Rangers3–1Chicago Black Hawks3–11–28
17December 23Chicago Black Hawks1–2Montreal Canadiens3–12–28
18December 24Chicago Black Hawks3–3New York Rangers3–12–39
19December 28Chicago Black Hawks1–2Boston Bruins3–13–39
20December 30Chicago Black Hawks0–4Toronto Maple Leafs3–14–39
21December 31Chicago Black Hawks2–6Detroit Red Wings3–15–39
22January 1Detroit Red Wings4–2Chicago Black Hawks3–16–39
23January 6Chicago Black Hawks1–10Montreal Canadiens3–17–39
24January 7Chicago Black Hawks0–0New York Rangers3–17–410
25January 14Boston Bruins1–4Chicago Black Hawks4–17–412
26January 17Montreal Canadiens4–2Chicago Black Hawks4–18–412
27January 20Chicago Black Hawks4–8Toronto Maple Leafs4–19–412
28January 21Toronto Maple Leafs0–4Chicago Black Hawks5–19–414
29January 24New York Rangers4–3Chicago Black Hawks5–20–414
30January 27Chicago Black Hawks1–5Detroit Red Wings5–21–414
31January 28Detroit Red Wings4–2Chicago Black Hawks5–22–414
32January 30Chicago Black Hawks5–3Boston Bruins6–22–416
33February 1Chicago Black Hawks1–1Montreal Canadiens6–22–517
34February 4Toronto Maple Leafs4–3Chicago Black Hawks6–23–517
35February 10Chicago Black Hawks2–1Toronto Maple Leafs7–23–519
36February 11Toronto Maple Leafs1–2Chicago Black Hawks8–23–521
37February 13Chicago Black Hawks2–3Boston Bruins8–24–521
38February 15Chicago Black Hawks2–6New York Rangers8–25–521
39February 18Montreal Canadiens0–0Chicago Black Hawks8–25–622
40February 21Boston Bruins0–5Chicago Black Hawks9–25–624
41February 24Chicago Black Hawks2–4Detroit Red Wings9–26–624
42February 25Detroit Red Wings3–1Chicago Black Hawks9–27–624
43February 27Chicago Black Hawks3–3Toronto Maple Leafs9–27–725
44March 1Chicago Black Hawks5–3New York Rangers10–27–727
45March 4Montreal Canadiens4–6Chicago Black Hawks11–27–729
46March 7New York Rangers3–6Chicago Black Hawks12–27–731
47March 11Chicago Black Hawks2–7Boston Bruins12–28–731
48March 15Boston Bruins5–3Chicago Black Hawks12–29–731
49March 17Chicago Black Hawks3–4Montreal Canadiens12–30–731
50March 18Chicago Black Hawks5–3Detroit Red Wings13–30–733

Season stats

Scoring leaders
Player GP G A Pts PIM
Bill Mosienko502826540
Clint Smith502331540
Pete Horeck5020163644
Joe Cooper504172150
Butch McDonald26613190

Goaltending
PlayerGPTOIWLTGASOGAA
Doug Stevenson2120110703.50
Mike Karakas4828801229718743.90

References
Notes
  1. "1944–1945 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  2. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
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