1944–45 Boston Bruins season



The 1944–45 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 21st season in the NHL. The retirement of both Buzz Boll and Busher Jackson and, with Art Jackson being sold, saw a drop in goal scoring. The Bruins squeaked into the playoffs in 4th place despite having a losing record and lost a close series in the Semi-finals to the Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 3.

Pre-season
Although official Bruins records list Dit Clapper as the team's captain for the season, Bill Cowley was appointed to lead the team as reported in the Boston Globe and a number of other newspapers.

Regular Season
The gold jersey with "Bruins" in black script, introduced in the 1940–41 season, is retired. With the retirement of goalie Bert Gardiner, the Bruins sign Harvey Bennett who plays 24 games in his only NHL season. Bennett started the season but his inconsistent play saw the Bruins obtain Paul Bibeault on loan from the Montreal Canadiens. Bibeault wouldn't stop the bleeding and the Bruins finished 5th in goals against.

The Bruins scored a team record (which stands to this day) 14 goals in a 14-3 win over the New York Rangers on January 21, 1945. Bill Cowley scored 4 goals while rookie Kenny Smith potted a Hat trick. Smith finished third in team scoring and was runner-up for the Calder Memorial Trophy. Cowley led the Bruins in scoring with 65 points, 4th in the league. This was the last of 6 seasons that he led the Bruins in scoring.

Still short of talent due to losing many players to war service, five Bruins would play the only NHL hockey of their careers in 1944-45 including Marcel Fillion (1 game), Harvey Bennett (25 games), Gino Rozzini (31 games), Jean-Paul Gladu (40 games) and Bill Cupolo (47 games).

On February 25, 1945, 18 year old defenseman Fern Flaman played his first NHL game. Two years later, he'd be a regular for the Bruins, play 12 seasons for them and become their captain. Defenseman Murray Henderson would get into his first 5 regular season games and all 7 playoff games. He'd become a regular on the Bruins blueline for the next 7 seasons.

Detroit Red Wings 4, Boston Bruins 3
Having last met in the 1943 Stanley Cup Finals, the Wings would once again defeat the Bruins but unlike the 1943 sweep, this series would be much closer.

Game 1 saw the Bruins take a commanding 3-0 in the first period on goals by Bill Cowley, Bill Cupolo and Herb Cain. After Earl Seibert made it 3-1 early in the third, the Bruins Jack McGill responded. Goals by Joe Carveth and a last minute goal by Eddie Bruneteau made it close but the Bruins prevailed to take a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2 was tied 1-1 until the Bruins scored two goals in 15 seconds in the second period on tallies by Kenny Smith and Jean-Paul Gladu. Eddie Bruneteau made it close in the third but Pat Egan put the game away. The Bruins led the series 2-0 going back to Boston.

Game 3 saw the first playoff goal of Ted Lindsay's career and one by Murray Armstrong less than a minute later see the Wings up 2-0 going into the second period. Pat Egan made it close in the second but Eddie's brother Mud Bruneteau scored at 15:48 of the third. Gino Rozzini scored with two minutes left but the Wings prevailed 4-3.

Game 4 saw only one penalty called and the Bruins led 2-1 going into the third on goals by Ken Smith and Herb Cain. The Wings wouldn't be denied with tallies by Joe Carveth and then Murray Armstrong's winner with less than 3 minutes to play. The series was tied going back to Detroit.

Game 5 saw the Wings jump out to a 2-0 lead on first period goals by Mud Bruneteau and Flash Hollett. Herb Cain responded with a goal 11 seconds after Hollett's. Close checking saw no goals until Ted Lindsay took the only penalty of the third period and Bill Jennings scored on the power play to even it up. Mud Bruneteau scored the winner for the Wings in OT, having somewhat of a reputation for OT clutch goals (see the 1936 Stanley Cup Finals in which Mud scored for the Wings to end the longest OT in NHL history).

Game 6 was do or die for the Bruins and the first period was filled with hits and penalties after Jud McAtee spotted the Wings to a lead 45 seconds into the game. The game settled down after Bill Cowley tied it up. In the second period, the Wings went up 2-1 on Joe Carveth's 3rd goal of the series before the Bruins scored three straight by Jennings, Cain and Gladu. McAtee responded and it was 4-3 Bruins heading into the third. Cowley scored his 3rd of the series and Bruins goalie Paul Bibeault shut the door as the Bruins tied the series at 3-3.

Game 7 was back in Detroit and the team traded goals in the first by the Wings Carl Liscombe and the Bruins Jack McGill. Liscombe scored in the second before the Bruins went up 3-2 on goals by Herb Cain and Ken Smith. With their backs against the wall, the Wings responded in the third. Eddie Bruneteau tied it up 2 minutes into the period. Liscombe completed the Hat trick 2 minutes after that and then potted an empty netter for a four goal game and the Wings series victory. The Wings would lose in seven games to the Leafs in the Finals.

Regular Season
* Bennett played 50 minutes and Bibeault 10 minutes during the December 31, 1944 loss to the New York Rangers. Bennett played 40 minutes and Bibeault 20 minutes during the March 18, 1945 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
 * Scoring
 * Goaltending

Playoffs

 * Scoring
 * Goaltending

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts

Awards and Records

 * Set an NHL record for the fastest 4 goals scored by a team of 1:20 in the 14-3 win over the New York Rangers on January 21, 1945. The goal scorers were Bill Thoms, Frank Mario (2) and Kenny Smith.
 * Calder Memorial Trophy: Kenny Smith, Runner-up
 * Bill Cowley, Centre, NHL Second Team All-Star

Transactions

 * Obtain Paul Bibeault on loan from the Montreal Canadiens.
 * Trade Pete Leswick to the Detroit Red Wings for Bill Jennings on October 30, 1944.
 * Sell Guy Labrie to the New York Rangers for $12,000 on November 27, 1944.
 * Sell Art Jackson to the Toronto Maple Leafs for $7,500 on December 24, 1944.
 * Acquire Bill Thoms from the Chicago Black Hawks on January 13, 1945.

Farm Teams
Boston Olympics, Eastern Hockey League

Trivia

 * Bruins who recorded a hat trick this season include:
 * Herb Cain has a 4 goal game during the 5-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 16, 1945.
 * Bill Cowley has a 4 goal game during the 14-3 win over the New York Rangers on January 21, 1945.
 * Kenny Smith during the 14-3 win over New York on January 21, 1945.