1963–64 Boston Bruins season



The 1963–64 Boston Bruins season was the 40th season for the franchise. The Bruins finished 6th in the league and missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.

Off-season
GM Lynn Patrick made several moves in the off-season to address the team's defensive woes, acquiring All-Star defenseman Tom Johnson in the intra-league draft and trading for minor league veteran Bob McCord.

The 17th National Hockey League All-Star Game was held at Toronto on October 5, 1963. A team of all-stars that included six Bruins, Leo Boivin, Doug Mohns, Tom Johnson, Dean Prentice, Murray Oliver and John Bucyk played against the Stanley Cup champion Toronto Maple Leafs. The game ended in a 3-3 tie with Bucyk and Oliver assisting on the game tying goal.

1963
The Bruins continued to experience line-up churn in an effort to improve the team. Among the forwards, Calder Memorial Trophy runner-up Cliff Pennington and third-liner Charlie Burns didn't make the roster and were sent to the minors. Pennington wouldn't play in the NHL again while Burns wouldn't return until expansion with the Oakland Seals. Wayne Hicks, who'd played the entire 1962-63 season, was sold. Replacing them was NHL ironman Andy Hebenton, who was claimed in the intra-league, and Orland Kurtenbach, who'd played 8 games for the Bruins in the 1961-62 season. For the third year in a row, Wayne Connelly made the team but as in 1962-63, he'd be sent back to the minors.

On defense, after losing Irv Spencer in the draft and trading Warren Godfrey, former All-Star Tom Johnson was obtained in the draft. He'd have an excellent campaign in his penultimate NHL season. Bob McCord also had a solid season and finished 5th in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy. They joined Leo Boivin, newly-appointed assistant captain Ted Green and offensive threat Doug Mohns on the blueline. This was Mohns' last season with the Bruins and although a high scorer, he'd had the worst plus/minus rating on the team for the last several years. Ed Westfall continued to play both defense and right wing. Another piece in the resurgence later in the 1960's was put into place as Don Awrey made the roster out of junior.

In goal, Ed Johnston was the Bruins starter and he became the last goaltender in NHL history to play every minute of every game in a season for his team. The result of these changes was a large improvement in goals against, 28 fewer than the previous season. The issue for the Bruins continued to be lack of scoring.

This was demonstrated right from the season start as the Bruins went winless in their first seven games and scored only 8 goals. The "BOW Line" of John Bucyk, Murray Oliver and Tom Williams was broken up which finally ended the losing streak. An increase in goal scoring in November saw Boston go 3-4-3 in the month and the BOW Line was reunited while Hebenton and Kurtenbach played with Dean Prentice. Don Awrey was sent to the Minneapolis Bruins but would return the next season.

However, depth scoring was lacking and the team had difficulty winning tight games. On December 4, 1963, Andy Hebenton played his 581st consecutive game and broke the record held by Johnny Wilson. Oliver had a 5 point night in the 8-6 win over the New York Rangers on December 7, 1963 but as the lack of scoring from the third and fourth lines continued, Wayne Connelly was relegated to the minors. Having scored only twice in 26 games, he'd spend the next several seasons with the San Francisco Seals before returning to the Bruins in the 1966-67 season. Boston then went on an 11 game winless streak through mid-January.

1964
During the January 7, 1964 game at Boston versus Detroit, Tommy Williams was injured and would miss the rest of the season. Fans began to chant "we shall overcome" as the Bruins lost 5-0. Williams' misfortune provided an opportunity for Gary Dornhoefer who was leading the Minneapolis Bruins in scoring in his first pro season. Dornhoefer played right wing with Oliver and Buyck and ended the streak, assisting twice on Bucyk goals in a 6-3 win over Toronto on January 12, 1964. He then scored his first 2 NHL goals in the next game, a 5-1 win over Detroit. The next game was an inexplicable quirk. Playing the Stanley Cup champion Maple Leafs in Toronto, the Bruins beat them 11-0. Hebenton had a hat trick and 4 points while Prentice had 3 goals and 6 points. This remains the largest shutout victory in club history. A week later, Boston shutout Montreal 6-0 and then the next night, shutout Toronto 2-0 in their best run of the season. Dornhoefer potted 2 in the Montreal game, would finish the season with 22 points in 33 games and be fourth in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy.

However, February saw the Bruins go on another winless drought, this time for eight games. Many of the losses were by one goal and frustrated, many fights broke out in the games. On February 9, 1964, Leo Boivin and Montreal's Bill Hicke fought on the ice and then in the penalty box, which had to be broken up by police. On February 16, 1964 versus Chicago, a melee resulted in five misconducts with Kurtenbach receiving a double misconduct as 120 minutes in penalties were called. Ron Schock was given a 5 game try-out straight from junior and scored in his first game on February 29, 1964. Don Awrey was recalled for the March 15, 1964 game versus Montreal and scored his first NHL goal. The Bruins finished with 48 points, their best in three years, but it was not enough to escape the league basement or make the playoffs. They'd also have 48 points in the next two seasons.

Playoffs

 * The Bruins did not qualify for the post season.

Regular Season

 * 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

 * The largest shutout victory in team history occurred on January 18, 1964 as the Bruins beat the Maple Leafs 11-0.
 * The Bruins did not receive any awards this season.

Transactions

 * Select Tom Johnson from the Montreal Canadiens, Andy Hebenton from the New York Rangers and Wayne Rivers from the Detroit Red Wings, and lose Irv Spencer to Detroit in the June 5, 1963 intra-league draft.
 * Trade Terry Gray, Dale Rolfe, Bruce Gamble and Randy Miller to the Springfield Indians (AHL) for Bob McCord during June, 1963.
 * Sell Wayne Hicks to Montreal Canadiens on September 28, 1963.
 * Trade Warren Godfrey to Detroit for Gerry Odrowski on October 10, 1963.

Draft Picks
The 1963 NHL Entry Draft was the first amateur draft in league history and involved picking 16-year-olds. None of the players picked ever played for the Bruins.

Farm Teams
The Bruins development system in 1963-64 was filled with players who would go on to have long NHL careers. However, many would find success with teams other than the Bruins. Led by Bobby Orr, the prospects also included Danny O'Shea, Wayne Cashman, Derek Sanderson, Bill Goldsworthy, Gilles Marotte, Jim Dorey, Bernie Parent, Doug Favell, J. P. Parisé and Terry Crisp.


 * Oshawa Generals (OHA)
 * Niagara Falls Flyers, OHA
 * Estevan Bruins
 * Minneapolis Bruins (CPHL)
 * San Francisco Seals (WHL) - Lester Patrick Cup winners
 * Hershey Bears (AHL)

Trivia

 * The Bruins and Detroit Red Wings were scheduled to play on November 24, 1963 but the game was postponed to January 7, 1964 to honour the memory of U.S. President John Kennedy.
 * Dean Prentice had a 6 point game during the 11-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 18, 1964.
 * Bruins who recorded a hat trick this season include:
 * Andy Hebenton and Dean Prentice during the 11-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 18, 1964.

Video
A short video of Bob Leiter hitting Eddie Shack, causing glass on the side boards to shatter and then the fight between the two, January 18, 1964.