1944–45 Chicago Black Hawks season

1944–45 Chicago Black Hawks
Division	5th NHL
1944–45 record	13–30–7
Home record	9–14–2
Road record	4–16–5
Goals for	141
Goals against	194
Team information
General manager	Bill Tobin
Coach	Paul Thompson (0–1–0) Johnny Gottselig (13–29–7)
Captain	Clint Smith
Arena	Chicago Stadium
Team leaders
Goals	Bill Mosienko (28)
Assists	Clint Smith (31)
Points	Bill Mosienko Clint Smith (54)
Penalty minutes	Joe Cooper (50)
Wins	Mike Karakas (12)
Goals against average	Mike Karakas (3.90)

The 1944–45 Chicago Black Hawks season was the team's 19th season in the NHL. The Hawks finished in 5th place and did not qualify for the playoffs.

Regular Season

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 the 1938-39 season. Chicago would fail to make the post-season, as they would finish 3 points behind the 4th place Boston Bruins.

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

Offensively, the Hawks were led by Bill Mosienko and his 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. Mosienko won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy and was a Second Team All-Star. 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, he would lead the team with 12 wins, a 3.90 GAA, 4 shutouts and was a Second Team All-Star. Doug Stevenson would appear in a couple of games, getting a 1–1–0 record with a GAA of 3.50.

Final Standings

National Hockey League

	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Montreal Canadiens	50	38	8	4	80	228	121	376
Detroit Red Wings	50	31	14	5	67	218	161	260
Toronto Maple Leafs	50	24	22	4	52	183	161	317
Boston Bruins	50	16	30	4	36	179	219	275
Chicago Black Hawks	50	13	30	7	33	141	194	245
New York Rangers	50	11	29	10	32	154	247	305

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game Log

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Pts
1	October 29	Toronto Maple Leafs	11–5	Chicago Black Hawks	0–1–0	0
2	November 1	New York Rangers	3–8	Chicago Black Hawks	1–1–0	2
3	November 5	Boston Bruins	6–3	Chicago Black Hawks	1–2–0	2
4	November 9	Chicago Black Hawks	2–9	Montreal Canadiens	1–3–0	2
5	November 12	Montreal Canadiens	4–2	Chicago Black Hawks	1–4–0	2
6	November 14	Chicago Black Hawks	5–7	Boston Bruins	1–5–0	2
7	November 18	Chicago Black Hawks	4–5	Toronto Maple Leafs	1–6–0	2
8	November 19	Toronto Maple Leafs	4–3	Chicago Black Hawks	1–7–0	2
9	November 23	New York Rangers	4–4	Chicago Black Hawks	1–7–1	3
10	November 25	Chicago Black Hawks	4–7	Detroit Red Wings	1–8–1	3
11	November 26	Detroit Red Wings	5–6	Chicago Black Hawks	2–8–1	5
12	November 30	Boston Bruins	7–2	Chicago Black Hawks	2–9–1	5
13	December 3	Montreal Canadiens	2–1	Chicago Black Hawks	2–10–1	5
14	December 10	Chicago Black Hawks	1–1	New York Rangers	2–10–2	6
15	December 17	Detroit Red Wings	1–2	Chicago Black Hawks	3–10–2	8
16	December 20	New York Rangers	3–1	Chicago Black Hawks	3–11–2	8
17	December 23	Chicago Black Hawks	1–2	Montreal Canadiens	3–12–2	8
18	December 24	Chicago Black Hawks	3–3	New York Rangers	3–12–3	9
19	December 28	Chicago Black Hawks	1–2	Boston Bruins	3–13–3	9
20	December 30	Chicago Black Hawks	0–4	Toronto Maple Leafs	3–14–3	9
21	December 31	Chicago Black Hawks	2–6	Detroit Red Wings	3–15–3	9
22	January 1	Detroit Red Wings	4–2	Chicago Black Hawks	3–16–3	9
23	January 6	Chicago Black Hawks	1–10	Montreal Canadiens	3–17–3	9
24	January 7	Chicago Black Hawks	0–0	New York Rangers	3–17–4	10
25	January 14	Boston Bruins	1–4	Chicago Black Hawks	4–17–4	12
26	January 17	Montreal Canadiens	4–2	Chicago Black Hawks	4–18–4	12
27	January 20	Chicago Black Hawks	4–8	Toronto Maple Leafs	4–19–4	12
28	January 21	Toronto Maple Leafs	0–4	Chicago Black Hawks	5–19–4	14
29	January 24	New York Rangers	4–3	Chicago Black Hawks	5–20–4	14
30	January 27	Chicago Black Hawks	1–5	Detroit Red Wings	5–21–4	14
31	January 28	Detroit Red Wings	4–2	Chicago Black Hawks	5–22–4	14
32	January 30	Chicago Black Hawks	5–3	Boston Bruins	6–22–4	16
33	February 1	Chicago Black Hawks	1–1	Montreal Canadiens	6–22–5	17
34	February 4	Toronto Maple Leafs	4–3	Chicago Black Hawks	6–23–5	17
35	February 10	Chicago Black Hawks	2–1	Toronto Maple Leafs	7–23–5	19
36	February 11	Toronto Maple Leafs	1–2	Chicago Black Hawks	8–23–5	21
37	February 13	Chicago Black Hawks	2–3	Boston Bruins	8–24–5	21
38	February 15	Chicago Black Hawks	2–6	New York Rangers	8–25–5	21
39	February 18	Montreal Canadiens	0–0	Chicago Black Hawks	8–25–6	22
40	February 21	Boston Bruins	0–5	Chicago Black Hawks	9–25–6	24
41	February 24	Chicago Black Hawks	2–4	Detroit Red Wings	9–26–6	24
42	February 25	Detroit Red Wings	3–1	Chicago Black Hawks	9–27–6	24
43	February 27	Chicago Black Hawks	3–3	Toronto Maple Leafs	9–27–7	25
44	March 1	Chicago Black Hawks	5–3	New York Rangers	10–27–7	27
45	March 4	Montreal Canadiens	4–6	Chicago Black Hawks	11–27–7	29
46	March 7	New York Rangers	3–6	Chicago Black Hawks	12–27–7	31
47	March 11	Chicago Black Hawks	2–7	Boston Bruins	12–28–7	31
48	March 15	Boston Bruins	5–3	Chicago Black Hawks	12–29–7	31
49	March 17	Chicago Black Hawks	3–4	Montreal Canadiens	12–30–7	31
50	March 18	Chicago Black Hawks	5–3	Detroit Red Wings	13–30–7	33

Playoffs

• The Black Hawks did not qualify for the post season.

Player Stats

Scoring Leaders

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Bill Mosienko	50	28	26	54	0
Clint Smith	50	23	31	54	0
Pete Horeck	50	20	16	36	44
Joe Cooper	50	4	17	21	50
Butch McDonald	26	6	13	19	0

Goaltending

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA
Doug Stevenson	2	120	1	1	0	7	0	3.50
Mike Karakas	48	2880	12	29	7	187	4	3.90

Awards and Records

• Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Bill Mosienko
• Bill Mosienko, Right Wing, NHL Second Team All-Star
• Mike Karakas, Goalie, NHL Second Team All-Star

See Also

• 1944–45 NHL season

References

• SHRP Sports
• The Internet Hockey Database
• National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007