# 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.
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 vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 38 | 8 | 4 | 228 | 121 | +107 | 80 |
| 2 | Detroit Red Wings | 50 | 31 | 14 | 5 | 218 | 161 | +57 | 67 |
| 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 50 | 24 | 22 | 4 | 183 | 161 | +22 | 52 |
| 4 | Boston Bruins | 50 | 16 | 30 | 4 | 179 | 219 | −40 | 36 |
| 5 | Chicago Black Hawks | 50 | 13 | 30 | 7 | 141 | 194 | −53 | 33 |
| 6 | New York Rangers | 50 | 11 | 29 | 10 | 154 | 247 | −93 | 32 |

### Record vs. opponents

1944–45 NHL Records :
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYR | TOR |
| Boston | — | 7–3 | 0–9–1 | 0–10 | 4–3–3 | 5–5 |
| Chicago | 5–5 | — | 5–5 | 0–8–2 | 7–1–2 | 5–4–1 |
| Detroit | 9–0–1 | 7–3 | — | 1–8–1 | 6–2–2 | 8–1–1 |
| Montreal | 10–0 | 7–1–2 | 8–1–1 | — | 9–1 | 4–5–1 |
| New York | 3–4–3 | 3–3–4 | 2–6–2 | 1–9 | — | 2–7–1 |
| Toronto | 5–5 | 6–3–1 | 1–8–1 | 5–4–1 | 7–2–1 | — |

## Game log
### Regular season

| # | 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 |

## Season 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 |