1945–46 Chicago Black Hawks season

NHL ice hockey team season March 2026 August 2023 NHL 1945–46 1945 Chicago Blackhawks 3rd 23–20–7 15–5–5 8–12–2 200 178 Bill Tobin Johnny Gottselig John Mariucci Chicago Stadium Max Bentley (31) Bill Mosienko and Max Bentley (30) Max Bentley (61) John Mariucci (58) Mike Karakas (22) Mike Karakas (3.46) The 1945–46 Chicago Black Hawks season was the teams 20th season in the National Hockey League, and they were coming off a disappointing season in 1944–45, failing to qualify for the playoffs. With Doug Bentley, Max Bentley, and Red Hamill returning to the team after World War II, the Black Hawks would set a team record by scoring 200 goals, which also led the NHL. The Hawks allowed 178, which ranked them 4th. The Hawks would finish the season with a 23–20–7 record, good for 53 points, which was their highest total since the 1934–35 season, and they would finish in 3rd place in the NHL. Offensively, the Hawks were led by Max Bentley, who scored a team high 31 goals, and had an NHL high 61 points, while winning the Hart Trophy. Clint Smith had a solid season, registering 50 points, while Bill Mosienko would have 48. Doug Bentley missed 14 games due to injuries, but still finished with 40 points. Team captain John Mariucci would lead the Hawks defensemen with 11 points, and have a team high 58 penalty minutes. In goal, Mike Karakas would get a majority of the action, earning a career high 22 wins, while posting a 3.46 GAA and a shutout along the way. The 3rd seeded Hawks would face the 1st place team, the Montreal Canadiens, in a best of 7 series in the opening round of the playoffs. Montreal finished 8 points ahead of the Hawks, and had recently swept Chicago in the 1944 Stanley Cup Finals. The Canadiens once again proved to be too much for the Hawks to handle, as they blew out the Hawks in each of the 4 games they played to sweep the series. Season standings CHI Record vs. opponents CHI Schedule and results Regular season background:#fff; border-top:#000000 5px solid; border-bottom:#CE1126 5px solid; 1945–46 regular season1945-46 Chicago Black Hawks Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/CBH/1946_games.html Hockey-Reference.com March 29, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#000000 2px solid; border-bottom:#CE1126 2px solid; October Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points |- | 1 || October 24 || Chicago Black Hawks || 5–4 || Boston Bruins || 1–0–0 || 2 |- | 2 || October 27 || Chicago Black Hawks || 4–8 || Montreal Canadiens || 1–1–0 || 2 |- | 3 || October 31 || New York Rangers || 1–5 || Chicago Black Hawks || 2–1–0 || 4 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#000000 2px solid; border-bottom:#CE1126 2px solid; November Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points |- | 4 || November 4 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 4–7 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–1–0 || 6 |- | 5 || November 8 || Chicago Black Hawks || 5–4 || New York Rangers || 4–1–0 || 8 |- | 6 || November 10 || Chicago Black Hawks || 2–3 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 4–2–0 || 8 |- | 7 || November 11 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 3–5 || Chicago Black Hawks || 5–2–0 || 10 |- | 8 || November 15 || Chicago Black Hawks || 2–5 || Detroit Red Wings || 5–3–0 || 10 |- | 9 || November 18 || Detroit Red Wings || 5–3 || Chicago Black Hawks || 5–4–0 || 10 |- |10 || November 22 || New York Rangers || 3–3 || Chicago Black Hawks || 5–4–1 || 11 |- |11 || November 25 || Montreal Canadiens || 1–5 || Chicago Black Hawks || 6–4–1 || 13 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#000000 2px solid; border-bottom:#CE1126 2px solid; December Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points |- |12 || December 1 || Chicago Black Hawks || 8–2 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 7–4–1 || 15 |- |13 || December 2 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 5–3 || Chicago Black Hawks || 7–5–1 || 15 |- |14 || December 5 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–6 || Boston Bruins || 7–6–1 || 15 |- |15 || December 9 || Boston Bruins || 3–8 || Chicago Black Hawks || 8–6–1 || 17 |- |16 || December 13 || Chicago Black Hawks || 7–4 || New York Rangers || 9–6–1 || 19 |- |17 || December 16 || Detroit Red Wings || 4–6 || Chicago Black Hawks || 10–6–1 || 21 |- |18 || December 19 || Montreal Canadiens || 4–4 || Chicago Black Hawks || 10–6–2 || 22 |- |19 || December 22 || Chicago Black Hawks || 6–4 || Detroit Red Wings || 11–6–2 || 24 |- |20 || December 23 || Detroit Red Wings || 4–4 || Chicago Black Hawks || 11–6–3 || 25 |- |21 || December 29 || Chicago Black Hawks || 5–4 || Montreal Canadiens || 12–6–3 || 27 |- |22 || December 30 || Chicago Black Hawks || 2–3 || New York Rangers || 12–7–3 || 27 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#000000 2px solid; border-bottom:#CE1126 2px solid; January Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points |- |23 || January 1 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 1–3 || Chicago Black Hawks || 13–7–3 || 29 |- |24 || January 5 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–0 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 14–7–3 || 31 |- |25 || January 6 || Chicago Black Hawks || 2–3 || Detroit Red Wings || 14–8–3 || 31 |- |26 || January 12 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–4 || Boston Bruins || 14–9–3 || 31 |- |27 || January 13 || Chicago Black Hawks || 2–3 || New York Rangers || 14–10–3 || 31 |- |28 || January 16 || Chicago Black Hawks || 2–1 || Montreal Canadiens || 15–10–3 || 33 |- |29 || January 20 || New York Rangers || 1–9 || Chicago Black Hawks || 16–10–3 || 35 |- |30 || January 23 || Montreal Canadiens || 2–7 || Chicago Black Hawks || 17–10–3 || 37 |- |31 || January 26 || Chicago Black Hawks || 5–6 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 17–11–3 || 37 |- |32 || January 27 || Boston Bruins || 1–4 || Chicago Black Hawks || 18–11–3 || 39 |- |33 || January 30 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–4 || Boston Bruins || 18–12–3 || 39 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#000000 2px solid; border-bottom:#CE1126 2px solid; February Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points |- |34 || February 3 || Boston Bruins || 1–3 || Chicago Black Hawks || 19–12–3 || 41 |- |35 || February 6 || New York Rangers || 2–6 || Chicago Black Hawks || 20–12–3 || 43 |- |36 || February 9 || Chicago Black Hawks || 2–6 || Montreal Canadiens || 20–13–3 || 43 |- |37 || February 10 || Chicago Black Hawks || 2–2 || New York Rangers || 20–13–4 || 44 |- |38 || February 13 || Montreal Canadiens || 5–1 || Chicago Black Hawks || 20–14–4 || 44 |- |39 || February 16 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–3 || Detroit Red Wings || 20–14–5 || 45 |- |40 || February 17 || Detroit Red Wings || 2–2 || Chicago Black Hawks || 20–14–6 || 46 |- |41 || February 20 || Boston Bruins || 3–4 || Chicago Black Hawks || 21–14–6 || 48 |- |42 || February 24 || New York Rangers || 2–2 || Chicago Black Hawks || 21–14–7 || 49 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#000000 2px solid; border-bottom:#CE1126 2px solid; March Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points |- |43 || March 2 || Chicago Black Hawks || 4–9 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 21–15–7 || 49 |- |44 || March 3 || Boston Bruins || 3–5 || Chicago Black Hawks || 22–15–7 || 51 |- |45 || March 6 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 5–2 || Chicago Black Hawks || 22–16–7 || 51 |- |46 || March 10 || Montreal Canadiens || 3–1 || Chicago Black Hawks || 22–17–7 || 51 |- |47 || March 13 || Detroit Red Wings || 4–9 || Chicago Black Hawks || 23–17–7 || 53 |- |48 || March 14 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–7 || Detroit Red Wings || 23–18–7 || 53 |- |49 || March 16 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–6 || Montreal Canadiens || 23–19–7 || 53 |- |50 || March 17 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–5 || Boston Bruins || 23–20–7 || 53 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Playoffs background:#fff; border-top:#000000 5px solid; border-bottom:#CE1126 5px solid; 1946 Stanley Cup playoffs y background:#fff; border-top:#000000 2px solid; border-bottom:#CE1126 2px solid; Semifinals vs. (1) Montreal Canadiens – Canadiens win 4–0 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series |- | 1 || March 19 || Chicago Black Hawks || 2–6 || Montreal Canadiens || 0–1 |- | 2 || March 21 || Chicago Black Hawks || 1–5 || Montreal Canadiens || 0–2 |- | 3 || March 24 || Montreal Canadiens || 8–2 || Chicago Black Hawks || 0–3 |- | 4 || March 26 || Montreal Canadiens || 7–2 || Chicago Black Hawks || 0–4 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win 1px solid black #fcc Loss 1px solid black Season stats Scoring leaders Player GP G A Pts PIMMax Bentley 47 31 30 61 6Clint Smith 50 26 24 50 2Bill Mosienko 40 18 30 48 12Alex Kaleta 49 19 27 46 17Pete Horeck 50 20 21 41 34 Goaltending Player GP TOI W L T GA SO GAAMike Karakas 48 2880 22 19 7 166 1 3.46Doug Stevenson 2 120 1 1 0 12 0 6.00 Playoff stats Scoring leaders Player GP G A Pts PIMClint Smith 4 2 1 3 0Bill Mosienko 4 2 0 2 2Hully Gee 4 1 1 2 4Doug Bentley 4 0 2 2 0Red Hamill 4 1 0 1 7 Goaltending Player GP TOI W L GA SO GAAMike Karakas 4 240 0 4 26 0 6.50 References SHRP Sports The Internet Hockey Database National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007 Notes Category:Chicago Blackhawks seasons Chicago Category:1945 in sports in Illinois Category:1946 in sports in Illinois Category:1945 in Chicago Category:1946 in Chicago