1923–24 Ottawa Senators season

The 1923–24 Ottawa Senators season was the club's 39th season of play and seventh season in the NHL. Coming off a Stanley Cup Championship in 1923, they had won three cups in the previous four seasons. The Senators moved into the brand new Ottawa Auditorium prior to the season. The club had an outstanding regular season, but lost in the NHL playoffs to the Montreal Canadiens.

1923–24 Ottawa Senators
League1st NHL
1923–24 record16–8–0
Home record10–2–0
Road record6–6–0
Goals for74
Goals against54
Team information
General managerTommy Gorman
CoachPete Green
CaptainCy Denneny
ArenaOttawa Auditorium
Team leaders
GoalsCy Denneny (22)
AssistsKing Clancy (8)
PointsCy Denneny (23)
Penalty minutesPunch Broadbent (44)
WinsClint Benedict (15)
Goals against averageClint Benedict (1.99)

Team business

The five-year partnership of the Ottawa Arena Club expired in 1923. The team's ownership was unified with the parent Ottawa Hockey Association which was to be owned by Frank Ahearn and Tommy Gorman. Ted Dey gave up his half-interest in the Senators first for an investment in the Association and the Auditorium, then sold his share to Ahearn and Gorman.[1]

Regular season

Cy Denneny led the NHL in scoring with 22 goals and 23 points, while Frank Nighbor became the first player to win the Hart Trophy, awarded to the MVP of the league. The Sens defense were led by Buck Boucher and King Clancy, who both finished among the league leaders in points.

Clint Benedict had another very solid season, as his 15 wins and 3 shutouts led the NHL, and he had a personal best GAA of 1.99.

In a game in late February, the Senators were late for a game against the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal due to their train being snowbound in Hawkesbury, Ontario for the night. While out to try to get some food for his teammates Cy Denneny fell down a well, but sustained no injuries from the fall.

The Senators changed their jersey colours from black, red and white to gold, red and white, with a championship patch. Display at the Hockey Hall of Fame.

December

The defending Stanley Cup champions Ottawa Senators opened the 1923-24 season on the road in Hamilton on December 15. Ottawa, led by a two goal game by Frank Nighbor, defeated the Hamilton Tigers 3-2.

The Senators returned home on December 19, as their home opener was against the Toronto St. Patricks. Ottawa's Cy Denneny and Georges Boucher each scored twice, as the Senators defeated the St. Pats 5-2.

Ottawa did not play again for a week, as the Montreal Canadiens visited Ottawa on December 26. The Senators stayed hot, as Cy Denneny scored the overtime winner as the Senators defeated Montreal 4-3. The Senators winning streak would be snapped in their last game in December, as the Hamilton Tigers, led by an overtime goal by Shorty Green, defeated Ottawa 3-2 on December 29.

The Senators finished December with a 3-1-0 record in four games. The Senators and Toronto St. Patricks were tied for first with six points, however, the Senators had played one fewer game than Toronto.

January

The Senators opened the month of January with a road game in Toronto, as the team returned to the win column with a 4-3 win over the Toronto St. Patricks in a battle for first place on January 2. Three nights later, the clubs faced off once again, this time back in Ottawa. The Senators stormed out to a 6-0 lead after two periods, cruising to a 7-3 win over the St. Pats.

Ottawa stayed hot as the Montreal Canadiens visited on January 9. The Senators scored two late third period goals, including the game winner by Punch Broadbent with 50 seconds left in the game, to defeat the Canadiens 2-1. Ottawa extended their winning streak to four games with a 3-2 overtime win over the Hamilton Tigers on January 12, improving their overall record to 7-1-0.

Ottawa's winning streak was snapped, as the Montreal Canadiens, on an overtime goal by Sprague Cleghorn, defeated Ottawa 2-1 on January 16 in Montreal.

The Senators returned to the win column in their next game three nights later, as Ottawa defeated the Tigers 2-1 on an overtime winning goal by Cy Denneny. Ottawa returned to Montreal on January 21, as King Clancy scored twice for the Senators in a 3-2 win over the Canadiens. Two nights later, the Senators extended their winning streak to three games, demolishing the St. Patricks 5-1 in Toronto.

Ottawa's three game winning streak ended, as the Senators dropped a 5-1 decision to the Hamilton Tigers on January 26. In their final game of January, the Senators returned to the win column, as Ottawa easily defeated the St. Patricks 7-2.

Ottawa finished January with a record of 8-2-0 during the month. Overall, the Senators record at the end of January was 11-3-0, earning 22 points, as the Senators were in first place in the NHL, eight points ahead of the second place Toronto St. Patricks.

February/March

Ottawa began February with a 1-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens as Georges Vezina earned the shutout for the Canadiens on February 2. The two clubs faced each other again four nights later in Ottawa, as the Senators, led by two goals by Cy Denneny and a shutout by Clint Benedict defeated the Canadiens 4-0.

On February 9, the Senators Clint Benedict recorded his second consecutive shutout, as the Senators defeated the Hamilton Tigers 1-0. Frank Nighbor scored the lone goal in the victory.

Ottawa headed to Toronto for a match-up against the Toronto St. Patricks on February 13. The Senators took an early 2-0 lead, however, the St.Patricks roared back, and won the game 4-2. The two teams met up again three nights later in Ottawa, however, the St. Patricks won 2-1, as Ottawa lost consecutive games for the first time all season. Ottawa's losing skid hit three games, as the Montreal Canadiens shutout Ottawa 3-0.

On February 21, the Senators snapped their losing skid, as Ottawa shutout Montreal 1-0, with Clint Benedict recording the shutout. Four nights later, the Senators King Clancy scored three goals, as Ottawa defeated the Hamilton Tigers 7-4.

The Senators lost to the Tigers in the second game of the home-and-home series in Hamilton on March 1. Four nights later, the Senators concluded the season with a 8-4 win over the Toronto St. Patricks, as Cy Denneny scored four goals to lead Ottawa to the win.

Ottawa finished the season with a 5-5-0 record during February and March. The Senators finished the season in first place in the NHL with a 16-8-0 record, six points ahead of the second place Montreal Canadiens.

Final standings
National Hockey League
GP W L T Pts GF GA
Ottawa Senators241680327454
Montreal Canadiens2413110265948
Toronto St. Patricks2410140205985
Hamilton Tigers249150186368

[2] Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents
1923–24 NHL Records
Team HAM MON OTT TOR
Hamilton —2–62–64–4
Montreal 6–2—3–54–4
Ottawa 6–25–3—6–2
Toronto 4–44–42–6—

Schedule and results
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
1December 15Ottawa Senators3–2Hamilton Tigers1–0–02
2December 19Toronto St. Pats2–5Ottawa Senators2–0–04
3December 26Montreal Canadiens2–3Ottawa Senators3–0–06
4December 29Hamilton Tigers3–2Ottawa Senators3–1–06
5January 2Ottawa Senators4–3Toronto St. Pats4–1–08
6January 5Toronto St. Pats3–7Ottawa Senators5–1–010
7January 9Montreal Canadiens1–2Ottawa Senators6–1–012
8January 12Ottawa Senators3–2Hamilton Tigers7–1–014
9January 16Ottawa Senators1–2Montreal Canadiens7–2–014
10January 19Hamilton Tigers1–2Ottawa Senators8–2–016
11January 21Ottawa Senators3–2Montreal Canadiens9–2–018
12January 23Ottawa Senators5–1Toronto St. Pats10–2–020
13January 26Ottawa Senators1–5Hamilton Tigers10–3–020
14January 30Toronto St. Pats2–7Ottawa Senators11–3–022
15February 2Ottawa Senators0–1Montreal Canadiens11–4–022
16February 6Montreal Canadiens0–4Ottawa Senators12–4–024
17February 9Hamilton Tigers0–1Ottawa Senators13–4–026
18February 13Ottawa Senators2–4Toronto St. Pats13–5–026
19February 16Toronto St. Pats2–1Ottawa Senators13–6–026
20February 21Ottawa Senators0–3Montreal Canadiens13–7–026
21February 23Montreal Canadiens0–1Ottawa Senators14–7–028
22February 27Hamilton Tigers4–7Ottawa Senators15–7–030
23March 1Ottawa Senators2–5Hamilton Tigers15–8–030
24March 5Ottawa Senators8–4Toronto St. Pats16–8–032

Playoffs

The Senators again qualified for the playoffs and faced the Canadiens for the brand new Prince of Wales Trophy. Ottawa was defending champion and had the top record for the regular season. In an upset Montreal defeated Ottawa 5–2 in a two-game total goal series. Benedict's play came under criticism, with the Senators management publicly stating he was under the weather, and privately were withholding pay from Benedict on account of drinking affecting his play. The dispute ended up in court and Benedict would be traded to the Montreal Maroons before the next season.[3]

On March 25, the Canadiens and Calgary Tigers Stanley Cup Final game was played at the Ottawa Auditorium, due to the Mount Royal Arena in Montreal not having artificial ice. Montreal won the game and the 1924 Stanley Cup.

Montreal Canadiens 5, Ottawa Senators 2
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1March 8Ottawa Senators0–1Montreal Canadiens0–1
2March 11Montreal Canadiens4–2Ottawa Senators0–2

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Cy DennenyLW222222410
Georges BoucherD2113102338
Frank NighborC201161716
King ClancyD24881626
Punch BroadbentRW22941344
Earl CampbellD185388
Lionel HitchmanD2426824
Jack DarraghRW182022
Rod SmylieW131128
Harry HelmanRW191012
Clint BenedictG220000
Frank FinniganRW20000
Leth GrahamLW30000
Sammy HebertG20000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Clint Benedict1356221570451.993
Sammy Hebert120211094.500
Team:1476241680542.203

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Cy DennenyLW22022
Georges BoucherD20114
Frank NighborC20110
Clint BenedictG20000
Punch BroadbentRW20002
Earl CampbellD10006
King ClancyD20006
Jack DarraghRW20002
Frank FinniganRW20002
Lionel HitchmanD20004
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Clint Benedict12020252.500
Team:12020252.500

[4]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Transactions

The Senators were involved in the following transactions during the 1923–24 season. [5]

Trades
December 18, 1923 To Ottawa Senators
Leth Graham		 To Hamilton Tigers
Cash

Free agents signed
January 2, 1924 From Toronto St. Patricks
Rod Smylie
February 21, 1924 From Ottawa Montagnards (OCHL)
Frank Finnigan

Roster
  • Benedict, Clint (G)
  • Boucher, Georges (D)
  • Broadbent, Punch (R)
  • Campbell, Earl (D)
  • Clancy, King (D)
  • Darragh, Jack (R)
  • Denneny, Cy (L)
  • Finnigan, Frank (R)
  • Graham, Leth (L)
  • Hebert, Sammy (G)
  • Helman, Harry (R)
  • Hitchman, Lionel (D)
  • Nighbor, Frank (C)
  • Smylie, Rod (L)

Source: hockey-reference.com[4]

See also

References
  • Kitchen, Paul (2008). Win, Tie or Wrangle. Manotick, Ontario: Penumbra Press. ISBN 978-1-897323-46-5.
  • SHRP Sports
  • The Internet Hockey Database
  • National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007
Notes
  1. Kitchen(2008), p. 228
  2. Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  3. Fischer, Doug (June 23, 2008). "The trials and triumphs of Clint Benedict". The Ottawa Citizen. p. A1.
  4. "1923-24 Ottawa Senators Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  5. https://www.prosportstransactions.com/hockey/Search/SearchResults.php?Player=&Team=Senators&BeginDate=1923-07-01&EndDate=1924-07-01&PlayerMovementChkBx=yes&submit=Search
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