1961–62 Chicago Black Hawks season

The 1961–62 Chicago Black Hawks season was the Hawks' 36th season in the NHL, and the club was coming off of a third-place finish in 1960–61, as they finished with a 29–24–17 record, earning 75 points, which was a franchise record, and the first time since 1946 that the Hawks had an over .500 record.

1961–62 Chicago Black Hawks
Division3rd NHL
1961–62 record31–26–13
Home record20–10–5
Road record11–16–8
Goals for217
Goals against186
Team information
General managerTommy Ivan
CoachRudy Pilous
CaptainPierre Pilote
ArenaChicago Stadium
Team leaders
GoalsBobby Hull (50)
AssistsStan Mikita and Bill Hay (52)
PointsBobby Hull (84)
Penalty minutesEric Nesterenko, Pierre Pilote and Stan Mikita (97)
WinsGlenn Hall (31)
Goals against averageGlenn Hall (2.63)

During the off-season, the Black Hawks traded away team captain Ed Litzenberger to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Gerry Melnyk and Brian Smith. Chicago also had some problems signing some of their players, as Stan Mikita, Reg Fleming, and Dollard St. Laurent all refused to sign their contracts, however, they all eventually came to terms. With Litzenberger traded away, the team named defenseman Pierre Pilote as the new captain.

The defending champions started off the season slow, earning only one win in their first eleven games, as they had a record of 1–5–5, however, the team rebounded, and put together a 16–12–8 record in the next 36 games to get to the .500 level. The Black Hawks then got hot, as they then won six games in a row, followed shortly by a four-game winning streak, as the team managed to finish the season with a 31–26–13 record, tying a club record with 75 points, and setting a team record for wins in a season at 31, which was two more than the previous high of 29 set the previous season.[1]

Offensively, Chicago was led by Bobby Hull, who set a team record with 50 goals and 84 points. He became the third player in NHL history, Maurice Richard and Bernie Geoffrion were the others, to score 50 goals in a season.[2] Hull's 84 points tied him with Andy Bathgate of the New York Rangers for the league lead, however, since Hull scored more goals, he was awarded the Art Ross Trophy. Stan Mikita emerged as an offensive force, breaking out with a team high 52 assists and 77 points, while Bill Hay also recorded 52 assists en route to a 63-point season. Pierre Pilote led the Hawks blueline, scoring 7 goals and 42 points, while tying Mikita and Eric Nesterenko for the most penalty minutes on the team, with 97.

In goal, Glenn Hall once again played in all 70 games, setting a team record for wins with 31, and posting a 2.63 GAA, along with 9 shutouts. [3]

Chicago would face the Montreal Canadiens in the best of seven NHL semi-final for the fourth consecutive season. The Canadiens were once again heavily favored to defeat the Hawks, as they had an NHL best 98 points, which was 23 more than Chicago. Montreal opened the series off by winning the opening two games at the Montreal Forum by scores of 2–1 and 4–3 to take an early 2–0 series lead, however, as the series shifted over to Chicago Stadium, the Black Hawks took advantage, winning the next two games by scores of 4–1 and 5–3 to even up the series. The fifth game was back in Montreal, however, Chicago stayed hot, and narrowly defeated the Canadiens 4–3 to return home with a 3–2 series lead. The Hawks again took advantage of their home ice, shutting out the Canadiens 2–0, and eliminating Montreal for the second straight season, and earning a spot in the finals.

Chicago would face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1962 Stanley Cup Finals. The Leafs had a strong regular season, earning 85 points, and had defeated the fourth place New York Rangers to clinch a spot in the finals. The series opened at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, and much like their previous series against the Canadiens, the Black Hawks quickly found themselves down 2–0, as Toronto won the first two games by scores of 4–1 and 3–2. The next two games were held in Chicago, and the Black Hawks continued their home ice winning streak, taking the two games by scores of 3–0 and 4–1 to pull even. The clubs were back in Toronto for the fifth game, and it was the Maple Leafs easily beating Chicago 8–4 to take a 3–2 series lead. Toronto ended Chicago's five game home winning streak in the sixth game, holding off Chicago for a 2–1 win, and ending the Hawks chance of a second straight championship.[4]

Season standings

National Hockey League[5]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1Montreal Canadiens70421414259166+9398
2Toronto Maple Leafs70372211232180+5285
3Chicago Black Hawks70312613217186+3175
4New York Rangers70263212195207−1264
5Detroit Red Wings70233314184219−3560
6Boston Bruins7015478177306−12938

Record vs. opponents

1961–62 NHL Records
Team BOS CHI DET MON NYR TOR
Boston 2–10–24–8–23–10–12–10–24–9–1
Chicago 10–2–27–3–43–9–27–6–14–6–4
Detroit 8–4–23–7–43–8–36–5–33–9–2
Montreal 10–3–19–3–28–3–38–1–57–4–3
New York 10–2–26–7–15–6–31–8–54–9–1
Toronto 9–4–16–4–49–3–24–7–39–4–1

Game log

Regular season

1961–62 Game Log

Playoffs

1962 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Season stats

Scoring leaders

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Bobby Hull7050348435
Stan Mikita7025527797
Bill Hay6011526334
Bronco Horvath6817294621
Pierre Pilote597354297

Goaltending

PlayerGPTOIWLTGASOGAA
Glenn Hall70420031261318492.63

Playoff stats

Scoring leaders

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Stan Mikita126152119
Bobby Hull12861412
Ab McDonald1266120
Bill Hay12371018
Kenny Wharram123478

Goaltending

PlayerGPTOIWLGASOGAA
Glenn Hall12720663122.58

Roster

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
8 Murray Balfour RW R 25 1959 Regina, Saskatchewan
5 Jack Evans D L 34 1958 Morriston, United Kingdom
6 Reggie Fleming W/D L 26 1960 Montreal, Quebec
1 Glenn Hall G L 30 1957 Humboldt, Saskatchewan
7 Murray Hall RW R 21 1961 Kirkland Lake, Ontario
11 Bill Hay C L 26 1959 Lumsden, Saskatchewan
20 Wayne Hillman D R 23 1961 Kirkland Lake, Ontario
9 Bronco Horvath C L 32 1961 Port Colborne, Ontario
7 Bobby Hull LW L 23 1957 Point Anne, Ontario
18 Chico Maki RW R 22 1961 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
14 Ab McDonald LW L 26 1960 Winnipeg, Manitoba
12 Gerry Melnyk C R 27 1961 Edmonton, Alberta
21 Stan Mikita RW R 21 1958 Sokolce, Czechoslovakia
10 Ron Murphy LW L 29 1957 Hamilton, Ontario
15 Eric Nesterenko C R 28 1956 Flin Flon, Manitoba
3 Pierre Pilote (C) D L 30 1955 Kenogami, Quebec
19 Dollard St. Laurent D L 32 1958 Verdun, Quebec
2 Bob Turner D L 28 1961 Regina, Saskatchewan
4 Moose Vasko D L 26 1956 Duparquet, Quebec
17 Kenny Wharram RW R 28 1951 North Bay, Ontario

[6]

References

Sources

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