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44-45BosBru
1944–45 Boston Bruins
Division 4th NHL
1944–45 record 16–30–4
Goals for 179 (4th)
Goals against 219 (5th)
Team information
General manager Art Ross
Coach Dit Clapper
Captain Bill Cowley
Arena Boston Garden
Team leaders
Goals Herb Cain (32)
Assists Bill Cowley (40)
Points Bill Cowley (65)
Penalty minutes Pat Egan (76)
Wins Harvey Bennett (10)
Goals against average Harvey Bennett (4.33)

The 1944–45 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 21st season in the NHL. The retirement of both Buzz Boll and Busher Jackson and, with Art Jackson being sold, saw a drop in goal scoring. The Bruins squeaked into the playoffs in 4th place despite having a losing record and lost a close series in the Semi-finals to the Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 3.

Pre-season[]

Although official Bruins records list Dit Clapper as the team's captain for the season, Bill Cowley was appointed to lead the team as reported in the Boston Globe and a number of other newspapers.

Regular Season[]

HarveybennettSr

Harvey Bennett played his only NHL season for the Bruins in 1944-45.

The gold jersey with "Bruins" in black script, introduced in the 1940–41 season, is retired. With the retirement of goalie Bert Gardiner, the Bruins sign Harvey Bennett who plays 24 games in his only NHL season. Bennett started the season but his inconsistent play saw the Bruins obtain Paul Bibeault on loan from the Montreal Canadiens. Bibeault wouldn't stop the bleeding and the Bruins finished 5th in goals against.

The Bruins scored a team record (which stands to this day) 14 goals in a 14-3 win over the New York Rangers on January 21, 1945. Bill Cowley scored 4 goals while rookie Kenny Smith potted a Hat trick. Smith finished third in team scoring and was runner-up for the Calder Memorial Trophy. Cowley led the Bruins in scoring with 65 points, 4th in the league. This was the last of 6 seasons that he led the Bruins in scoring.

Still short of talent due to losing many players to war service, five Bruins would play the only NHL hockey of their careers in 1944-45 including Marcel Fillion (1 game), Harvey Bennett (25 games), Gino Rozzini (31 games), Jean-Paul Gladu (40 games) and Bill Cupolo (47 games).

On February 25, 1945, 18 year old defenseman Fern Flaman played his first NHL game. Two years later, he'd be a regular for the Bruins, play 12 seasons for them and become their captain. Defenseman Murray Henderson would get into his first 5 regular season games and all 7 playoff games. He'd become a regular on the Bruins blueline for the next 7 seasons.

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[]

1934 Logo Regular Season Results 1934 Logo
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 L October 28, 1944 2–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1944–45) 0–1–0
2 L October 29, 1944 1–7 @ Detroit Red Wings (1944–45) 0–2–0
3 L November 4, 1944 2–7 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1944–45) 0–3–0
4 W November 5, 1944 6–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1944–45) 1–3–0
5 T November 12, 1944 5–5 @ New York Rangers (1944–45) 1–3–1
6 W November 14, 1944 7–5 Chicago Black Hawks (1944–45) 2–3–1
7 L November 18, 1944 3–6 @ Montreal Canadiens (1944–45) 2–4–1
8 L November 19, 1944 3–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1944–45) 2–5–1
9 L November 21, 1944 1–4 Montreal Canadiens (1944–45) 2–6–1
10 W November 23, 1944 5–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1944–45) 3–6–1
11 W November 26, 1944 8–4 New York Rangers (1944–45) 4–6–1
12 L November 28, 1944 3–6 Detroit Red Wings (1944–45) 4–7–1
13 W November 30, 1944 7–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1944–45) 5–7–1
14 W December 3, 1944 5–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1944–45) 6–7–1
15 L December 5, 1944 1–4 Montreal Canadiens (1944–45) 6–8–1
16 W December 9, 1944 5–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1944–45) 7–8–1
17 L December 10, 1944 6–7 @ Detroit Red Wings (1944–45) 7–9–1
18 W December 12, 1944 7–5 New York Rangers (1944–45) 8–9–1
19 L December 16, 1944 5–8 @ Montreal Canadiens (1944–45) 8–10–1
20 L December 19, 1944 3–6 Detroit Red Wings (1944–45) 8–11–1
21 W December 28, 1944 2–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1944–45) 9–11–1
22 L December 31, 1944 2–3 @ New York Rangers (1944–45) 9–12–1
23 L January 2, 1945 3–6 Montreal Canadiens (1944–45) 9–13–1
24 L January 7, 1945 4–8 @ Detroit Red Wings (1944–45) 9–14–1
25 L January 11, 1945 1–5 @ New York Rangers (1944–45) 9–15–1
26 L January 13, 1945 1–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1944–45) 9–16–1
27 L January 14, 1945 1–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1944–45) 9–17–1
28 W January 16, 1945 5–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1944–45) 10–17–1
29 W January 21, 1945 14–3 New York Rangers (1944–45) 11–17–1
30 L January 23, 1945 4–5 Detroit Red Wings (1944–45) 11–18–1
31 L January 27, 1945 3–11 @ Montreal Canadiens (1944–45) 11–19–1
32 L January 28, 1945 1–4 Montreal Canadiens (1944–45) 11–20–1
33 L January 30, 1945 3–5 Chicago Black Hawks (1944–45) 11–21–1
34 W February 3, 1945 4–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1944–45) 12–21–1
35 T February 4, 1945 3–3 New York Rangers (1944–45) 12–21–2
36 L February 6, 1945 1–5 Toronto Maple Leafs (1944–45) 12–22–2
37 L February 11, 1945 2–3 Detroit Red Wings (1944–45) 12–23–2
38 W February 13, 1945 3–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1944–45) 13–23–2
39 W February 17, 1945 6–1 New York Rangers (1944–45) 14–23–2
40 L February 18, 1945 1–2 @ New York Rangers (1944–45) 14–24–2
41 L February 21, 1945 0–5 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1944–45) 14–25–2
42 T February 25, 1945 4–4 @ New York Rangers (1944–45) 14–25–3
43 L March 4, 1945 4–10 @ Detroit Red Wings (1944–45) 14–26–3
44 L March 6, 1945 2–5 Toronto Maple Leafs (1944–45) 14–27–3
45 L March 8, 1945 2–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1944–45) 14–28–3
46 L March 10, 1945 2–9 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1944–45) 14–29–3
47 W March 11, 1945 7–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1944–45) 15–29–3
48 T March 13, 1945 2–2 Detroit Red Wings (1944–45) 15–29–4
49 W March 15, 1945 5–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1944–45) 16–29–4
50 L March 18, 1945 2–4 Montreal Canadiens (1944–45) 16–30–4

Playoffs[]

Detroit Red Wings 4, Boston Bruins 3[]

Having last met in the 1943 Stanley Cup Finals, the Wings would once again defeat the Bruins but unlike the 1943 sweep, this series would be much closer.

Game 1 saw the Bruins take a commanding 3-0 in the first period on goals by Bill Cowley, Bill Cupolo and Herb Cain. After Earl Seibert made it 3-1 early in the third, the Bruins Jack McGill responded. Goals by Joe Carveth and a last minute goal by Eddie Bruneteau made it close but the Bruins prevailed to take a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2 was tied 1-1 until the Bruins scored two goals in 15 seconds in the second period on tallies by Kenny Smith and Jean-Paul Gladu. Eddie Bruneteau made it close in the third but Pat Egan put the game away. The Bruins led the series 2-0 going back to Boston.

Game 3 saw the first playoff goal of Ted Lindsay's career and one by Murray Armstrong less than a minute later see the Wings up 2-0 going into the second period. Pat Egan made it close in the second but Eddie's brother Mud Bruneteau scored at 15:48 of the third. Gino Rozzini scored with two minutes left but the Wings prevailed 4-3.

Game 4 saw only one penalty called and the Bruins led 2-1 going into the third on goals by Ken Smith and Herb Cain. The Wings wouldn't be denied with tallies by Joe Carveth and then Murray Armstrong's winner with less than 3 minutes to play. The series was tied going back to Detroit.

Game 5 saw the Wings jump out to a 2-0 lead on first period goals by Mud Bruneteau and Flash Hollett. Herb Cain responded with a goal 11 seconds after Hollett's. Close checking saw no goals until Ted Lindsay took the only penalty of the third period and Bill Jennings scored on the power play to even it up. Mud Bruneteau scored the winner for the Wings in OT, having somewhat of a reputation for OT clutch goals (see the 1936 Stanley Cup Finals in which Mud scored for the Wings to end the longest OT in NHL history).

Game 6 was do or die for the Bruins and the first period was filled with hits and penalties after Jud McAtee spotted the Wings to a lead 45 seconds into the game. The game settled down after Bill Cowley tied it up. In the second period, the Wings went up 2-1 on Joe Carveth's 3rd goal of the series before the Bruins scored three straight by Jennings, Cain and Gladu. McAtee responded and it was 4-3 Bruins heading into the third. Cowley scored his 3rd of the series and Bruins goalie Paul Bibeault shut the door as the Bruins tied the series at 3-3.

Game 7 was back in Detroit and the team traded goals in the first by the Wings Carl Liscombe and the Bruins Jack McGill. Liscombe scored in the second before the Bruins went up 3-2 on goals by Herb Cain and Ken Smith. With their backs against the wall, the Wings responded in the third. Eddie Bruneteau tied it up 2 minutes into the period. Liscombe completed the Hat trick 2 minutes after that and then potted an empty netter for a four goal game and the Wings series victory. The Wings would lose in seven games to the Leafs in the Finals.

# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 March 20 Boston Bruins 4-3 Detroit Red Wings 1-0
2 March 22 Boston Bruins 4-2 Detroit Red Wings 2-0
3 March 25 Detroit Red Wings 3-2 Boston Bruins 1-2
4 March 27 Detroit Red Wings 3-2 Boston Bruins 2-2
5 March 29 Boston Bruins 2-3 (OT) Detroit Red Wings 2-3
6 April 1 Detroit Red Wings 3-5 Boston Bruins 3-3
7 April 3 Boston Bruins 3-5 Detroit Red Wings 3-4

Player Stats[]

Regular Season[]

Scoring
# Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
10 Cowley, BillBill Cowley C 49 25 40 65 12
4 Cain, HerbHerb Cain LW 50 32 13 45 16
15 Smith, KennyKenny Smith LW 49 20 14 34 2
16, 17, 18 Jennings, BillBill Jennings RW 39 20 13 33 25
9 Mario, FrankFrank Mario C 44 8 18 26 24
14 Gaudreault, ArmandArmand Gaudreault LW 44 15 9 24 27
11 Cupolo, BillBill Cupolo RW 47 11 13 24 10
6 Crawford, JackJack Crawford D 40 5 19 24 10
5 Clapper, DitDit Clapper D 46 8 14 22 16
2 Egan, PatPat Egan D 48 7 15 22 86
19 Gladu, Jean-PaulJean-Paul Gladu LW 40 6 14 20 2
12 Rozzini, GinoGino Rozzini C 31 5 10 15 20
16 Jackson, ArtArt Jackson C 19 5 8 13 10
8 Shewchuk, JackJack Shewchuk D 47 1 7 8 31
17 McGill, JackJack McGill C 14 4 2 6 0
18, 20 Thoms, BillBill Thoms C 17 4 2 6 0
7 Calladine, NormNorm Calladine C 11 3 1 4 0
15 Brennan, TomTom Brennan RW 1 0 1 1 0
9, 18 Henderson, MurrayMurray Henderson D 5 0 1 1 4
11 Fillion, MarcelMarcel Fillion LW 1 0 0 0 0
7 Flaman, FernFern Flaman D 1 0 0 0 0
17 Leswick, PetePete Leswick W 2 0 0 0 0
1 Bennett, HarveyHarvey Bennett G 25 0 0 0 0
1 Bibeault, PaulPaul Bibeault G 26 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Bennett, HarveyHarvey Bennett 1470 25* 10 12 2 103 4.20 0
Bibeault, PaulPaul Bibeault 1530 26* 6 18 2 116 4.55 0
Team: 3000 50 16 30 4 219 4.38 0

* Bennett played 50 minutes and Bibeault 10 minutes during the December 31, 1944 loss to the New York Rangers. Bennett played 40 minutes and Bibeault 20 minutes during the March 18, 1945 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

Playoffs[]

Scoring
# Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
4 Cain, HerbHerb Cain LW 7 5 2 7 0
15 Smith, KennyKenny Smith LW 7 3 4 7 0
10 Cowley, BillBill Cowley C 7 3 3 6 0
17 McGill, JackJack McGill C 7 3 3 6 0
6 Crawford, JackJack Crawford D 7 0 5 5 0
19 Gladu, Jean-PaulJean-Paul Gladu LW 7 2 2 4 0
16 Jennings, BillBill Jennings RW 7 2 2 4 6
12 Rozzini, GinoGino Rozzini C 6 1 2 3 6
11 Cupolo, BillBill Cupolo RW 7 1 2 3 0
2 Egan, PatPat Egan D 7 2 0 2 6
14 Gaudreault, ArmandArmand Gaudreault LW 7 0 2 2 8
9 Henderson, MurrayMurray Henderson D 7 0 1 1 2
18 Thoms, BillBill Thoms C 1 0 0 0 2
5 Clapper, DitDit Clapper RW/D 7 0 0 0 0
1 Bibeault, PaulPaul Bibeault G 7 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Bibeault, PaulPaul Bibeault 437 7 3 4 22 3.02 0
Team: 437 7 3 4 22 3.02 0

[1]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts

Awards and Records[]

Transactions[]

Farm Teams[]

Boston Olympics, Eastern Hockey League

Trivia[]

Gallery[]

See Also[]

References[]

  1. 1944-45 Boston Bruins Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com. hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-06-11.
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