The
1965–66 Chicago Black Hawks
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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season was the Hawks'
40th season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
in the
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
, and the club was coming off a third-place finish in 1964–65, as Chicago had a record of 34–28–8, earning 76 points, which was their lowest point total since 1961–62. The Hawks then upset the first place
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...
in the NHL semi-finals, before losing to the
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
in seven games in the
1965 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1965 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1964–65 season, and the culmination of the 1965 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Chicago Black Hawks and the Montreal Canadiens. Th ...
.
Chicago began the season very strong, going unbeaten in their first seven games, with a 6–0–1 record, before recording their first loss of the year. The Hawks continued to play very strong hockey all season long, only once did they have a losing streak of more than three games, as the club set a team record for wins with 37, and their 82 points earned was a six-point improvement over the previous season, as the Black Hawks finished second in the NHL, and earned a playoff spot for the eighth consecutive season.
On February 26, 1966, team owner
James D. Norris
James Dougan Norris (November 6, 1906 – February 25, 1966) was an American sports businessman, with interests in boxing, ice hockey, and horse racing. He was the son of James E. Norris (whom the James Norris Memorial Trophy is named after) an ...
died due to a heart attack. Norris was 59 years old.
Offensively, the Hawks were led by
Bobby Hull
Robert Marvin Hull OC (born January 3, 1939) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. His blonde hair, skating speed, end-to-end rushes, and ability to shoot the puck at very high veloc ...
, who had a record breaking season, as he scored an NHL record 54 goals, while earning an NHL record 97 points, as he won the
Art Ross Trophy
The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the National Hockey League (NHL) player who leads the league in points at the end of the regular season. It was presented to the league by former player, General Manager, and head coach Art Ross. The trophy has ...
and
Hart Memorial Trophy
The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, is an annual award for the most valuable player in the National Hockey League (NHL), voted by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The original trophy was donat ...
for his efforts.
Stan Mikita
Stanley Mikita (born Stanislav Guoth; May 20, 1940 – August 7, 2018) was a Slovak-born Canadian ice hockey player for the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League, generally regarded as the best centre of the 1960s. In 2017, he was n ...
recorded a team high 48 assists and finished second with 78 points in NHL scoring.
Phil Esposito
Philip Anthony Esposito ( , ; born February 20, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive, and current broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, he played 18 seasons in t ...
had a strong season, scoring 27 goals and 53 points, while
Bill Hay
William Charles Hay (born December 9, 1935) is a Canadian former ice hockey centre who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Black Hawks. After his playing career, he served as the CEO of the Calgary Flames. ...
had 20 goals and 51 points.
Kenny Wharram
Kenneth Malcolm Wharram (July 2, 1933 – January 10, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League, all with the Chicago Black Hawks, wearing number 17. He won a Stanley Cup in 1961 ...
and
Doug Mohns
Douglas Allen "Diesel" Mohns (December 13, 1933 – February 7, 2014) was a professional ice hockey player who played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1953–54 until 1974–75. Mohns twice won the most coveted prize in junior hocke ...
each scored over 20 goals, earning 26 and 22 respectively. On the blueline,
Pierre Pilote
Joseph Albert Pierre Paul Pilote (December 11, 1931 – September 9, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and perennial All-Star, most notably for the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL), for which he served ...
led the way, earning 36 points, while fellow defenseman
Pat Stapleton earned 34 points.
Matt Ravlich
Matthew Joseph Ravlich (born July 12, 1938) is a Canadian retired ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League for four teams between and 1962 and 1972.
Playing career
Ravlich started his National Hockey League career with the ...
led the club with 78 penalty minutes.
In goal,
Glenn Hall
Glenn Henry Hall (born October 3, 1931) (aka Gunner Hall) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. During his National Hockey League career with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks, and St. Louis Blues, Hall seldom missed a ...
earned the majority of playing time, tying the club record with 34 victories, while posting a team best 2.63 GAA, along with 4 shutouts.
The Hawks would face the
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...
in the NHL semi-finals for the fourth consecutive season, as the Wings finished fourth in the NHL standings with a record of 31–27–12, recording 74 points, which was eight fewer than the Black Hawks. The series opened with two games at
Chicago Stadium
Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago, Illinois, that opened in 1929, closed in 1994 and was demolished in 1995. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls.
...
, and the Black Hawks took a 1–0 series lead, as they defeated Detroit 2–1, however, the Red Wings evened the series up, as Detroit stunned Chicago with a 7–0 win in the second game. The series shifted to the
Detroit Olympia
Detroit Olympia, also known as Olympia Stadium, was a multi-purpose arena in Detroit. Nicknamed "The Old Red Barn", it was best known as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL) from its opening in 1927 to 1979.
Histo ...
for the next two games, however, in the third game, the Hawks took the series lead, with a 2–1 victory, but once again, the Red Wings evened the series, easily defeating Chicago 5–1 to tie the series up at two. The fifth game was played in Chicago, but it was Detroit winning the game 5–3, and taking the series lead, and the underdog Red Wings completed the upset in the sixth game held back in Detroit, as they defeated the Black Hawks 3–2 to end the series.
1965–66 Chicago Black Hawks Statistics – Hockey-Reference.com
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Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Game log
Regular season
Detroit Red Wings 4, Chicago Black Hawks 2
Season stats
Scoring leaders
Goaltending
Playoff stats
Scoring leaders
Goaltending
Draft picks
Chicago's draft picks at the 1965 NHL Amateur Draft
The 1965 NHL Amateur Draft was the third NHL Entry Draft. It was a draft to assign unaffiliated amateur junior-age players to NHL teams. It was held on April 27, 1965, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec.
For the first time the eli ...
held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel
Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth (french: Fairmont Le Reine Élizabeth) is a historic grand hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. With 950 rooms and 21 floors it is the largest hotel in the province of Quebec, and the second largest Fairmont hotel in ...
in Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
.
References
Sources
Hockey-Reference
*National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:1965-66 Chicago Black Hawks season
Chicago Blackhawks seasons
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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