The New Haven Nighthawks were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League from 1972 to 1992. They had affiliations with the Minnesota North Stars (1972–1977),

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

(1972–1973), New York Rangers (1977–1981 & 1984–1987), and Los Angeles Kings (1981–1991). The team played their home games at New Haven Coliseum.

History

The Nighthawks were Calder Cup finalists four times: 1974–75, 1977–78, 1978–79 and a dramatic, unlikely playoff run in 1988–89 when they finished fourth in their division yet won two exciting playoff rounds before succumbing to the Adirondack Red Wings in the finals in five games. Those same Red Wings would take the Hawks out again in their last post-season before becoming the ill-fated New Haven Senators in 1992–93. Notable players for the Nighthawks include former New York Islanders greats Chico Resch,

Bobby Nystrom Robert Thore Nystrom (born October 10, 1952) is a Swedish-Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He played for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1972– 86. He is best remembered as having scored the ...

; ex- Boston Bruins Willie O'Ree and

Billy O'Dwyer William Michael "Bill" O'Dwyer (born January 25, 1960) is an American former professional ice hockey forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forwar ...

;

Tom Colley Thomas Lewis Colley (August 21, 1953 – November 17, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre. He played one game in the National Hockey League, with the Minnesota North Stars on March 12, 1975. The rest of his career, which lasted fr ...

, the franchise's career leader in games (534), goals (204), assists (281) and points (485); career penalty minute leader (688)

Al Tuer Allan Tuer (born July 19, 1963) is a professional scout for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. He was a professional ice hockey defenceman that was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 9th round (186th overall) of the 1981 N ...

; ex- WHA star Bobby Sheehan, Cam Connor, Bernie Nicholls, Blaine Stoughton, Mike Rogers and Glenn Healy. The team was notorious for a revolving door for personnel holding the AHL record for players used in a single season with 62 in 1986. No player other than Colley played in as many as 300 games for the Nighthawks, while only two goaltenders played over 100 games. Ron Scott played in 153 games and Doug Soetaert played in 101. The franchise was renamed the New Haven Senators for the 1992–93 season when they began an NHL affiliation with the Ottawa Senators. The following season, the franchise moved to Prince Edward Island. Today, it is known as the

Belleville Senators The Belleville Senators are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2017–18 season as the top minor league affiliate of the National Hockey League team, the Ottawa Senators. Based in Bellevill ...

. The last Nighthawk to play in the National Hockey League was goaltender Byron Dafoe, who played seven games for the Nighthawks in its last season in 1992. The last Nighthawk active at any level of professional hockey was

Mario Chitarroni Mario Brian "Tiger" Chitaroni (born June 11, 1967) is an Italian-Canadian retired professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), winger. He played major junior with the Sudbury Wolves but went undrafted playing minor pro in the AHL before moving t ...

, who played for New Haven in the 1988-89 season, and was active in the Italian professional league in 2009.

Franchise and area history

The franchise became known as: * New Haven Senators (1992–1993) * Prince Edward Island Senators (1993–1996) *

Binghamton Senators The Binghamton Senators were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2002 to 2017. Nicknamed the B-Sens, they played in Binghamton, New York, at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The B-Sens w ...

(2002–2017) *

(2017–present) The market was subsequently home to: *

Beast of New Haven The Beast of New Haven were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League in the 1997–98 and 1998–99 seasons. The team was based in New Haven, Connecticut, and played at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which was demolished in 2007. The Be ...

(1997–1999) * New Haven Knights ( UHL) (2000–2002). * Bridgeport Sound Tigers (2001–present)

Season-by-season results

Regular season

Playoffs

The Nighthawks were runners-up for the Calder Cup in 1974–75, 1977–78, 1978–79, & 1988–89.

References