Historic Hawks: 70th Anniversary of the fastest hat trick in NHL history (HIGHLIGHTS)

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Stef
April 6, 2022 (2:07 PM)

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Seventy years ago, in a time that seems all too familiar, the Black Hawks were out of the playoffs. They were in sixth place, when there were only six places to be had. It was the third period, 14 minutes left, and the Hawks were down 6-2 to the New York Rangers.

And in front of a minuscule Madison Square Garden crowd (as the Rangers were also out of the post season, being in 5th place, themselves), most fans were thinking, «What's the point?»
The thing those fans didn't know, was that Chicago Captain Bill «Wee Willie» Mosienko had 28 goals for the season, and figured a nice, round 30 would be great to end it with. And so he had motivation. And when your captain has motivation, you better get some yourself.

Sure enough, the captain scored at 6:09. The face-off gets set up again, the puck finds him, and then the back of the net, again. At 6:20. Two goals in 11 seconds? That has to be some sort of record! But wait - there's more! One more face-off win, another pass from line-mate George Gee, a move to draw the goalie out, and a hat trick!

At 6:30. Three goals in 21 seconds.
March 23, 1952 still holds the date for that record, and Mosienko almost had a fourth, 45 seconds later, but he shot wide. His goals inspired his teammates, and Sid Finney ended up score 2 within the last 7 minutes, rallying the Black Hawks to a 7-6 win over New York. So in a time when it seemed like all was lost, like there was nothing more to play for, Bill Mosienko found a way to make it count. And 70 years later, we're still appreciating his skill, his motivation, and his dedication to his team.