Remembering the Blackhawks Late Great '8'
Before there was 17 Seconds, there were Bill Mosienko's 21 seconds. Playing against the New York Rangers in the 1951-52 season finale at Madison Square Garden, Mosienko had a third period to remember. With the Hawks down 6-2 six minutes into the third, he went on a scoring binge that has not been matched since with three goals in 21 seconds. He could have had a fourth in 66 seconds, but his shot hit the post.
There were a few factors working against the Rangers. The first was New York was down both of their full-time goalies. They had to resort to calling up a minor league option in Lorne Anderson. The second was their star defenseman, Hy Buller, was playing on a cracked ankle but despite these factors, you can't take away what Mosienko accomplished. It's a feat that will never be broken.
In 1955, Montreal's Jean Beliveau recorded a hat trick in 44 seconds. Current Chicago interim coach Derek King also scored a hat trick in 78 seconds in 1991 with the New York Islanders. When looking at the modern NHL, the closest player of the last three decades has been Brayden Point who in 2018, achieved the feat in 91 seconds for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
One of 14 children, Mosienko started playing hockey at the age of 10 and by the age of 20, he was a member of the Blackhawks, brought up to the parent club in 1942 to replace players who were sent to fight in World War II. He played 12 games in the 1941-42 season.
His numbers took off in the 1943-44 season, scoring a career-high 70 points. He backed that up with a 54-point season in 1944-45 without taking a single penalty: earning a Lady Byng Trophy along with the first of his five All-Star nominations.
Mosienko spent all 14 NHL seasons in Chicago, where he registered 540 points (258 goals, 282 assists) in 711 regular-season games and 14 points (10 goals, four assists) in 22 postseason contests. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1965.
His NHL career ended in 1955, although Mosienko then spent four seasons playing with his hometown Winnipeg Warriors of the Western Hockey League. He remained in Winnipeg for the rest of his life, dying of cancer in 1994 at the age of 72.
| POLL | ||
Which of these unbreakable records is the most impressive? | ||
| Fastest hat trick | 26 | 40 % |
| Hall's Consecutive Goaltending Starts | 24 | 36.9 % |
| Larmer's Consecutive Games Played | 15 | 23.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
