Hat Trick

The end of the 1951-52 campaign couldn’t come soon enough for the lowly Blackhawks, who were headed for their third consecutive last-place finish and the sixth straight year in which they missed the playoffs. Only 3,254 fans showed up at the old Madison Square Garden expecting to see the New York Rangers and the Hawks go through the motions in the season finale on March 23, 1952. Thousands more would later claim to have been there, for the game featured one of the most incredible sequences ever witnessed in the NHL. 

     It began at 6:09 of the third period, when Hawks right wing Bill Mosienko took a pass from center Gus Bodnar, faked a shot to the left of goalie Lorne Anderson, then beat Anderson with a low wrist shot to the goalie’s right.     

    

BILL MOSIENKO

Mosienko raised his stick in the time-honored fashion of celebrating a goal, then skated back to center ice for the ensuing faceoff. Again Bodnar controlled the puck and got it to Mosienko, who sped in on Anderson and fired the puck past him for a second goal in 11 seconds. The time was 6:20. 

     Mosienko accepted congratulations from his linemates, then returned to center ice for another faceoff. Bodnar won the draw yet again, and this time he flipped the puck to left wing George Gee. Anderson, a rookie who was understandably rattled by now, committed himself to Gee too soon—and when he did, Gee slid the puck over to Mosienko, who deposited it into a wide-open net. 

     The time was 6:30. Mosienko had scored three goals in 21 seconds—a record that is extremely unlikely to ever be broken. “Anderson might have stopped Mosienko’s first shot,” according to the New York Times. “But the second and third goals were neatly executed and could have fooled any goalie in the league.” While Mosienko scooped up the puck for a souvenir, Ranger fans saluted him by showering the ice with their hats. The Times also reported that “the crowd of 3,254 cheered Mosienko with a volume that seemed to come from twice that number when the record-breaking accomplishment was announced.” 

     The Blackhawks won 7-6 to finish the season at 17-44-9. Mosienko led the team with 31 goals, 13 more than Gee.

     It was typical of Mosienko to provide a bright spot in this dismal era for the Hawks, who qualified for the playoffs only four times in his 14-year career. Mosienko was a two-time All-Star and won the Lady Byng trophy as the NHL’s most gentlemanly player in 1944-45, when he had zero penalty minutes in 50 games. He was the franchise’s all-time leading goal scorer when he retired in 1955 and currently ranks tenth.

     Mosienko was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1965.

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