This Day in Hockey History – January 28, 1943 – Bentley Brothers Buffet

If your last name was Bentley and you were wearing a Chicago Black Hawks sweater, then it was a good bet that you were involved in the goals being scored against the New York Rangers when the Black Hawks took on the Rangers at Chicago Stadium on January 28, 1943.

Doug and Max Bentley were the youngest of six brothers, all of whom played hockey. Doug was born September 3, 1916 and Max joined the family March 1, 1920. They were born and raised in Delisle, Saskatchewan on a farm–two of thirteen children. Their father Bill, who was born in Yorkshire, England and immigrated to the United States as a child, settled in Delisle in 1902. In addition to many other business interests he, and his sons, worked hard on the family farm that raised cattle, horses and wheat. It was on the farm where the Bentley brothers built up their strength and mastered their skating abilities. Bill would flood a field on his farm each year that was as long as a regulation NHL rink, but not as wide. The brothers learned how to get themselves out of situations and find the space to shoot. For Max, this training coupled with his innate skill resulted in his ability to put the puck in the net from any angle.

The brothers were turned down by the Boston Bruins’ Art Ross, who described them as “among the worst amateurs to come to my camp.” The Leader-Post columnist Dave Dryburgh had some thoughts on that assessment, writing, “It is foolish to doubt the word of the astute Mr. Ross, nevertheless us westerners accept that statement with a grain of salt. Several grains.”

Doug was signed to the Black Hawks in 1939 and Max followed in 1940.

By the 1942-43 season the brothers were on the first line for Chicago. Max centered the line with Doug on his left and Bill Thoms on his right. During the game against the New York Rangers, these three would amass 18 of the 27 points garnered by their team.

In almost every way this was a lopsided game with the Black Hawks coming out on top. The Black Hawks put 55 shots on Rangers netminder Bill Beveridge, who had been recalled from the Cleveland Barons. Meanwhile Chicago’s goaltender Bert Gardiner saw just 15 shots, the first of which didn’t come at him until 12 minutes into the opening frame.

Doug got the scoring going for the Black Hawks at 6:58 of the first period, assisted by his brother and Thoms. A rolling puck on the third shot by the Rangers and accredited to Phil Watson at 13:19 of the first knotted the game up, with assists going to Bryan Hextall and Lynn Patrick. Bob Carse put Chicago up 2-1 at 18:27 of the first and that’s where the score stood at the end of the penalty-free opener.

The second period saw more penalties than goals. But it was once again Doug Bentley, assisted once again by Max and Thoms who gave the Black Hawks a 3-1 lead.

It was the third period that saw poor Beveridge unable to stop the pucks from hitting the twine behind him.

“While Bill Beveridge struggled to close the door of his cage, the Black Hawks kept their feet in it like persistent salesmen and harried the pinch-hitting Ranger goalie with 45 pot shots which he stopped,” described The Leader-Post. “It was only luck that more shots didn’t trickle in, for Beveridge… was as unprotected as a scarecrow in a corn patch most of the time.”

Max Bentley put his first goal of the game in at 1:44 of the third period. Aud Tuten, with Max assisting, gave the Black Hawks their fifth of the game just 19 seconds later. Max put his second one of the game in at 11:06 of the third and then Red Hamill notched one 34 seconds later for his 22nd of the season. Hamill gave the Black Hawks their 8th, while Chicago was short handed at 14:22. Max once again found the back of the net at 17:11 and then garnered his fourth goal of the game at 19:36 to give the Black Hawks a 10-1 victory over the Rangers. Doug assisted on all four of Max’s goals while Thoms was there for three of them.

With his four goals and three assists, Max Bentley tied the NHL scoring mark and moved himself into third place with 44 points (19G, 25A), while his brother Doug was just two points behind him and in fourth place among the scoring leaders of the season with 42 points (20G, 22A). Max’s four goals and three assists set a Black Hawks record.

Both Max and Doug would go on to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Doug in 1964 and Max in 1966. Max was named one of the NHL’s 100 greatest players in 2017, not bad for an Art Ross throwaway.

Additional Source:

• Dave Dryburgh, “Along the Sport Byways,” The Leader-Post (Regina, Saskatchewan), Friday, October 27, 1939, p. 20.
• Jack Batten, George Johnson, Bob Duff, Steve Milton, Lance Hornby, Hockey Dynasties: Blue Lines and Bloodlines (Buffalo, N.Y.: Firefly Books, 2002), p. 14-15.
• “Bentley Boys Go on Rampage,” The Leader-Post (Regina, Saskatchewan), Friday, January 29, 1943, p. 16.
• “Bentley Jumps to Third Sport,” The Leader-Post (Regina, Saskatchewan), Friday, January 29, 1943, p. 16.
• “Hawks Hand 10-1 Lacing to Rangers,” Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Michigan), Friday, January 29, 1943, p. 16.