The New Haven Nighthawks were a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team that played in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

from 1972 to 1992. They had affiliations with the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

(1972–1977), New York Islanders (1972–1973),

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

(1977–1981 & 1984–1987), and

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

(1981–1991). The team played their home games at

New Haven Coliseum New Haven Coliseum was a sports and entertainment arena located in downtown New Haven, Connecticut. Construction began in 1968 and was completed in 1972. The Coliseum was officially closed on September 1, 2002, by Mayor John DeStefano Jr., and d ...

History

The Nighthawks were

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its cur ...

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 Glenn Allan "Chico" Resch (born July 10, 1948) is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey goaltender and television sportscaster. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1973 to 1987, and won a Stanley Cup with the New ...

, Bobby Nystrom; ex-

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

Willie O'Ree Willie Eldon O'Ree (born October 15, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, best known for being the first Black player in the National Hockey League (NHL). O'Ree played as a winger for the Boston Bruins. O'Ree is referred t ...

and Billy O'Dwyer; Tom Colley, the franchise's career leader in games (534), goals (204), assists (281) and points (485); career penalty minute leader (688) Al Tuer; ex- WHA star Bobby Sheehan,

Cam Connor Cameron Duncan Connor (born August 10, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward and a Stanley Cup winner. Connor was inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in October 2015. Early life Connor grew up best friends with ...

Bernie Nicholls Bernard Irvine Nicholls (born June 24, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre, who played over 1000 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). His junior career was spent with the Kingston Canadians, where he established himse ...

Blaine Stoughton Blaine A. Stoughton (born March 13, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played twelve professional seasons. Stoughton played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple L ...

, Mike Rogers and

Glenn Healy Glenn Healy (born August 23, 1962) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender who played for 15 years in the National Hockey League. Prior to that, he was a member of the Western Michigan University hockey team, and 1985 graduate of the school. H ...

. 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 Ronald Scott (born July 21, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Scott played in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings. Amateur career Scott played for the Cornwall Royals in the ...

played in 153 games and

Doug Soetaert Douglas Henry Soetaert (born April 21, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was selected by the New York Rangers in the second round (30th overall) of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft. He played 12 seasons in the National Ho ...

played in 101. The franchise was renamed the

New Haven Senators The New Haven Senators were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League during the 1992–93 AHL season. The team played their home games at the New Haven Coliseum. The Senators were known as the New Haven Nighthawks. ...

for the 1992–93 season when they began an NHL affiliation with the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

. The following season, the franchise moved to Prince Edward Island. Today, it is known as the Belleville Senators. The last Nighthawk to play in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

was goaltender

Byron Dafoe Byron Dafoe (born February 25, 1971) is a British-Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was born in Worthing, England, United Kingdom and moved to Comox, British Columbia with his mother at the age of two months. Between 199 ...

, 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, 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: *

(1992–1993) *

Prince Edward Island Senators The Prince Edward Island Senators were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1993 to 1996. Originally located in New Haven, Connecticut, for 21 seasons, including one as the affiliate of the National ...

(1993–1996) * Binghamton Senators (2002–2017) * Belleville Senators (2017–present) The market was subsequently home to: * Beast of New Haven (1997–1999) *

New Haven Knights The New Haven Knights were a minor professional ice hockey team and members of the United Hockey League from 2000 to 2002. They played in New Haven, Connecticut, at the New Haven Coliseum New Haven Coliseum was a sports and entertainment arena ...

( UHL) (2000–2002). *

Bridgeport Sound Tigers The Bridgeport Islanders (previously known as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the f ...

(2001–present)

Season-by-season results

Regular season

Playoffs

The Nighthawks were runners-up for the

in 1974–75, 1977–78, 1978–79, & 1988–89.

References