1929–30 Chicago Black Hawks season



The 1929–30 Chicago Black Hawks season was the team's 4th season in the NHL. After a two-year absence, the Hawks returned to the playoffs, losing in the Quarter-finals to the Montreal Canadiens 3 goals to 2.

Off-season
The Hawks were coming their second straight season of winning only 7 games and finished last place in the league. The Black Hawks would make yet another coaching change, hiring Tom Shaughnessy. Shaughnessy was American-born, a Chicago lawyer, and the hockey he'd played was at Notre Dame. Training camp ran for 12 days on the football fields of his alma mater at South Bend, Indiana.

Training camp was entirely off-ice under trainer Tom Dyer, a former British Army sergeant-major. The team then embarked for an exhibition series against the Tulsa Oilers, champions of the American Hockey Association.

Regular Season
The Hawks surprised the league, getting off to a 10–8–3 start. However, Shaughnessy resigned under rumours that he and team owner McLaughlin did not get along. He was replaced with Bill Tobin who led Chicago to a record of 11–10–2. The Black Hawks finished the year with a 21–18–5 record, tripling their win total from the previous season, to finish in second place in the American Division, and make the playoffs for the second time in team history. The Black Hawks set team records with wins, points and goals for, and finished above .500 for the first time in team history.

Despite the brand new Chicago Stadium being built and ready at the start of the season, the Hawks played a few home games at Chicago Coliseum due to a disagreement with the Chicago Stadium Corporation. However it was resolved in December and the Hawks moved in.

Chicago was led offensively by young players Tom Cook, who at 22, led the club with 30 points, and Johnny Gottselig, at 23 years old, leading the Black Hawks with 21 goals. Team captain Duke Dutkowski led all Black Hawk defensemen with 17 points in 44 games.

In goal, Charlie Gardiner would once again get all the playing time, setting a Black Hawks team record with 21 wins, and have 3 shutouts, along with a 2.42 GAA.

Game Log
A - played at Atlantic City, New Jersey. B - played at Peace Bridge, Fort Erie, Ontario.

Playoffs
After a two year absence, the Hawks would return to the playoffs, and face the second place team from the Canadian Division, the Montreal Canadiens, in the opening round in a two game, total goal series. After dropping the opening game 1–0 in Chicago, the Hawks and Canadiens would battle to a 2–2 tie in Montreal, allowing the Canadiens to win the series by a 3–2 score, and ending the Black Hawks season.

Post-Season Exhibition
The Hawks went to the Pacific Coast in April for exhibition games against the teams of the California Hockey League and the Boston Bruins.


 * April 10 Hawks 3 @ San Francisco Tigers 4
 * April 12 Hawks 10 @ Oakland Sheiks 4
 * April 14 Hawks 6 @ San Francisco Tigers 4
 * April 15 Hawks 2 @ Oakland Sheiks 8
 * April 16 Hawks 5 @ San Francisco Tigers 3
 * April 17 Hawks 4 @ Oakland Sheiks 1
 * April 21 Hawks 8 @ Los Angeles Richfields 5
 * April 23 Boston Bruins 4 Hawks 2 @ San Francisco
 * April 24 Hawks 11 @ Los Angeles Richfields 4
 * April 26 ?Hawks @ Los Angeles Richfields?
 * May 1 Boston Bruins 4 Hawks 3 @ Los Angeles
 * May 3 ?Boston Bruins vs. Hawks @ Los Angeles?

Awards and Records

 * The Black Hawks did not win any awards this season.