1941–42 Chicago Black Hawks season



The 1941–42 Chicago Black Hawks season was the team's 16th season in the NHL. The Black Hawks finished in 4th place and lost to the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs 2 games to 1.

Regular Season
After changing the roundel background colour to white for the 1937-38 season, the Black Hawks primary logo was modified again, adding more realistic colours to the face, hair and ornaments. This logo was used for the next 14 seasons.

The Black Hawks finished just under .500, as they had a 22–23–3 record, good for 47 points and 4th place in the standings. Chicago scored 145 goals, 4th in the league, and let in 155, which was the 3rd highest. They had a very solid 15–8–1 home record, but would struggle on the road, getting only 7 victories. On December 9, 1941, the Chicago Black Hawks-Boston Bruins game was delayed for over a half hour as United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared that America was at war.

Bill Thoms set a team record by finishing the year with 45 points, which was the 6th highest point total in the league, and his 30 assists also broke a Black Hawks record. Red Hamill scored a team high 18 goals in only 34 games with Chicago, as he came to the Hawks in a mid-season trade with the Boston Bruins. Along with his 6 goals in Boston, his 24 goals was tied for the 2nd most in the NHL. Earl Siebert once again led the defense, earning 21 points, while Joe Cooper would finish just behind him with 20 points. John Mariucci led the Black Hawks with 61 penalty minutes.

In goal, Sam LoPresti appeared in 47 games, winning 21 of them and earning 3 shutouts. Due to injury, Bill Dickie replaced LoPresti as a last minute replacement for the February 5, 1942 game against the Montreal Canadiens and won 4-3.

Boston Bruins 2, Chicago Black Hawks 1
The Black Hawks were the first team the Bruins ever met in the playoffs, in 1927. The Bruins defeated the Hawks then and repeated it in 1942, two games to one. The Bruins played the entire playoffs without Dit Clapper, out with a severe ankle laceration.

Game 1 was a close affair with Roy Conacher scoring for the Bruins in the first period and Max Bentley tying the game with less than two minutes left. Des Smith won the game for the Bruins, 6:51 into overtime.

Game 2 was dominated by the Hawks who scored goals in the second period by Bill Mosienko, Alex Kaleta and Bill Carse before George Allen added another in the third period for a 4-0 win. Pete LoPresti earned the shutout.

Game 3 saw the Bruins stake a 2-0 lead on a pair of goals by Gordie Bruce. Max Bentley cut the lead in half until Jack McGill scored. Bill Mosienko made the game close but the Bruins prevailed 3-2 to win the series.

Awards and Records

 * Earl Seibert, Defense, NHL First Team All-Star
 * Paul Thompson, Coach, NHL Second Team All-Star