# 1929–30 Bowdoin Polar Bears men's ice hockey season

The 1929–30 Bowdoin Polar Bears men's ice hockey season was the 11th season of play for the program.

## Season

Before the season began, a question was asked of approximately 200 Bowdoin student if they were in favor of abolishing any of the active athletic programs. While a vast majority (145) wanted to retain all sports, 31 suggested dropping one of the programs. Of these, only one person put forth ice hockey to be abandoned, which was fewer than basketball (2), baseball (8), and fencing (22) among others. The relative popularity of hockey in this regard, along with the recent success, gave a good indication as to the stability of the program and its likelihood of survival. These questions were more pressing than usual in the wake of the stock market crash, particularly as Bowdoin was a small college and did not have the funding to support an infinite number of athletic programs. While the program was likely to stick around, its hopes of getting an indoor rink would have to be put off to a later date despite continued cries for its approval.
Off-ice issues aside, the team entered the year looking to win a third consecutive state title and had several returning players to help the Bears along. While most positions were covered, the biggest question mark was in goal where coach Houser had no one on hand with any varsity experience. By the second week of December the rink was up and ready and the team was only waiting for the ice to form. As was typical, the weather prevented any on-ice practice from occurring until early January so the Bears had to stay in shape with games of 'Houserball'.
The Bears were only able to get in one practice before the first game but still managed to pull off a win. the two most veteran players, Bob Thayer and team captain Stuart Stone, were towers on defense and helped Drew keep the Garnet from scoring but once in the match. Souther, a reserve wing, got the team off and running with the first goal and was soon followed by a second from Ward. The Bears were able to hold onto their lead for the duration of the game and jump to the top of the in-state standings. After a match with New Hampshire was postponed and later scrapped due to poor ice, the Polar Bears continued their Maine campaign with a visit from Colby. The Mules offense looked far more composed that Bowdoin's, who were still suffering from a lack of training time. Thayer made several sprints up the ice but found himself alone most of the time and was unable to score by himself. Colby, meanwhile, was able to effectively pass the puck between its three forwards and overcome the stout Bear defense. Hirtle got his first turn in goal in the third period but he was unable to turn the tide and the Mules took the lead in the state series.
Coach Houser decided to go with Stockman in goal for the next game and the change worked. Northeastern peppered the Bowdoin cage with shots but only one managed to find its way into the goal. The inspiring netminding buoyed the rest of the team and spurred on the rest of the Polar Bears who hardly looked anything like the men who had lost to Colby. Rose made a beautiful pass to Dwyer for the first goal and then, after the game had been tied, fished the puck out of a melee of players and roofed the game-winner to give Bowdoin its first win over a Boston-area team. After the rematch with Bates was postponed, the team headed down to face Boston University. The team ended up having to rely on Dennison in goal, the fourth goalie in as many games. Worse, the team regressed back into the same squad that had lost to Colby and played more like a collection of individuals rather than a team. Stone's lone goal came after the game was already well out of hand.
For the rematch with Colby, it appeared the team had recollected itself and the offense finally got on track. After the Mules opened the scoring, Bilodeau and Ward each scored twice over a 20-minute span to give the Bears a commanding lead. Colby, however, refused to stay down and scored three times in the final 20 minutes to tie the game. In the second 5-minute overtime, the Mules' Delaware skated the length of the ice, danced around Stone and fired the puck into the top of the net. Bowdoin was unable to match the score in the remaining 2 minutes and lost in heartbreaking fashion. The defeat put Bowdoin in a precarious position for the state title and the team could not afford another loss if they wanted to retain the crown.
The exam break put the team on the shelf for the better part of three weeks and, once they returned, Bowdoin found that heavy rains had put a damper on their season. Two more matches had to be cancelled but the Bears managed to trek up to Lewiston for a rematch with Bates since their own rink was unusable. With a distinct lack of practice heading into the match, the team looked out of sorts and were easy prey for the Bobcats. Even Thayer and Stone appeared slow in the match that saw Bates take an insurmountable lead in the state series. Because Bates had defeated Colby twice in the interim, the Bobcats were guaranteed to win the state title.
No ice plagued the team for the remainder of the year and the Polar Bears looked like a shell of their early-season selves in the final two games. Northeastern was easily able to avenge their earlier loss despite the furious play from some of the players while Bates capped off a successful season with a routine victory in the season finale. The poor finish was blamed primarily on the lack of an indoor rink and calls were renewed for the school to properly support the program.
F. B. Neal served as team manager.

## Standings

1929–30 Eastern Collegiate ice hockey standingsvte :
| | Intercollegiate | Intercollegiate | Intercollegiate | Intercollegiate | Intercollegiate | Intercollegiate | Intercollegiate | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | Pct. | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| Amherst | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 12 | 30 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 12 | 30 |
| Army | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | .700 | 28 | 18 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 31 | 23 |
| Bates | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | .591 | 28 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 28 | 21 |
| Boston University | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | .450 | 34 | 31 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 40 | 48 |
| Bowdoin | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 12 | 29 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 12 | 29 |
| Brown | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | – | – |
| Clarkson | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 50 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 70 | 18 |
| Colby | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | .643 | 19 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 15 |
| Colgate | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 9 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 19 |
| Connecticut Agricultural | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cornell | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 29 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 18 |
| Dartmouth | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 13 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 44 | 54 |
| Hamilton | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | – | – |
| Harvard | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | .750 | 44 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 48 | 23 |
| Massachusetts Agricultural | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | .636 | 25 | 25 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 25 | 25 |
| Middlebury | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | 26 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 13 |
| MIT | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 16 | 27 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 27 |
| New Hampshire | 11 | 3 | 6 | 2 | .364 | 20 | 30 | 13 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 22 | 42 |
| Northeastern | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | – | – |
| Norwich | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | – | – |
| Pennsylvania | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 36 | 39 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 40 | 49 |
| Princeton | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 18 | 9 | 8 | 1 | – | – |
| Rensselaer | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – |
| St. John's | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| St. Lawrence | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – |
| St. Stephen's | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Union | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 8 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 18 |
| Vermont | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Villanova | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 22 |
| Williams | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | .500 | 28 | 32 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 28 | 32 |
| Yale | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | .893 | 80 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 110 | 28 |

## Schedule and results

| Date | Opponent | Site | Decision | Result | Record |
| Regular Season ||||||
| January 4 | Bates* | Delta Rink • Brunswick, Maine | Drew | W 2–1 | 1–0–0 |
| January 11 | Colby* | Delta Rink • Brunswick, Maine | Drew | L 0–3 | 1–1–0 |
| January 13 | Northeastern* | Delta Rink • Brunswick, Maine | Stockman | W 2–1 | 2–1–0 |
| January 17 | at Boston University* | Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | Dennison | L 1–5 | 2–2–0 |
| January 20 | at Colby* | South End Rink • Waterville, Maine | Dennison | L 4–5 $^{2OT}$ | 2–3–0 |
| February 11 | at Colby* | South End Rink • Waterville, Maine | Dennison | L 1–2 | 2–4–0 |
| February 13 | at Bates* | Bartlett Street Rink • Lewiston, Maine | Dennison | L 1–4 | 2–5–0 |
| February 21 | at Northeastern* | Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | Dennison | L 0–4 | 2–6–0 |
| February 24 | at Bates* | Bartlett Street Rink • Lewiston, Maine | Dennison | L 1–4 | 2–7–0 |
| *Non-conference game. ||||||