1973–74 Chicago Cougars season

The 1973–74 Chicago Cougars season was the Chicago Cougars' second season of operation in the World Hockey Association. The team qualified for the playoff and won two playoff series to make it to the Avco Cup Final before losing to the Houston Aeros.[1][2]

1973–74 Chicago Cougars
Division	4th East
1973–74 record	38–35–5
Home record	23-13-3
Road record	15-22-2
Goals for	271
Goals against	273
Team information
General manager	Jacques Demers (Director of Player Personnel)
Coach	Pat Stapleton
Alternate captains	Dick Proceviat Bob Sicinski Rosaire Paiement Reg Fleming
Arena	International Amphitheatre Randhurst Ice Arena (five playoff games)
Average attendance	4,924 (54.7%)
Team leaders
Goals	Ralph Backstrom (33)
Assists	Pat Stapleton (52)
Points	Ralph Backstrom (83)
Penalty minutes	Larry Mavety (157)
Wins	Cam Newton (25)
Goals against average	Cam Newton (3.14)

Offseason

The Chicago Cougars revamped their lineup during the off-season in hopes of escaping the cellar. The Cougars strengthened their defense by signing National Hockey League all-star defenceman Pat Stapleton from the Chicago Blackhawks as a player-coach, Darryl Maggs from the California Golden Seals and goaltender Cam Newton from the Pittsburgh Penguins. To the forward line, the Cougars signed Ralph Backstrom, also from the Blackhawks, Eric Nesterenko, who had spent a season in Switzerland after a long career with the Blackhawks and Maple Leafs, and junior all-star Frank Rochon from the Sherbrooke Beavers, and acquired Joe Hardy from the Cleveland Crusaders and Duke Harris from the Houston Aeros.[3]

Regular season

The Cougars scored 26 more goals than the previous season and reduced the goals against by 22 to post a 50% improvement in points and secure the final playoff spot in the East Division by a single point over the Quebec Nordiques.

Final standings

Eastern Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PIM	Pts
New England Whalers	78	43	31	4	291	260	875	90
Toronto Toros	78	41	33	4	304	272	871	86
Cleveland Crusaders	78	37	32	9	266	264	1007	83
Chicago Cougars	78	38	35	5	271	273	1041	81
Quebec Nordiques	78	38	36	4	306	280	909	80
NY Golden Blades / Jersey Knights	78	32	42	4	268	313	933	68

Game log

Regular season schedule
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	T	October 7, 1973	4–4	@ Toronto Toros (1973–74)	0–0–1
2	W	October 11, 1973	4–3	@ New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74)	1–0–1
3	L	October 13, 1973	4–6	@ New England Whalers (1973–74)	1–1–1
4	L	October 14, 1973	2–3 OT	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)	1–2–1
5	W	October 18, 1973	7–2	@ Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74)	2–2–1
6	L	October 20, 1973	3–4	@ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)	2–3–1
7	L	October 21, 1973	1–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)	2–4–1
8	W	October 25, 1973	4–2	@ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)	3–4–1
9	W	October 28, 1973	3–2	@ Toronto Toros (1973–74)	4–4–1
10	W	October 30, 1973	4–1	Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)	5–4–1
11	W	November 3, 1973	7–4	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)	6–4–1
12	W	November 6, 1973	5–4 OT	Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74)	7–4–1
13	W	November 10, 1973	3–2	Toronto Toros (1973–74)	8–4–1
14	L	November 13, 1973	2–5	Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)	8–5–1
15	W	November 15, 1973	3–2	Houston Aeros (1973–74)	9–5–1
16	W	November 17, 1973	5–2	Toronto Toros (1973–74)	10–5–1
17	L	November 18, 1973	3–5	@ New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74)	10–6–1
18	W	November 22, 1973	4–3	@ Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74)	11–6–1
19	L	November 24, 1973	3–5	@ Houston Aeros (1973–74)	11–7–1
20	L	December 1, 1973	4–5 OT	Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74)	11–8–1
21	L	December 2, 1973	3–4	@ New England Whalers (1973–74)	11–9–1
22	L	December 4, 1973	0–2	Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)	11–10–1
23	L	December 8, 1973	1–3	New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74)	11–11–1
24	L	December 9, 1973	1–6	@ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)	11–12–1
25	L	December 11, 1973	3–5	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)	11–13–1
26	W	December 15, 1973	5–2	Houston Aeros (1973–74)	12–13–1
27	W	December 16, 1973	3–2	@ New England Whalers (1973–74)	13–13–1
28	T	December 18, 1973	3–3	Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)	13–13–2
29	L	December 21, 1973	1–5	@ New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74)	13–14–2
30	W	December 23, 1973	6–5	@ Toronto Toros (1973–74)	14–14–2
31	L	December 26, 1973	2–4	@ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)	14–15–2
32	W	December 28, 1973	6–4	Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)	15–15–2
33	L	December 29, 1973	0–3	@ Houston Aeros (1973–74)	15–16–2
34	W	December 30, 1973	5–3	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)	16–16–2
35	W	January 1, 1974	5–4	Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)	17–16–2
36	L	January 5, 1974	5–6	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)	17–17–2
37	L	January 6, 1974	0–4	@ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)	17–18–2
38	T	January 8, 1974	0–0	Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)	17–18–3
39	L	January 13, 1974	1–3	@ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)	17–19–3
40	W	January 17, 1974	5–2	@ New England Whalers (1973–74)	18–19–3
41	W	January 19, 1974	5–2	Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)	19–19–3
42	W	January 22, 1974	5–3	New England Whalers (1973–74)	20–19–3
43	L	January 25, 1974	2–6	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)	20–20–3
44	W	January 30, 1974	4–2	@ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)	21–20–3
45	L	February 1, 1974	2–3	@ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)	21–21–3
46	L	February 3, 1974	2–4	@ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)	21–22–3
47	W	February 5, 1974	3–1	Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)	22–22–3
48	L	February 6, 1974	2–7	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)	22–23–3
49	W	February 9, 1974	5–2	New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74)	23–23–3
50	W	February 10, 1974	4–2	@ Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74)	24–23–3
51	W	February 12, 1974	3–2	Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)	25–23–3
52	L	February 14, 1974	3–5	Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)	25–24–3
53	L	February 16, 1974	4–5	Toronto Toros (1973–74)	25–25–3
54	L	February 17, 1974	5–6	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)	25–26–3
55	L	February 18, 1974	3–4	@ New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74)	25–27–3
56	W	February 21, 1974	5–4	Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)	26–27–3
57	L	February 23, 1974	0–3	New England Whalers (1973–74)	26–28–3
58	L	February 24, 1974	1–3	@ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)	26–29–3
59	W	February 26, 1974	4–2	Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74)	27–29–3
60	L	February 28, 1974	4–9	Houston Aeros (1973–74)	27–30–3
61	W	March 1, 1974	7–4	Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)	28–30–3
62	L	March 3, 1974	4–5	Toronto Toros (1973–74)	28–31–3
63	L	March 5, 1974	2–3	New England Whalers (1973–74)	28–32–3
64	W	March 7, 1974	3–2	@ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)	29–32–3
65	W	March 9, 1974	5–4 OT	Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)	30–32–3
66	W	March 12, 1974	5–3	New England Whalers (1973–74)	31–32–3
67	W	March 14, 1974	7–4	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)	32–32–3
68	W	March 16, 1974	4–3 OT	Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)	33–32–3
69	W	March 17, 1974	4–2	@ Toronto Toros (1973–74)	34–32–3
70	L	March 19, 1974	4–7	Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)	34–33–3
71	T	March 21, 1974	5–5	Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)	34–33–4
72	W	March 23, 1974	4–1	New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74)	35–33–4
73	T	March 24, 1974	3–3	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)	35–33–5
74	W	March 26, 1974	4–2	Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)	36–33–5
75	W	March 29, 1974	5–2	@ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)	37–33–5
76	L	March 31, 1974	1–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)	37–34–5
77	W	April 2, 1974	7–3	New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74)	38–34–5
78	L	April 3, 1974	1–3	@ Houston Aeros (1973–74)	38–35–5

[4]

Playoffs

Chicago Cougars 4, New England Whalers 3 - Division Quarterfinals

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 6	Chicago Cougars	4 – 6	New England Whalers	0–1
2	April 7	Chicago Cougars	3 – 4 OT	New England Whalers	0–2
3	April 9	New England Whalers	6 – 8	Chicago Cougars	1–2
4	April 10	New England Whalers	1 – 2 OT	Chicago Cougars	2–2
5	April 12	Chicago Cougars	4 – 2	New England Whalers	2–3
6	April 14	New England Whalers	2 – 0	Chicago Cougars	3–3
7	April 16	Chicago Cougars	3 – 2	New England Whalers	4–3

Chicago Cougars 4, Toronto Toros 3 - Semifinals

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 19	Chicago Cougars	4–6	Toronto Toros	0-1
2	April 22	Chicago Cougars	4–3	Toronto Toros	1-1
3	April 28	Toronto Toros	2–3	Chicago Cougars	2-1
4	April 30	Toronto Toros	7–6	Chicago Cougars	2-2
5	May 1	Chicago Cougars	3–5	Toronto Toros	2-3
6	May 4	Toronto Toros	2–9	Chicago Cougars	3-3
7	May 6	Chicago Cougars	5–2	Toronto Toros	4-3

Houston Aeros 4, Chicago Cougars 0 - Avco Cup Finals

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	May 12	Houston Aeros	3–2	Chicago Cougars	0–1
2	May 15	Houston Aeros	6–1	Chicago Cougars	0–2
3	May 17	Chicago Cougars	4–7	Houston Aeros	0–3
4	May 19	Chicago Cougars	2–6	Houston Aeros	0–4

Player stats

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Ralph Backstrom C 78 33 50 83 26 0 6 2 8 Rosaire Paiement C 78 30 43 73 87 0 7 0 3 Joe Hardy C 77 24 35 59 55 0 4 0 2 Pat Stapleton D 78 6 52 58 44 0 2 1 0 Larry Mavety D 77 15 36 51 157 0 4 0 4 Bob Liddington LW 73 26 21 47 20 0 4 1 2 Bob Sicinski C 69 11 29 40 8 0 1 0 1 Jan Popiel LW 63 22 17 39 36 0 6 0 4 Bob Whitlock C 52 16 19 35 26 0 6 1 2 Rick Morris LW 76 17 16 33 140 0 1 0 2 Duke Harris RW 64 14 16 30 20 0 3 0 1 Daryl Maggs D 78 8 22 30 148 0 0 0 1 Frank Rochon LW 69 12 11 23 27 0 1 0 1 Dick Proceviat D 77 2 20 22 55 0 0 0 1 Rod Zaine C 77 5 13 18 17 0 0 1 0 Reggie Fleming D/LW 45 2 12 14 49 0 1 0 2 Brian Coates LW 50 10 3 13 14 0 0 1 1 Jim Benzelock RW 53 6 7 13 19 0 0 0 0 Don Gordon RW 23 5 4 9 9 0 3 0 0 Eric Nesterenko RW 29 2 5 7 8 0 1 0 0 Brian Glenwright LW 15 3 2 5 0 0 0 0 1 Jim Watson D 23 0 5 5 22 0 0 0 0 John Shmyr D 43 1 3 4 13 0 0 0 1 Lorne Rombough LW 3 1 2 3 0 0 1 0 1 Curt Brackenbury RW 4 0 1 1 11 0 0 0 0 Gary Connelly RW 4 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 Cam Newton G 45 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Dave Walter C 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Ron F. Anderson D 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Larry Cahan D 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Rich Coutu G 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Connie Forey LW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Andre Gill G 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jim Jones D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Al MacKenzie D 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO Cam Newton 2732 45 25 18 2 143 3.14 1 Rich Coutu 1207 20 9 10 1 75 3.73 0 Andre Gill 803 13 4 7 2 46 3.44 0 Team: 4742 78 38 35 5 264 3.34 1

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG Ralph Backstrom C 18 5 14 19 4 0 0 1 Rosaire Paiement C 18 9 6 15 16 0 0 2 Bob Sicinski C 18 6 8 14 0 0 0 2 Jan Popiel LW 18 8 5 13 12 0 0 1 Pat Stapleton D 12 0 13 13 36 0 0 0 Duke Harris RW 18 6 6 12 2 0 0 0 Don Gordon RW 18 4 8 12 4 0 0 0 Joe Hardy C 17 4 8 12 13 0 0 0 Larry Mavety D 18 4 8 12 46 0 0 1 Bob Liddington LW 18 6 5 11 11 0 0 0 Daryl Maggs D 18 3 5 8 71 0 0 0 Rick Morris LW 18 4 3 7 42 0 0 0 Jim Watson D 18 2 3 5 18 0 0 0 Jim Benzelock RW 18 2 2 4 36 0 0 0 Reggie Fleming D/LW 12 0 4 4 12 0 0 0 Dick Proceviat D 13 0 4 4 10 0 0 0 Frank Rochon LW 9 2 1 3 0 0 0 1 Rod Zaine C 18 2 1 3 2 0 0 0 Brian Coates LW 17 0 3 3 35 0 0 0 Andre Gill G 11 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 Cam Newton G 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO Andre Gill 614 11 6 5 38 3.71 0 Cam Newton 486 10 2 5 34 4.20 0 Team: 1100 18 8 10 72 3.93 0

[5]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts;

Transactions

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
May 1, 1973	To New York Golden Blades Butch Barber	To Chicago Cougars Wally Olds
July 13, 1973	To New York Golden Blades Jim McLeod	To Chicago Cougars cash
August 1, 1973	To Cleveland Crusaders rights to Larry Hillman	To Chicago Cougars Joe Hardy
September 1, 1973	To Houston Aeros cash	To Chicago Cougars Duke Harris
September 1, 1973	To Vancouver Blazers Ed Hatoum	To Chicago Cougars cash
February 20, 1974	To Los Angeles Sharks Bob Whitlock	To Chicago Cougars Jim Watson Don Gordon	[6]

Draft picks Chicago's draft picks at the 1973 WHA Amateur Draft.[7] Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League) 1 1 Bob Neely (D)  Canada Peterborough Petes (OHA) 2 15 Larry Goodenough (D)  Canada London Knights (OHA) 3 27 Frank Rochon (LW)  Canada Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL) 4 40 Terry Ewasiuk (LW)  Canada Victoria Cougars (WCHL) 6 66 Keith Smith (D)  Canada Brown University (ECAC) 7 79 Dennis Desgagnes (C)  Canada Sorel Black Hawks (QMJHL) 8 92 J. P. Burgoyne (D)  Canada Shawinigan Bruins (QMJHL) 9 103 Gordon Halliday (F)  Canada University of Pennsylvania (ECAC) 10 114 Mike Haramis (RW)  Canada Laval National (QMJHL) Farm teams See also 1973–74 WHA season References World Hockey Association (1973). WHA 1973-74 Media Guide. World Hockey Association. World Hockey Association (1974). WHA 1974-75 Media Guide. World Hockey Association. "New Faces in WHA for '73-74". Hockey Digest. Des Moines: Norman Jacobs. December 1973. "1973–74 Chicago Cougars Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-29. "1973-74 Chicago Cougars Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-29. World Hockey Association (1974). WHA 1974-75 Media Guide. World Hockey Association. "1973 WHA Amateur Draft". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018. External links