WHA 1973/74

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The 1973/74 season was the World Hockey Association's (WHA) second regular season .

After a successful first season, the second season started with confidence. Furthermore, twelve teams took part in the game, with four competed under a new name. There had been a pure name change with the Oilers, who replaced their associated province of Alberta in the name with Edmonton. The New York Raiders had a new owner who had renamed the team the New York Golden Blades . During the season, the team moved from Manhattan to New Jersey and played as Jersey Knights there . There was also a move at the Ottawa Nationals . The team had already played the playoffs in Toronto last year and moved there due to the positive response from the audience. The new name was now Toronto Toros . The Philadelphia Blazers had to make the furthest move . They moved from the east of the United States to the west coast of Canada and played as Vancouver Blazers from then on .

In terms of personnel, the signing of Gordie Howe in particular caused a stir. He was a legend in the National Hockey League and had retired two years earlier. Now he celebrated his comeback and played for the Houston Eros together with his two sons Mark and Marty . With 100 scorer points, he showed that he could still play at the highest level.

The Houston Eros were also the second winner of the Avco World Trophy . They clearly beat the Chicago Cougars 4-0 in the finals. Chicago was fourth in the Eastern Division surprisingly advanced into the final series.

2,764,506 spectators saw the 468 games of the second season, an average of 5,907 per game. The NHL had about 13,848 viewers per game at the time.

Regular season

mode

As in the previous year, the twelve WHA teams were divided into two divisions of six teams each. In total, each team played 78 season games in the course of the regular season , 39 of them on home ice and 39 on that of the opposing team. In contrast to the common method in Europe of playing the same number of games against each team in the course of the season, the WHA teams competed against each other differently often. Teams that belonged to the same division played against each other eight times during the season. Six games were played against each team in the other division. In addition, each team played two more games against a “regional neighbor”. There was a swap in the pairs when the Blazers moved from Philadelphia to Vancouver. The new couples were Chicago and Winnipeg, Cleveland and Minnesota, Edmonton and Houston, Vancouver and Los Angeles, New England and New York, and Toronto and Quebec.

At the end of the regular season, the four best-placed teams from each division qualified for the playoffs , which took place after the regular season and were played in the knockout system . If two or more teams were tied, the larger number of games won counted first.

Closing tables

Eastern Division

Abbreviations: GP = games, W = wins, L = defeats, T = draws, GF = goals scored, GA = goals conceded, Pts = points
Explanations: The position within the conference is in brackets;     = Playoff qualification,     = division winner

Eastern Division GP W. L. T GF GA Pts Zø
New England Whalers 78 43 31 4th 291 260 90 5,970
Toronto Toros 78 41 33 4th 304 272 86 4,291
Cleveland Crusaders 78 34 32 9 266 264 83 6.212
Chicago Cougars 78 38 35 5 271 273 81 4,924
Québec Nordiques 78 38 36 4th 268 280 80 7,983
New York Golden Blades *
Jersey Knights 		78 32 42 4th 303 334 68 2,585

* Moved from New York to New Jersey during the season

Western Division

Western Division GP W. L. T GF GA Pts Zø
Houston Eros 78 48 25th 5 318 219 101 6,811
Minnesota Fighting Saints 78 44 32 2 332 275 90 6,584
Edmonton Oilers 78 38 37 3 268 269 79 4,429
Winnipeg Jets 78 34 39 5 264 296 73 6,401
Vancouver Blazers 78 27 50 1 278 345 55 9,356
Los Angeles Sharks 78 25th 53 0 239 339 50 5,338

Best scorer

Only in the shadow of the stars was top scorer Mike Walton with the Boston Bruins until the previous season . The new top star of the league Gordie Howe , who was back on the ice two years after his retirement, also managed to break the 100-point mark. In his second WHA season was the 35-year-old Wayne Connelly , who brought plenty of NHL experience. Also from the beginning were Wayne Carleton and Larry Lund . With Serge Bernier they had caught the second best scorer of the Los Angeles Kings in Quebec . Only Bobby Hull , André Lacroix and Danny Lawson made it into the "Top Ten" as in the previous year.

Abbreviations: GP = games, G = goals, A = assists , Pts = points, PIM = penalty minutes; Bold: Season best

player team GP G A. Pts PIM
Mike Walton Minnesota 78 57 60 117 88
André Lacroix New York / Jersey 78 31 80 111 54
Gordie Howe Houston 76 31 69 100 46
Wayne Connelly Minnesota 78 42 53 95 16
Bobby Hull Winnipeg 75 53 42 95 37
Wayne Carleton Toronto 78 37 55 92 31
Bryan Campbell Vancouver 76 27 62 89 50
Danny Lawson Vancouver 78 50 38 88 14th
Serge Bernier Quebec 74 37 49 86 107
Larry Lund Houston 75 33 53 86 109

Best goalkeeper

Abbreviations: GP = games, TOI = ice age (in minutes), W = wins, L = defeats, OTL = overtime / shootout defeats , GA = goals conceded, SO = shutouts , Sv% = shots saved (in%), GAA = Conceded goal; Bold: Season best

player team GP TOI W. L. T GA SO ATM
Don MacLeod Houston 49 2971 33 13 3 127 3 2.56
Gerry Cheevers Cleveland 59 3562 30th 20th 6th 180 4th 3.03
Al Smith New England 55 3194 30th 21st 2 164 2 3.08
Jack Norris Edmonton 53 2954 23 24 1 158 2 3.21
Les Binkley Toronto 27 1412 14th 9 1 77 1 3.27
Mike Curran Minnesota 40 2382 23 14th 2 130 2 3.27
Ernie Wakely Winnipeg 37 2254 15th 18th 4th 123 3 3.27

Playoff

mode

After the first four teams had qualified from each division, start in K. Knockout system discharged play-offs . The division winners met fourth in the division semifinals, while the teams in second and third played the other semifinals.

The winning teams then met in the division finals. The two divisional playoff winners then met in the finals for the Avco World Trophy .

All series in each round were played in best-of-seven mode, which means that a team needed four wins to reach the next round. The higher ranked team had the first two games at home, the next two the opposing team. If no winner emerged from the round up to then, the home law changed from game to game. The higher-ranked team had a home advantage in games 1, 2, 5 and 7, i.e. four of the maximum seven games.

In the final, the team started with more points in the regular season with two home games. Two away games followed.

For games that were tied after the regular playing time of 60 minutes, overtime followed . The thirds lasted 20 minutes and the game was played until one team scored the first goal.

Playoff tree

  Semifinals division Division Finals final
                           
  E1 New England Whalers 3        
E4 Chicago Cougars 4th  
E4 Chicago Cougars 4th
  E2 Toronto Toros 3  
E2 Toronto Toros 4th
E3 Cleveland Crusaders 1  
E4 Chicago Cougars 0
  W1 Houston Eros 4th
W1 Houston Eros 4th    
W4 Winnipeg Jets 0  
W1 Houston Eros 4th
  W2 Minnesota Fighting Saints 2  
W2 Minnesota Fighting Saints 4th
  W3 Edmonton Oilers 1  

Division Semifinals (Round 1)

Eastern Division

New England Whalers (1) vs. Chicago Cougars (4)
date Away team Home team Note
April 6th Chicago 4th 6th New England
7th of April Chicago 3 4th New England 1OT
9th April New England 6th 8th Chicago
10th of April New England 1 2 Chicago 1OT
12. April Chicago 4th 2 New England
April 14th New England 2 0 Chicago
April 16 Chicago 3 2 New England
Chicago wins the series 4-3.

The favored Whalers started with two wins, whereby the second win could only be secured by John French after 2:51 minutes in overtime. In Chicago, however, the Cougars struck back surprisingly, even if they had to go into overtime, but here, too, it came to a home win, for which Ralph Backstrom was responsible with a goal after 17:45 minutes. The Cougars surprised with a win in Boston, but the Whalers returned with an away win. But again the Cougars won in Boston and made the big surprise perfect.

Toronto Toros (2) vs. Cleveland Crusaders (3)
date Away team Home team Note
7th of April Cleveland 0 4th Toronto
9th April Cleveland 3 4th Toronto
12. April Toronto 4th 2 Cleveland
April 13th Toronto 2 3 Cleveland 1OT
April 15th Cleveland 1 4th Toronto
Toronto wins the series 4-1.

With the victory in the third game, the Toros set the course for progress. Cleveland was able to reach a fifth game in the fourth game after overtime with a goal from Wayne Muloin after 4:17 minutes, but here the Toros won and moved into the division finals.

Western Division

Houston Eros (1) vs. Winnipeg Jets (4)
date Away team Home team Note
April 8th Houston 5 2 Winnipeg
10th of April Houston 3 2 Winnipeg
April 13th Winnipeg 1 10 Houston
April 14th Winnipeg 4th 5 Houston
Houston wins the series 4-0.

With Houston's Gordie Howe and the "Golden Jet" Bobby Hull , the most prominent players of the WHA met in this series. The Eros started against the series unusually away from home. They returned from Winnipeg with two away wins and with a 10-1 win in their first home game they made things clear. After four games, the season for the Jets was over.

Minnesota Fighting Saints (2) vs. Edmonton Oilers (3)
date Away team Home team Note
April 6th Edmonton 1 2 Minnesota
7th of April Edmonton 5 8th Minnesota
10th of April Minnesota 6th 2 Edmonton
12. April Minnesota 1 2 Edmonton
April 14th Edmonton 4th 5 Minnesota
Minnesota wins the series 4-1.

The Oilers were able to keep the first game quite open, but after they had also lost the third game, the situation was rather hopeless. With a narrow win in Game 4 they made it back to Minnesota, but there they failed to bring the series back to Edmonton.

Division Finals (Round 2)

Eastern Division

Toronto Toros (2) vs. Chicago Cougars (4)
date Away team Home team Note
April 19th Chicago 4th 6th Toronto
April 22 Chicago 4th 3 Toronto
April 28 Toronto 2 3 Chicago
April, 30th Toronto 7th 6th Chicago
1st of May Chicago 3 5 Toronto
May 4th Toronto 2 9 Chicago
May 6th Chicago 5 2 Toronto
Chicago wins the series 4-3.

Chicago was able to surprise in the second game in Toronto. At home, the Cougars had to move to the Randhurst Twin Ice Arena in Mount Prospect, which can hold just 3,000 spectators . Her hall was rented for a Peter Pan performance. In the fourth game, the Toros equalized and back in Toronto they took the series 3-2 in the lead. After the Cougars brought the series in game 7 with a clear victory, the fourth in the preliminary round managed to surprise and move into the final series.

Western Division

Houston Eros (1) vs. Minnesota Fighting Saints (2)
date Away team Home team Note
April 18 Minnesota 5 4th Houston 1OT
20th of April Minnesota 2 5 Houston
April 22 Houston 1 4th Minnesota
April 28 Houston 4th 1 Minnesota
April 29 Minnesota 4th 9 Houston
1st of May Houston 3 1 Minnesota
Houston wins the series 4-2.

When Mike Walton secured victory for the Saints after 1:40 minutes in stoppage time of the first game, the horror of the favored Eros was deep, but they equalized in the second home game. At the first game in Minnesota, the home team took the lead back, but then Houston came out on top.

Avco World Trophy Championship

Houston Eros (1) vs. Chicago Cougars (4)
date Away team Home team Note
12th of May Chicago 2
B. Liddington ( P. Stapleton , R. Backstrom ) 45:42
D. Gordon ( L. Mavety , D. Proceviat ) 53:45 		3
L. Hale ( M. Hall , G. Labossiere ) 6:31
G. Labossiere ( T. Taylor , D. Grierson ) 9:15
F. Hughes 55:48 		Houston
May 15 Chicago 1
F. Rochon 59:44 		6
M. Hall ( T. Taylor , L. Lund ) 13:21
G. Labossiere ( P. Popiel , T. Taylor) 18:08
A. Hinse ( G. Howe , F. Hughes ) 36:50
J. Sherrit ( M. Howe , G. Howe) 41:59
A. Hinse (L. Lund, F. Hughes) 42:23
T. Taylor (M. Hall) 53:16 		Houston
17th of May Houston 7
M. Hall 5:19
F. Hughes ( G. Howe , A. Hinse ) 10:51
M. Howe ( J. Sherrit , G. Howe) 13:22
A. Hinse (G. Howe, P. Popiel ) 21 : 34
L. Hale (J. Sherrit) 23:21
A. Hinse ( L. Lund , P. Popiel) 43:08
F. Hughes (A. Hinse) 40:48 		4
R. Backstrom 12:17
R. Paiement 25:01
R. Morris ( J. Hardy , D. Gordon ) 31:38
L. Mavety ( P. Stapleton , B. Sicinski ) 35:34 		Chicago
May 19th Houston 6
L. Lund ( A. Hinse , L. Hale ) 14:34
M. Hall 15:47
M. Hall ( P. Popiel , G. Howe ) 16:55
A. Hinse (G. Howe, P. Popiel) 32 : 40
G. Labossiere (P. Popiel, J. Schella ) 33:58
L. Lund (G. Howe, P. Popiel) 43:08 		2
J. Popiel ( R. Paiement , B. Sicinski ) 31:38
R. Morris ( L. Mavety ) 50:12 		Chicago
Houston wins the series 4-0 and the Avco World Trophy .

Chicago was able to open the first game, but then the Houston Eros clearly prevailed. Gordie Howe shone with eight assists in the finals.

Avco World Trophy Winner

The 23 players in the Eros are made up of three goalkeepers, eight defenders and 12 attackers.

A special feature was the consideration of defender Dunc McCallum , who had missed the entire season due to injury and was still immortalized on the cup. The winning team consisted of three members of the Howe hockey family, in addition to "Mr. Hockey “ Gordie also has his two sons Mark and Marty .

In addition to head coach and general manager Bill Dineen , the following players were engraved on the Avco World Trophy, the championship trophy of the WHA:

Avco World Trophy winner


Houston Eros

Goalkeepers: Ron Grahame , Don McLeod , Wayne Rutledge

Defenders: Larry Hale , Mark Howe , Marty Howe , Gordon Kannegiesser , Dunc McCallum , Poul Popiel , Bill Prentice , John Schella

Attackers: Don Grierson , Murray Hall , Andre Hinse , Gordie Howe , Frank Hughes , Gord Labossiere , Larry Lund , Jim Sherrit , Jack Stanfield , Joe Szura , Ted Taylor ( C ), Gary Williamson

Head Coach and General Manager: Bill Dineen 

Best scorer

Abbreviations: GP = games, G = goals, A = assists , Pts = points, PIM = penalty minutes; Bold: Season best

player team GP G A. Pts PIM
Larry Lund Houston 14th 9 14th 23 56
Ralph Backstrom Chicago 18th 5 14th 19th 4th
Mark Howe Houston 14th 9 10 19th 4th
Mike Walton Minnesota 11 10 8th 18th 16
Andre Hinse Houston 14th 8th 9 17th 18th
Gordie Howe Houston 13 3 14th 17th 34

WHA Awards and trophies awarded

The new trophies were named after some of the founders of teams and important people from the organization of the WHA.

Award player team
Gary L. Davidson Trophy Gordie Howe Houston Eros
Bill Hunter Trophy Mike Walton Minnesota Fighting Saints
Lou Kaplan Trophy Mark Howe Houston Eros
Ben Hatskin Trophy Don MacLeod Houston Eros
Dennis A. Murphy Trophy Pat Stapleton Chicago Cougars
Howard Baldwin Trophy Billy Harris Toronto Toros
Paul Deneau Trophy Ralph Backstrom Chicago Cougars

WHA All-Star Teams

WHA First All-Star Team

Abbreviations: GP = games, G = goals, A = assists , Pts = points, W = wins, SO = shutouts , GAA = conceded goals

player position team GP G A. Pts
André Lacroix center New York Golden Blades
Jersey Knights 		78 31 80 111
Gordie Howe Winger Houston Eros 76 31 69 100
Bobby Hull Winger Winnipeg Jets 63 51 52 103
Pat Stapleton defender Chicago Cougars 78 6th 52 58
Paul Shmyr defender Cleveland Crusaders 78 13 31 44
player position team GP W. SO ATM
Don MacLeod goalkeeper Houston Eros 49 33 3 2.56

WHA Second All-Star Team

Abbreviations: GP = games, G = goals, A = assists , Pts = points, W = wins, SO = shutouts , GAA = conceded goals

player position team GP G A. Pts
Wayne Carleton center Toronto Toros 78 37 55 92
Mike Walton Winger Minnesota Fighting Saints 78 57 60 117
Mark Howe Winger Houston Eros 76 38 41 79
JC Tremblay defender Quebec Nordiques 68 9 44 53
Al Hamilton defender Edmonton Oilers 77 14th 45 59
player position team GP W. SO ATM
Gerry Cheevers goalkeeper Cleveland Crusaders 59 30th 4th 3.03

literature

  • Scott Adam Surgent: The Complete Historical and Statistical Reference of the World Hockey Association 1972-1979 Xaler Press, 1995. ISBN 0-9644774-0-8 . Pages 115–157

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Scott Surgent: The World Hockey Association Factbook. 2010, p. 238, ISBN 978-0-9644774-8-3