WHA 1974/75
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The 1974/75 season was the third regular season of the World Hockey Association (WHA).
The third season saw the league's first expansion. With the Indianapolis Racers and the Phoenix Roadrunners , two new teams were added. There were also two moves with varying degrees of success. After admitting that they could not win the race against the NHL in New York, the team based there moved to San Diego and received the encouragement they had hoped for. They also withdrew from Los Angeles and went to Detroit. The Michigan Stags didn't have the desired success here. As early as January, the Stags became the Baltimore Blades . The team ended the season and was then disbanded. It was decided to split the league into three divisions .
The Toronto Toros upgraded their staff and brought Frank Mahovlich, another former NHL star, into the league. Two events commemorated the 1972 Summit Series , when the stars of the NHL won against the national team of the Soviet Union . On the one hand, the then star of the series, Paul Henderson , now also played in the WHA for Toronto, but above all an all-star team of the WHA organized the Summit Series in 1974 before the start of the season , but lost in the series, which lasted eight games four games were played in the Canadian WHA cities and four games were held in Moscow.
The Houston Eros managed to defend their title. You became the third winner of the Avco World Trophy . They clearly prevail with 4–0 against the Québec Nordiques in the finals.
4,095,911 spectators watched the 546 games of the third season. The average was 7,502 per game, which was a significant increase compared to the previous season. The NHL had about 13,224 viewers at the time, a slight decrease compared to the previous year.
Regular season
mode
The two additional teams split the 14 WHA teams into three divisions. The Canadian and Western Divisions played with five teams, the Eastern Divisions with only four. 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. For the first time, all teams competed against each other with the same number of times. So there were three home and three away games between all teams.
At the end of the regular season, the two best-placed teams from each division qualified for the playoffs , plus the two best-placed teams from the third and fourth places. The playoffs 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
Canadian 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
Canadian Division | GP | W. | L. | T | GF | GA | Pts | Zø |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Québec Nordiques | 78 | 46 | 32 | 0 | 331 | 299 | 92 | 9,406 |
Toronto Toros | 78 | 43 | 33 | 2 | 349 | 304 | 88 | 10,436 |
Winnipeg Jets | 78 | 38 | 35 | 5 | 322 | 293 | 81 | 8,586 |
Vancouver Blazers | 78 | 37 | 39 | 2 | 256 | 270 | 76 | 8,014 |
Edmonton Oilers | 78 | 36 | 38 | 4th | 279 | 279 | 76 | 10,722 |
Eastern Division
Eastern Division | GP | W. | L. | T | GF | GA | Pts | Zø |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New England Whalers | 78 | 43 | 30th | 5 | 274 | 279 | 91 | 7,845 |
Cleveland Crusaders | 78 | 35 | 40 | 3 | 236 | 258 | 73 | 6,931 |
Chicago Cougars | 78 | 30th | 47 | 1 | 261 | 312 | 61 | 3,168 |
Indianapolis Racers | 78 | 18th | 57 | 3 | 216 | 338 | 39 | 7,923 |
Western Division
Western Division | GP | W. | L. | T | GF | GA | Pts | Zø |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Houston Eros | 78 | 53 | 25th | 0 | 369 | 247 | 106 | 6,801 |
San Diego Mariners | 78 | 43 | 31 | 4th | 326 | 268 | 90 | 6,080 |
Minnesota Fighting Saints | 78 | 42 | 33 | 3 | 308 | 279 | 87 | 8,410 |
Phoenix Roadrunners | 78 | 39 | 31 | 8th | 300 | 265 | 86 | 7,443 |
Michigan Stags Baltimore Blades |
78 | 21st | 53 | 4th | 205 | 341 | 46 | 3,258 |
* Moved from Michigan to Baltimore during the season
Best scorer
Mostly familiar faces were found among the best scorers. With Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg , Winnipeg signed two Swedes who made a big hit. In the wake of André Lacroix , Wayne Rivers made the list of the best. He had not been able to assert himself in the NHL and established himself in the WHA from the start. Wayne Dillon was a 19-year-old Canadian who was too young for the NHL. From the coming season he was eligible to play there and moved to the New York Rangers .
Abbreviations: GP = games, G = goals, A = assists , Pts = points, PIM = penalty minutes; Bold: Season best
player | team | GP | G | A. | Pts | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
André Lacroix | San Diego | 78 | 41 | 106 | 147 | 63 |
Bobby Hull | Winnipeg | 78 | 77 | 65 | 142 | 41 |
Serge Bernier | Quebec | 76 | 54 | 68 | 122 | 75 |
Ulf Nilsson | Winnipeg | 78 | 26th | 94 | 120 | 79 |
Larry Lund | Houston | 78 | 33 | 75 | 108 | 68 |
Wayne Rivers | San Diego | 78 | 54 | 53 | 107 | 52 |
Hedberg is different | Winnipeg | 65 | 53 | 47 | 100 | 45 |
Gordie Howe | Houston | 75 | 34 | 65 | 99 | 84 |
Wayne Dillon | Toronto | 77 | 29 | 66 | 95 | 22nd |
Mike Walton | Minnesota | 75 | 48 | 45 | 93 | 33 |
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ron Grahame | Houston | 43 | 2590 | 33 | 10 | 0 | 131 | 4th | 3.03 |
Wayne Rutledge | Houston | 35 | 2098 | 20th | 15th | 0 | 113 | 2 | 3.23 |
Bob Whidden | Cleveland | 29 | 1654 | 9 | 16 | 1 | 89 | 2 | 3.23 |
Ernie Wakely | Winnipeg San Diego |
41 | 2417 | 23 | 15th | 2 | 131 | 3 | 3.25 |
Gerry Cheevers | Cleveland | 52 | 3076 | 26th | 24 | 2 | 167 | 4th | 3.26 |
Playoff
mode
After each division from the first two plus the two best point teams had qualified start in knockout format discharged play-offs . The team with the best points met the eighth best. The second met the seventh, the third met the sixth, and the fourth met the fifth.
The winning teams then met in the division finals. The two divisional playoff winners then met in the final series 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 with the most points in the regular season started 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
Quarter finals | Semifinals | final | |||||||||||
W1 | Houston Eros | 4th | |||||||||||
E2 | Cleveland Crusaders | 1 | |||||||||||
W1 | Houston Eros | 4th | |||||||||||
W2 | San Diego Mariners | 0 | |||||||||||
W2 | San Diego Mariners | 4th | |||||||||||
C2 | Toronto Toros | 2 | |||||||||||
W1 | Houston Eros | 4th | |||||||||||
C1 | Québec Nordiques | 0 | |||||||||||
E1 | New England Whalers | 2 | |||||||||||
W3 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | 4th | |||||||||||
W3 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | 2 | |||||||||||
C1 | Québec Nordiques | 4th | |||||||||||
C1 | Québec Nordiques | 4th | |||||||||||
W4 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 1 |
Quarterfinals (Round 1)
It was certainly no surprise that the defending champion and big favorite from Houston prevailed against the Crusaders. It was rather remarkable that the eighth-placed team from Cleveland was the only one to win a playoff game against the Eros. |
For the Roadrunners, who contested their first season in the WHA, reaching the playoffs was already a great success. The winners of the Canadian Division, the Québec Nordiques, were an insurmountable opponent in the first round. Only in the fourth game of the series was Michel Cromier able to walk off the ice as the winner after 7:21 minutes in overtime. |
In the regular season, the Fighting Sains had won four of the six games against the Whalers and they also won the first game in New England. With a goal from Rick Ley after 6:46 minutes in overtime, the Whalers were able to travel to Minnesota with at least an even balance. A victory in the fourth game brought them back into the race, but a 4-0 home defeat put them on the losing track. |
It was the tight series expected, not only because the fourth met the fifth, but also because both teams each won three games in the regular season. Each team won their first two home games and the Mariners kept the upper hand in the fifth game at home. The decisive victory was achieved by San Diego in the sixth game in Toronto. |
Semifinals (round 2)
Houston Eros (1) vs. San Diego Mariners (4) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
date | Away team | Home team | Note | |||
April 25 | Houston | 4th | 0 | San Diego | ||
April 27 | Houston | 2 | 1 | San Diego | ||
April 29 | San Diego | 0 | 6th | Houston | ||
1st of May | San Diego | 4th | 5 | Houston | 1OT | |
Houston wins the series 4-0. |
The series was played in reverse order. Houston started in San Diego, but in the very first game the Eros made it clear that there could only be one winner. After two wins in San Diego, the Mariners were also outclassed in their first home game. That they managed to save the last game in overtime could be regarded as a respectable success, but after 27 seconds Jim Sherrit ended the season for the players of the Mariners
Québec Nordiques (2) vs. Minnesota Fighting Saints (6) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
date | Away team | Home team | Note | |||
April 22 | Minnesota | 1 | 4th | Quebec | ||
April 23 | Minnesota | 5 | 3 | Quebec | ||
26th of April | Quebec | 6th | 1 | Minnesota | ||
April 27 | Quebec | 2 | 4th | Minnesota | ||
April 29 | Minnesota | 3 | 6th | Quebec | ||
1st of May | Quebec | 4th | 2 | Minnesota | ||
Québec wins the series 4-2. |
The Fighting Saints surprised in the previous round and they had good experiences against the Nordiques in the regular season. They won all three games in Quebec. The Nordiques were therefore very relieved to win the first game. But Minnesota kept the series open until the fourth game. Finally, the nominal favorite from Québec managed to defeat the Fighting Saints in six games.
Avco World Trophy Championship
Houston Eros (1) vs. Québec Nordiques (2) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
date | Away team | Home team | Note | |||
May 3rd | Quebec | 2 M. Tardif ( C. Bordeleau , D. Hoganson ) 37:21 B. Guindon (C. Bordeleau) 43:45 |
6 G. Labossiere ( P. Popiel , J. Schella ) 1:26 L. Lund ( M. Howe , G. Howe ) 2:36 G. Howe (J. Schella, R. Preston ) 12:13 T. Ruskowski ( P. Popiel, D. Larway ) 17:54 D. Larway (T. Ruskowski) 24:37 G. Labossiere ( T. Taylor , F. Hughes ) 41:45 |
Houston | ||
May 6th | Quebec | 3 D. Hoganson ( S. Bernier , R. Houle ) 16:34 M. Tardif ( C. Bordeleau , B. Guindon ) 22:57 M. Tardif (C. Bordeleau) 42:37 |
5 G. Howe ( M. Howe , J. Sherrit ) 4:44 G. Howe ( L. Lund , F. Hughes ) 21:19 G. Labossiere ( M. Hall , T. Taylor ) 42:06 T. Ruskowski ( R. Preston , G. Irwin ) 43:04 A. Hinse (L. Lund, J. Schella ) 51:08 |
Houston | ||
10th of May | Houston |
2 F. Hughes ( G. Howe , M. Howe ) 20:14 P. Popiel ( J. Schella ) 53:48 |
0 | Quebec | ||
12th of May | Houston |
7 G. Howe ( A. Hinse , L. Lund ) 2:41 M. Howe (A. Hinse, L. Lund) 12:18 G. Labossiere ( J. Schella , M. Hall ) 19:53 G. Howe ( L. Lund) 27:36 F. Hughes (M. Howe, J. Sherrit ) 36:52 L. Lund ( P. Popiel ) 54:07 F. Hughes (G. Howe, L. Lund) 58:30 |
2 R. Houle ( M. Tardif , S. Bernier ) 6:01 R. Houle (S. Bernier, R. Brodeur ) 34:51 |
Quebec | ||
Houston wins the series 4-0 and the Avco World Trophy . |
In the first third of the first game in the series, the Houston Eros made things clear. Gordie Howe led his team to the title again in just four games.
Avco World Trophy Winner
The 20 players in the Eros consist of two goalkeepers, seven defenders and eleven attackers. All players who were used during the season were part of the winning team. The team was spared almost entirely from injury concerns that season; 17 outfield players of the Eros completed at least 70 regular season games. Only defender Bill Prentice was used sporadically and was by far the player with the fewest Ice Age. As in the previous year, 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 , Wayne Rutledge Defenders: Larry Hale , Mark Howe , Marty Howe , Glen Irwin , Poul Popiel , Bill Prentice , John Schella Attackers: Murray Hall , Andre Hinse , Gordie Howe , Frank Hughes , Gord Labossiere , Don Larway , Larry Lund , Rich Preston , Terry Ruskowski , Jim Sherrit , Ted Taylor ( C ) 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mark Howe | Houston | 13 | 10 | 12 | 22nd | 0 |
Marc Tardif | Quebec | 15th | 10 | 11 | 21st | 10 |
Larry Lund | Houston | 13 | 5 | 13 | 18th | 13 |
Gordie Howe | Houston | 13 | 8th | 12 | 20th | 20th |
Mike Walton | Minnesota | 12 | 10 | 7th | 10 | 10 |
WHA Awards and trophies awarded
For the first time, the most valuable player in the playoffs was awarded. Two trophies were given new names, the most valuable player no longer received the Gary L. Davidson Trophy, but the Gordie Howe Trophy. The former Howard Baldwin Trophy for the best coach has been renamed the Robert Schmertz Memorial Trophy.
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 | San Diego Mariners | 78 | 41 | 106 | 147 |
Gordie Howe | Winger | Houston Eros | 75 | 34 | 65 | 99 |
Bobby Hull | Winger | Winnipeg Jets | 78 | 77 | 65 | 142 |
JC Tremblay | defender | Québec Nordiques | 68 | 16 | 56 | 72 |
Kevin Morrison | defender | San Diego Mariners | 78 | 20th | 61 | 81 |
player | position | team | GP | W. | SO | ATM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ron Grahame | goalkeeper | Houston Eros | 43 | 33 | 4th | 3.03 |
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Serge Bernier | center | Québec Nordiques | 76 | 54 | 68 | 122 |
Hedberg is different | Winger | Winnipeg Jets | 65 | 53 | 47 | 100 |
Marc Tardif | Winger |
Michigan Stags Québec Nordiques |
76 | 50 | 39 | 89 |
Poul Popiel | defender | Houston Eros | 78 | 11 | 53 | 64 |
Barry Long | defender | Edmonton Oilers | 78 | 20th | 40 | 60 |
player | position | team | GP | W. | SO | ATM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gerry Cheevers | goalkeeper | Cleveland Crusaders | 52 | 26th | 4th | 3.26 |
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 .
Web links
- The 1974/75 WHA season at hockeydb.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ Scott Surgent: The World Hockey Association Factbook. 2010, p. 238, ISBN 978-0-9644774-8-3