1973–74 Chicago Cougars season



The 1973–74 Chicago Cougars season was the Cougars' 2nd season in the WHA. The Cougars finished 4th in the East Division and lost in the Avco Cup Finals to the Houston Aeros 4 games to 0.

Off-season
The Cougars jersey was the same design as in the 1972-73 season except for the addition of outlining to the numbers.

Playoffs
The International Amphitheatre was unavailable for the second round because it had booked a production of Peter Pan, featuring former Olympic gymnast Cathy Rigby in the title role. Though the team did negotiate for use of Chicago Stadium, the home of the rival Chicago Black Hawks of the NHL and the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls, it too was unavailable because both those teams were playing in their own playoffs. The team briefly considered playing the matches at the Cleveland Arena before deciding to go to stay in Illinois at a public skating rink, the Randhurst Ice Arena, adjacent to Mount Prospect's Randhurst Mall. Though the arena could only hold 2000 spectators, the team played its three home matches of the series in Randhurst.

Houston Aeros 4, Chicago Cougars 0
When the Cougars won their series versus Toronto, the Peter Pan show had moved on, and the International Amphitheatre should have been available. However, the Amphitheatre had a portable ice surface. For reasons that were never stated, the Amphitheatre staff decided the hockey season was over so uncovered and dismantled the copper pipes used to chill the ice. The Cougars had no choice but to return to the Randhurst Ice Arena, a 2,000 seat public skating rink, for the Finals. The Cougars never quite recovered from the public relations disaster. One sports reporter had quipped, "The Cougars were beaten by the greatest lightweight of them all - Peter Pan."

Player Stats
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

Awards and Records

 * Dennis A. Murphy Trophy: Pat Stapleton
 * Paul Deneau Trophy: Ralph Backstrom
 * Pat Stapleton, Defense, WHA First Team All-Star

Farm Teams

 * Long Island Cougars, NAHL