1974–75 WHA season

The 1974-75 WHA season was the 3rd season of the World Hockey Association. Fourteen teams each played 78 games. The Houston Aeros defeated the Quebec Nordiques 4 games to 0 in the Finals to win their 2nd Avco World Trophy.

Off-season
The Cleveland Crusaders moved into the new Coliseum at Richfield which at the time, was the most luxurious in hockey. The facilities far surpassed the Cleveland Arena which had become decrepit and the area was notorious for the high level of crime. Several Crusaders players experienced theft of their cars and mugging outside the old Cleveland Arena.

Pre-season
The first set of exhibition games between the NHL and WHA were held. The NHL was victorious in the series, winning 5 and losing 2 games.

September 26, 1974: Houston Aeros 5, St. Louis Blues 3 September 28, 1974: Philadelphia Flyers 4, New England Whalers 2 September 29, 1974: Atlanta Flames 3, Winnipeg Jets 1 October 5, 1974: San Diego Mariners 4, California Golden Seals 3 October 6, 1974: Minnesota North Stars 5, Toronto Toros 3 October 6, 1974: Vancouver Canucks 4, Edmonton Oilers 3 October 6, 1974: Pittsburgh Penguins 5, Cleveland Crusaders 3

Regular Season
The WHA expanded by adding the Indianapolis Racers and Phoenix Roadrunners, and splitting into 3 divisions (Western, Eastern, and Canadian). The top two teams in each division qualified for the playoffs along with the two next best teams overall. Prior to the season, Southern California welcomed the New Jersey Knights, who moved to San Diego and became the Mariners, and said goodbye to the Los Angeles Sharks, who moved to Detroit and became the Michigan Stags. Midway through the season, the Stags moved to Baltimore and became the Blades. They folded for good after the season. The Chicago Cougars also folded at season's end.

The only shutout in Michigan Stags history occurred on December 19, 1974 in a 1-0 victory over the Cleveland Crusaders. In a game marred by multiple brawls, Stags goalie Paul Hoganson out-dueled All-Star goalie Gerry Cheevers and made 32 saves.

On January 11, 1975 the Whalers played their first game at the new Hartford Civic Center after playing the previous 2-1/2 seasons at the Boston Garden. The Whalers defeated the San Diego Mariners 4-3 in overtime with Garry Swain scoring the winner.

During the intermission of the March 25, 1975 game between the Toronto Toros and Vancouver Blazers, a breakaway exhibition was held between daredevil Evel Knievel and Toros goaltender Les Binkley. Wearing a Toros #13 jersey, Knievel (who had played semi-pro hockey in Montana) deked Binkley out and scored.

Scoring Leaders
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Goaltending Leaders
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties, GA = Goals against; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average



All-Star Game
On January 21, 1975 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, a team comprised of the Western Division All-Stars defeated the Eastern Division All-Stars 6-4 before a crowd of 15,326 spectators. Rejean Houle of the Quebec Nordiques, who scored twice and had an assist in a losing effort, was the game MVP.

Avco World Trophy Playoffs
Eight teams qualified for the playoffs, the top two teams in each division and the next two teams with the highest point totals. The teams were then pooled together, according to point totals, to determine Quarter-finals match-ups. The three division winners were guaranteed the top three seeds, according to their point totals. Teams were not "re-seeded" after the Quarter-finals round.

Avco World Trophy Finals
The Aeros swept the Quebec Nordiques in the Avco World Trophy Finals. Gordie Howe led the series in scoring with 5 goals and 8 points. Aeros goalie Ron Grahame was named the WHA Playoff MVP.

Video
Over an hour of game action from the February 2, 1975 Cleveland Crusaders-Quebec Nordiques match.