1974–75 Chicago Cougars season

1974–75 Chicago Cougars
Division	3rd Eastern
1974–75 record	30–47–1
Goals for	261
Goals against	312
Team Information
Coach	Pat Stapleton
Captain	Jan Popiel
Alternate captains	Rosaire Paiement
Arena	International Amphitheatre
Team Leaders
Goals	Gary MacGregor (42)
Assists	Rosaire Paiement (48)
Points	Gary MacGregor (76)
Penalties in minutes	Daryl Maggs (137)
Wins	Dave Dryden (18)
Goals against average	Dave Dryden (3.87)

<1973–74

The 1974–75 Chicago Cougars season was the Chicago Cougars 3rd and final season of operation in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Cougars finished 3rd in the Eastern Division and did not qualify for the playoffs.

Off-season

The Cougars approached their third season in the WHA with much hope. They had improved their squad with the arrival of top goaltender Dave Dryden and centre Gary MacGregor, fresh from an incredible 100 goal and 174 point season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Cornwall Royals.

The Cougars jerseys were the same design as in the 1973-74 season.

Regular Season

Daryl Maggs, Steve Cuddie, Dave Dryden, February 20, 1975.

Team owners the Kaisers were losing money and Chicago Black Hawks fans were not willing to support the Cougars. The Kaisers decided to get rid of the team and sold it to players Ralph Backstrom, Dave Dryden and Pat Stapleton on December 28, 1974. It was the first time active players of a sports team purchased their own team and controlled its destiny. In front of an average of 3,000 fans, the Cougars missed the playoffs in what became their last season. They posted a 30-47-1 record, good for 61 points, 20 less than the previous season. Gary MacGregor delivered excellent performances with 42 goals and 76 points while Rosaire Paiement had 74 points. Frank Rochon enjoyed a 21 goal rookie season.

The sale of the Cougars to the players was not to their advantage. They did not have access to the season tickets' money, which remained in the Kaisers' pockets. Since the turn out at the gates was never good, the players lost a lot of money and were forced to fold the team at the end of the season.

Final Standings

Eastern Division

	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
New England Whalers	78	43	30	5	91	274	279	867
Cleveland Crusaders	78	35	40	3	73	236	258	1273
Chicago Cougars	78	30	47	1	61	261	312	1086
Indianapolis Racers	78	18	57	3	39	216	338	970

Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties Minutes
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game Log

Regular Season Results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 18, 1974	2–1	@ Vancouver Blazers (1974–75)	1–0–0
2	L	October 20, 1974	1–3	@ Vancouver Blazers (1974–75)	1–1–0
3	L	October 27, 1974	5–6 OT	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75)	1–2–0
4	L	October 29, 1974	2–4	Houston Aeros (1974–75)	1–3–0
5	L	October 30, 1974	0–1	@ Houston Aeros (1974–75)	1–4–0
6	L	October 31, 1974	3–4	@ San Diego Mariners (1974–75)	1–5–0
7	W	November 2, 1974	4–3 OT	Toronto Toros (1974–75)	2–5–0
8	L	November 5, 1974	4–5	Vancouver Blazers (1974–75)	2–6–0
9	L	November 10, 1974	0–7	Toronto Toros (1974–75)	2–7–0
10	L	November 12, 1974	2–4	San Diego Mariners (1974–75)	2–8–0
11	L	November 14, 1974	2–4	@ Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75)	2–9–0
12	L	November 16, 1974	2–6	@ Houston Aeros (1974–75)	2–10–0
13	L	November 19, 1974	4–5	New England Whalers (1974–75)	2–11–0
14	W	November 20, 1974	6–4	Indianapolis Racers (1974–75)	3–11–0
15	W	November 22, 1974	5–3	Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75)	4–11–0
16	L	November 23, 1974	2–3	@ New England Whalers (1974–75)	4–12–0
17	L	November 24, 1974	5–9	New England Whalers (1974–75)	4–13–0
18	W	November 27, 1974	4–2	@ Phoenix Roadrunners (1974–75)	5–13–0
19	W	November 28, 1974	3–2	@ San Diego Mariners (1974–75)	6–13–0
20	W	November 30, 1974	7–5	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75)	7–13–0
21	W	December 5, 1974	5–3	@ Indianapolis Racers (1974–75)	8–13–0
22	W	December 7, 1974	9–3	Toronto Toros (1974–75)	9–13–0
23	L	December 8, 1974	2–5	@ Winnipeg Jets (1974–75)	9–14–0
24	L	December 10, 1974	2–4	Phoenix Roadrunners (1974–75)	9–15–0
25	W	December 14, 1974	6–0	Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75)	10–15–0
26	L	December 17, 1974	1–6	Quebec Nordiques (1974–75)	10–16–0
27	W	December 20, 1974	5–3	@ Quebec Nordiques (1974–75)	11–16–0
28	L	December 21, 1974	0–3	Edmonton Oilers (1974–75)	11–17–0
29	L	December 22, 1974	2–5	@ Toronto Toros (1974–75)	11–18–0
30	L	December 27, 1974	2–4	@ Toronto Toros (1974–75)	11–19–0
31	W	December 28, 1974	5–3	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75)	12–19–0
32	L	December 29, 1974	3–4	@ Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75)	12–20–0
33	W	December 31, 1974	4–3	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1974–75)	13–20–0
34	T	January 4, 1975	4–4	Indianapolis Racers (1974–75)	13–20–1
35	W	January 5, 1975	3–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (1974–75)	14–20–1
36	L	January 7, 1975	2–4	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75)	14–21–1
37	W	January 10, 1975	5–2	Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75)	15–21–1
38	W	January 14, 1975	5–2	Phoenix Roadrunners (1974–75)	16–21–1
39	L	January 15, 1975	5–7	@ New England Whalers (1974–75)	16–22–1
40	W	January 18, 1975	3–2	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75)	17–22–1
41	L	January 19, 1975	2–5	Quebec Nordiques (1974–75)	17–23–1
42	L	January 22, 1975	5–8	@ Phoenix Roadrunners (1974–75)	17–24–1
43	L	January 23, 1975	2–4	@ Indianapolis Racers (1974–75)	17–25–1
44	L	January 25, 1975	4–6	@ Quebec Nordiques (1974–75)	17–26–1
45	L	January 26, 1975	3–5	Vancouver Blazers (1974–75)	17–27–1
46	W	January 28, 1975	4–3	Cleveland Crusaders (1974–75)	18–27–1
47	L	January 30, 1975	2–5	Quebec Nordiques (1974–75)	18–28–1
48	L	February 1, 1975	5–6	Houston Aeros (1974–75)	18–29–1
49	L	February 2, 1975	3–4 OT	@ Edmonton Oilers (1974–75)	18–30–1
50	L	February 5, 1975	2–4	@ Vancouver Blazers (1974–75)	18–31–1
51	W	February 8, 1975	6–3	Winnipeg Jets (1974–75)	19–31–1
52	L	February 9, 1975	2–3	@ Winnipeg Jets (1974–75)	19–32–1
53	L	February 10, 1975	1–4	@ Indianapolis Racers (1974–75)	19–33–1
54	L	February 12, 1975	3–5	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1974–75)	19–34–1
55	W	February 15, 1975	5–3	@ Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75)	20–34–1
56	L	February 16, 1975	3–6	Winnipeg Jets (1974–75)	20–35–1
57	W	February 17, 1975	6–5 OT	Indianapolis Racers (1974–75)	21–35–1
58	W	February 20, 1975	4–3 OT	@ Toronto Toros (1974–75)	22–35–1
59	W	February 23, 1975	2–1	Vancouver Blazers (1974–75)	23–35–1
60	W	February 25, 1975	4–3 OT	Edmonton Oilers (1974–75)	24–35–1
61	W	February 26, 1975	4–3	@ New England Whalers (1974–75)	25–35–1
62	L	March 1, 1975	2–4	@ Houston Aeros (1974–75)	25–36–1
63	L	March 2, 1975	0–5	@ Phoenix Roadrunners (1974–75)	25–37–1
64	L	March 9, 1975	5–7	@ Quebec Nordiques (1974–75)	25–38–1
65	L	March 11, 1975	1–5	Edmonton Oilers (1974–75)	25–39–1
66	L	March 14, 1975	4–5	Houston Aeros (1974–75)	25–40–1
67	W	March 16, 1975	4–2	San Diego Mariners (1974–75)	26–40–1
68	W	March 17, 1975	3–2	Cleveland Crusaders (1974–75)	27–40–1
69	L	March 18, 1975	3–7	Phoenix Roadrunners (1974–75)	27–41–1
70	W	March 20, 1975	4–2	@ San Diego Mariners (1974–75)	28–41–1
71	L	March 22, 1975	2–4	Winnipeg Jets (1974–75)	28–42–1
72	L	March 23, 1975	3–4	@ Winnipeg Jets (1974–75)	28–43–1
73	L	March 25, 1975	4–6	San Diego Mariners (1974–75)	28–44–1
74	L	March 26, 1975	3–4	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75)	28–45–1
75	L	March 30, 1975	6–7	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1974–75)	28–46–1
76	W	April 1, 1975	3–2 OT	Cleveland Crusaders (1974–75)	29–46–1
77	W	April 4, 1975	3–1	New England Whalers (1974–75)	30–46–1
78	L	April 6, 1975	3–6	@ Edmonton Oilers (1974–75)	30–47–1

Playoffs

• The Cougars did not qualify for the post season.

Player Stats

Regular Season
Scoring
# Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG 6 MacGregor, GaryGary MacGregor C 78 42 34 76 26 3 8 0 0 9 Paiement, RosaireRosaire Paiement C 78 26 48 74 97 0 3 0 0 15 Rochon, FrankFrank Rochon LW 69 27 29 56 19 8 5 0 0 24 Lomenda, MarkMark Lomenda RW 69 16 33 49 21 -2 2 0 0 7 Liddington, BobBob Liddington LW 78 23 18 41 27 -31 5 0 0 19 Popiel, JanJan Popiel LW 60 18 22 40 74 -1 3 0 0 14 Backstrom, RalphRalph Backstrom C 70 15 24 39 28 -28 6 0 0 23 Mara, PeterPeter Mara C 67 17 21 38 16 7 1 0 0 12 Stapleton, PatPat Stapleton D 68 4 30 34 38 -9 2 0 0 4 Maggs, DarylDaryl Maggs D 77 6 27 33 137 17 0 1 0 21 Mavety, LarryLarry Mavety D 57 10 22 32 126 -3 3 0 0 10 Morris, RickRick Morris LW 78 15 13 28 110 -14 0 2 0 20 Harris, DukeDuke Harris RW 54 9 19 28 18 -13 4 0 0 11 Coates, BrianBrian Coates LW 35 12 9 21 26 -6 1 0 0 18 Baltimore, BryonBryon Baltimore D 77 8 12 20 110 -24 0 0 0 2 McCallum, DuncDunc McCallum D 31 0 10 10 24 -6 0 0 0 16 Gordon, DonDon Gordon RW 42 4 5 9 10 -14 1 0 0 8 Zaine, RodRod Zaine C 68 3 6 9 16 -6 0 1 0 5 Watson, JimJim Watson D 57 2 6 8 31 -8 0 0 0 17 Angotti, LouLou Angotti C/RW 26 2 5 7 9 -1 0 1 0 25 Hardy, JoeJoe Hardy C 17 1 6 7 8 0 0 0 0 3 Proceviat, DickDick Proceviat D 11 0 3 3 11 -6 0 0 0 22 Benzelock, JimJim Benzelock RW 10 0 2 2 14 0 0 0 0 3 Kokkola, KeithKeith Kokkola D 33 0 2 2 69 -4 0 0 0 Walter, DaveDave Walter C 6 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 Dryden, DaveDave Dryden G 45 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 Pritchard, JimJim Pritchard D 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 Coutu, RichRich Coutu G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dumas, RichardRichard Dumas G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30 Newton, CamCam Newton G 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO Dryden, DaveDave Dryden 2728 45 18 26 1 176 3.87 1 Newton, CamCam Newton 1905 32 12 20 0 126 3.97 0 Coutu, RichRich Coutu 60 1 0 1 0 5 5.00 0 Dumas, RichardRichard Dumas 1 1 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 Team: 4694 78 30 47 1 307 3.92 1

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

• The Cougars did not win any awards this season.

Farm Teams

• Long Island Cougars, NAHL

See Also

• 1974–75 WHA season