The Chicago Cougars --
Played WHA Playoffs in a Shopping Mall
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The Chicago Cougars were an original franchise in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1975. The Cougars played their home games in the dilapidated International Amphitheatre. During the 1974 Avco Cup Finals against Gordie Howe and the Houston Aeros, the team's two home games were played at the Randhurst Twin Ice Arena in suburban Mount Prospect. This was because a presentation of Peter Pan starring gynmast Cathy Rigby was booked into the Amphitheatre and thus made the arena unavailable for the playoffs.
Just prior to the their third season, the team was sold to Cougars players Ralph Backstrom, Dave Dryden, and player-coach Pat Stapleton after the original owners, Walter and Jordon Kaiser, were unable to secure funds to build a new arena. The land for the arena, originally named the O'Hare Sports Arena, was sold to the village of Rosemont and became the Rosemont Horizon (now the Allstate Arena). This building is the now the home of the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League.
They were placed in the Western Division for their first season (1972–73) and transferred to the Eastern Division for their final two seasons (1973–74 and 1974–75).
In 1972-73 The Cougars finished last in the WHA's Western Division during the season with 54 points.
In 1973-74 The Cougars finished fourth in the Eastern Division with 81 points. The Cougars would make their only postseason appearance that year. In the Eastern Division semifinals, they upset the defending league champion New England Whalers, four games to three. In the divisional final, they defeated the Toronto Toros, four games to three, with the Cougars winning the decisive seventh game on Toronto ice, 5-2. Chicago would be hopelessly outmatched in the AVCO World Trophy Final against the Houston Aeros, though, who featured hockey legend Gordie Howe and his sons, Mark and Marty. The Aeros would sweep the series in four games, outscoring the Cougars 22-9.
The Cougars finished third in the Eastern Division and twelfth overall with 61 points. They were tenth overall in goals for with 261 and twelfth overall in goals against with 261. Larry Mavety finished tenth in the league again with 150 penalty minutes but was traded to Toronto after playing 57 games with Chicago. Following the season the Cougars franchise folded, although in the dispersal draft that followed, most of the players ended up with the expansion Denver Spurs, and the Spurs are sometimes considered as a continuation of the Cougars.
Rosaire Paiement was the franchise leader in games played (234), goals (89), assists (127), and points (216). Defenseman Larry Mavety was the club's all-time leader in penalty minutes (356). Goaltender Cam Newton recorded the most wins (37).
"We are without merit. We are in free fall. We are a generation of guys with no statistics - only stories. We are WHA guys living in a WHA world." - Al Smith, goaltender New England Whalers
WHA TEAMS
Alberta/Edmonton Oilers
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The All-Time WHA Team
Gerry Cheevers
John Garrett
Al Smith
Lars-Erik Sjoberg
Paul Shmyr
Pat Stapelton
J.C. Trembley
Barry Long
Andre Lacroix
Ulf Nilsson
Robbie Ftorek
Serge Bernier
Marc Tardif
Bobby Hull
Mark Howe
Rick Dudley
Real Cloutier
Anders Hedberg
Gordie Howe
Tom Webster
Coach: Bill Dineen
Also: Tim Sheehy, Terry Ruskowski, Rich Preston, Danny Lawson, Poul Popiel, John Schella, Chris Bordeleau, Larry Lund, Ron Plumb, Richard Brodeur, Joe Daley, Jim Dorey, John McKenzie, Al Hamilton
