1974–75 Quebec Nordiques season

The 1974–75 Quebec Nordiques season was the Nordiques' third season, as they were coming off a 38–36–4 record in 1973–74, earning 80 points, however, they failed to qualify for the post-season for the 2nd straight season.

1974–75 Quebec Nordiques
Canadian Division champions
Division1st Canadian
1974–75 record46–32–0
Home record27–12–0
Road record19–20–0
Goals for331
Goals against299
Team information
General managerMaurice Filion
CoachJean-Guy Gendron
CaptainJ.C. Tremblay
Alternate captainsSerge Bernier
Rene LeClerc
Rejean Houle
ArenaColisée de Québec
Team leaders
GoalsSerge Bernier (54)
AssistsSerge Bernier (68)
PointsSerge Bernier (122)
Penalty minutesPierre Roy (118)
WinsRichard Brodeur (29)
Goals against averageSerge Aubry (3.71)

The Nordiques would have to find a new head coach during the off-season, as Jacques Plante would come out of retirement and play with the Edmonton Oilers. Quebec hired recently retired and former team captain Jean-Guy Gendron to become the club's 4th head coach in team history. The club would also move from the Eastern Division to join the newly created Canadian Division, which consisted of the other 4 Canadian clubs in the league.

Quebec would start off the season very strong, and fight with the Toronto Toros for top spot in the division all season long. Through 66 games, the Nordiques had a 42–24–0 record, 8 points ahead of the 2nd place Toros, however, the team would suffer through a 7-game losing streak, and the Toros would catch up to the Nordiques. Quebec would win 4 of their final 5 games, and win the division championship, and make the playoffs for the first time in club history.

Offensively, the Nordiques were once again led by Serge Bernier, who finished 3rd in league scoring with 122 points, as he scored 54 goals and added 68 assists. Rejean Houle put together a solid season, scoring 40 goals and earning 92 points, while new team captain Michel Parizeau had 74 points. Marc Tardif, acquired by Quebec from the Michigan Stags during the season, scored 38 goals and earned 72 points in 53 games with the Nordiques. J. C. Tremblay led the blueline with 72 points in 68 games, while Dale Hoganson chipped in with 9 goals and 44 points. Pierre Roy led the club with 118 penalty minutes.

In goal, Richard Brodeur took the starters job, and won a team high 29 games while posting a 3.90 GAA in 51 games. Serge Aubry backed up Brodeur, and won 17 games with a team best 3.71 GAA.

In the opening round of the playoffs, the Nordiques faced the Phoenix Roadrunners, who finished 4th in the Western Division with 86 points, 6 fewer than Quebec. The Nordiques would win their first ever playoff game, defeating the Roadrunners 5–2 at Le Colisée. Quebec went up 2–0 in the series with a solid 6–2 win, as the series moved west to Phoenix. The Nordiques shutout the Roadrunners 3–0 to take a commanding 3–0 series lead, however, they could not complete the sweep, as Phoenix won game 4 in overtime. The series returned to Quebec for game 5, and the Nordiques would win the game 4–2, and take the series in 5 games.

Up next for the Nordiques was the Minnesota Fighting Saints, who during the season, had a 42–33–3 record, earning 87 points, as they finished 3rd in the Western Division. Minnesota defeated the New England Whalers in the first round of the playoffs. The series opened in Quebec, and the clubs split the first two games, as the series shifted to Minnesota. Quebec took a 2–1 series lead with a big 6–1 win in the 3rd game, however, the Fighting Saints fought back in game 4, evening the series with a 4–2 victory. Quebec would easily win the 5th game, doubling Minnesota 6–3 at Le Colisée, and the Nordiques would close out the series in the 6th game, defeating Minnesota 4–2, and advance to the Avco Cup Finals.

Quebec would face the defending Avco Cup champion Houston Aeros in the finals. The Aeros finished the season with a league best 106 points, and had easily beat the Cleveland Crusaders and San Diego Mariners to reach the finals. Houston, led by Larry Lund and Gordie Howe were heavy favourites to win the series. The series opened in Houston, with the Aeros defeating Quebec 6–2 in the series opener, then took a 2–0 series lead with a 5–3 win in the second game. The series moved to Quebec for the next 2 games, however, it was the Aeros who continued to win, as they shutout the Nordiques 2–0 in the third game, and would sweep Quebec with a huge 7–2 victory in the fourth game, winning the Avco Cup for the second time in as many years.

Season standings
Canadian Division GP W L T GF GA Pts
Quebec Nordiques784632033129992
Toronto Toros784333234930488
Winnipeg Jets783835532229381
Vancouver Blazers783739225627076
Edmonton Oilers783638427927976

Schedule and results
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
1October 20Indianapolis Racers1–4Quebec Nordiques1–0–02
2October 22Houston Aeros2–7Quebec Nordiques2–0–04
3October 23Michigan Stags2–6Quebec Nordiques3–0–06
4October 26Phoenix Roadrunners1–4Quebec Nordiques4–0–08
5October 27Quebec Nordiques3–5Indianapolis Racers4–1–08
6November 2Quebec Nordiques2–4New England Whalers4–2–08
7November 4Quebec Nordiques5–3Toronto Toros5–2–010
8November 6Vancouver Blazers3–5Quebec Nordiques6–2–012
9November 10San Diego Mariners4–3Quebec Nordiques6–3–012
10November 12Quebec Nordiques5–4Michigan Stags7–3–014
11November 13Indianapolis Racers3–10Quebec Nordiques8–3–016
12November 16Michigan Stags3–4Quebec Nordiques9–3–018
13November 17Minnesota Fighting Saints7–1Quebec Nordiques9–4–018
14November 20Edmonton Oilers2–4Quebec Nordiques10–4–020
15November 22Cleveland Crusaders2–3Quebec Nordiques11–4–022
16November 23Toronto Toros9–2Quebec Nordiques11–5–022
17November 24Quebec Nordiques1–3Cleveland Crusaders11–6–022
18November 26New England Whalers5–4Quebec Nordiques11–7–022
19November 28Quebec Nordiques7–5Indianapolis Racers12–7–024
20December 1Quebec Nordiques2–3Winnipeg Jets12–8–024
21December 4Minnesota Fighting Saints6–3Quebec Nordiques12–9–024
22December 5New England Whalers1–9Quebec Nordiques13–9–026
23December 8Houston Aeros1–2Quebec Nordiques14–9–028
24December 11Edmonton Oilers3–4Quebec Nordiques15–9–030
25December 12Cleveland Crusaders2–5Quebec Nordiques16–9–032
26December 14Quebec Nordiques4–9New England Whalers16–10–032
27December 15Quebec Nordiques4–6Minnesota Fighting Saints16–11–032
28December 17Quebec Nordiques6–1Chicago Cougars17–11–034
29December 18Winnipeg Jets1–5Quebec Nordiques18–11–036
30December 20Chicago Cougars5–3Quebec Nordiques18–12–036
31December 22Quebec Nordiques2–3Michigan Stags18–13–036
32December 27Quebec Nordiques3–4Cleveland Crusaders18–14–036
33December 28Michigan Stags1–4Quebec Nordiques19–14–038
34December 30Phoenix Roadrunners6–3Quebec Nordiques19–15–038
35January 1Indianapolis Racers3–6Quebec Nordiques20–15–040
36January 4Toronto Toros1–3Quebec Nordiques21–15–042
37January 7Quebec Nordiques3–2Michigan Stags22–15–044
38January 8Vancouver Blazers3–4Quebec Nordiques23–15–046
39January 10Quebec Nordiques6–1Winnipeg Jets24–15–048
40January 12Quebec Nordiques3–1Edmonton Oilers25–15–050
41January 14Quebec Nordiques6–2Vancouver Blazers26–15–052
42January 18New England Whalers2–8Quebec Nordiques27–15–054
43January 19Quebec Nordiques5–2Chicago Cougars28–15–056
44January 23Cleveland Crusaders5–3Quebec Nordiques28–16–056
45January 25Chicago Cougars4–6Quebec Nordiques29–16–058
46January 28Quebec Nordiques4–6Toronto Toros29–17–058
47January 30Quebec Nordiques5–2Chicago Cougars30–17–060
48February 1Quebec Nordiques2–1Indianapolis Racers31–17–062
49February 2Quebec Nordiques4–3Cleveland Crusaders32–17–064
50February 6Quebec Nordiques4–3Houston Aeros33–17–066
51February 8Quebec Nordiques4–3Phoenix Roadrunners34–17–068
52February 11Quebec Nordiques2–9San Diego Mariners34–18–068
53February 13Quebec Nordiques5–3Phoenix Roadrunners35–18–070
54February 14Quebec Nordiques7–3Minnesota Fighting Saints36–18–072
55February 17Houston Aeros5–3Quebec Nordiques36–19–072
56February 19Quebec Nordiques4–10Houston Aeros36–20–072
57February 20Quebec Nordiques2–5San Diego Mariners36–21–072
58February 23San Diego Mariners4–6Quebec Nordiques37–21–074
59February 24San Diego Mariners3–5Quebec Nordiques38–21–076
60February 27Vancouver Blazers7–9Quebec Nordiques39–21–078
61March 1Minnesota Fighting Saints4–1Quebec Nordiques39–22–078
62March 4Quebec Nordiques2–8San Diego Mariners39–23–078
63March 5Quebec Nordiques3–6Phoenix Roadrunners39–24–078
64March 7Quebec Nordiques4–1Toronto Toros40–24–080
65March 9Chicago Cougars5–7Quebec Nordiques41–24–082
66March 12Winnipeg Jets3–5Quebec Nordiques42–24–084
67March 14Quebec Nordiques3–4Winnipeg Jets42–25–084
68March 15Quebec Nordiques4–7Vancouver Blazers42–26–084
69March 16Quebec Nordiques2–4Vancouver Blazers42–27–084
70March 18Quebec Nordiques5–8Edmonton Oilers42–28–084
71March 20Quebec Nordiques3–5Houston Aeros42–29–084
72March 26Edmonton Oilers6–4Quebec Nordiques42–30–084
73March 29Toronto Toros5–4Quebec Nordiques42–31–084
74March 30Phoenix Roadrunners5–6Quebec Nordiques43–31–086
75April 1Quebec Nordiques5–3Edmonton Oilers44–31–088
76April 2Quebec Nordiques5–3Minnesota Fighting Saints45–31–090
77April 3Quebec Nordiques1–4New England Whalers45–32–090
78April 5Winnipeg Jets5–9Quebec Nordiques46–32–092

Playoffs

Quebec Nordiques 4, Phoenix Roadrunners 1
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1April 8Phoenix Roadrunners2–5Quebec Nordiques1–0
2April 10Phoenix Roadrunners2–6Quebec Nordiques2–0
3April 12Quebec Nordiques3–0Phoenix Roadrunners3–0
4April 15Quebec Nordiques5–6Phoenix Roadrunners3–1
5April 17Phoenix Roadrunners2–4Quebec Nordiques4–1

Quebec Nordiques 4, Minnesota Fighting Saints 2
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1April 22Minnesota Fighting Saints1–4Quebec Nordiques1–0
2April 23Minnesota Fighting Saints5–3Quebec Nordiques1–1
3April 26Quebec Nordiques6–1Minnesota Fighting Saints2–1
4April 27Quebec Nordiques2–4Minnesota Fighting Saints2–2
5April 29Minnesota Fighting Saints3–6Quebec Nordiques3–2
6May 1Quebec Nordiques4–2Minnesota Fighting Saints4–2

Houston Aeros 4, Quebec Nordiques 0
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1May 3Quebec Nordiques2–6Houston Aeros0–1
2May 6Quebec Nordiques3–5Houston Aeros0–2
3May 10Houston Aeros2–0Quebec Nordiques0–3
4May 12Houston Aeros7–2Quebec Nordiques0–4

Season stats

Scoring leaders
Player GP G A Pts PIM
Serge Bernier76546812275
Rejean Houle6440529237
Michel Parizeau7828467469
Marc Tardif5338347270
J. C. Tremblay6816567218

Goaltending
PlayerGPTOIWLTGASOGAASave %
Serge Aubry3117621711010903.71.886
Richard Brodeur5129382921018803.84.892

Playoff stats

Scoring leaders
Player GP G A Pts PIM
Marc Tardif1510112110
Rejean Houle15106162
Serge Bernier1588166
Chris Bordeleau15213152
Rene LeClerc14771441

Goaltending
PlayerGPTOIWLGASOGAA
Richard Brodeur15906874813.18

Draft picks

Quebec's draft picks at the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft.[1][2]

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
WHA Secret Amateur Draft
112Alain Daigle CanadaTrois-Rivières Ducs (QMJHL)
WHA Amateur Draft
19Real Cloutier CanadaQuebec Remparts (QMJHL)
224Charles Constantin CanadaQuebec Remparts (QMJHL)
454Jean Bernier CanadaShawinigan Dynamos (QMJHL)
568Dave Logan CanadaLaval National (QMJHL)
683Michel Bergeron CanadaSorel Black Hawks (QMJHL)
798Denis Carufel CanadaSorel Black Hawks (QMJHL)
8113Claude Dupuis CanadaLaval National (QMJHL)
9128Mario Lessard CanadaSherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
10141Claude Arvisais CanadaShawinigan Dynamos (QMJHL)

References
  1. "1974 WHA Amateur Draft". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  2. "1974 WHA Secret Amateur Draft". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
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