1973–74 AHL season
Sports season
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The 1973–74 AHL season was the 38th season of the American Hockey League. The league renamed its divisions, and the "East" Division became the "North" Division, and the "West" Division became the "South" Division. Twelve teams played 76 games each in the schedule. The Rochester Americans finished first overall in the regular season. The Hershey Bears and won their fifth Calder Cup championship.
| 1973–74 AHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | American Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Regular season | |
| F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy | Rochester Americans |
| Season MVP | Art Stratton |
| Top scorer | Steve West |
| Playoffs | |
| Champions | Hershey Bears |
| Runners-up | Providence Reds |
This was the final season for the Cleveland/Jacksonville Barons as well as for the Boston Braves.
Final standings
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points;
| North | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rochester Americans (independent) | 76 | 42 | 21 | 13 | 97 | 296 | 248 |
| Providence Reds (NYR) | 76 | 38 | 26 | 12 | 88 | 330 | 244 |
| Nova Scotia Voyageurs (MTL) | 76 | 37 | 27 | 12 | 86 | 263 | 223 |
| New Haven Nighthawks (MNS) | 76 | 35 | 31 | 10 | 80 | 291 | 275 |
| Boston Braves (BOS) | 76 | 23 | 40 | 13 | 59 | 239 | 297 |
| Springfield Kings (LAK) | 76 | 21 | 40 | 15 | 57 | 251 | 327 |
| South | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Clippers (DET) | 76 | 42 | 24 | 10 | 94 | 310 | 232 |
| Hershey Bears (PIT) | 76 | 39 | 23 | 14 | 92 | 320 | 241 |
| Cincinnati Swords (BUF) | 76 | 40 | 25 | 11 | 91 | 273 | 233 |
| Richmond Robins (PHI) | 76 | 22 | 40 | 14 | 58 | 248 | 320 |
| Jacksonville Barons (independent) | 76 | 24 | 44 | 8 | 56 | 244 | 334 |
| Virginia Wings (DET) | 76 | 22 | 44 | 10 | 54 | 216 | 307 |
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve West | New Haven Nighthawks | 76 | 50 | 60 | 110 | 41 |
| Marc Dufour | Baltimore Clippers | 74 | 42 | 62 | 104 | 21 |
| Art Stratton | Rochester Americans | 76 | 24 | 71 | 95 | 118 |
| Bobby Rivard | Baltimore Clippers | 76 | 36 | 56 | 92 | 48 |
| Barry Merrell | Rochester Americans | 75 | 28 | 59 | 87 | 49 |
| Rick Middleton | Providence Reds | 63 | 36 | 48 | 84 | 14 |
| Larry Fullan | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | 76 | 37 | 47 | 84 | 19 |
| Murray Kuntz | Rochester Americans | 73 | 51 | 31 | 82 | 33 |
| Doug Gibson | Boston Braves | 76 | 31 | 51 | 82 | 16 |
| Howie Menard | Baltimore Clippers | 73 | 42 | 39 | 81 | 66 |
Calder Cup playoffs
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Calder Cup Final | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Rochester | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | New Haven | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | New Haven | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Northern Division | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Providence | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Providence | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Nova Scotia | 2 | ||||||||||||
| N2 | Providence | 1 | ||||||||||||
| S2 | Hershey | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Baltimore | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Richmond | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Baltimore | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Southern Division | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Hershey | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Hershey | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Cincinnati | 1 | ||||||||||||
Trophy and award winners
- Team awards
| Calder Cup Playoff champions: | Hershey Bears |
| F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy Regular Season champions, North Division: | Rochester Americans |
| John D. Chick Trophy Regular Season champions, South Division: | Baltimore Clippers |
- Individual awards
| Les Cunningham Award Most valuable player: | Art Stratton - Rochester Americans |
| John B. Sollenberger Trophy Top point scorer: | Steve West - New Haven Nighthawks |
| Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award Rookie of the year: | Rick Middleton - Providence Reds |
| Eddie Shore Award Defenceman of the year: | Gordie Smith - Springfield Kings |
| Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award Lowest goals against average: | Jim Shaw and Dave Elenbaas - Nova Scotia Voyageurs |
| Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award Coach of the year: | Don Cherry - Rochester Americans |
- Other awards
| James C. Hendy Memorial Award Most outstanding executive: | Arthur Whiteman |
| James H. Ellery Memorial Award Outstanding media coverage: | George Taylor, Baltimore |