Minnesota Fighting Saints, 1976-77 (Click to enlarge)
Record: 19-18-5, 43 pts
Finish: Folded midseason
Playoffs: -
Coach: Glen Sonmor
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Fighting Saints Preview, 1976-77 • by Barry Wilner • The Hockey News 1977 Yearbook
The final solution to the Cleveland problem was to transfer the Crusaders to the St. Paul Civic Center wherein the cudgels between the WHA and the NHL could once more be drawn. Many in the WHA feel the new St. Paul sextet, formerly the Crusaders, are a better team than the established North Stars. Most of the old Fighting Saints buffs felt the same way.
Coach Johnny Wilson is still working with the Nick Mileti-owned team. And Glen Sonmor, the Fighting Saints general manager, will be back at his old stand, on his home turf. That makes for a good front office team.
Minnesota is suspect because of the loss of goalie Gerry Cheevers last year while the team was still in Cleveland, and because of the release granted to Paul Shmyr, an all-star defenseman who wants back into the NHL.
Whether Bob Johnson, Cam Newton and Bob Whidden can do the job Cheevers did is problematical. No one will take the place of Shmyr although flashy Tom Edur is one of the better young defensemen in the WHA. Ray McKay is the other veteran with ability upon whom Wilson will depend. Spare parts Paul Baxter, Ray Clearwater, Randy Legge and Pat Westrum are just that. Bryan Maxwell, in his second year, may blossom.
The Cleveland attack notched only 273 goals last year, the most in the weak East, but their defense allowed 279 and it had Cheevers for half that time. Still, the situation in Cleveland was dispiriting with general manager Jack Vivian in conflict with his players, and the players fearing a mid-season dropout. At one time, the Crusaders even wore black arm bands as protest over a trip their owner had taken to Kansas City to check that area out.
In a new hockey-oriented clime, with a modern building, the St. Paul organization may be able to pick up the sparks left by the Fighting Saints. They possess quality players in centers Ron ward and Jim Harrison, along with a potential star in young Gary MacGregor, who fell afoul of the sophomore jinx last year. Gerry Pinder does a workmanlike job on the wing, and so does Danny Gruen and Gary Jarrett.
Sonmor swapped aging winger and point man Wayne Connelly to New England for winger Fred O'Donnell and center Bob McManama. He hopes that Al McDonough, who can put the puck in the net, bounces back from a poor 1975-76 effort.
Minnesota might surprise, but they need to shore up their goaltending and defense to move up. And their scorers must work at peak potential in order to avoid Cleveland's longtime problem: not enough goals.
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Game Log ... (@ away game, * overtime)
| no.
| Date
| Opponent
| Score
|
| w-l-t
| pts
| gf-ga
| no.
| Date
| Opponent
| Score
|
| w-l-t
| pts
| gf-ga
|
|
1. | Oct 7 | @ Cincinnati | 2-7 | L | 0-1-0 | 0 | 2-7 | 22. | Nov 26 | Quebec | 4-2 | W | 7-11-4 | 18 | 67-77 |
|
2. | Oct 8 | @ Indianapolis | 3-4 | L | 0-2-0 | 0 | 5-11 | 23. | Nov 27 | @ New England | 3-1 | W | 8-11-4 | 20 | 70-78 |
|
3. | Oct 10 | Indianapolis | 4-1 | W | 1-2-0 | 2 | 9-12 | 24. | Nov 28 | @ Birmingham | 3-1 | W | 9-11-4 | 22 | 73-79 |
|
4. | Oct 14 | @ Phoenix | 3-4 | L | 1-3-0 | 2 | 12-16 | 25. | Dec 3 | Winnipeg | 3-4 | L | 9-12-4 | 22 | 76-83 |
|
5. | Oct 15 | San Diego | 4-7 | L | 1-4-0 | 2 | 16-23 | 26. | Dec 5 | Edmonton | 5-1 | W | 10-12-4 | 24 | 81-84 |
|
6. | Oct 17 | Birmingham | 6-1 | W | 2-4-0 | 4 | 22-24 | 27. | Dec 7 | New England | 4-2 | W | 11-12-4 | 26 | 85-86 |
|
7. | Oct 19 | Cincinnati | 2-4 | L | 2-5-0 | 4 | 24-28 | 28. | Dec 10 | Calgary | 4-2 | W | 12-12-4 | 28 | 89-88 |
|
8. | Oct 22 | Calgary | 2-2 | T | 2-5-1 | 5 | 26-30 | 29. | Dec 12 | San Diego | 2-4 | L | 12-13-4 | 28 | 91-92 |
|
9. | Oct 26 | San Diego | 3-1 | W | 3-5-1 | 7 | 29-31 | 30. | Dec 15 | @ Cincinnati | 0-5 | L | 12-14-4 | 28 | 91-97 |
|
10. | Oct 28 | @ Houston | 1-1 | T | 3-5-2 | 8 | 30-32 | 31. | Dec 16 | @ Indianapolis | 5-3 | W | 13-14-4 | 30 | 96-100 |
|
11. | Oct 30 | @ Quebec | 1-5 | L | 3-6-2 | 8 | 31-37 | 32. | Dec 18 | Cincinnati | 4-3 | W | 14-14-4 | 32 | 100-103 |
|
12. | Nov 2 | @ Calgary | 3-4 | L | 3-7-2 | 8 | 34-41 | 33. | Dec 22 | Quebec | 3-4 | L | 14-15-4 | 32 | 103-107 |
|
13. | Nov 3 | @ Edmonton | 2-4 | L | 3-8-2 | 8 | 36-45 | 34. | Dec 23 | @ Calgary | 1-2 | L | 14-16-4 | 32 | 104-109 |
|
14. | Nov 5 | @ Winnipeg | 2-9 | L | 3-9-2 | 8 | 38-54 | 35. | Dec 26 | @ New England | 2-3 | L | 14-17-4 | 32 | 106-112 |
|
15. | Nov 7 | Phoenix | 1-3 | L | 3-10-2 | 8 | 39-57 | 36. | Dec 28 | New England | 5-4 | W | 15-17-4 | 34 | 111-116 |
|
16. | Nov 11 | New England | 3-3 | T | 3-10-3 | 9 | 42-60 | 37. | Dec 30 | @ Birmingham | 4-2 | W | 16-17-4 | 36 | 115-118 |
|
17. | Nov 13 | @ Quebec | 4-2 | W | 4-10-3 | 11 | 46-62 | 38. | Jan 2 | Birmingham | 3-1 | W | 17-17-4 | 38 | 118-119 |
|
18. | Nov 18 | Quebec | 5-9 | L | 4-11-3 | 11 | 51-71 | 39. | Jan 7 | Houston | 1-1 | T | 17-17-5 | 39 | 119-120 |
|
19. | Nov 20 | @ New England | 3-3 | T | 4-11-4 | 12 | 54-74 | 40. | Jan 8 | Edmonton | 5-0 | W | 18-17-5 | 41 | 124-120 |
|
20. | Nov 21 | Calgary | 5-1 | W | 5-11-4 | 14 | 59-75 | 41. | Jan 12 | Birmingham | 3-4 | L | 18-18-5 | 41 | 127-124 |
|
21. | Nov 23 | Cincinnati | 4-0 | W | 6-11-4 | 16 | 63-75 | 42. | Jan 14 | Indianapolis | 9-5 | W | 19-18-5 | 43 | 136-129
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Franchise folded, January 15, 1977.
Player Scoring
| pos.
| #
| Player
| gp
| g
| a
| pts
| pim
| +/-
| ppg
| shg
| sog
| sc%
| gp
| g
| a
| pts
| pim
|
|
C | 10 | Adduono, Ray | 40 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 17 | -14 | 3 | 0 | 47 | 0.085 | - | - | - | - | - |
|
C | 12 | Antonovich, Mike | 42 | 27 | 21 | 48 | 28 | +20 | 6 | 0 | 157 | 0.172 | - | - | - | - | - |
|
D | 17 | Arbour, John | 33 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 22 | +14 | 0 | 0 | 89 | 0.034 | - | - | - | - | - |
|
D | 2 | Butters, Bill | 42 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 133 | +5 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 0.000 | - | - | - | - | - |
|
LW | 20 | Carlson, Jack | 36 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 55 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0.080 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
|
C | 25 | Carlson, Steve | 21 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 8 | +3 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 0.132 | - | - | - | - | - |
|
D | - | Clearwater, Ray | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
|
G | 1 | Curran, Mike | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
|
LW | 15 | Deadmarsh, Butch | 35 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 51 | -5 | 2 | 0 | 82 | 0.110 | - | - | - | - | - |
|
LW | 16 | Gallant, Gord | 37 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 64 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 0.109 | - | - | - | - | - |
|
LW | 23 | Gruen, Danny | 34 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 19 | +7 | 2 | 0 | 82 | 0.122 | - | - | - | - | - |
|
D | 5 | Hanson, Dave | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
|
C | 14 | Keon, Dave | 42 | 13 | 38 | 51 | 2 | +25 | 1 | 1 | 151 | 0.086 | - | - | - | - | - |
|
D | 21 | Legge, Barry | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | - | - | - | - | - |
|
G | 30 | Levasseur, Louis | 30 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
|
RW | 26 | McDonough, Al | 42 | 9 | 21 | 30 | 6 | +13 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
|
D | 4 | McKay, Ray | 42 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 28 | +19 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 0.038 | - | - | - | - | - |
|
RW | 19 | McKenzie, John | 40 | 17 | 13 | 30 | 52 | +14 | 3 | 0 | 98 | 0.173 | - | - | - | - | - |
|
RW | - | Milani, Tom | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
|
RW | 9 | Patrick, Craig | 30 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 6 | +4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
|
LW | 7 | Stewart, John A. | 15 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 0.081 | - | - | - | - | - |
|
C | 24 | Ward, Ron | 41 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 6 | +9 | 4 | 1 | 96 | 0.156 | - | - | - | - | - |
|
D | 6 | Westrum, Pat | 40 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 42 | +15 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0.022 | - | - | - | - | - |
|
D | 8 | Zrymiak, Jerry | 40 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 14 | +7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | -
|
Goaltending
| Goaltender
| gp
| min
| ga
| en
| so
| w-l-t
| gaa
| sog
| sv%
| gp
| min
| ga
| w-l
| gaa
|
|
Curran, Mike | 16 | 848 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 4-7-3 | 3.54 | 476 | 0.895 | - | - | - | - | - |
|
Levasseur, Louis | 30 | 1715 | 78 | 1 | 2 | 15-11-2 | 2.73 | 974 | 0.920 | - | - | - | - | -
|
Transactions
• Rights to Bill Butters acquired from Birmingham, Jun 1976
• Rights to Craig Patrick acquired from Calgary for future considerations, Jun 1976
• Barry Legge signed to contract, Jul 1976
• Rights to Gord Gallant acquired from Quebec for rights to Andre Boudrias, Sep 1976
• Dave Keon acquired from Indianapolis for Gary MacGregor, Sep 1976
• John McKenzie acquired from Cincinnati for Bryan Maxwell, Sep 1976
• Paul Shmyr and Gerry Pinder traded to San Diego for Ray Adduono and Bob Wall, Sep 1976
• Butch Deadmarsh acquired in trade with Calgary for rights to Jim Harrison, Sep 1976
• Barry Legge sold to Edmonton, Oct 1976
• Butch Deadmarsh, John Arbour and Danny Gruen sold to Calgary, Jan 1977
• Mike Antonovich, Bill Butters, Steve Carlson, Jack Carlson, Dave Keon, John McKenzie, Louis Levasseur sold to Edmonton, Jan 1977
• Remaining players declared free agents, Jan 1977
Splits versus opposing teams, home and away, and by month
| opponent
| overall
| gf-ga
| home
| gf-ga
| away
| gf-ga
|
Birmingham | 4-1-0 | 19-9 | 2-1-0 | 12-6 | 2-0-0 | 7-3 | |
Calgary | 2-2-1 | 15-11 | 2-0-1 | 11-5 | 0-2-0 | 4-6 |
|
Cincinnati | 2-3-0 | 12-19 | 2-1-0 | 10-7 | 0-2-0 | 2-12 |
|
Edmonton | 2-1-0 | 12-5 | 2-0-0 | 10-1 | 0-1-0 | 2-4 |
|
Houston | 0-0-2 | 2-2 | 0-0-1 | 1-1 | 0-0-1 | 1-1 |
|
Indianapolis | 3-1-0 | 21-13 | 2-0-0 | 13-6 | 1-1-0 | 8-7 |
|
New England | 3-1-2 | 20-16 | 2-0-1 | 12-9 | 1-1-1 | 8-7 |
|
Phoenix | 0-2-0 | 4-7 | 0-1-0 | 1-3 | 0-1-0 | 3-4 |
|
Quebec | 2-3-0 | 17-22 | 1-2-0 | 12-15 | 1-1-0 | 5-7 |
|
San Diego | 1-2-0 | 9-12 | 1-2-0 | 9-12 | 0-0-0 | 0-0 |
|
Winnipeg | 0-2-0 | 5-13 | 0-1-0 | 3-4 | 0-1-0 | 2-9 |
|
|
|
October | 3-6-2 | 31-37 | 3-2-1 | 21-16 | 0-4-1 | 10-21 |
|
November | 6-5-2 | 42-42 | 3-2-0 | 22-18 | 3-3-1 | 20-24 |
|
December | 7-6-0 | 42-39 | 5-3-0 | 30-24 | 2-3-0 | 12-15 |
|
January | 3-1-1 | 21-11 | 3-1-1 | 21-11 | 0-0-0 | 0-0 |
|
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