1976-77 • Franchise

1976-77 Phoenix Roadrunners

Record: 28-48-4, 60 pts
Finish: 6th, West
Playoffs: Did not qualify
Coach: Al Rollins

Roadrunners Preview, 1976-77 • by Barry Wilner • The Hockey News 1977 Yearbook Phoenix could have challenged for the division title had they kept Sandy Hucul, the WHA's best coach, behind the bench. Instead a personality and economy conflict resulted in the firing of Hucul, with Al Rollins taking over as general manager and coach. Basically a team of nobodies, the Roadrunners are one of the more exciting outfits in the league. They are led by American Robbie Ftorek, Finns Pekka Rautakallio and Lauri Mononen, and Dell Hall, John Gray, Ron Huston and Jim Niekamp. Who, you say? Well, didn't the NBA say "who" when the Phoenix Suns' lineup was introduced, only to see the Suns wind up in the finals? It would be good advice to stay wary of the Roadrunners, whose main weakness is in goal, where Jack Norris's retirement has left it up to Gary Kurt to do the job in 1976-77. Rollins is putting together an all-Finnish line of Seppo Repo, Lauri Mononen and Juhani Tamminen, who was purchased from Cleveland. With defenseman Rautakallio notching 50 points in 1975-76, Finland is very important to the Roadrunners. Phoenix trained in Finland, with Rawlins hoping to find a goalie to share the load with Kurt. The Runners are proud of Ftorek, who hustled his way to 113 points. Hall had 91, Gray 80, Houston 66 and Jim Boyd 57. The defense is led by Rautakallio, with Niekamp, Garry Lariviere, Al McLeod and Serge Beaudoin. The Roadrunners players are a special breed. They purchased more than 500 season tickets this past summer to keep the franchise fairly solvent. "I thought players weren't supposed to care about such things," offered Rollins. "Well, our players care." "The city has been good to us and so have the people," says defenseman Niekamp. "We just want to be part of the city. It's not as if we just play here and leave at the end of the season. When you get older and start raising a family you can really appreciate a place like Phoenix. We just want to do something to make hockey go here.: If the Runners apply their talents to the ice game as well as they have to the community, then Phoenix fans will enjoy the upcoming hockey campaign.

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 8	Cincinnati	8-6	W	1-0-0	2	8-6	41.	Jan 12	Houston	4-2	W	16-23-2	34	136-184
2.	Oct 9	@ Houston	3-5	L	1-1-0	2	11-11	42.	Jan 14	Cincinnati	*6-5	W	17-23-2	36	142-189
3.	Oct 14	Minnesota	4-3	W	2-1-0	4	15-14	43.	Jan 16	Calgary	4-5	L	17-24-2	36	146-194
4.	Oct 16	Winnipeg	6-4	W	3-1-0	6	21-18	44.	Jan 20	Cincinnati	9-4	W	18-24-2	38	155-198
5.	Oct 19	@ Edmonton	*4-5	L	3-2-0	6	25-23	45.	Jan 22	Edmonton	4-1	W	19-24-2	40	159-199
6.	Oct 22	@ Winnipeg	4-3	W	4-2-0	8	29-26	46.	Jan 23	@ Edmonton	2-9	L	19-25-2	40	161-208
7.	Oct 24	@ Edmonton	5-3	W	5-2-0	10	34-29	47.	Jan 25	@ Calgary	3-7	L	19-26-2	40	164-215
8.	Oct 26	@ Quebec	3-11	L	5-3-0	10	37-40	48.	Jan 28	New England	2-6	L	19-27-2	40	166-221
9.	Oct 27	@ New England	1-5	L	5-4-0	10	38-45	49.	Jan 30	Winnipeg	8-5	W	20-27-2	42	174-226
10.	Oct 30	@ Cincinnati	3-9	L	5-5-0	10	41-54	50.	Feb 1	@ San Diego	1-5	L	20-28-2	42	175-231
11.	Nov 2	@ Quebec	5-3	W	6-5-0	12	46-57	51.	Feb 3	Houston	5-3	W	21-28-2	44	180-234
12.	Nov 4	@ Birmingham	3-5	L	6-6-0	12	49-62	52.	Feb 5	Calgary	1-4	L	21-29-2	44	181-238
13.	Nov 5	@ Houston	1-9	L	6-7-0	12	50-71	53.	Feb 9	Birmingham	4-3	W	22-29-2	46	185-241
14.	Nov 7	@ Minnesota	3-1	W	7-7-0	14	53-72	54.	Feb 11	San Diego	3-5	L	22-30-2	46	188-246
15.	Nov 10	Indianapolis	3-3	T	7-7-1	15	56-75	55.	Feb 13	@ San Diego	2-5	L	22-31-2	46	190-251
16.	Nov 12	New England	3-1	W	8-7-1	17	59-76	56.	Feb 16	@ Birmingham	2-7	L	22-32-2	46	192-258
17.	Nov 14	San Diego	6-3	W	9-7-1	19	65-79	57.	Feb 17	@ New England	2-4	L	22-33-2	46	194-262
18.	Nov 16	Edmonton	5-2	W	10-7-1	21	70-81	58.	Feb 19	@ Indianapolis	6-5	W	23-33-2	48	200-267
19.	Nov 18	Calgary	*1-2	L	10-8-1	21	71-83	59.	Feb 20	@ Cincinnati	3-4	L	23-34-2	48	203-271
20.	Nov 20	Houston	2-5	L	10-9-1	21	73-88	60.	Feb 23	Winnipeg	6-3	W	24-34-2	50	209-274
21.	Nov 24	Calgary	3-3	T	10-9-2	22	76-91	61.	Feb 24	@ San Diego	3-3	T	24-34-3	51	212-277
22.	Nov 26	Edmonton	4-2	W	11-9-2	24	80-93	62.	Feb 25	Houston	3-9	L	24-35-3	51	215-286
23.	Nov 28	@ Winnipeg	5-3	W	12-9-2	26	85-96	63.	Feb 27	Houston	4-5	L	24-36-3	51	219-291
24.	Nov 30	@ Edmonton	*2-3	L	12-10-2	26	87-99	64.	Mar 1	@ Houston	3-8	L	24-37-3	51	222-299
25.	Dec 2	@ San Diego	3-4	L	12-11-2	26	90-103	65.	Mar 5	Winnipeg	4-1	W	25-37-3	53	226-300
26.	Dec 4	San Diego	3-4	L	12-12-2	26	93-107	66.	Mar 6	@ Indianapolis	*2-3	L	25-38-3	53	228-303
27.	Dec 5	@ Calgary	0-6	L	12-13-2	26	93-113	67.	Mar 8	@ Quebec	2-9	L	25-39-3	53	230-312
28.	Dec 7	@ Winnipeg	2-4	L	12-14-2	26	95-117	68.	Mar 12	@ San Diego	7-6	W	26-39-3	55	237-318
29.	Dec 9	Quebec	4-5	L	12-15-2	26	99-122	69.	Mar 15	@ San Diego	4-4	T	26-39-4	56	241-322
30.	Dec 12	@ Cincinnati	0-8	L	12-16-2	26	99-130	70.	Mar 17	Quebec	3-4	L	26-40-4	56	244-326
31.	Dec 14	@ Houston	3-8	L	12-17-2	26	102-138	71.	Mar 18	@ Houston	3-6	L	26-41-4	56	247-332
32.	Dec 15	Birmingham	6-5	W	13-17-2	28	108-143	72.	Mar 19	San Diego	7-5	W	27-41-4	58	254-337
33.	Dec 17	Edmonton	0-1	L	13-18-2	28	108-144	73.	Mar 20	@ San Diego	1-6	L	27-42-4	58	255-343
34.	Dec 19	Houston	4-6	L	13-19-2	28	112-150	74.	Mar 23	Birmingham	0-4	L	27-43-4	58	255-347
35.	Dec 22	San Diego	*4-5	L	13-20-2	28	116-155	75.	Mar 25	San Diego	3-7	L	27-44-4	58	258-354
36.	Dec 28	Indianapolis	4-3	W	14-20-2	30	120-158	76.	Mar 27	@ Calgary	4-5	L	27-45-4	58	262-359
37.	Jan 2	@ Indianapolis	1-4	L	14-21-2	30	121-162	77.	Mar 29	@ Calgary	5-9	L	27-46-4	58	267-368
38.	Jan 4	@ Birmingham	5-8	L	14-22-2	30	126-170	78.	Mar 31	New England	2-6	L	27-47-4	58	269-374
39.	Jan 8	@ New England	4-3	W	15-22-2	32	130-173	79.	Apr 2	Quebec	*5-6	L	27-48-4	58	274-380
40.	Jan 11	@ Winnipeg	2-9	L	15-23-2	32	132-182	80.	Apr 6	Indianapolis	7-3	W	28-48-4	60	281-383

Player Scoring

pos.	#	Player	gp	g	a	pts	pim	+/-	ppg	shg	sog	sc%	gp	g	a	pts	pim
D	5	Beaudoin, Serge	77	6	24	30	136	-11	0	0	136	0.044	-	-	-	-	-
D	29	Bray, Duane	46	2	6	8	62	-41	0	0	40	0.050	-	-	-	-	-
LW	16	Cormier, Michel	58	13	16	29	22	-26	0	0	105	0.124	-	-	-	-	-
D	-	Davidson, Blair	2	0	0	0	2	-1	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-
C	8	Ftorek, Robbie	80	46	71	117	86	+26	11	0	284	0.162	-	-	-	-	-
RW	10	Gorman, David	5	0	0	0	0	-2	0	0	6	0.000	-	-	-	-	-
LW	15	Gray, John	28	10	10	20	59	-1	0	0	54	0.185	-	-	-	-	-
C	9	Hall, Del	80	38	41	79	30	+6	9	1	259	0.147	-	-	-	-	-
G	25	Hebenton, Clay	56	0	0	0	2	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-
LW	15	Hinse, Andre	16	2	7	9	14	-7	0	0	19	0.105	-	-	-	-	-
C	20	Hobin, Mike	68	17	18	35	14	-43	2	0	132	0.129	-	-	-	-	-
LW	17	Hughes, Frank	48	24	29	53	20	+5	3	0	158	0.152	-	-	-	-	-
C	12	Huston, Ron	80	20	39	59	10	-57	6	4	198	0.101	-	-	-	-	-
G	1	Kurt, Gary	33	0	3	3	6	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-
D	4	Lariviere, Garry	61	7	23	30	48	-19	3	0	107	0.065	-	-	-	-	-
LW	7	Liddington, Bob	80	20	24	44	28	-22	0	0	142	0.141	-	-	-	-	-
D	3	McLeod, Al	29	1	5	6	35	-10	0	0	23	0.043	-	-	-	-	-
RW	24	Mononen, Lauri	67	21	29	50	10	-20	2	0	118	0.178	-	-	-	-	-
D	2	Niekamp, Jim	79	1	15	16	91	-32	0	0	61	0.016	-	-	-	-	-
LW	18	Popiel, Jan	28	3	2	5	8	-24	1	0	31	0.097	-	-	-	-	-
D	19	Rautakallio, Pekka	78	4	31	35	8	-24	2	0	147	0.027	-	-	-	-	-
C	22	Repo, Seppo	80	29	31	60	10	-35	5	0	143	0.203	-	-	-	-	-
D	6	Rollins, Jerry	63	4	10	14	169	-25	1	0	70	0.057	-	-	-	-	-
D	27	Sleep, Mike	13	2	2	4	6	-3	0	0	16	0.125	-	-	-	-	-
RW	23	Tamminen, Juhani	65	10	29	39	72	-23	2	0	131	0.076	-	-	-	-	-
D	44	Young, Howie	26	1	3	4	23	-8	0	0	28	0.036	-	-	-	-	-

Goaltending

Goaltender	gp	min	ga	en	so	w-l-t	gaa	sog	sv%	gp	min	ga	w-l	gaa
Hebenton, Clay	56	3129	220	1	0	17-29-3	4.22	1760	0.875	-	-	-	-	-
Kurt, Gary	33	1752	162	0	0	11-19-1	5.55	1000	0.838	-	-	-	-	-

Transactions

• Dave Gorman traded to Birmingham for Jerry Rollins, Nov 1976
• Al McLeod and John Gray traded to Houston for Frank Hughes and Andre Hinse, Dec 1976
• Howie Young signed to contract, Feb 1977
• Garry Lariviere sold to Quebec, Mar 1977
• Robbie Ftorek sold to Cincinnati, Mar 1977

Splits versus opposing teams, home and away, and by month

opponent	overall	gf-ga	home	gf-ga	away	gf-ga
Birmingham	2-4-0	20-32	2-1-0	10-12	0-3-0	10-20
Calgary	0-7-1	21-41	0-3-1	9-14	0-4-0	12-27
Cincinnati	3-3-0	29-36	3-0-0	23-15	0-3-0	6-21
Edmonton	4-4-0	26-26	3-1-0	13-6	1-3-0	13-20
Houston	2-9-0	35-66	2-4-0	22-30	0-5-0	13-36
Indianapolis	3-2-1	23-21	2-0-1	14-9	1-2-0	9-12
Minnesota	2-0-0	7-4	1-0-0	4-3	1-0-0	3-1
New England	2-4-0	14-25	1-2-0	7-13	1-2-0	7-12
Quebec	1-5-0	22-38	0-3-0	12-15	1-2-0	10-23
San Diego	3-8-2	47-62	2-4-0	26-29	1-4-2	21-33
Winnipeg	6-2-0	37-32	4-0-0	24-13	2-2-0	13-19
October	5-5-0	41-54	3-0-0	18-13	2-5-0	23-41
November	7-5-2	46-45	4-2-2	27-21	3-3-0	19-24
December	2-10-0	33-59	2-5-0	25-29	0-5-0	8-30
January	6-7-0	54-68	5-2-0	37-28	1-5-0	17-40
February	4-9-1	45-65	3-4-0	26-32	1-5-1	19-33
March	3-11-1	50-83	2-4-0	19-27	1-7-1	31-56
April	1-1-0	12-9	1-1-0	12-9	0-0-0	0-0

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