1974–75 Phoenix Roadrunners season

1974–75 Phoenix Roadrunners
Division	4th Western
1974–75 record	39–31–8
Goals for	300
Goals against	265
Team Information
General Manager	Bill MacFarland
Coach	Sandy Hucul
Captain	Bob Barlow
Alternate captains	Gerry Odrowski Murray Keogan Robbie Ftorek
Arena	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Team Leaders
Goals	Michel Cormier (36)
Assists	Dennis Sobchuk (45)
Points	Dennis Sobchuk (77)
Penalties in minutes	John Hughes (201)
Wins	Gary Kurt (25)
Goals against average	Jack Norris (3.27)

1975–76>

The 1974–75 Phoenix Roadrunners season was the Phoenix Roadrunners first season of operation in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Roadrunners finished 4th in the Western Division and lost in the Quarter-finals to the Quebec Nordiques 4 games to 1.

Off-season

John Migneault's 1974-75 jersey.

The Roadrunners inaugural jersey colours were dark blue, white and yellow with a primarily white home jersey and a primarily dark blue away jersey. They'd stay with these colours throughout the club's existence. A mono-coloured shoulder yoke that extended to the sleeve bottom and three stripes on the body completed the design. The numbers were outlined but the names were not. The logo was a hockey-playing roadrunner which utilized the three jersey colours plus black. The shoulders had a simplified version of the roadrunner logo. This was the only season the Roadrunners used this jersey design.

Regular Season

Final Standings

Western Division

	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Houston Aeros	78	53	25	0	106	369	247	1257
San Diego Mariners	78	43	31	4	90	326	268	1058
Minnesota Fighting Saints	78	42	33	3	87	308	279	1233
Phoenix Roadrunners	78	39	31	8	86	300	265	1388
Michigan Stags / Baltimore Blades	78	21	53	4	46	205	341	1104

Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties Minutes
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game Log

Regular Season Results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 16, 1974	8–2	San Diego Mariners (1974–75)	1–0–0
2	W	October 18, 1974	6–4	Houston Aeros (1974–75)	2–0–0
3	T	October 20, 1974	4–4	Cleveland Crusaders (1974–75)	2–0–1
4	L	October 24, 1974	1–2	@ San Diego Mariners (1974–75)	2–1–1
5	L	October 26, 1974	1–4	@ Quebec Nordiques (1974–75)	2–2–1
6	L	October 28, 1974	3–7	@ Toronto Toros (1974–75)	2–3–1
7	L	October 30, 1974	5–6 OT	@ Winnipeg Jets (1974–75)	2–4–1
8	L	November 2, 1974	2–8	@ Houston Aeros (1974–75)	2–5–1
9	W	November 5, 1974	3–0	@ Indianapolis Racers (1974–75)	3–5–1
10	W	November 9, 1974	4–2	@ New England Whalers (1974–75)	4–5–1
11	L	November 10, 1974	4–10	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75)	4–6–1
12	L	November 14, 1974	1–2 OT	Cleveland Crusaders (1974–75)	4–7–1
13	W	November 16, 1974	6–3	New England Whalers (1974–75)	5–7–1
14	L	November 21, 1974	1–2	@ Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75)	5–8–1
15	W	November 24, 1974	3–1	@ Winnipeg Jets (1974–75)	6–8–1
16	W	November 26, 1974	6–4	@ Houston Aeros (1974–75)	7–8–1
17	L	November 27, 1974	2–4	Chicago Cougars (1974–75)	7–9–1
18	T	November 29, 1974	4–4	Toronto Toros (1974–75)	7–9–2
19	L	December 1, 1974	3–4	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75)	7–10–2
20	W	December 3, 1974	5–4 OT	@ San Diego Mariners (1974–75)	8–10–2
21	L	December 4, 1974	0–2	San Diego Mariners (1974–75)	8–11–2
22	W	December 6, 1974	3–1	Edmonton Oilers (1974–75)	9–11–2
23	L	December 8, 1974	2–5	Toronto Toros (1974–75)	9–12–2
24	W	December 10, 1974	4–2	@ Chicago Cougars (1974–75)	10–12–2
25	W	December 12, 1974	4–2	Vancouver Blazers (1974–75)	11–12–2
26	W	December 14, 1974	4–3	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75)	12–12–2
27	W	December 18, 1974	5–3	Vancouver Blazers (1974–75)	13–12–2
28	W	December 20, 1974	7–2	Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75)	14–12–2
29	W	December 22, 1974	4–2	@ Winnipeg Jets (1974–75)	15–12–2
30	L	December 26, 1974	2–3	Winnipeg Jets (1974–75)	15–13–2
31	W	December 28, 1974	3–2 OT	Cleveland Crusaders (1974–75)	16–13–2
32	W	December 30, 1974	6–3	@ Quebec Nordiques (1974–75)	17–13–2
33	T	December 31, 1974	1–1	@ Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75)	17–13–3
34	L	January 2, 1975	2–3	@ Vancouver Blazers (1974–75)	17–14–3
35	T	January 3, 1975	3–3	@ Edmonton Oilers (1974–75)	17–14–4
36	W	January 5, 1975	2–1	@ Indianapolis Racers (1974–75)	18–14–4
37	W	January 7, 1975	3–2	@ Toronto Toros (1974–75)	19–14–4
38	T	January 9, 1975	1–1	New England Whalers (1974–75)	19–14–5
39	L	January 11, 1975	4–6	@ Houston Aeros (1974–75)	19–15–5
40	L	January 12, 1975	2–4	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1974–75)	19–16–5
41	L	January 14, 1975	2–5	@ Chicago Cougars (1974–75)	19–17–5
42	T	January 15, 1975	5–5	Toronto Toros (1974–75)	19–17–6
43	L	January 17, 1975	1–7	Edmonton Oilers (1974–75)	19–18–6
44	W	January 18, 1975	3–1	Edmonton Oilers (1974–75)	20–18–6
45	W	January 22, 1975	8–5	Chicago Cougars (1974–75)	21–18–6
46	W	January 24, 1975	4–1	New England Whalers (1974–75)	22–18–6
47	W	January 26, 1975	6–0	Indianapolis Racers (1974–75)	23–18–6
48	W	January 28, 1975	3–1	@ Indianapolis Racers (1974–75)	24–18–6
49	L	January 29, 1975	2–6	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1974–75)	24–19–6
50	L	January 30, 1975	3–5	Winnipeg Jets (1974–75)	24–20–6
51	W	February 1, 1975	8–1	Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75)	25–20–6
52	W	February 5, 1975	9–2	San Diego Mariners (1974–75)	26–20–6
53	W	February 7, 1975	4–1	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75)	27–20–6
54	L	February 8, 1975	3–4 OT	Quebec Nordiques (1974–75)	27–21–6
55	W	February 9, 1975	6–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1974–75)	28–21–6
56	L	February 12, 1975	4–5	@ Vancouver Blazers (1974–75)	28–22–6
57	L	February 13, 1975	3–5	Quebec Nordiques (1974–75)	28–23–6
58	W	February 16, 1975	5–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1974–75)	29–23–6
59	L	February 18, 1975	0–7	@ San Diego Mariners (1974–75)	29–24–6
60	W	February 22, 1975	3–1	@ Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75)	30–24–6
61	L	February 27, 1975	2–7	Houston Aeros (1974–75)	30–25–6
62	W	March 1, 1975	12–2	Indianapolis Racers (1974–75)	31–25–6
63	W	March 2, 1975	5–0	Chicago Cougars (1974–75)	32–25–6
64	W	March 5, 1975	6–3	Quebec Nordiques (1974–75)	33–25–6
65	W	March 7, 1975	7–4	Winnipeg Jets (1974–75)	34–25–6
66	L	March 9, 1975	3–4	@ Vancouver Blazers (1974–75)	34–26–6
67	L	March 11, 1975	4–7	@ Toronto Toros (1974–75)	34–27–6
68	T	March 13, 1975	5–5	@ New England Whalers (1974–75)	34–27–7
69	W	March 18, 1975	7–3	@ Chicago Cougars (1974–75)	35–27–7
70	L	March 19, 1975	4–5	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1974–75)	35–28–7
71	W	March 22, 1975	4–2	Vancouver Blazers (1974–75)	36–28–7
72	W	March 23, 1975	5–3	Indianapolis Racers (1974–75)	37–28–7
73	W	March 26, 1975	2–1	Houston Aeros (1974–75)	38–28–7
74	T	March 28, 1975	2–2	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75)	38–28–8
75	L	March 30, 1975	5–6 OT	@ Quebec Nordiques (1974–75)	38–29–8
76	L	April 1, 1975	3–5	@ New England Whalers (1974–75)	38–30–8
77	W	April 4, 1975	2–1	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75)	39–30–8
78	L	April 5, 1975	6–7 OT	Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75)	39–31–8

Playoffs

Quebec Nordiques 4, Phoenix Roadrunners 1

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 8	Phoenix Roadrunners	2–5	Quebec Nordiques	0–1
2	April 10	Phoenix Roadrunners	2–6	Quebec Nordiques	0–2
3	April 12	Quebec Nordiques	3–0	Phoenix Roadrunners	0–3
4	April 15	Quebec Nordiques	5–6	Phoenix Roadrunners	1–3
5	April 17	Phoenix Roadrunners	2–4	Quebec Nordiques	1–4

Player Stats

Regular Season
Scoring
# Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG 9 Sobchuk, DennisDennis Sobchuk C 78 32 45 77 36 35 4 0 0 16 Cormier, MichelMichel Cormier LW 78 36 38 74 26 18 5 1 0 14 Boyd, JimJim Boyd C 76 26 44 70 18 29 7 3 0 15 Gray, JohnJohn Gray RW 75 35 33 68 107 28 4 0 0 8 Ftorek, RobbieRobbie Ftorek C/LW 53 31 37 68 29 49 4 0 0 11 Keogan, MurrayMurray Keogan C 78 35 29 64 68 -12 11 0 0 22 Borgeson, DonDon Borgeson LW 74 29 28 57 38 20 3 2 0 6 Odrowski, GerryGerry Odrowski D 77 5 38 43 77 23 2 0 0 24 Hughes, JohnJohn Hughes D 72 4 25 29 201 49 2 0 0 17 Connor, CamCam Connor RW 57 9 19 28 168 20 0 0 0 7 McNamee, PeterPeter McNamee D 55 9 19 28 77 5 1 0 0 2 Niekamp, JimJim Niekamp D 71 2 26 28 66 12 1 0 0 12 Barlow, BobBob Barlow LW 51 6 20 26 8 -9 0 0 0 7 Harris, HughHugh Harris C 22 10 10 20 15 2 1 0 0 18 Mowat, BobBob Mowat RW 53 9 10 19 34 -4 0 1 0 20 Migneault, JohnJohn Migneault LW 47 6 13 19 16 -4 1 0 0 19 Bennett, WendellWendell Bennett D 67 4 15 19 92 5 0 0 0 3 McLeod, AlAl McLeod D 77 3 16 19 98 12 0 0 0 23 Stevens, MikeMike Stevens D 70 2 16 18 69 15 0 0 0 4 Young, HowieHowie Young D/RW 30 3 12 15 44 -2 1 0 0 10 Gorman, DaveDave Gorman RW 13 3 5 8 10 0 0 0 0 5 Newell, RickRick Newell D 25 0 4 4 39 3 0 0 0 1 Kurt, GaryGary Kurt G 47 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 9 Sobchuk, GeneGene Sobchuk LW/C 3 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 4 Lariviere, GarryGarry Lariviere D 4 0 1 1 28 0 0 0 0 30 Norris, JackJack Norris G 33 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO Kurt, GaryGary Kurt 2841 47 25 16 4 156 3.29 2 Norris, JackJack Norris 1962 33 14 15 4 107 3.27 1 Team: 4803 78 39 31 8 263 3.29 3

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG Ftorek, RobbieRobbie Ftorek C/LW 5 2 5 7 2 0 0 0 Sobchuk, DennisDennis Sobchuk C 5 4 1 5 2 0 0 0 Gray, JohnJohn Gray RW 5 2 3 5 12 0 0 0 McLeod, AlAl McLeod D 5 0 4 4 4 0 0 0 Bennett, WendellWendell Bennett D 5 1 2 3 6 0 0 0 Boyd, JimJim Boyd C 5 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 Odrowski, GerryGerry Odrowski D 5 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 Cormier, MichelMichel Cormier LW 5 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 McNamee, PeterPeter McNamee D 5 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 Borgeson, DonDon Borgeson LW 5 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 Keogan, MurrayMurray Keogan C 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Newell, RickRick Newell D 5 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 Stevens, MikeMike Stevens D 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Lariviere, GarryGarry Lariviere D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Migneault, JohnJohn Migneault LW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mowat, BobBob Mowat RW 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Niekamp, JimJim Niekamp D 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sobchuk, GeneGene Sobchuk LW/C 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Connor, CamCam Connor RW 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Norris, JackJack Norris G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kurt, GaryGary Kurt G 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO Kurt, GaryGary Kurt 207 4 1 2 12 3.48 0 Norris, JackJack Norris 100 2 0 2 10 6.00 0 Team: 307 5 1 4 22 4.30 0

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts

Awards and Records

• Howard Baldwin Trophy (Coach of the Year): Sandy Hucul

Gallery

Ceremonial face-off at the Roadrunners first home game between Andre Lacroix and Robbie Ftorek, October 16, 1974.

Ulf Nilsson, Gerry Odrowski, Anders Hedberg, Robbie Ftorek, Bobby Hull in 1974-75 action.

See Also

• 1974–75 WHA season