1976–77 Phoenix Roadrunners season

1976–77 Phoenix Roadrunners
Division6th Western
1976–77 record28–48–4
Home record20–18–2
Road record8–30–2
Goals for281
Goals against383
Team information
CoachAl Rollins
CaptainAl McLeod
Alternate captainsJim Niekamp
Robbie Ftorek
ArenaArizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Team leaders
GoalsRobbie Ftorek (46)
AssistsRobbie Ftorek (71)
PointsRobbie Ftorek (117)
Penalty minutesJerry Rollins (169)
WinsClay Hebenton (17)
Goals against averageClay Hebenton (4.22)

The 1976–77 Phoenix Roadrunners season was the third and final season of the Phoenix Roadrunners in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Roadrunners finished sixth in the Western Division and did not qualify for the playoffs.

Their worst loss was an 11-3 defeat to the Québec Nordiques on October 26 when Réal Cloutier tied a WHA record with five goals in a single game.[1]

The team announced their departure from the WHA in April shortly before the end of their season.[2] They won their last WHA home game on April 6, 1977.

Regular season

Final standings

Western Division
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Houston Aeros 80 50 24 6 320 241 106
Winnipeg Jets 80 46 32 2 366 291 94
San Diego Mariners 81 40 37 4 284 283 85
Edmonton Oilers 81 34 43 4 243 304 72
Calgary Cowboys 81 31 43 7 252 296 69
Phoenix Roadrunners 80 28 48 4 281 383 60

Schedule and results

1976–77 regular season[3]
October
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 8, 1976 8–6 Cincinnati Stingers (1976–77) 1–0–0
2 L October 9, 1976 3–5 @ Houston Aeros (1976–77) 1–1–0
3 W October 14, 1976 4–3 Minnesota Fighting Saints (1976–77) 2–1–0
4 W October 16, 1976 6–4 Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) 3–1–0
5 L October 19, 1976 4–5 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) 3–2–0
6 W October 22, 1976 4–3 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) 4–2–0
7 W October 24, 1976 5–3 @ Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) 5–2–0
8 L October 26, 1976 3–11 @ Quebec Nordiques (1976–77) 5–3–0
9 L October 29, 1976 1–5 @ New England Whalers (1976–77) 5–4–0
10 L October 30, 1976 3–9 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1976–77) 5–5–0
November
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
11 W November 2, 1976 5–3 @ Quebec Nordiques (1976–77) 6–5–0
12 L November 4, 1976 3–5 @ Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) 6–6–0
13 L November 5, 1976 1–9 @ Houston Aeros (1976–77) 6–7–0
14 W November 7, 1976 3–1 @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1976–77) 7–7–0
15 T November 10, 1976 3–3 Indianapolis Racers (1976–77) 7–7–1
16 W November 12, 1976 3–1 New England Whalers (1976–77) 8–7–1
17 W November 14, 1976 6–3 San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 9–7–1
18 W November 16, 1976 5–2 Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) 10–7–1
19 L November 18, 1976 1–2 OT Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) 10–8–1
20 L November 20, 1976 2–5 Houston Aeros (1976–77) 10–9–1
21 T November 24, 1976 3–3 Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) 10–9–2
22 W November 26, 1976 4–2 Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) 11–9–2
23 W November 28, 1976 5–3 @ Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) 12–9–2
24 L November 30, 1976 2–3 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) 12–10–2
December
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
25 L December 2, 1976 3–4 @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 12–11–2
26 L December 4, 1976 3–4 San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 12–12–2
27 L December 5, 1976 0–6 @ Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) 12–13–2
28 L December 7, 1976 2–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) 12–14–2
29 L December 9, 1976 4–5 Quebec Nordiques (1976–77) 12–15–2
30 L December 12, 1976 0–8 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1976–77) 12–16–2
31 L December 14, 1976 3–8 @ Houston Aeros (1976–77) 12–17–2
32 W December 15, 1976 6–5 Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) 13–17–2
33 L December 17, 1976 0–1 Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) 13–18–2
34 L December 19, 1976 4–6 Houston Aeros (1976–77) 13–19–2
35 L December 22, 1976 4–5 OT San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 13–20–2
36 W December 28, 1976 4–3 Indianapolis Racers (1976–77) 14–20–2
January
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
37 L January 2, 1977 1–4 @ Indianapolis Racers (1976–77) 14–21–2
38 L January 4, 1977 5–8 @ Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) 14–22–2
39 W January 8, 1977 4–3 @ New England Whalers (1976–77) 15–22–2
40 L January 11, 1977 2–9 @ Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) 15–23–2
41 W January 12, 1977 4–2 Houston Aeros (1976–77) 16–23–2
42 W January 14, 1977 6–5 OT Cincinnati Stingers (1976–77) 17–23–2
43 L January 16, 1977 4–5 Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) 17–24–2
44 W January 20, 1977 9–4 Cincinnati Stingers (1976–77) 18–24–2
45 W January 22, 1977 4–1 Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) 19–24–2
46 L January 23, 1977 2–9 @ Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) 19–25–2
47 L January 25, 1977 3–7 @ Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) 19–26–2
48 L January 28, 1977 2–6 New England Whalers (1976–77) 19–27–2
49 W January 30, 1977 8–5 Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) 20–27–2
February
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
50 L February 1, 1977 1–5 @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 20–28–2
51 W February 3, 1977 5–3 Houston Aeros (1976–77) 21–28–2
52 L February 5, 1977 1–4 Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) 21–29–2
53 W February 9, 1977 4–3 OT Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) 22–29–2
54 L February 11, 1977 3–5 San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 22–30–2
55 L February 13, 1977 2–5 @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 22–31–2
56 L February 16, 1977 2–7 @ Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) 22–32–2
57 L February 17, 1977 2–4 @ New England Whalers (1976–77) 22–33–2
58 W February 19, 1977 6–5 @ Indianapolis Racers (1976–77) 23–33–2
59 L February 20, 1977 3–4 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1976–77) 23–34–2
60 W February 23, 1977 6–3 Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) 24–34–2
61 T February 24, 1977 3–3 @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 24–34–3
62 L February 25, 1977 3–9 Houston Aeros (1976–77) 24–35–3
63 L February 27, 1977 4–5 Houston Aeros (1976–77) 24–36–3
March
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
64 L March 1, 1977 3–8 @ Houston Aeros (1976–77) 24–37–3
65 W March 5, 1977 4–1 Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) 25–37–3
66 L March 6, 1977 2–3 OT @ Indianapolis Racers (1976–77) 25–38–3
67 L March 8, 1977 2–9 @ Quebec Nordiques (1976–77) 25–39–3
68 W March 12, 1977 7–6 OT @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 26–39–3
69 T March 15, 1977 4–4 @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 26–39–4
70 L March 17, 1977 3–4 Quebec Nordiques (1976–77) 26–40–4
71 L March 18, 1977 3–6 @ Houston Aeros (1976–77) 26–41–4
72 W March 19, 1977 7–5 San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 27–41–4
73 L March 20, 1977 1–6 @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 27–42–4
74 L March 23, 1977 0–4 Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) 27–43–4
75 L March 25, 1977 3–7 San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 27–44–4
76 L March 27, 1977 4–5 @ Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) 27–45–4
77 L March 29, 1977 5–9 @ Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) 27–46–4
78 L March 31, 1977 2–6 New England Whalers (1976–77) 27–47–4
April
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
79 L April 2, 1977 5–6 OT Quebec Nordiques (1976–77) 27–48–4
80 W April 6, 1977 7–3 Indianapolis Racers (1976–77) 28–48–4

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Players

Player Position GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Robbie Ftorek C/LW 80 46 71 117 86 26 11 0 5
Del Hall C 80 38 41 79 30 6 9 1 0
Seppo Repo C 80 29 31 60 10 −35 5 0 0
Ron Huston C 80 20 39 59 10 −57 6 4 0
Frank Hughes LW 48 24 29 53 20 5 3 0 0
Lauri Mononen RW 67 21 29 50 10 −20 2 0 0
Bob Liddington LW 80 20 24 44 28 −22 0 0 0
Juhani Tamminen RW 65 10 29 39 22 −23 2 0 0
Mike Hobin C 68 17 18 35 14 −43 2 0 0
Pekka Rautakallio D 78 4 31 35 8 −24 2 0 0
Garry Lariviere D 61 7 23 30 48 −19 3 0 0
Serge Beaudoin D 77 6 24 30 136 −11 0 0 0
Michel Cormier LW 58 13 16 29 22 −26 0 0 0
John Gray RW 28 10 10 20 59 −1 0 0 0
Jim Niekamp D 79 1 15 16 91 −32 0 0 0
Jerry Rollins D 63 4 10 14 169 −25 1 0 0
Andre Hinse LW 16 2 7 9 4 −7 0 0 0
Duane Bray D 46 2 6 8 62 −41 0 0 0
Al McLeod D 29 1 5 6 35 −10 0 0 0
Jan Popiel LW 28 3 2 5 8 −24 1 0 0
Mike Sleep RW 13 2 2 4 6 −3 0 0 0
Howie Young D/RW 26 1 3 4 23 −8 0 0 0
Gary Kurt G 33 0 3 3 6 0 0 0 0
Blair Davidson D 2 0 0 0 2 −1 0 0 0
Dave Gorman RW 5 0 0 0 0 −2 0 0 0
Clay Hebenton G 56 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

Regular season
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Clay Hebenton 3129 56 17 29 3 220 4.22 0
Gary Kurt 1752 33 11 19 1 162 5.55 0
Team: 4881 80 28 48 4 382 4.70 0

[4]

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;

Draft picks

Phoenix's draft picks at the 1976 WHA Amateur Draft.[5]

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
4 42 Kari Makkonen (F)  Finland Assat Pori (Liiga)
5 54 Juhani Wallenius (F)  Finland Lukko Rauma (Liiga)
6 66 Doug Patey (F)  Canada Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHA)
7 78 Mark Davidson (LW)  Canada Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
8 90 Jari Laiho (F)  Finland Lukko Rauma (Liiga)
9 101 Jouni Rinne (F)  Finland Lukko Rauma (Liiga)
10 112 Hannu Helander (D)  Finland Ilves (Liiga)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Cloutier equals WHA scoring record" Edmonton Journal, October 27, 1976, p. 65.
  2. ^ "Roadrunners: born 1967, died 1977" The Arizona Republic, April 2, 1977, p. E1.
  3. ^ "1976-77 Phoenix Roadrunners Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  4. ^ "1976-77 Phoenix Roadrunners Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
  5. ^ "1976 WHA Amateur Draft". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.