# 1975–76 Cleveland Crusaders season

The 1975–76 Cleveland Crusaders season was the Cleveland Crusaders' fourth season of operation in the World Hockey Association. It was the last season of the franchise in Cleveland, Ohio. It would relocate to Minnesota for the next season.

## Regular season
### Final standings

| Eastern Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
| Indianapolis Racers | 80 | 35 | 39 | 6 | 76 | 245 | 247 | 1301 |
| Cleveland Crusaders | 80 | 35 | 40 | 5 | 75 | 273 | 279 | 1356 |
| New England Whalers | 80 | 33 | 40 | 7 | 73 | 255 | 290 | 1012 |
| Cincinnati Stingers | 80 | 35 | 44 | 1 | 71 | 285 | 340 | 1344 |

### Game log

Regular season schedule :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | October 11, 1975 | 0–1 | Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | W | October 15, 1975 | 8–4 | @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) | 1–1–0 |
| 3 | L | October 19, 1975 | 5–6 | Houston Aeros (1975–76) | 1–2–0 |
| 4 | W | October 25, 1975 | 5–2 | Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) | 2–2–0 |
| 5 | L | October 29, 1975 | 1–3 | Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) | 2–3–0 |
| 6 | W | October 31, 1975 | 6–2 | Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) | 3–3–0 |
| 7 | W | November 2, 1975 | 5–2 | Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 4–3–0 |
| 8 | T | November 4, 1975 | 2–2 | @ Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) | 4–3–1 |
| 9 | L | November 7, 1975 | 2–5 | @ Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) | 4–4–1 |
| 10 | L | November 9, 1975 | 1–4 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) | 4–5–1 |
| 11 | W | November 11, 1975 | 3–2 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) | 5–5–1 |
| 12 | L | November 13, 1975 | 1–3 | @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 5–6–1 |
| 13 | L | November 15, 1975 | 4–5 OT | @ Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) | 5–7–1 |
| 14 | T | November 16, 1975 | 4–4 | @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 5–7–2 |
| 15 | W | November 19, 1975 | 4–3 OT | Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) | 6–7–2 |
| 16 | W | November 22, 1975 | 6–3 | Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) | 7–7–2 |
| 17 | W | November 25, 1975 | 4–3 OT | @ Toronto Toros (1975–76) | 8–7–2 |
| 18 | L | November 26, 1975 | 0–3 | Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) | 8–8–2 |
| 19 | L | November 28, 1975 | 1–3 | Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) | 8–9–2 |
| 20 | W | November 30, 1975 | 10–9 | Toronto Toros (1975–76) | 9–9–2 |
| 21 | L | December 2, 1975 | 2–9 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) | 9–10–2 |
| 22 | L | December 3, 1975 | 3–5 | Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 9–11–2 |
| 23 | L | December 6, 1975 | 2–3 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) | 9–12–2 |
| 24 | L | December 7, 1975 | 1–3 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 9–13–2 |
| 25 | L | December 9, 1975 | 3–6 | @ Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) | 9–14–2 |
| 26 | W | December 12, 1975 | 1–0 | Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) | 10–14–2 |
| 27 | L | December 13, 1975 | 4–5 | @ New England Whalers (1975–76) | 10–15–2 |
| 28 | L | December 14, 1975 | 3–4 | Houston Aeros (1975–76) | 10–16–2 |
| 29 | L | December 17, 1975 | 2–3 | Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) | 10–17–2 |
| 30 | L | December 19, 1975 | 4–5 OT | @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) | 10–18–2 |
| 31 | W | December 20, 1975 | 5–3 | Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) | 11–18–2 |
| 32 | L | December 22, 1975 | 1–4 | New England Whalers (1975–76) | 11–19–2 |
| 33 | W | December 27, 1975 | 5–0 | Toronto Toros (1975–76) | 12–19–2 |
| 34 | L | December 28, 1975 | 0–4 | @ New England Whalers (1975–76) | 12–20–2 |
| 35 | W | January 2, 1976 | 5–4 OT | Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) | 13–20–2 |
| 36 | L | January 3, 1976 | 2–3 | @ New England Whalers (1975–76) | 13–21–2 |
| 37 | W | January 4, 1976 | 3–2 | Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 14–21–2 |
| 38 | W | January 7, 1976 | 8–3 | San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 15–21–2 |
| 39 | L | January 9, 1976 | 5–6 | @ Houston Aeros (1975–76) | 15–22–2 |
| 40 | W | January 11, 1976 | 4–3 | Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) | 16–22–2 |
| 41 | W | January 15, 1976 | 3–1 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) | 17–22–2 |
| 42 | W | January 16, 1976 | 4–3 | New England Whalers (1975–76) | 18–22–2 |
| 43 | L | January 17, 1976 | 4–5 | @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 18–23–2 |
| 44 | L | January 21, 1976 | 2–8 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 18–24–2 |
| 45 | T | January 23, 1976 | 2–2 | New England Whalers (1975–76) | 18–24–3 |
| 46 | L | January 25, 1976 | 2–4 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) | 18–25–3 |
| 47 | W | January 28, 1976 | 6–4 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 19–25–3 |
| 48 | T | January 30, 1976 | 4–4 | @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 19–25–4 |
| 49 | W | February 1, 1976 | 6–5 | @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) | 20–25–4 |
| 50 | L | February 4, 1976 | 1–5 | @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 20–26–4 |
| 51 | L | February 5, 1976 | 2–3 | @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 20–27–4 |
| 52 | T | February 7, 1976 | 4–4 | Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) | 20–27–5 |
| 53 | W | February 8, 1976 | 6–1 | @ New England Whalers (1975–76) | 21–27–5 |
| 54 | W | February 11, 1976 | 4–2 | Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 22–27–5 |
| 55 | L | February 15, 1976 | 2–3 | New England Whalers (1975–76) | 22–28–5 |
| 56 | W | February 18, 1976 | 4–0 | Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) | 23–28–5 |
| 57 | L | February 19, 1976 | 3–5 | @ Houston Aeros (1975–76) | 23–29–5 |
| 58 | W | February 21, 1976 | 3–2 | Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) | 24–29–5 |
| 59 | W | February 22, 1976 | 2–1 | Houston Aeros (1975–76) | 25–29–5 |
| 60 | L | February 25, 1976 | 2–5 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) | 25–30–5 |
| 61 | L | February 27, 1976 | 4–5 | @ Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) | 25–31–5 |
| 62 | W | February 29, 1976 | 5–2 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) | 26–31–5 |
| 63 | L | March 3, 1976 | 3–4 OT | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 26–32–5 |
| 64 | W | March 6, 1976 | 5–4 | @ Houston Aeros (1975–76) | 27–32–5 |
| 65 | W | March 7, 1976 | 5–1 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) | 28–32–5 |
| 66 | W | March 10, 1976 | 5–2 | Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 29–32–5 |
| 67 | L | March 12, 1976 | 2–8 | @ New England Whalers (1975–76) | 29–33–5 |
| 68 | L | March 14, 1976 | 2–3 OT | Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 29–34–5 |
| 69 | L | March 16, 1976 | 0–6 | @ Toronto Toros (1975–76) | 29–35–5 |
| 70 | W | March 19, 1976 | 6–5 OT | @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 30–35–5 |
| 71 | L | March 20, 1976 | 5–6 | Toronto Toros (1975–76) | 30–36–5 |
| 72 | W | March 21, 1976 | 4–1 | Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 31–36–5 |
| 73 | W | March 23, 1976 | 3–1 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) | 32–36–5 |
| 74 | L | March 24, 1976 | 2–3 | Houston Aeros (1975–76) | 32–37–5 |
| 75 | L | March 26, 1976 | 2–3 | Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) | 32–38–5 |
| 76 | W | March 31, 1976 | 5–1 | New England Whalers (1975–76) | 33–38–5 |
| 77 | L | April 2, 1976 | 2–5 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 33–39–5 |
| 78 | W | April 3, 1976 | 4–2 | San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 34–39–5 |
| 79 | W | April 4, 1976 | 6–3 | Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 35–39–5 |
| 80 | L | April 6, 1976 | 2–3 OT | San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 35–40–5 |

## Playoffs
### New England Whalers 3, Cleveland Crusaders 0 - Preliminary Round

| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record |
| 1 | April 9 | Cleveland Crusaders | 3–5 | New England Whalers | 0–1 |
| 2 | April 10 | New England Whalers | 6–1 | Cleveland Crusaders | 0–2 |
| 3 | April 11 | New England Whalers | 3–2 | Cleveland Crusaders | 0–3 |

## Player stats

Regular season :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Ron Ward | C | 75 | 32 | 50 | 82 | 24 | 14 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
| Jim Harrison | C | 59 | 34 | 38 | 72 | 62 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 5 |
| Rich Leduc | C | 79 | 36 | 22 | 58 | 76 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 6 |
| Gerry Pinder | LW | 79 | 21 | 30 | 51 | 118 | -8 | 8 | 3 | 2 |
| Danny Gruen | LW | 80 | 26 | 24 | 50 | 72 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Paul Shmyr | D | 70 | 6 | 44 | 50 | 101 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Al McDonough | RW | 80 | 23 | 22 | 45 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Russ Walker | RW | 72 | 23 | 15 | 38 | 122 | -7 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Tom Edur | D | 80 | 7 | 28 | 35 | 62 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Jarrett | LW | 69 | 16 | 17 | 33 | 22 | -4 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| John Stewart | LW | 79 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 43 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Juhani Tamminen | RW | 65 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 0 | -8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Maxwell | D | 73 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 177 | -13 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Terry Ball | D | 23 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 18 | -21 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Ray McKay | D | 68 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 44 | -8 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Lyle Moffat | LW | 33 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 33 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| John Stewart | C | 42 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 15 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Baxter | D | 67 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 201 | -7 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Randy Legge | D | 44 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 28 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary MacGregor | C | 35 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 6 | -16 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Wayne Connelly | C | 12 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 4 | -1 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Barry Legge | D | 35 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 22 | -8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Evo | RW | 40 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 32 | -15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Muloin | D | 27 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 12 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Holbrook | RW | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mike Conroy | LW | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cam Newton | G | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Bowles | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacques Caron | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Cheevers | G | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Johnson | G | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Whidden | G | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gerry Cheevers | 1570 | 28 | 11 | 14 | 1 | 95 | 3.63 | 1 |
| Bob Johnson | 1043 | 18 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 56 | 3.22 | 1 |
| Cam Newton | 896 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 48 | 3.21 | 0 |
| Bob Whidden | 1230 | 21 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 70 | 3.41 | 1 |
| Jacques Caron | 130 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3.69 | 0 |
| Team: | 4869 | 80 | 35 | 40 | 5 | 277 | 3.41 | 3 |
Playoffs :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Rich Leduc | C | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Jarrett | LW | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Gruen | LW | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Edur | D | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Ward | C | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Connelly | C | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al McDonough | RW | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Harrison | C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barry Legge | D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Maxwell | D | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Baxter | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Holbrook | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Johnson | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Legge | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary MacGregor | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ray McKay | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cam Newton | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Pinder | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Stewart | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Juhani Tamminen | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Russ Walker | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Bob Johnson | 120 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4.00 | 0 |
| Cam Newton | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 180 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 4.67 | 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;

## Draft picks

Cleveland's draft picks at the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 5 | Ralph Klassen (F) | Canada | Saskatoon Blades (WCHL) |
| 2 | 19 | Mal Zinger (F) | Canada | Kamloops Chiefs (WCHL) |
| 2 | 20 | Kelly Greenbank (RW) | Austria | Winnipeg Clubs (WCHL) |
| 3 | 35 | Ed Staniowski (G) | Canada | Regina Pats (WCHL) |
| 4 | 50 | Peter Scamurra (D) | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHA) |
| 5 | 65 | Dennis Maruk (F) | Canada | London Knights (OHA) |
| 6 | 78 | Joe Augustine (D) | United States | Austin Mavericks (MidJHL) |
| 7 | 92 | Michel Lachance (D) | Canada | Montreal Red White and Blue (QMJHL) |
| 8 | 104 | Joe Fortunato (LW) | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHA) |
| 9 | 116 | Viktor Khatulev (F) | Latvia | Dynamo Riga (USSR) |
| 10 | 129 | Ari Kankaanpera (D) | Finland | Ilves Tampere (SM-sarja) |
| 11 | 142 | Tom McNamara (G) | United States | University of Vermont (ECAC) |
| 12 | 153 | Rick Marsh (D) | Canada | R.P.I. (ECAC) |
| 13 | 163 | Dan Shearer (C) | Canada | Hamilton Fincups (OHA) |