# 1975–76 Phoenix Roadrunners season

The 1975–76 Phoenix Roadrunners season was the second season of operation of the Phoenix Roadrunners in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Roadrunners qualified for the playoffs but lost in the first round to the San Diego Mariners.

## Regular season
### Final standings

| Western Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
| Houston Aeros | 80 | 53 | 27 | 0 | 106 | 341 | 263 | 1093 |
| Phoenix Roadrunners | 80 | 39 | 35 | 6 | 84 | 302 | 287 | 1292 |
| San Diego Mariners | 80 | 36 | 38 | 6 | 78 | 303 | 290 | 716 |
| Minnesota Fighting Saints | 59 | 30 | 25 | 4 | 64 | 211 | 212 | 1354 |

### Game log

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

## Playoffs
### San Diego Mariners 3, Phoenix Roadrunners 2 - Preliminary Round

| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record |
| 1 | April 9 | San Diego Mariners | 2–3 OT | Phoenix Roadrunners | 0–1 |
| 2 | April 10 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 2–4 | San Diego Mariners | 1-1 |
| 3 | April 13 | San Diego Mariners | 4–6 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 1–2 |
| 4 | April 15 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 1–5 | San Diego Mariners | 2-2 |
| 5 | April 17 | San Diego Mariners | 2–1 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 3–2 |

## Player stats

Regular season :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Robbie Ftorek | C/LW | 80 | 41 | 72 | 113 | 109 | 36 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Del Hall | C | 80 | 47 | 44 | 91 | 10 | 21 | 12 | 0 | 7 |
| John Gray | RW | 79 | 35 | 45 | 80 | 136 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| Ron Huston | C | 79 | 22 | 44 | 66 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Jim Boyd | C | 80 | 23 | 34 | 57 | 44 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 4 |
| Pekka Rautakallio | D | 73 | 11 | 39 | 50 | 8 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Gary Veneruzzo | W | 61 | 19 | 24 | 43 | 27 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Cam Connor | RW | 73 | 18 | 21 | 39 | 295 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Michel Cormier | LW | 46 | 21 | 15 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Lauri Mononen | RW | 75 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 19 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Barry Dean | LW | 71 | 9 | 25 | 34 | 110 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Dave Gorman | RW | 67 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Garry Lariviere | D | 79 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 100 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Serge Beaudoin | D | 76 | 0 | 21 | 21 | 102 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Migneault | LW | 68 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 14 | -9 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Al McLeod | D | 80 | 2 | 18 | 20 | 82 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Niekamp | D | 79 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 77 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Grant Erickson | LW | 33 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jim Clarke | D | 59 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 57 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Kurt | G | 40 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter McNamee | D | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 32 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Sleep | RW | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Hobin | C | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Murray Keogan | C | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Norris | G | 41 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clay Hebenton | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Jack Norris | 2412 | 41 | 21 | 14 | 4 | 128 | 3.18 | 1 |
| Gary Kurt | 2369 | 40 | 18 | 20 | 2 | 147 | 3.72 | 1 |
| Clay Hebenton | 80 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 6.75 | 0 |
| Team: | 4861 | 80 | 39 | 35 | 6 | 284 | 3.51 | 2 |
Playoffs :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Jim Boyd | C | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Del Hall | C | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbie Ftorek | C/LW | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lauri Mononen | RW | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Veneruzzo | W | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Gray | RW | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Huston | C | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grant Erickson | LW | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Gorman | RW | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Garry Lariviere | D | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al McLeod | D | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pekka Rautakallio | D | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Serge Beaudoin | D | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cam Connor | RW | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Niekamp | D | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Migneault | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Norris | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Sleep | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Jack Norris | 298 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 3.42 | 0 |
| Team: | 298 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 3.42 | 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

Phoenix's draft picks at the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 9 | Greg Vaydik (F) | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL) |
| 2 | 23 | Neil Lyseng (RW) | Canada | Kamloops Chiefs (WCHL) |
| 2 | 24 | Mike O'Connell (D) | United States | Kingston Canadians (OHA) |
| 3 | 39 | Blair Davidson (D) | Canada | Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) |
| 4 | 54 | Roger Swanson (G) | Canada | Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) |
| 5 | 68 | Mike Sleep (RW) | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 6 | 82 | Dana Decker (LW) | United States | Michigan Tech University (WCHA) |
| 7 | 95 | Dale McMullin (LW) | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL) |
| 8 | 107 | Gary Morrison (F) | United States | University of Michigan (WCHA) |