# 1975–76 Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics season

The 1975–76 Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics season was the ill-fated single season of operation of the Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Spurs began the season in Denver, Colorado but relocated to Ottawa, Ontario before giving up for good after 41 games.

## Regular season
### Final standings

| Canadian Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
| Winnipeg Jets | 81 | 52 | 27 | 2 | 106 | 345 | 254 | 940 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 81 | 50 | 27 | 4 | 104 | 371 | 316 | 1654 |
| Calgary Cowboys | 80 | 41 | 35 | 4 | 86 | 307 | 282 | 1064 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 81 | 27 | 49 | 5 | 59 | 268 | 345 | 991 |
| Toronto Toros | 81 | 24 | 52 | 5 | 53 | 335 | 398 | 1099 |
| Denver Spurs / Ottawa Civics+ | 41 | 14 | 26 | 1 | 29 | 134 | 172 | 536 |
+team started season in Western Division when playing in Denver; transferred by league to Canadian Division shortly after moving to Ottawa.

### Denver Spurs Game log

Regular season schedule :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | October 10, 1975 | 1–7 | Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | L | October 16, 1975 | 3–7 | Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) | 0–2–0 |
| 3 | W | October 17, 1975 | 5–4 | @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 1–2–0 |
| 4 | W | October 18, 1975 | 6–4 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) | 2–2–0 |
| 5 | W | October 22, 1975 | 2–1 | @ Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) | 3–2–0 |
| 6 | L | October 24, 1975 | 2–5 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) | 3–3–0 |
| 7 | L | October 30, 1975 | 2–3 | Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 3–4–0 |
| 8 | L | November 1, 1975 | 2–3 | Houston Aeros (1975–76) | 3–5–0 |
| 9 | T | November 4, 1975 | 2–2 | Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) | 3–5–1 |
| 10 | L | November 6, 1975 | 3–5 | Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) | 3–6–1 |
| 11 | L | November 7, 1975 | 2–3 OT | San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 3–7–1 |
| 12 | L | November 9, 1975 | 2–3 | @ Houston Aeros (1975–76) | 3–8–1 |
| 13 | L | November 13, 1975 | 8–11 | Toronto Toros (1975–76) | 3–9–1 |
| 14 | W | November 15, 1975 | 5–4 OT | Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) | 4–9–1 |
| 15 | W | November 18, 1975 | 6–3 | Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) | 5–9–1 |
| 16 | L | November 20, 1975 | 1–5 | @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 5–10–1 |
| 17 | L | November 21, 1975 | 2–6 | Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) | 5–11–1 |
| 18 | W | November 23, 1975 | 5–3 | Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 6–11–1 |
| 19 | W | November 26, 1975 | 3–0 | @ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) | 7–11–1 |
| 20 | L | November 28, 1975 | 3–7 | @ New England Whalers (1975–76) | 7–12–1 |
| 21 | W | November 30, 1975 | 4–2 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) | 8–12–1 |
| 22 | L | December 2, 1975 | 3–4 OT | Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) | 8–13–1 |
| 23 | L | December 5, 1975 | 3–4 | @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) | 8–14–1 |
| 24 | L | December 6, 1975 | 2–3 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 8–15–1 |
| 25 | W | December 7, 1975 | 5–1 | New England Whalers (1975–76) | 9–15–1 |
| 26 | W | December 9, 1975 | 6–3 | Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) | 10–15–1 |
| 27 | L | December 13, 1975 | 1–4 | Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 10–16–1 |
| 28 | W | December 16, 1975 | 3–2 OT | Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 11–16–1 |
| 29 | W | December 19, 1975 | 6–3 | San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 12–16–1 |
| 30 | L | December 23, 1975 | 4–5 | Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) | 12–17–1 |
| 31 | L | December 26, 1975 | 4–9 | @ Houston Aeros (1975–76) | 12–18–1 |
| 32 | L | December 27, 1975 | 0–10 | @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 12–19–1 |
| 33 | L | December 28, 1975 | 2–5 | Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 12–20–1 |
| 34 | W | December 30, 1975 | 2–1 OT | Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) | 13–20–1 |

### Ottawa Civics Game log

Regular season schedule :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 35 | L | January 2, 1976 | 1–2 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 13–21–1 |
| 36 | L | January 3, 1976 | 2–4 | @ Houston Aeros (1975–76) | 13–22–1 |
| 37 | W | January 4, 1976 | 5–2 | @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) | 14–22–1 |
| 38 | L | January 7, 1976 | 2–3 | New England Whalers (1975–76) | 14–23–1 |
| 39 | L | January 10, 1976 | 5–8 | @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 14–24–1 |
| 40 | L | January 11, 1976 | 5–6 OT | @ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) | 14–25–1 |
| 41 | L | January 15, 1976 | 4–5 OT | Houston Aeros (1975–76) | 14–26–1 |

## Player stats

Regular season :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Ralph Backstrom | C | 41 | 21 | 29 | 50 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| Don Borgeson | LW | 40 | 21 | 16 | 37 | 24 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Gary MacGregor | C | 38 | 16 | 14 | 30 | 18 | -2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Sherrit | C | 40 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 16 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Darryl Maggs | D | 41 | 4 | 23 | 27 | 42 | -9 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Mark Lomenda | RW | 37 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 11 | -6 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Frank Rochon | LW | 41 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 10 | -18 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Morris | LW | 41 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 58 | -19 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Bob Liddington | LW | 35 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 14 | -2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| John Arbour | D | 35 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 49 | -14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barry Legge | D | 40 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 15 | -11 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Brian Lavender | LW | 37 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 35 | -15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Bignell | D | 41 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 43 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Mara | C | 40 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 8 | -15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryon Baltimore | D | 41 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 32 | -13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Bredin | RW | 17 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | -7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean-Paul LeBlanc | C | 15 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 25 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Delorme | C | 22 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 28 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Mavety | D | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 14 | -12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Keith Kokkola | D | 16 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 40 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Johnson | G | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lynn Zimmerman | G | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Gibbons | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Goldthorpe | LW | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Grigg | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cam Newton | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ed Pizunski | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jan Popiel | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Sanza | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Bob Johnson | 1345 | 24 | 8 | 14 | 1 | 88 | 3.93 | 0 |
| Cam Newton | 573 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 35 | 3.66 | 1 |
| Lynn Zimmerman | 495 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 31 | 3.76 | 0 |
| Chris Grigg | 80 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 9.75 | 0 |
| Nick Sanza | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 15.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 2513 | 41 | 14 | 26 | 1 | 172 | 4.11 | 1 |
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

Denver's draft picks at the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 4 | Mel Bridgman (C) | Canada | Victoria Cougars (WCHL) |
| 3 | 34 | Ron Delorme (RW) | Canada | Lethbridge Broncos (WCHL) |
| 4 | 49 | Andre Leduc (D) | Canada | Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 64 | Nick Sanza (G) | Canada | Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 77 | Greg Miazga (F) | Canada | Victoria Cougars (WCHL) |
| 7 | 91 | Rick Martin (RW) | Canada | London Knights (OHA) |
| 10 | 128 | Dave Bossy (D) | Canada | University of Notre Dame (WCHA) |
| 11 | 141 | Andy Whitby (F) | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHA) |