# 1975–76 Minnesota Fighting Saints season

The 1975–76 Minnesota Fighting Saints season was the original Minnesota Fighting Saints' fourth and final season of operation in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Saints did not finish the season, folding after 59 games. However the 1975–76 Cleveland Crusaders would relocate to Minnesota the following season and play as the new Fighting Saints.

## 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 | 4–1 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | W | October 12, 1975 | 2–0 | @ Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | L | October 15, 1975 | 4–8 | Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) | 2–1–0 |
| 4 | L | October 18, 1975 | 1–3 | Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) | 2–2–0 |
| 5 | W | October 21, 1975 | 2–1 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) | 3–2–0 |
| 6 | T | October 23, 1975 | 4–4 | @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 3–2–1 |
| 7 | L | October 25, 1975 | 1–6 | @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 3–3–1 |
| 8 | L | October 29, 1975 | 4–6 | Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 3–4–1 |
| 9 | W | November 1, 1975 | 3–2 | Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 4–4–1 |
| 10 | L | November 5, 1975 | 4–6 | @ Houston Aeros (1975–76) | 4–5–1 |
| 11 | W | November 8, 1975 | 4–3 | Toronto Toros (1975–76) | 5–5–1 |
| 12 | L | November 11, 1975 | 6–8 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) | 5–6–1 |
| 13 | W | November 15, 1975 | 9–7 | Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) | 6–6–1 |
| 14 | W | November 16, 1975 | 3–2 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 7–6–1 |
| 15 | L | November 19, 1975 | 3–4 OT | @ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) | 7–7–1 |
| 16 | W | November 20, 1975 | 2–0 | @ New England Whalers (1975–76) | 8–7–1 |
| 17 | L | November 22, 1975 | 4–6 | Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) | 8–8–1 |
| 18 | W | November 25, 1975 | 3–2 OT | New England Whalers (1975–76) | 9–8–1 |
| 19 | W | November 27, 1975 | 5–3 | Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 10–8–1 |
| 20 | L | November 30, 1975 | 3–5 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) | 10–9–1 |
| 21 | W | December 5, 1975 | 4–3 | Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) | 11–9–1 |
| 22 | W | December 9, 1975 | 5–3 | @ Toronto Toros (1975–76) | 12–9–1 |
| 23 | L | December 10, 1975 | 2–3 | @ New England Whalers (1975–76) | 12–10–1 |
| 24 | L | December 12, 1975 | 0–1 | @ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) | 12–11–1 |
| 25 | W | December 13, 1975 | 4–3 | Houston Aeros (1975–76) | 13–11–1 |
| 26 | T | December 17, 1975 | 0–0 | New England Whalers (1975–76) | 13–11–2 |
| 27 | W | December 20, 1975 | 6–3 | Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) | 14–11–2 |
| 28 | W | December 21, 1975 | 3–1 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) | 15–11–2 |
| 29 | W | December 23, 1975 | 5–4 | @ Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) | 16–11–2 |
| 30 | L | December 27, 1975 | 0–5 | @ Houston Aeros (1975–76) | 16–12–2 |
| 31 | L | December 28, 1975 | 1–2 | San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 16–13–2 |
| 32 | T | December 30, 1975 | 4–4 | Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) | 16–13–3 |
| 33 | W | January 3, 1976 | 3–1 | Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) | 17–13–3 |
| 34 | L | January 4, 1976 | 2–5 | Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) | 17–14–3 |
| 35 | W | January 7, 1976 | 7–6 OT | Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 18–14–3 |
| 36 | L | January 10, 1976 | 1–4 | Houston Aeros (1975–76) | 18–15–3 |
| 37 | W | January 11, 1976 | 7–4 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) | 19–15–3 |
| 38 | L | January 15, 1976 | 4–5 OT | @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 19–16–3 |
| 39 | L | January 16, 1976 | 1–3 | @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 19–17–3 |
| 40 | W | January 17, 1976 | 4–2 | @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 20–17–3 |
| 41 | W | January 21, 1976 | 6–5 OT | San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 21–17–3 |
| 42 | L | January 23, 1976 | 1–7 | San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 21–18–3 |
| 43 | W | January 25, 1976 | 5–2 | Toronto Toros (1975–76) | 22–18–3 |
| 44 | W | January 28, 1976 | 6–2 | Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) | 23–18–3 |
| 45 | W | January 29, 1976 | 6–5 OT | @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) | 24–18–3 |
| 46 | W | January 31, 1976 | 4–1 | Houston Aeros (1975–76) | 25–18–3 |
| 47 | L | February 1, 1976 | 5–6 | Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) | 25–19–3 |
| 48 | L | February 3, 1976 | 4–8 | @ Houston Aeros (1975–76) | 25–20–3 |
| 49 | L | February 4, 1976 | 1–4 | @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 25–21–3 |
| 50 | L | February 7, 1976 | 2–4 | @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 25–22–3 |
| 51 | T | February 8, 1976 | 3–3 | @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 25–22–4 |
| 52 | W | February 10, 1976 | 6–3 | San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 26–22–4 |
| 53 | W | February 11, 1976 | 4–2 | @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 27–22–4 |
| 54 | W | February 12, 1976 | 6–4 | Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) | 28–22–4 |
| 55 | L | February 14, 1976 | 2–5 | Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) | 28–23–4 |
| 56 | W | February 17, 1976 | 6–3 | @ Toronto Toros (1975–76) | 29–23–4 |
| 57 | W | February 20, 1976 | 6–3 | @ Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) | 30–23–4 |
| 58 | L | February 22, 1976 | 3–4 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) | 30–24–4 |
| 59 | L | February 25, 1976 | 1–2 OT | San Diego Mariners (1975–76) | 30–25–4 |

## Player stats

Regular season :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Mike Walton | C | 58 | 31 | 40 | 71 | 27 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Keon | C | 57 | 26 | 38 | 64 | 4 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Fran Huck | C | 59 | 17 | 32 | 49 | 27 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Connelly | C | 59 | 24 | 23 | 47 | 19 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| John McKenzie | RW | 57 | 21 | 26 | 47 | 48 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Mike Antonovich | C | 57 | 25 | 21 | 46 | 18 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Henry Boucha | C | 36 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 47 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Smith | D | 51 | 1 | 32 | 33 | 50 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Holmgren | RW | 51 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 121 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ted Hampson | C | 59 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 14 | -3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jack Carlson | LW | 58 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 189 | -14 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gary Gambucci | C | 45 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Butters | D | 59 | 0 | 15 | 15 | 170 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Curt Brackenbury | RW | 59 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 254 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Westrum | D | 54 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 98 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Busniuk | RW | 59 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 150 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Odrowski | D | 37 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 10 | -9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bruce Boudreau | C | 30 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 4 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jerry Zrymiak | D | 22 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Perry Miller | D | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Arbour | D | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Francois Ouimet | D | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Carlson | RW | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Carlson | C | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 23 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Curran | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Garrett | G | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean-Louis Levasseur | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Sarner | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean Tetreault | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| John Garrett | 3179 | 52 | 26 | 22 | 4 | 177 | 3.34 | 2 |
| Mike Curran | 240 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 5.50 | 1 |
| Jean-Louis Levasseur | 193 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3.11 | 0 |
| Team: | 3612 | 59 | 30 | 25 | 4 | 209 | 3.47 | 3 |
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

Minnesota's draft picks at the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 10 | Greg Hickey (LW) | Canada | Hamilton Fincups (OHA) |
| 2 | 25 | Kim Clackson (D) | Canada | Victoria Cougars (WCHL) |
| 3 | 40 | Greg Neeld (D) | Canada | Calgary Centennials (WCHL) |
| 4 | 55 | Bob Hoffmeyer (D) | Canada | Saskatoon Blades (WCHL) |
| 5 | 69 | Jim Minor (C) | Canada | Regina Pats (WCHL) |
| 6 | 83 | Brian Shmyr (C) | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 7 | 96 | Marc Tessier (C) | Canada | Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL) |
| 8 | 108 | Bob McNeice (LW) | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 9 | 120 | Dave Faulkner (C) | Canada | Regina Pats (WCHL) |
| 10 | 133 | Denis Daigle (LW) | Canada | Montreal Red White and Blue (QMJHL) |
| 11 | 146 | Earl Sargent (W) | United States | Fargo-Moorhead Sugar Kings (MidJHL) |
| 12 | 157 | Richard Dutton (D) | Canada | Laval National (QMJHL) |
| 13 | 167 | Tom Ulseth (C) | United States | University of Wisconsin (WCHA) |
| 14 | 173 | Henry Taylor (RW) | United States | St. Paul Vulcans (MidJHL) |