# 1974–75 Phoenix Roadrunners season

The 1974–75 Phoenix Roadrunners season was the Phoenix Roadrunners first season of operation in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Roadrunners qualified for the playoffs, losing in the first round to the Quebec Nordiques.

## Regular season
### Final standings

| Western Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
| Houston Aeros | 78 | 53 | 25 | 0 | 106 | 369 | 247 | 1257 |
| San Diego Mariners | 78 | 43 | 31 | 4 | 90 | 326 | 268 | 1058 |
| Minnesota Fighting Saints | 78 | 42 | 33 | 3 | 87 | 308 | 279 | 1233 |
| Phoenix Roadrunners | 78 | 39 | 31 | 8 | 86 | 300 | 265 | 1388 |
| Michigan Stags / Baltimore Blades | 78 | 21 | 53 | 4 | 46 | 205 | 341 | 1104 |

### Game log

Regular season schedule :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 16, 1974 | 8–2 | San Diego Mariners (1974–75) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | W | October 18, 1974 | 6–4 | Houston Aeros (1974–75) | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | T | October 20, 1974 | 4–4 | Cleveland Crusaders (1974–75) | 2–0–1 |
| 4 | L | October 24, 1974 | 1–2 | @ San Diego Mariners (1974–75) | 2–1–1 |
| 5 | L | October 26, 1974 | 1–4 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1974–75) | 2–2–1 |
| 6 | L | October 28, 1974 | 3–7 | @ Toronto Toros (1974–75) | 2–3–1 |
| 7 | L | October 30, 1974 | 5–6 OT | @ Winnipeg Jets (1974–75) | 2–4–1 |
| 8 | L | November 2, 1974 | 2–8 | @ Houston Aeros (1974–75) | 2–5–1 |
| 9 | W | November 5, 1974 | 3–0 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1974–75) | 3–5–1 |
| 10 | W | November 9, 1974 | 4–2 | @ New England Whalers (1974–75) | 4–5–1 |
| 11 | L | November 10, 1974 | 4–10 | @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75) | 4–6–1 |
| 12 | L | November 14, 1974 | 1–2 OT | Cleveland Crusaders (1974–75) | 4–7–1 |
| 13 | W | November 16, 1974 | 6–3 | New England Whalers (1974–75) | 5–7–1 |
| 14 | L | November 21, 1974 | 1–2 | @ Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75) | 5–8–1 |
| 15 | W | November 24, 1974 | 3–1 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1974–75) | 6–8–1 |
| 16 | W | November 26, 1974 | 6–4 | @ Houston Aeros (1974–75) | 7–8–1 |
| 17 | L | November 27, 1974 | 2–4 | Chicago Cougars (1974–75) | 7–9–1 |
| 18 | T | November 29, 1974 | 4–4 | Toronto Toros (1974–75) | 7–9–2 |
| 19 | L | December 1, 1974 | 3–4 | @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75) | 7–10–2 |
| 20 | W | December 3, 1974 | 5–4 OT | @ San Diego Mariners (1974–75) | 8–10–2 |
| 21 | L | December 4, 1974 | 0–2 | San Diego Mariners (1974–75) | 8–11–2 |
| 22 | W | December 6, 1974 | 3–1 | Edmonton Oilers (1974–75) | 9–11–2 |
| 23 | L | December 8, 1974 | 2–5 | Toronto Toros (1974–75) | 9–12–2 |
| 24 | W | December 10, 1974 | 4–2 | @ Chicago Cougars (1974–75) | 10–12–2 |
| 25 | W | December 12, 1974 | 4–2 | Vancouver Blazers (1974–75) | 11–12–2 |
| 26 | W | December 14, 1974 | 4–3 | Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75) | 12–12–2 |
| 27 | W | December 18, 1974 | 5–3 | Vancouver Blazers (1974–75) | 13–12–2 |
| 28 | W | December 20, 1974 | 7–2 | Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75) | 14–12–2 |
| 29 | W | December 22, 1974 | 4–2 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1974–75) | 15–12–2 |
| 30 | L | December 26, 1974 | 2–3 | Winnipeg Jets (1974–75) | 15–13–2 |
| 31 | W | December 28, 1974 | 3–2 OT | Cleveland Crusaders (1974–75) | 16–13–2 |
| 32 | W | December 30, 1974 | 6–3 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1974–75) | 17–13–2 |
| 33 | T | December 31, 1974 | 1–1 | @ Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75) | 17–13–3 |
| 34 | L | January 2, 1975 | 2–3 | @ Vancouver Blazers (1974–75) | 17–14–3 |
| 35 | T | January 3, 1975 | 3–3 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1974–75) | 17–14–4 |
| 36 | W | January 5, 1975 | 2–1 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1974–75) | 18–14–4 |
| 37 | W | January 7, 1975 | 3–2 | @ Toronto Toros (1974–75) | 19–14–4 |
| 38 | T | January 9, 1975 | 1–1 | New England Whalers (1974–75) | 19–14–5 |
| 39 | L | January 11, 1975 | 4–6 | @ Houston Aeros (1974–75) | 19–15–5 |
| 40 | L | January 12, 1975 | 2–4 | @ Cleveland Crusaders (1974–75) | 19–16–5 |
| 41 | L | January 14, 1975 | 2–5 | @ Chicago Cougars (1974–75) | 19–17–5 |
| 42 | T | January 15, 1975 | 5–5 | Toronto Toros (1974–75) | 19–17–6 |
| 43 | L | January 17, 1975 | 1–7 | Edmonton Oilers (1974–75) | 19–18–6 |
| 44 | W | January 18, 1975 | 3–1 | Edmonton Oilers (1974–75) | 20–18–6 |
| 45 | W | January 22, 1975 | 8–5 | Chicago Cougars (1974–75) | 21–18–6 |
| 46 | W | January 24, 1975 | 4–1 | New England Whalers (1974–75) | 22–18–6 |
| 47 | W | January 26, 1975 | 6–0 | Indianapolis Racers (1974–75) | 23–18–6 |
| 48 | W | January 28, 1975 | 3–1 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1974–75) | 24–18–6 |
| 49 | L | January 29, 1975 | 2–6 | @ Cleveland Crusaders (1974–75) | 24–19–6 |
| 50 | L | January 30, 1975 | 3–5 | Winnipeg Jets (1974–75) | 24–20–6 |
| 51 | W | February 1, 1975 | 8–1 | Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75) | 25–20–6 |
| 52 | W | February 5, 1975 | 9–2 | San Diego Mariners (1974–75) | 26–20–6 |
| 53 | W | February 7, 1975 | 4–1 | Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75) | 27–20–6 |
| 54 | L | February 8, 1975 | 3–4 OT | Quebec Nordiques (1974–75) | 27–21–6 |
| 55 | W | February 9, 1975 | 6–4 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1974–75) | 28–21–6 |
| 56 | L | February 12, 1975 | 4–5 | @ Vancouver Blazers (1974–75) | 28–22–6 |
| 57 | L | February 13, 1975 | 3–5 | Quebec Nordiques (1974–75) | 28–23–6 |
| 58 | W | February 16, 1975 | 5–4 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1974–75) | 29–23–6 |
| 59 | L | February 18, 1975 | 0–7 | @ San Diego Mariners (1974–75) | 29–24–6 |
| 60 | W | February 22, 1975 | 3–1 | @ Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75) | 30–24–6 |
| 61 | L | February 27, 1975 | 2–7 | Houston Aeros (1974–75) | 30–25–6 |
| 62 | W | March 1, 1975 | 12–2 | Indianapolis Racers (1974–75) | 31–25–6 |
| 63 | W | March 2, 1975 | 5–0 | Chicago Cougars (1974–75) | 32–25–6 |
| 64 | W | March 5, 1975 | 6–3 | Quebec Nordiques (1974–75) | 33–25–6 |
| 65 | W | March 7, 1975 | 7–4 | Winnipeg Jets (1974–75) | 34–25–6 |
| 66 | L | March 9, 1975 | 3–4 | @ Vancouver Blazers (1974–75) | 34–26–6 |
| 67 | L | March 11, 1975 | 4–7 | @ Toronto Toros (1974–75) | 34–27–6 |
| 68 | T | March 13, 1975 | 5–5 | @ New England Whalers (1974–75) | 34–27–7 |
| 69 | W | March 18, 1975 | 7–3 | @ Chicago Cougars (1974–75) | 35–27–7 |
| 70 | L | March 19, 1975 | 4–5 | @ Cleveland Crusaders (1974–75) | 35–28–7 |
| 71 | W | March 22, 1975 | 4–2 | Vancouver Blazers (1974–75) | 36–28–7 |
| 72 | W | March 23, 1975 | 5–3 | Indianapolis Racers (1974–75) | 37–28–7 |
| 73 | W | March 26, 1975 | 2–1 | Houston Aeros (1974–75) | 38–28–7 |
| 74 | T | March 28, 1975 | 2–2 | Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75) | 38–28–8 |
| 75 | L | March 30, 1975 | 5–6 OT | @ Quebec Nordiques (1974–75) | 38–29–8 |
| 76 | L | April 1, 1975 | 3–5 | @ New England Whalers (1974–75) | 38–30–8 |
| 77 | W | April 4, 1975 | 2–1 | @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75) | 39–30–8 |
| 78 | L | April 5, 1975 | 6–7 OT | Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75) | 39–31–8 |

## Playoffs
### Quebec Nordiques 4, Phoenix Roadrunners 1

| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record |
| 1 | April 8 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 2–5 | Quebec Nordiques | 0–1 |
| 2 | April 10 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 2–6 | Quebec Nordiques | 0–2 |
| 3 | April 12 | Quebec Nordiques | 3–0 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 0–3 |
| 4 | April 15 | Quebec Nordiques | 5–6 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 1–3 |
| 5 | April 17 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 2–4 | Quebec Nordiques | 1–4 |

## Player stats

Regular season :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| 9-Dennis Sobchuk | C | 78 | 32 | 45 | 77 | 36 | 35 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 16-Michel Cormier | LW | 78 | 36 | 38 | 74 | 26 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 18-Jim Boyd | C | 76 | 26 | 44 | 70 | 18 | 29 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| 15-John Gray | RW | 75 | 35 | 33 | 68 | 107 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 8-Robbie Ftorek | C/LW | 53 | 31 | 37 | 68 | 29 | 49 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 11-Murray Keogan | C | 78 | 35 | 29 | 64 | 68 | -12 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 22-Don Borgeson | LW | 74 | 29 | 28 | 57 | 38 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 6-Gerry Odrowski | D | 77 | 5 | 38 | 43 | 77 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 21-John Hughes | D | 72 | 4 | 25 | 29 | 201 | 49 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 17-Cam Connor | RW | 57 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 168 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7-Peter McNamee | D | 55 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 77 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2-Jim Niekamp | D | 71 | 2 | 26 | 28 | 66 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12-Bob Barlow | LW | 51 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 8 | -9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7-Hugh Harris | C | 22 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 18-Bob Mowat | RW | 53 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 34 | -4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20-John Migneault | LW | 47 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 16 | -4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 19-Wendell Bennett | D | 67 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 92 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3-Al McLeod | D | 77 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 98 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23-Mike Stevens | D | 70 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 69 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4-Howie Young | D/RW | 30 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 44 | -2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10-Dave Gorman | RW | 13 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5-Rick Newell | D | 25 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 39 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1-Gary Kurt | G | 47 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21-Gene Sobchuk | LW/C | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 4-Garry Lariviere | D | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30-Jack Norris | G | 33 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| 1-Gary Kurt | 2841 | 47 | 25 | 16 | 4 | 156 | 3.29 | 2 |
| 30-Jack Norris | 1962 | 33 | 14 | 15 | 4 | 107 | 3.27 | 1 |
| Team: | 4803 | 78 | 39 | 31 | 8 | 263 | 3.29 | 3 |
Playoffs :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| 8-Robbie Ftorek | C/LW | 5 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9-Dennis Sobchuk | C | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15-John Gray | RW | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3-Al McLeod | D | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19-Wendell Bennett | D | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18-Jim Boyd | C | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6-Gerry Odrowski | D | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16-Michel Cormier | LW | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7-Peter McNamee | D | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22-Don Borgeson | LW | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11-Murray Keogan | C | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5-Rick Newell | D | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23-Mike Stevens | D | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17-Cam Connor | RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1-Gary Kurt | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4-Garry Lariviere | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20-John Migneault | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18-Bob Mowat | RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2-Jim Niekamp | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30-Jack Norris | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21-Gene Sobchuk | LW/C | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| 1-Gary Kurt | 207 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 3.48 | 0 |
| 30-Jack Norris | 100 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 6.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 307 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 4.30 | 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 1974 WHA Amateur Draft.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| WHA Secret Amateur Draft |||||
| 1 | 1 | Greg Joly (D) | Canada | Regina Pats (WCHL) |
| 2 | 16 | Brian Kinsella (RW) | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHA) |
| 2 | 23 | Brad Winton (C) | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OHA) |
| WHA Amateur Draft |||||
| 1 | 5 | Dennis Olmstead (C) | Canada | University of Wisconsin (WCHA) |
| 2 | 16 | Dave Gorman (RW) | Canada | St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA) |
| 3 | 31 | Jim Clarke (D) | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OHA) |
| 4 | 46 | Bruce Aberhart (G) | Canada | London Knights (OHA) |
| 5 | 61 | Gordon Buynak (D) | United States | Kingston Canadians (OHA) |
| 6 | 75 | Robbie Watt (F) | Canada | Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) |
| 7 | 90 | Andy Spruce (LW) | Canada | London Knights (OHA) |
| 8 | 105 | Steve Short (D) | United States | St. Paul Vulcans (MidJHL) |
| 9 | 120 | John Taft (D) | United States | University of Wisconsin (WCHA) |
| 10 | 135 | Dan Mandryk (F) | Canada | Calgary Centennials (WCHL) |
| 11 | 148 | Chuck Luksa (D) | Canada | University of Toronto (OUAA) |
| 12 | 161 | Marc Gaudreault (D) | Canada | Lake Superior State University (CCHA) |
| 13 | 174 | Kim Gellert (C) | Canada | Lake Superior State University (CCHA) |
| 14 | 185 | Ron Hawkshaw (F) | Canada | University of Waterloo (OUAA) |