1972–73 Minnesota Fighting Saints season

The 1972–73 Minnesota Fighting Saints season was the 1st season of the Fighting Saints franchise in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Fighting Saints finished 4th in the Western Division and lost in the Quarter-finals to the Winnipeg Jets 4 games to 1.
==Off-season==
The Fighting Saints inaugural jersey colours were dark blue, white and yellow. They'd stay with these colours for the next four seasons. Unlike all the others teams in the league, the Fighting Saints had three jerseys, each using one of the three colours as the primary jersey colour. This had not been done in a major professional league since the 1955-56 Boston Bruins. Sweater numbers were outlined while names were not. Wide stripes on the arms and body completed the design. The logo featured a stylized "S" with "SAINTS" written inside it. The three jerseys and the stylized "S" logo were used for the 1972-73 season only. The yellow jersey was rarely worn and few pictures exist.
==Regular Season==
===Final Standings===
===Game Log===
Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results 	Regular Season Results
No. 	R 	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	L 	October 13, 1972 	3–4 	Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 	0–1–0
2 	W 	October 15, 1972 	3–2 	Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 	1–1–0
3 	L 	October 17, 1972 	1–5 	Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 	1–2–0
4 	L 	October 19, 1972 	1–5 	@ Houston Aeros (1972–73) 	1–3–0
5 	T 	October 20, 1972 	1–1 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 	1–3–1
6 	W 	October 22, 1972 	5–4 	@ New York Raiders (1972–73) 	2–3–1
7 	L 	October 23, 1972 	1–5 	@ New England Whalers (1972–73) 	2–4–1
8 	L 	October 26, 1972 	4–5 	@ Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 	2–5–1
9 	W 	November 1, 1972 	3–0 	Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 	3–5–1
10 	L 	November 2, 1972 	2–4 	New York Raiders (1972–73) 	3–6–1
11 	W 	November 5, 1972 	3–1 	Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) 	4–6–1
12 	W 	November 10, 1972 	5–1 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 	5–6–1
13 	W 	November 14, 1972 	5–3 	Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) 	6–6–1
14 	W 	November 16, 1972 	5–4 	Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 	7–6–1
15 	W 	November 18, 1972 	5–4 OT 	@ Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73)	8–6–1
16 	L 	November 19, 1972 	3–4 	Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 	8–7–1
17 	W 	November 21, 1972 	4–3 OT 	Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 	9–7–1
18 	W 	November 23, 1972 	4–3 	Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 	10–7–1
19 	W 	November 24, 1972 	6–4 	@ Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73)	11–7–1
20 	W 	November 26, 1972 	3–1 	New England Whalers (1972–73) 	12–7–1
21 	L 	November 28, 1972 	2–3 OT 	@ Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 	12–8–1
22 	L 	November 30, 1972 	2–5 	@ New York Raiders (1972–73) 	12–9–1
23 	W 	December 1, 1972 	6–4 	@ Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 	13–9–1
24 	L 	December 3, 1972 	1–5 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 	13–10–1
25 	L 	December 5, 1972 	2–3 OT 	Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 	13–11–1
26 	W 	December 7, 1972 	3–0 	Houston Aeros (1972–73) 	14–11–1
27 	L 	December 8, 1972 	3–4 OT 	@ Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 	14–12–1
28 	W 	December 10, 1972 	4–3 OT 	Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) 	15–12–1
29 	T 	December 12, 1972 	3–3 	@ Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 	15–12–2
30 	W 	December 14, 1972 	6–3 	@ Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 	16–12–2
31 	L 	December 15, 1972 	2–3 	Houston Aeros (1972–73) 	16–13–2
32 	W 	December 17, 1972 	4–2 	Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 	17–13–2
33 	W 	December 19, 1972 	7–5 	New England Whalers (1972–73) 	18–13–2
34 	W 	December 21, 1972 	3–0 	Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 	19–13–2
35 	L 	December 23, 1972 	1–3 	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) 	19–14–2
36 	L 	December 26, 1972 	2–6 	Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) 	19–15–2
37 	W 	December 28, 1972 	4–2 	@ Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 	20–15–2
38 	L 	December 29, 1972 	2–5 	@ Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 	20–16–2
39 	T 	January 1, 1973 	4–4 	Houston Aeros (1972–73) 	20–16–3
40 	L 	January 7, 1973 	2–6 	Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 	20–17–3
41 	L 	January 9, 1973 	3–4 OT 	Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 	20–18–3
42 	L 	January 11, 1973 	3–4 	Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) 	20–19–3
43 	W 	January 12, 1973 	3–2 	Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 	21–19–3
44 	W 	January 14, 1973 	3–2 OT 	Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 	22–19–3
45 	L 	January 16, 1973 	1–3 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 	22–20–3
46 	L 	January 18, 1973 	3–6 	@ Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 	22–21–3
47 	W 	January 20, 1973 	10–5 	@ Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 	23–21–3
48 	W 	January 22, 1973 	3–2 	@ New York Raiders (1972–73) 	24–21–3
49 	L 	January 25, 1973 	2–5 	Houston Aeros (1972–73) 	24–22–3
50 	W 	January 26, 1973 	4–2 	Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 	25–22–3
51 	L 	January 30, 1973 	2–4 	@ Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 	25–23–3
52 	L 	February 1, 1973 	2–4 	@ Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 	25–24–3
53 	L 	February 3, 1973 	1–7 	@ Houston Aeros (1972–73) 	25–25–3
54 	W 	February 5, 1973 	6–3 	@ Houston Aeros (1972–73) 	26–25–3
55 	W 	February 6, 1973 	5–4 	New York Raiders (1972–73) 	27–25–3
56 	L 	February 8, 1973 	1–3 	@ Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 	27–26–3
57 	L 	February 9, 1973 	0–6 	@ Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 	27–27–3
58 	L 	February 11, 1973 	5–7 	@ Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 	27–28–3
59 	W 	February 15, 1973 	3–0 	Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 	28–28–3
60 	W 	February 17, 1973 	7–3 	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) 	29–28–3
61 	W 	February 18, 1973 	7–5 	Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 	30–28–3
62 	L 	February 25, 1973 	1–4 	@ Houston Aeros (1972–73) 	30–29–3
63 	W 	February 27, 1973 	3–0 	Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) 	31–29–3
64 	L 	March 1, 1973 	1–4 	Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 	31–30–3
65 	W 	March 4, 1973 	4–2 	New England Whalers (1972–73) 	32–30–3
66 	W 	March 6, 1973 	4–3 OT 	Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 	33–30–3
67 	L 	March 8, 1973 	1–2 	@ Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73)	33–31–3
68 	L 	March 10, 1973 	1–3 	@ New England Whalers (1972–73) 	33–32–3
69 	W 	March 11, 1973 	2–1 	Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 	34–32–3
70 	W 	March 15, 1973 	7–4 	@ Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 	35–32–3
71 	L 	March 16, 1973 	4–7 	@ New England Whalers (1972–73) 	35–33–3
72 	L 	March 20, 1973 	3–5 	@ Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 	35–34–3
73 	W 	March 22, 1973 	2–1 OT 	@ Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 	36–34–3
74 	W 	March 24, 1973 	2–1 OT 	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) 	37–34–3
75 	L 	March 25, 1973 	1–6 	@ Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 	37–35–3
76 	W 	March 27, 1973 	4–3 	New York Raiders (1972–73) 	38–35–3
77 	L 	March 29, 1973 	3–5 	Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 	38–36–3
78 	L 	March 30, 1973 	3–5 	Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 	38–37–3
==Playoffs==
===Minnesota Fighting Saints 1, Alberta Oilers 0===
The Alberta Oilers and the Minnesota Fighting Saints were tied at the end of the season. They had the same number of victories and points, and they had both won four games against each other. Subsequently, it was decided that the two teams would play a one game playoff to decide the final spot in the playoffs, to be played in Calgary. 
Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	Record
April 4	Minnesota Fighting Saints	4–2 	Alberta Oilers	1–0
===Winnipeg Jets 4, Minnesota Fighting Saints 1===
#	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	Record
1	April 6 	Minnesota Fighting Saints	1–3 	Winnipeg Jets 	0–1
2	April 8 	Minnesota Fighting Saints	2–5 	Winnipeg Jets 	0–2
3	April 10	Winnipeg Jets 	4–6 	Minnesota Fighting Saints	1–2
4	April 11	Winnipeg Jets 	3–2 OT	Minnesota Fighting Saints	1–3
5	April 15	Minnesota Fighting Saints	5–8 	Winnipeg Jets 	1–4
==Player Stats==
Regular Season	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Scoring 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable sortable"	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
# 	Player	Pos 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
7 	 	C 	78	40	30	70 	16 	0 	10 	0 	6
10 	 	C 	77	17	45	62 	20 	0 	4 	0 	2
8 	 	RW 	78	36	22	58 	22 	0 	12 	0 	5
23 	 	D 	75	12	39	51 	87 	0 	4 	0 	0
6 	 	C 	64	12	30	42 	24 	0 	2 	0 	0
9 	 	LW 	70	16	24	40 	20 	0 	9 	0 	0
14 	 	RW 	75	13	27	40 	48 	0 	1 	0 	0
21 	 	D 	78	6 	34	40 	66 	0 	1 	0 	0
12 	 	C 	75	20	19	39 	46 	0 	1 	0 	0
17 	 	D 	76	6 	27	33 	186	0 	1 	0 	0
11 	 	C 	47	13	16	29 	52 	0 	5 	0 	0
20 	 	C 	33	9 	14	23 	12 	0 	0 	0 	0
15 	 	RW 	77	8 	13	21 	37 	0 	0 	0 	0
26 	 	LW 	70	8 	12	20 	12 	0 	0 	0 	0
18 	 	C 	76	13	6 	19 	13 	0 	1 	6 	0
2 	 	D 	77	3 	15	18 	189	0 	0 	0 	0
4 	 	D 	76	8 	8 	16 	94 	0 	1 	0 	0
19 	 	D/LW	54	4 	12	16 	34 	0 	0 	0 	0
24 	 	LW 	23	5 	6 	11 	20 	0 	2 	0 	0
16 	 	RW 	45	1 	5 	6 	12 	0 	0 	0 	0
22 	 	D 	29	0 	1 	1 	65 	0 	0 	0 	0
1 	 	G 	43	0 	1 	1 	26 	0 	0 	0 	0
35 	 	G 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
30 	 	G 	38	0 	0 	0 	19 	0 	0 	0 	0
Playoffs	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Scoring 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable sortable"	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Player 	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	D 	5 	0	5	5 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	3	1	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	1	3	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	1	3	4 	5 	1 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	2	1	3 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	1	2	3 	4 	1 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	0	3	3 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	2	0	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	2	0	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	1	1	2 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	1	1	2 	4 	0 	0 	1
 	C 	5 	0	2	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	1	0	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	1	0	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0	1	1 	12 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	4 	0	1	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0	1	1 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	4 	0	1	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	2 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	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 
==Awards and Records==
*Paul Deneau Trophy (Most Gentlemenly): Ted Hampson
==Transactions==
==Draft Picks==
==Farm Teams==
==Gallery==
1972-Nov21-Hampson OT-Norris.jpg|Ted Hampson scores the OT winner on Jack Norris, November 21, 1972.
1974-Jan7-Swenson-Asmundson-McCartan.jpg|Cal Swenson, Freeman "Duke" Asmundson, Jack McCartan, January 7, 1973.
==Video==
Nearly an hour of game action from the December 17, 1972 Chicago Cougars-Minnesota Fighting Saints match.
WHA- Dec.17-1972 Chicago Cougars - Minnesota Fighting Saints
==See Also==
*1972–73 WHA season
==References==
Minnesota Fighting Saints season, 1972–73
Minnesota Fighting Saints season, 1972–73
category:Minnesota Fighting Saints seasons