1974–75 Cleveland Crusaders season

The 1974–75 Cleveland Crusaders season was the Cleveland Crusaders 3rd season of operation in the World Hockey Association (WHA). It was the Crusaders' first season in the new Coliseum at Richfield. The Crusaders finished 2nd in the Eastern Division and lost in the Quarter-finals to the Houston Aeros 4 games to 1.
==Off-season==
The Crusaders moved into the new Coliseum at Richfield which at the time, was the most luxurious in hockey. The facilities far surpassed the Cleveland Arena which had become decrepit and the area was notorious for the high level of crime. Several Crusaders players experienced theft of their cars and mugging outside the old Cleveland Arena.The Rebel League, Ed Willis, McClelland & Stewart Ltd, 1994, p.110
The Crusaders jerseys were the same design as in the 1973-74 season.
==Pre-season==
On October 6, 1974, the Crusaders lost an exhibition game 5-3 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
==Regular Season==
The only shutout in Michigan Stags history occurred on December 19, 1974 in a 1-0 victory over the Cleveland Crusaders. In a game marred by multiple brawls, Stags goalie Paul Hoganson out-dueled All-Star goalie Gerry Cheevers and made 32 saves.
===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 	W 	October 19, 1974 	3–1 	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75) 	1–0–0
2 	T 	October 20, 1974 	4–4 	@ Phoenix Roadrunners (1974–75) 	1–0–1
3 	L 	October 22, 1974 	2–5 	@ San Diego Mariners (1974–75) 	1–1–1
4 	L 	October 23, 1974 	1–4 	@ Vancouver Blazers (1974–75) 	1–2–1
5 	W 	October 31, 1974 	4–2 	@ Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75)	2–2–1
6 	L 	November 2, 1974 	2–4 	Edmonton Oilers (1974–75) 	2–3–1
7 	W 	November 8, 1974 	2–1 	@ Vancouver Blazers (1974–75) 	3–3–1
8 	L 	November 10, 1974 	1–4 	@ Edmonton Oilers (1974–75) 	3–4–1
9 	W 	November 14, 1974 	2–1 OT 	@ Phoenix Roadrunners (1974–75) 	4–4–1
10 	W 	November 15, 1974 	5–3 	@ San Diego Mariners (1974–75) 	5–4–1
11 	L 	November 19, 1974 	5–6 	Toronto Toros (1974–75) 	5–5–1
12 	L 	November 22, 1974 	2–3 	@ Quebec Nordiques (1974–75) 	5–6–1
13 	W 	November 24, 1974 	3–1 	Quebec Nordiques (1974–75) 	6–6–1
14 	W 	November 27, 1974 	5–4 OT 	Winnipeg Jets (1974–75) 	7–6–1
15 	W 	November 29, 1974 	4–2 	Indianapolis Racers (1974–75) 	8–6–1
16 	W 	November 30, 1974 	5–4 	@ Houston Aeros (1974–75) 	9–6–1
17 	L 	December 4, 1974 	2–3 	New England Whalers (1974–75) 	9–7–1
18 	W 	December 7, 1974 	3–1 	San Diego Mariners (1974–75) 	10–7–1
19 	L 	December 10, 1974 	3–4 	Vancouver Blazers (1974–75) 	10–8–1
20 	L 	December 12, 1974 	2–5 	@ Quebec Nordiques (1974–75) 	10–9–1
21 	L 	December 13, 1974 	6–7 OT 	@ Toronto Toros (1974–75) 	10–10–1
22 	L 	December 15, 1974 	1–2 	@ Vancouver Blazers (1974–75) 	10–11–1
23 	L 	December 17, 1974 	3–8 	@ San Diego Mariners (1974–75) 	10–12–1
24 	L 	December 19, 1974 	0–1 	@ Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75)	10–13–1
25 	W 	December 20, 1974 	3–0 	New England Whalers (1974–75) 	11–13–1
26 	L 	December 22, 1974 	0–3 	Houston Aeros (1974–75) 	11–14–1
27 	W 	December 23, 1974 	4–1 	@ Toronto Toros (1974–75) 	12–14–1
28 	W 	December 27, 1974 	4–3 	Quebec Nordiques (1974–75) 	13–14–1
29 	L 	December 28, 1974 	2–3 OT 	@ Phoenix Roadrunners (1974–75) 	13–15–1
30 	L 	December 29, 1974 	0–6 	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75) 	13–16–1
31 	L 	December 31, 1974 	3–4 	Chicago Cougars (1974–75) 	13–17–1
32 	L 	January 1, 1975 	2–6 	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75) 	13–18–1
33 	W 	January 2, 1975 	4–1 	Indianapolis Racers (1974–75) 	14–18–1
34 	L 	January 4, 1975 	0–2 	San Diego Mariners (1974–75) 	14–19–1
35 	L 	January 5, 1975 	3–4 	Toronto Toros (1974–75) 	14–20–1
36 	T 	January 7, 1975 	4–4 	Winnipeg Jets (1974–75) 	14–20–2
37 	W 	January 10, 1975 	6–4 	Vancouver Blazers (1974–75) 	15–20–2
38 	W 	January 12, 1975 	4–2 	Phoenix Roadrunners (1974–75) 	16–20–2
39 	L 	January 15, 1975 	2–4 	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75) 	16–21–2
40 	L 	January 16, 1975 	2–4 	@ Indianapolis Racers (1974–75) 	16–22–2
41 	W 	January 18, 1975 	2–1 	Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75) 	17–22–2
42 	L 	January 19, 1975 	4–9 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1974–75) 	17–23–2
43 	W 	January 23, 1975 	5–3 	@ Quebec Nordiques (1974–75) 	18–23–2
44 	W 	January 25, 1975 	2–1 	Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75) 	19–23–2
45 	L 	January 27, 1975 	0–2 	@ New England Whalers (1974–75) 	19–24–2
46 	L 	January 28, 1975 	3–4 	@ Chicago Cougars (1974–75) 	19–25–2
47 	W 	January 29, 1975 	6–2 	Phoenix Roadrunners (1974–75) 	20–25–2
48 	W 	January 31, 1975 	2–0 	@ Edmonton Oilers (1974–75) 	21–25–2
49 	L 	February 2, 1975 	3–4 	Quebec Nordiques (1974–75) 	21–26–2
50 	W 	February 5, 1975 	3–2 	Winnipeg Jets (1974–75) 	22–26–2
51 	W 	February 6, 1975 	4–0 	@ Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75)	23–26–2
52 	L 	February 7, 1975 	1–4 	@ Toronto Toros (1974–75) 	23–27–2
53 	L 	February 9, 1975 	1–4 	Houston Aeros (1974–75) 	23–28–2
54 	W 	February 12, 1975 	5–3 	Chicago Cougars (1974–75) 	24–28–2
55 	W 	February 14, 1975 	3–2 	San Diego Mariners (1974–75) 	25–28–2
56 	L 	February 15, 1975 	1–5 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1974–75) 	25–29–2
57 	L 	February 17, 1975 	1–2 	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75) 	25–30–2
58 	L 	February 19, 1975 	3–5 	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1974–75) 	25–31–2
59 	W 	February 22, 1975 	4–3 	Toronto Toros (1974–75) 	26–31–2
60 	L 	February 23, 1975 	0–6 	@ Indianapolis Racers (1974–75) 	26–32–2
61 	L 	February 26, 1975 	5–9 	@ Houston Aeros (1974–75) 	26–33–2
62 	T 	March 1, 1975 	4–4 	@ New England Whalers (1974–75) 	26–33–3
63 	W 	March 4, 1975 	3–1 	@ Edmonton Oilers (1974–75) 	27–33–3
64 	L 	March 5, 1975 	2–4 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1974–75) 	27–34–3
65 	W 	March 8, 1975 	6–5 	@ Indianapolis Racers (1974–75) 	28–34–3
66 	L 	March 12, 1975 	0–2 	Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades (1974–75) 	28–35–3
67 	W 	March 14, 1975 	3–0 	Edmonton Oilers (1974–75) 	29–35–3
68 	L 	March 16, 1975 	1–2 	Houston Aeros (1974–75) 	29–36–3
69 	L 	March 17, 1975 	2–3 	@ Chicago Cougars (1974–75) 	29–37–3
70 	W 	March 19, 1975 	5–4 	Phoenix Roadrunners (1974–75) 	30–37–3
71 	W 	March 22, 1975 	5–1 	Edmonton Oilers (1974–75) 	31–37–3
72 	W 	March 26, 1975 	4–2 	Vancouver Blazers (1974–75) 	32–37–3
73 	L 	March 27, 1975 	3–5 	@ New England Whalers (1974–75) 	32–38–3
74 	W 	March 29, 1975 	7–5 	Indianapolis Racers (1974–75) 	33–38–3
75 	W 	March 30, 1975 	7–6 	Chicago Cougars (1974–75) 	34–38–3
76 	L 	April 1, 1975 	2–3 OT 	@ Chicago Cougars (1974–75) 	34–39–3
77 	L 	April 2, 1975 	6–7 	@ Houston Aeros (1974–75) 	34–40–3
78 	W 	April 5, 1975 	5–2 	New England Whalers (1974–75) 	35–40–3
==Playoffs==
===Houston Aeros 4, Cleveland Crusaders 1===
#	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	Record
1	April 10	Cleveland Crusaders	5–8 	Houston Aeros 	0–1
2	April 12	Cleveland Crusaders	3–5 	Houston Aeros 	0–2
3	April 13	Houston Aeros 	1–3 	Cleveland Crusaders	1–2
4	April 15	Houston Aeros 	7–2 	Cleveland Crusaders	1–3
5	April 17	Cleveland Crusaders	1–3 	Houston Aeros 	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
22 	 	C 	78	35	31	66 	122	12 	5 	0 	0
14 	 	RW 	78	34	30	64 	27 	-11	12 	0 	0
24 	 	C 	73	30	32	62 	18 	7 	5 	0 	0
9 	 	C 	60	20	22	42 	106	-8 	6 	0 	0
12 	 	LW 	77	17	24	41 	70 	8 	1 	0 	0
7 	 	LW 	74	13	28	41 	71 	-6 	4 	0 	0
17 	 	C 	71	15	23	38 	108	9 	1 	0 	0
16 	 	LW 	78	12	15	27 	24 	2 	0 	2 	0
28 	 	RW 	66	14	11	25 	80 	16 	0 	0 	0
20 	 	RW 	78	10	13	23 	7 	-10	0 	0 	0
18 	 	D 	61	3 	20	23 	28 	-4 	0 	0 	0
11 	 	LW 	75	9 	13	22 	127	-3 	0 	1 	0
6 	 	D 	66	4 	18	22 	51 	4 	0 	0 	0
3 	 	D 	49	7 	14	21 	103	11 	3 	0 	0
5 	 	D 	78	4 	17	21 	65 	-6 	0 	1 	0
2 	 	D 	77	0 	16	16 	83 	-6 	0 	0 	0
19 	 	C 	59	4 	7 	11 	8 	5 	0 	0 	0
8 	 	D 	60	2 	9 	11 	37 	3 	0 	0 	0
27 	 	D 	39	0 	9 	9 	10 	7 	0 	0 	0
29 	 	C 	9 	1 	3 	4 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
10 	 	C 	4 	2 	0 	2 	2 	0 	1 	0 	0
30 	 	G 	52	0 	1 	1 	59 	0 	0 	0 	0
4 	 	D 	5 	0 	0 	0 	37 	1 	0 	0 	0
1 	 	G 	29	0 	0 	0 	2 	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
 	LW 	5 	3	1	4 	6 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	1	3	4 	0 	0 	0 	1
 	RW 	5 	2	1	3 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	2	1	3 	15 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	1	2	3 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	2	0	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	4 	1	1	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	1	1	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0	2	2 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	0	2	2 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	0	2	2 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	1	0	1 	17 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	0	1	1 	14 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	0	1	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	0	1	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0	1	1 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	5 	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==
*Gerry Cheevers, Goalie, WHA Second Team All-Star
==Transactions==
==Draft Picks==
==Farm Teams==
==See Also==
*1974–75 WHA season
==References==
Cleveland Crusaders season, 1974–75
Cleveland Crusaders season, 1974–75
category:Cleveland Crusaders seasons