Phoenix Roadrunners (WHA)

See also Phoenix Roadrunners
The Phoenix Roadrunners were a team in the now defunct World Hockey Association from 1974 to 1977. They played at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona. The organization folded for financial reasons before the remaining teams in the WHA merged with the NHL in 1979. 
==History==
The franchise originally competed in the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 1967 to 1974 after being moved from Victoria, British Columbia, where they had played for the three previous seasons as the Maple Leafs.
They won the championship trophy, the Lester Patrick Cup, twice during their tenure in the WHL (1972–73 and 1973–74). In 1974 they joined the WHA with their roster mostly intact when the minor pro WHL ceased operations.
==Notable players WHA==
*Robbie Ftorek - (WHA MVP 1977)
==Notable players WHL 1967-74==
*Jim Murray - played 364 games in 5 seasons on defence, scored 211 points
*Harry Shaw - played 335 games in 6 seasons on defence
*Larry Lund - scored 261 points in 203 games over 3 seasons
*Alex "Sandy" Hucul - played 308 games over 5 seasons, won Hal Laycoe Cup (best defenceman) in 1968 and 1972; coached the WHA team in 1974
*Andre Hinse - scored 143 goals and 313 points in 277 games over 4 seasons
*Wayne Hicks - finished career in Phoenix with 218 points in 275 games
*Bob Charlebois - scored 169 points in 224 games
*Bob Barlow - scored 199 points in 207 games
*Howie Young - for 3 of his 23 professional seasons, scored 170 points in 190 games, 1st Team All-Star 1974
==Season-by-season Record==
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Season 	GP 	W 	L 	T 	Pts	GF 	GA 	PIM 	Finish 	Playoffs
1974–75	78 	39 	31 	8 	86 	300	265	1388	4th, Western	Lost Quarter-finals (Quebec)
1975–76	78 	39 	35 	4 	82 	302	287	1292	2nd, Western	Lost Preliminaries (San Diego)
1976–77	80 	28 	48 	4 	60 	281	383	915 	6th, Western	Did not qualify
Totals 	236	106	114	16	228	883	935	3595	 	
==External Links==
*http://web.archive.org/20010405160527/www.geocities.com/braniff73/roadrunners.html
*http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/team_data.php?tname=roadrunners&tcity=Phoenix&tstate=&tleague=&y1=&y2=&x=83&y=14
Category:American ice hockey teams
Category:World Hockey Association team
Category:Western Hockey League (minor pro) team