1975–76 Phoenix Roadrunners season

The 1975–76 Phoenix Roadrunners season was the 2nd season of operation of the Phoenix Roadrunners in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Roadrunners finished 2nd in the Western Division and lost in the Preliminary Round to the San Diego Mariners 3 games to 2.
==Off-season==
The Roadrunners overhauled the jersey design from their inaugural season in 1974-75. Although the colours remained the same, the shoulder yolks no longer extended to the sleeve ends and the roadrunner logo was removed from the yolks. The yolks also went from being mono-coloured to one main colour trimmed with stripes. Three stripes were added to the arms and while the back number was outlined, the arm numbers were not. Lastly, an outline of a map of Arizona was added around the hockey-playing roadrunner logo. This jersey design remained unchanged for the Roadrunners last season in 1976-77.
==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 	W 	October 10, 1975 	6–5 	San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 	1–0–0
2 	W 	October 11, 1975 	4–2 	@ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 	2–0–0
3 	L 	October 12, 1975 	0–4 	Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 	2–1–0
4 	L 	October 17, 1975 	4–5 	Denver Spurs (1975–76) 	2–2–0
5 	W 	October 19, 1975 	6–5 	Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 	3–2–0
6 	W 	October 24, 1975 	4–3 	@ Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) 	4–2–0
7 	L 	October 26, 1975 	0–5 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 	4–3–0
8 	L 	October 28, 1975 	3–7 	@ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 	4–4–0
9 	W 	October 30, 1975 	3–2 	@ Denver Spurs (1975–76) 	5–4–0
10 	L 	November 1, 1975 	2–3 	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76)	5–5–0
11 	L 	November 2, 1975 	2–5 	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) 	5–6–0
12 	L 	November 7, 1975 	3–5 	@ Houston Aeros (1975–76) 	5–7–0
13 	W 	November 8, 1975 	3–2 	@ New England Whalers (1975–76) 	6–7–0
14 	L 	November 9, 1975 	3–7 	@ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) 	6–8–0
15 	T 	November 14, 1975 	2–2 	Toronto Toros (1975–76) 	6–8–1
16 	T 	November 16, 1975 	4–4 	Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) 	6–8–2
17 	W 	November 20, 1975 	3–1 	Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 	7–8–2
18 	L 	November 22, 1975 	5–7 	@ New England Whalers (1975–76) 	7–9–2
19 	L 	November 27, 1975 	1–5 	Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) 	7–10–2
20 	T 	November 29, 1975 	4–4 	Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) 	7–10–3
21 	L 	November 30, 1975 	1–2 	Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) 	7–11–3
22 	W 	December 4, 1975 	5–4 	New England Whalers (1975–76) 	8–11–3
23 	W 	December 6, 1975 	6–5 OT 	Houston Aeros (1975–76) 	9–11–3
24 	L 	December 10, 1975 	1–2 	Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 	9–12–3
25 	L 	December 12, 1975 	2–4 	Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 	9–13–3
26 	W 	December 13, 1975 	4–1 	@ Denver Spurs (1975–76) 	10–13–3
27 	W 	December 14, 1975 	4–2 	San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 	11–13–3
28 	W 	December 18, 1975 	7–1 	Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 	12–13–3
29 	L 	December 20, 1975 	3–4 	Houston Aeros (1975–76) 	12–14–3
30 	W 	December 23, 1975 	5–3 	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 	13–14–3
31 	L 	December 26, 1975 	2–4 	@ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 	13–15–3
32 	W 	December 27, 1975 	10–0 	Denver Spurs (1975–76) 	14–15–3
33 	W 	December 28, 1975 	5–2 	@ Denver Spurs (1975–76) 	15–15–3
34 	L 	January 2, 1976 	1–4 	@ Toronto Toros (1975–76) 	15–16–3
35 	W 	January 3, 1976 	4–1 	@ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) 	16–16–3
36 	L 	January 4, 1976 	2–3 	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) 	16–17–3
37 	L 	January 7, 1976 	6–7 OT 	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76)	16–18–3
38 	W 	January 8, 1976 	7–1 	Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 	17–18–3
39 	W 	January 10, 1976 	8–5 	Ottawa Civics (1975–76) 	18–18–3
40 	W 	January 16, 1976 	3–1 	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) 	19–18–3
41 	L 	January 17, 1976 	2–4 	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) 	19–19–3
42 	T 	January 20, 1976 	4–4 	New England Whalers (1975–76) 	19–19–4
43 	W 	January 22, 1976 	6–4 	Toronto Toros (1975–76) 	20–19–4
44 	W 	January 25, 1976 	7–5 	San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 	21–19–4
45 	W 	January 27, 1976 	4–3 OT 	@ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 	22–19–4
46 	W 	January 28, 1976 	5–0 	Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) 	23–19–4
47 	T 	January 30, 1976 	4–4 	Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) 	23–19–5
48 	L 	January 31, 1976 	1–6 	@ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 	23–20–5
49 	W 	February 4, 1976 	5–1 	Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) 	24–20–5
50 	W 	February 5, 1976 	5–1 	Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 	25–20–5
51 	W 	February 7, 1976 	4–2 	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) 	26–20–5
52 	T 	February 8, 1976 	3–3 	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) 	26–20–6
53 	L 	February 11, 1976 	1–2 	@ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 	26–21–6
54 	L 	February 12, 1976 	1–4 	Houston Aeros (1975–76) 	26–22–6
55 	W 	February 14, 1976 	5–2 	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76)	27–22–6
56 	W 	February 15, 1976 	4–2 	@ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 	28–22–6
57 	L 	February 18, 1976 	3–4 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 	28–23–6
58 	L 	February 20, 1976 	1–4 	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 	28–24–6
59 	W 	February 22, 1976 	6–5 	@ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 	29–24–6
60 	W 	February 27, 1976 	4–3 	San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 	30–24–6
61 	W 	February 29, 1976 	5–2 	@ Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) 	31–24–6
62 	W 	March 2, 1976 	5–2 	Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 	32–24–6
63 	L 	March 5, 1976 	3–6 	@ Houston Aeros (1975–76) 	32–25–6
64 	L 	March 6, 1976 	3–5 	New England Whalers (1975–76) 	32–26–6
65 	L 	March 7, 1976 	2–5 	@ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 	32–27–6
66 	W 	March 10, 1976 	3–2 	@ New England Whalers (1975–76) 	33–27–6
67 	W 	March 12, 1976 	5–2 	@ Toronto Toros (1975–76) 	34–27–6
68 	L 	March 13, 1976 	4–6 	@ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 	34–28–6
69 	W 	March 14, 1976 	3–2 OT 	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) 	35–28–6
70 	L 	March 17, 1976 	4–7 	Houston Aeros (1975–76) 	35–29–6
71 	L 	March 19, 1976 	5–6 OT 	Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) 	35–30–6
72 	W 	March 20, 1976 	4–3 OT 	@ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 	36–30–6
73 	L 	March 21, 1976 	3–4 	@ Houston Aeros (1975–76) 	36–31–6
74 	L 	March 24, 1976 	4–5 	Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 	36–32–6
75 	W 	March 26, 1976 	3–1 	San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 	37–32–6
76 	W 	March 27, 1976 	5–2 	@ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 	38–32–6
77 	L 	March 28, 1976 	4–7 	@ Houston Aeros (1975–76) 	38–33–6
78 	W 	March 31, 1976 	7–2 	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 	39–33–6
79 	L 	April 3, 1976 	2–8 	Houston Aeros (1975–76) 	39–34–6
80 	L 	April 6, 1976 	5–8 	@ Houston Aeros (1975–76) 	39–35–6
==Playoffs==
===San Diego Mariners 3, Phoenix Roadrunners 2===
#	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	Record
1	April 9 	San Diego Mariners 	2–3 OT	Phoenix Roadrunners	0-1
2	April 10	Phoenix Roadrunners	2–4 	San Diego Mariners 	1-1
3	April 13	San Diego Mariners 	4–6 	Phoenix Roadrunners	1-2
4	April 15	Phoenix Roadrunners	1–5 	San Diego Mariners 	2-2
5	April 17	San Diego Mariners 	2–1 	Phoenix Roadrunners	3-2
==Player Stats==
Regular Season	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Scoring 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable sortable"	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
# 	Player	Pos 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
8 	 	C/LW	80	41	72	113	109	36 	10 	0 	4
9 	 	C 	80	47	44	91 	10 	21 	12 	0 	7
15 	 	RW 	79	35	45	80 	136	22 	6 	0 	5
12 	 	C 	79	22	44	66 	4 	0 	4 	4 	2
14 	 	C 	80	23	34	57 	44 	3 	7 	2 	4
19 	 	D 	73	11	39	50 	8 	25 	3 	0 	2
11 	 	W 	61	19	24	43 	27 	22 	3 	1 	3
17 	 	RW 	73	18	21	39 	295	23 	1 	0 	0
16 	 	LW 	46	21	15	36 	4 	5 	4 	0 	1
24 	 	RW 	75	15	21	36 	19 	9 	2 	0 	2
21 	 	LW 	71	9 	25	34 	110	17 	1 	0 	4
10 	 	RW 	67	11	20	31 	28 	0 	1 	0 	1
4 	 	D 	79	7 	17	24 	100	15 	1 	0 	0
5 	 	D 	76	0 	21	21 	102	4 	0 	0 	0
18 	 	LW 	68	8 	12	20 	14 	-9 	0 	0 	2
3 	 	D 	80	2 	18	20 	82 	12 	1 	0 	0
2 	 	D 	79	4 	14	18 	77 	21 	1 	0 	1
7 	 	LW 	33	4 	7 	11 	6 	0 	0 	1 	0
26 	 	D 	59	1 	9 	10 	57 	3 	0 	0 	0
1 	 	G 	40	0 	4 	4 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
7 	 	D 	14	1 	2 	3 	32 	-6 	0 	0 	0
x 	 	RW 	9 	2 	0 	2 	0 	-4 	0 	0 	1
20 	 	C 	9 	1 	1 	2 	2 	1 	0 	0 	0
11 	 	C 	8 	0 	2 	2 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
30 	 	G 	41	0 	2 	2 	6 	0 	0 	0 	0
x 	 	G 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	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
 	C 	5 	3	2	5 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	2	3	5 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C/LW	5 	1	3	4 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	1	3	4 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	W 	5 	2	0	2 	7 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	1	1	2 	7 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	1	1	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	0	2	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	0	2	2 	24 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0	2	2 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0	2	2 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0	2	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	1	0	1 	10 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	1	0	1 	21 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0	1	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	3 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	3 	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==
*Robbie Ftorek, Center, WHA Second Team All-Star
==Transactions==
==Draft Picks==
==Farm Teams==
==Gallery==
1975-Dec24-Lariviere-Backstrom-Norris.jpg|Garry Lariviere, Ralph Backstrom, Jack Norris, December 24, 1975.
1976-Mar21-Howe-Kurt-Beaudoin.jpg|Gordie Howe, Gary Kurt, Serge Beaudoin, March 21, 1976.
==See Also==
*1975–76 WHA season
==References==
Phoenix Roadrunners season, 1975–76
Phoenix Roadrunners season, 1975–76
category:Phoenix Roadrunners seasons