1973–74 Minnesota Fighting Saints season

1973–74 Minnesota Fighting Saints
Division2nd West
1973–74 record44–32–2
Home record26–12–1
Road record18–20–1
Goals for332
Goals against275
Team information
General managerGlen Sonmor
CoachHarry Neale
CaptainTed Hampson
Alternate captainsMike McMahon
John Arbour
Wayne Connelly
ArenaSt. Paul Civic Center
Average attendance6,584 (40.7%)
Team leaders
GoalsMike Walton (57)
AssistsMike Walton (60)
PointsMike Walton (117)
Penalty minutesGord Gallant (223)
WinsMike Curran (23)
Goals against averageMike Curran (3.27)

The 1973–74 Minnesota Fighting Saints' season was the Minnesota Fighting Saints' second season of operation in the World Hockey Association (WHA).[1][2]

Regular season

Final standings

Western Division
GP W L T GF GA PIM Pts
Houston Aeros 78 48 25 5 318 219 1038 101
78 44 32 2 332 275 1243 90
Edmonton Oilers 78 38 37 3 268 269 1273 79
Winnipeg Jets 78 34 39 5 264 296 673 73
Vancouver Blazers 78 27 50 1 278 345 1047 55
Los Angeles Sharks 78 25 53 0 239 339 1086 50


Schedule and results

1973–74 regular season[3]
October
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 12, 1973 5–4 Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) 1–0–0
2 W October 14, 1973 5–2 @ Toronto Toros (1973–74) 2–0–0
3 T October 15, 1973 3–3 @ New England Whalers (1973–74) 2–0–1
4 W October 19, 1973 1–0 New England Whalers (1973–74) 3–0–1
5 L October 21, 1973 1–2 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) 3–1–1
6 L October 24, 1973 2–5 @ New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74) 3–2–1
7 L October 26, 1973 4–5 Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) 3–3–1
8 W October 27, 1973 5–2 Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) 4–3–1
9 L October 30, 1973 1–6 @ Houston Aeros (1973–74) 4–4–1
November
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
10 W November 2, 1973 5–1 @ Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) 5–4–1
11 L November 4, 1973 3–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) 5–5–1
12 W November 7, 1973 10–1 New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74) 6–5–1
13 W November 9, 1973 3–1 Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) 7–5–1
14 W November 11, 1973 6–4 Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) 8–5–1
15 L November 13, 1973 2–5 Houston Aeros (1973–74) 8–6–1
16 L November 15, 1973 5–7 @ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) 8–7–1
17 W November 18, 1973 5–2 @ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) 9–7–1
18 L November 20, 1973 2–6 @ Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) 9–8–1
19 W November 22, 1973 7–5 New England Whalers (1973–74) 10–8–1
20 W November 25, 1973 5–3 Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) 11–8–1
21 L November 28, 1973 3–5 @ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) 11–9–1
22 L November 30, 1973 1–2 Toronto Toros (1973–74) 11–10–1
December
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
23 L December 2, 1973 1–2 @ New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74) 11–11–1
24 W December 4, 1973 9–2 Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) 12–11–1
25 W December 7, 1973 3–1 Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) 13–11–1
26 W December 8, 1973 4–1 Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) 14–11–1
27 L December 9, 1973 1–10 @ Toronto Toros (1973–74) 14–12–1
28 W December 11, 1973 5–3 @ Chicago Cougars (1973–74) 15–12–1
29 L December 14, 1973 2–5 Houston Aeros (1973–74) 15–13–1
30 W December 16, 1973 3–2 @ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) 16–13–1
31 W December 19, 1973 4–2 @ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) 17–13–1
32 W December 21, 1973 4–3 Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) 18–13–1
33 L December 22, 1973 1–2 @ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) 18–14–1
34 L December 23, 1973 2–4 Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) 18–15–1
35 W December 27, 1973 5–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) 19–15–1
36 L December 29, 1973 3–9 Toronto Toros (1973–74) 19–16–1
37 L December 30, 1973 3–5 Chicago Cougars (1973–74) 19–17–1
January
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
38 W January 5, 1974 6–5 @ Chicago Cougars (1973–74) 20–17–1
39 L January 6, 1974 4–6 Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) 20–18–1
40 L January 9, 1974 4–6 Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) 20–19–1
41 W January 12, 1974 8–6 Toronto Toros (1973–74) 21–19–1
42 L January 13, 1974 2–4 @ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) 21–20–1
43 L January 15, 1974 1–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) 21–21–1
44 L January 19, 1974 2–5 @ New England Whalers (1973–74) 21–22–1
45 L January 20, 1974 4–5 OT @ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) 21–23–1
46 L January 23, 1974 1–4 New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74) 21–24–1
47 W January 25, 1974 6–2 Chicago Cougars (1973–74) 22–24–1
48 W January 27, 1974 12–2 Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) 23–24–1
February
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
49 W February 2, 1974 4–2 @ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) 24–24–1
50 L February 3, 1974 4–5 @ Toronto Toros (1973–74) 24–25–1
51 W February 5, 1974 4–1 Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) 25–25–1
52 W February 6, 1974 7–2 Chicago Cougars (1973–74) 26–25–1
53 W February 8, 1974 4–3 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) 27–25–1
54 W February 10, 1974 5–2 @ New England Whalers (1973–74) 28–25–1
55 L February 12, 1974 1–3 Houston Aeros (1973–74) 28–26–1
56 W February 13, 1974 7–4 Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) 29–26–1
57 W February 15, 1974 7–1 Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) 30–26–1
58 W February 17, 1974 6–1 @ Houston Aeros (1973–74) 31–26–1
59 W February 22, 1974 6–4 @ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) 32–26–1
60 W February 24, 1974 2–1 @ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) 33–26–1
61 W February 27, 1974 5–4 Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) 34–26–1
62 T February 28, 1974 6–6 Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) 34–26–2
March
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
63 W March 1, 1974 4–0 @ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) 35–26–2
64 W March 3, 1974 5–3 Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) 36–26–2
65 W March 6, 1974 8–6 New England Whalers (1973–74) 37–26–2
66 W March 9, 1974 9–5 Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) 38–26–2
67 L March 10, 1974 5–6 @ Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) 38–27–2
68 L March 12, 1974 2–3 @ Houston Aeros (1973–74) 38–28–2
69 L March 14, 1974 4–7 @ Chicago Cougars (1973–74) 38–29–2
70 L March 15, 1974 3–5 @ New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74) 38–30–2
71 W March 17, 1974 5–3 @ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) 39–30–2
72 L March 19, 1974 4–5 @ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) 39–31–2
73 W March 22, 1974 5–2 @ Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) 40–31–2
74 W March 24, 1974 5–3 @ Houston Aeros (1973–74) 41–31–2
75 W March 27, 1974 6–4 New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74) 42–31–2
76 L March 29, 1974 1–3 Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) 42–32–2
77 W March 31, 1974 5–2 Houston Aeros (1973–74) 43–32–2
April
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
78 W April 3, 1974 9–0 Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) 44–32–2

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1974 Avco Cup playoffs[3]
Division Semifinals vs. Edmonton Oilers – Fighting Saints win 4–1
Game Date Visitor Score Home Series
1 April 6 Edmonton Oilers 1–2 Minnesota Fighting Saints 1–0
2 April 7 Edmonton Oilers 5–8 Minnesota Fighting Saints 2–0
3 April 10 Minnesota Fighting Saints 6–2 Edmonton Oilers 3–0
4 April 12 Minnesota Fighting Saints 1–2 Edmonton Oilers 3–1
5 April 14 Edmonton Oilers 4–5 Minnesota Fighting Saints 4–1
Division Finals vs. Houston Aeros – Aeros win 4–2
Game Date Visitor Score Home Series
1 April 18 Minnesota Fighting Saints 5–4 OT Houston Aeros 0–1
2 April 20 Minnesota Fighting Saints 2–5 Houston Aeros 1–1
3 April 21 Houston Aeros 1–4 Minnesota Fighting Saints 1–2
4 April 28 Houston Aeros 4–1 Minnesota Fighting Saints 2–2
5 April 29 Minnesota Fighting Saints 4–9 Houston Aeros 3–2
6 May 1 Houston Aeros 3–1 Minnesota Fighting Saints 4–2

Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Mike Walton C 78 57 60 117 88 0 9 9 7
Wayne Connelly C 78 42 53 95 16 0 15 0 6
George Morrison LW 73 40 38 78 37 0 12 1 3
Murray Heatley RW 71 26 32 58 23 0 3 0 5
Ted Hampson C 77 17 38 55 9 0 2 4 4
Jim Johnson C 71 15 39 54 30 0 1 1 2
Mike Antonovich C 68 21 29 50 4 0 2 0 4
John Arbour D 77 6 43 49 192 0 0 0 1
Bob MacMillan RW 78 14 34 48 81 0 3 0 0
Steve Cardwell LW 77 23 23 46 100 0 1 1 3
Mike McMahon D 71 10 35 45 82 0 1 3 1
Rick Smith D 71 10 28 38 98 0 0 1 3
Keith Christiansen C 74 11 25 36 36 0 4 0 1
Terry Ball D 71 8 28 36 34 0 4 0 0
Rob Walton C 45 8 23 31 24 0 1 0 1
Gord Gallant LW 72 7 15 22 223 0 0 0 2
Bill Klatt RW 65 14 6 20 12 0 3 0 1
Bob Boyd D 41 1 14 15 14 0 0 0 0
Dick Paradise D 67 2 7 9 71 0 0 0 0
Mike Curran G 40 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0
John Garrett G 40 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 0
Jack McCartan G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Blaine Rydman D 8 0 0 0 21 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Mike Curran 2382 40 23 14 2 130 3.27 2
John Garrett 2290 40 21 18 0 137 3.59 1
Jack McCartan 42 2 0 0 0 5 7.14 0
Team: 4714 78 44 32 2 272 3.46 3
Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Mike Walton C 11 10 8 18 16 0 0 3
Wayne Connelly C 11 6 7 13 4 0 0 0
George Morrison LW 11 5 5 10 12 0 0 0
John Arbour D 11 3 6 9 27 0 0 1
Ted Hampson C 11 4 4 8 8 0 0 1
Mike McMahon D 11 1 7 8 9 0 0 0
Bill Klatt RW 11 3 2 5 18 0 0 1
Bob MacMillan RW 11 2 3 5 4 0 0 0
Mike Antonovich C 11 1 4 5 4 0 0 0
Jim Johnson C 11 1 4 5 4 0 0 0
Terry Ball D 11 1 2 3 6 0 0 0
Gord Gallant LW 11 1 2 3 67 0 0 0
Murray Heatley RW 10 1 0 1 2 0 0 0
Keith Christiansen C 10 0 1 1 2 0 0 0
Rick Smith D 11 0 1 1 22 0 0 0
Bob Boyd D 7 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
Steve Cardwell LW 10 0 0 0 20 0 0 0
Mike Curran G 5 0 0 0 10 0 0 0
John Garrett G 7 0 0 0 14 0 0 0
Bill Goldthorpe LW 3 0 0 0 25 0 0 0
Dick Paradise D 7 0 0 0 6 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
John Garrett 372 7 4 2 25 4.03 0
Mike Curran 289 5 2 3 14 2.91 0
Team: 661 11 6 5 39 3.54 0

Source:[4]

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

Transactions

Rob Walton was traded to Vancouver Blazers for Jean Tetreault, January 1974.

Bill Goldthorpe was signed to a contract, May 1974.

Draft picks

Minnesota's draft picks at the 1973 WHA Amateur Draft.[5]

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 7 Bob Gainey (F)  Canada Peterborough Petes (OHA)
2 21 Rick Middleton (F)  Canada Oshawa Generals (OHA)
3 33 Bob Gassoff (D)  Canada Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)
4 46 Steve Langdon (RW)  Canada London Knights (OHA)
5 59 Nelson Pyatt (C)  Canada Oshawa Generals (OHA)
6 72 John Flesch (LW)  Canada Lake Superior State University (CCHA)
7 85 Tom Machowski (D)  United States University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
8 97 Bob Young (D)  United States University of Denver (WCHA)
9 108 Neil Korzack (F)  Canada Peterborough Petes (OHA)
10 118 Pat Phippen (LW)  United States St. Paul Bruins

See also

References

  1. ^ World Hockey Association (1973). WHA 1973-74 Media Guide. World Hockey Association.
  2. ^ World Hockey Association (1974). WHA 1974-75 Media Guide. World Hockey Association.
  3. ^ a b "1973-74 Minnesota Fighting Saints Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  4. ^ "1973-74 Minnesota Fighting Saints Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
  5. ^ "1973 WHA Amateur Draft". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
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