1975–76 Calgary Cowboys season

1975–76 Calgary Cowboys
Division 3rd Canadian
1975–76 record 41–35–4
Goals for 307
Goals against 282
Team information
Coach Joe Crozier
Team leaders
< 1974–75 1976–77>

The 1975–76 Calgary Cowboys season was the fourth season of the World Hockey Association (WHA) franchise and first in Calgary, Alberta. The Vancouver Blazers relocated to Calgary prior to the season. The Cowboys qualified for the playoffs, losing in the second round to the Winnipeg Jets.

Regular season

In their first season, the Cowboys were not expected to ice a strong team,[1] having inherited a franchise that finished in a last place tie with the Oilers the previous year.[2] Calgary finished 41–35–4 however, as a 44-goal season by Danny Lawson and 42 goals from Ron Chipperfield helped the Cowboys finish a surprising third in the Canadian division.[3]

Final standings

Canadian Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Winnipeg Jets 81 52 27 2 106 345 254 940
Quebec Nordiques 81 50 27 4 104 371 316 1654
Calgary Cowboys 80 41 35 4 86 307 282 1064
Edmonton Oilers 81 27 49 5 59 268 345 991
Toronto Toros 81 24 52 5 53 335 398 1099
Denver Spurs / Ottawa Civics+ 41 14 26 1 29 134 172 536

+team started season in Western Division when playing in Denver; transferred by league to Canadian Division shortly after moving to Ottawa.

Game log

Regular season schedule
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1LOctober 12, 19750–2 Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) 0–1–0
2WOctober 14, 19755–3 Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 1–1–0
3LOctober 17, 19752–6 Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 1–2–0
4LOctober 22, 19751–2 Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) 1–3–0
5LOctober 24, 19753–4 Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) 1–4–0
6LOctober 26, 19751–3 @ New England Whalers (1975–76) 1–5–0
7WOctober 29, 19753–1 @ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) 2–5–0
8WOctober 30, 19757–5 @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 3–5–0
9LNovember 1, 19752–3 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 3–6–0
10WNovember 2, 19754–3 OT New England Whalers (1975–76) 4–6–0
11TNovember 4, 19754–4 San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 4–6–1
12WNovember 5, 19754–2 Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) 5–6–1
13WNovember 7, 19755–2 Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) 6–6–1
14WNovember 11, 19756–3 Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 7–6–1
15LNovember 13, 19752–4 Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 7–7–1
16WNovember 16, 19755–3 Houston Aeros (1975–76) 8–7–1
17LNovember 18, 19752–6 San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 8–8–1
18WNovember 21, 19756–2 @ Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) 9–8–1
19WNovember 22, 19756–4 @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) 10–8–1
20WNovember 27, 19755–1 @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) 11–8–1
21WNovember 29, 19755–4 OT @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 12–8–1
22LNovember 30, 19752–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 12–9–1
23LDecember 3, 19753–4 Toronto Toros (1975–76) 12–10–1
24WDecember 5, 19758–3 Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 13–10–1
25WDecember 7, 19755–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 14–10–1
26WDecember 9, 19754–1 Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) 15–10–1
27LDecember 11, 19752–3 Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 15–11–1
28LDecember 12, 19752–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 15–12–1
29TDecember 14, 19753–3 @ Toronto Toros (1975–76) 15–12–2
30LDecember 16, 19753–7 @ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) 15–13–2
31WDecember 19, 19755–3 @ Toronto Toros (1975–76) 16–13–2
32LDecember 20, 19757–8 @ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) 16–14–2
33WDecember 23, 197510–1 Toronto Toros (1975–76) 17–14–2
34WDecember 26, 19755–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 18–14–2
35WDecember 28, 19756–4 Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 19–14–2
36WJanuary 1, 19765–1 Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 20–14–2
37WJanuary 2, 19763–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 21–14–2
38LJanuary 3, 19763–6 Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 21–15–2
39WJanuary 6, 19765–0 Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 22–15–2
40WJanuary 7, 19763–1 Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 23–15–2
41LJanuary 15, 19763–5 @ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) 23–16–2
42WJanuary 17, 19764–2 Houston Aeros (1975–76) 24–16–2
43WJanuary 20, 197610–3 @ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 25–16–2
44LJanuary 21, 19761–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 25–17–2
45LJanuary 23, 19760–2 @ Houston Aeros (1975–76) 25–18–2
46LJanuary 25, 19763–5 @ Houston Aeros (1975–76) 25–19–2
47LJanuary 28, 19760–5 @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) 25–20–2
48LJanuary 29, 19760–1 @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 25–21–2
49WFebruary 3, 19763–2 Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 26–21–2
50LFebruary 5, 19764–6 New England Whalers (1975–76) 26–22–2
51TFebruary 7, 19764–4 Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) 26–22–3
52LFebruary 8, 19764–8 @ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 26–23–3
53WFebruary 10, 19764–3 Toronto Toros (1975–76) 27–23–3
54WFebruary 13, 19764–3 OT @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 28–23–3
55LFebruary 15, 19764–5 OT @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 28–24–3
56LFebruary 18, 19760–4 @ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) 28–25–3
57LFebruary 20, 19763–6 Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) 28–26–3
58WFebruary 22, 19764–2 Toronto Toros (1975–76) 29–26–3
59TFebruary 24, 19763–3 @ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 29–26–4
60WFebruary 25, 19765–2 Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 30–26–4
61WFebruary 27, 19765–4 Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) 31–26–4
62LFebruary 29, 19762–5 Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) 31–27–4
63WMarch 2, 19766–3 Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 32–27–4
64LMarch 3, 19764–6 @ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 32–28–4
65WMarch 4, 19764–1 Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) 33–28–4
66LMarch 6, 19762–5 @ Toronto Toros (1975–76) 33–29–4
67LMarch 7, 19761–3 @ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 33–30–4
68WMarch 9, 19767–4 Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) 34–30–4
69WMarch 11, 19762–0 Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 35–30–4
70WMarch 16, 19764–3 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 36–30–4
71LMarch 17, 19762–3 @ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 36–31–4
72WMarch 20, 19768–7 @ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) 37–31–4
73LMarch 23, 19765–6 OT @ Toronto Toros (1975–76) 37–32–4
74WMarch 24, 19767–6 @ New England Whalers (1975–76) 38–32–4
75LMarch 26, 19761–4 @ New England Whalers (1975–76) 38–33–4
76LMarch 27, 19764–6 @ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) 38–34–4
77WMarch 28, 19765–4 @ Toronto Toros (1975–76) 39–34–4
78WMarch 30, 19766–2 Toronto Toros (1975–76) 40–34–4
79WApril 2, 19764–1 Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 41–34–4
80LApril 6, 19763–5 Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 41–35–4

[4]

Playoffs

In the playoffs, the Cowboys met the Quebec Nordiques in the first round. The series is best known for one of hockey's most legendary brawls.[5] The incident began when Calgary's Rick Jodzio cross-checked Quebec's Marc Tardif in the head, causing both teams to leave their benches.[6] The brawl lasted 20 minutes, and ended only when Quebec police gathered at the players benches and escorted the teams back to their dressing rooms.[7] The game resumed following a 20 minute break to allow both teams to cool down, then resumed without eleven players who were ejected from the game.[6] The incident caught the attention of Quebec's Solicitor General Fernand Lalonde, who had the incident investigated as a criminal matter.[6] Jodzio was suspended indefinitely by the league, and later plead guilty in a Quebec court to a charge of assault over the incident.[8] Cowboys coach Joe Crozier was suspended for the rest of the series.[7]

Calgary went on to defeat the Nordiques, who had finished 18-points ahead of Calgary in the regular season, but were defeated by the Winnipeg Jets in the second round. The team never really captured the attention of Calgarians, as fewer than 5,000 fans, on average, attended playoff games against the Jets.[9]

Calgary Cowboys 4, Quebec Nordiques 1

# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 April 10 Calgary Cowboys 3–1 Quebec Nordiques 1–0
2 April 11 Calgary Cowboys 8–4 Quebec Nordiques 2–1
3 April 14 Quebec Nordiques 2–3 Calgary Cowboys 3–1
4 April 16 Quebec Nordiques 4–3 Calgary Cowboys 3–1
5 April 18 Calgary Cowboys 6–4 Quebec Nordiques 4–1

Winnipeg Jets 4, Calgary Cowboys 1

# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 April 23 Calgary Cowboys 1–6 Winnipeg Jets 0–1
2 April 25 Calgary Cowboys 2–3 Winnipeg Jets 0–2
3 April 28 Winnipeg Jets 6–3 Calgary Cowboys 0–3
4 April 30 Winnipeg Jets 3–7 Calgary Cowboys 1–3
5 May 2 Calgary Cowboys 0–4 Winnipeg Jets 1–4

Player stats

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Lawson, DannyDanny Lawson RW 80 44 52 96 4613745
Chipperfield, RonRon Chipperfield C 75 42 41 83 32131905
Morrison, GeorgeGeorge Morrison LW 79 25 32 57 135710
Deadmarsh, ButchButch Deadmarsh LW 79 26 28 54 1965524
Sentes, DickDick Sentes LW 72 25 24 49 339705
Tannahill, DonDon Tannahill LW 78 25 24 49 106155
Leiter, BobbyBobby Leiter C 51 17 17 34 86600
Driscoll, PeterPeter Driscoll LW 75 16 18 34 12712206
Israelson, LarryLarry Israelson LW 57 10 22 32 2610101
Lacombe, FrancoisFrancois Lacombe D 71 3 28 31 6211100
Hull, SteveSteve Hull RW 58 11 15 26 6-2000
Evans, ChrisChris Evans D 75 3 20 23 5012100
Miszuk, JohnJohn Miszuk D 69 2 21 23 6631000
Delorenzi, RayRay Delorenzi RW 39 8 12 20 47010
Keogan, MurrayMurray Keogan C 38 7 11 18 190002
Caffery, TerryTerry Caffery C 21 5 13 18 43102
Jodzio, RickRick Jodzio LW 47 10 7 17 1375002
Rupp, DuaneDuane Rupp D 42 0 16 16 33-6000
Kirk, GavinGavin Kirk C 15 7 8 15 148101
Haas, DerekDerek Haas C 30 5 9 14 65000
Harris, HughHugh Harris C 30 5 9 14 19-7002
Powis, LynnLynn Powis C 21 4 10 14 22010
McLeod, DonDon McLeod G 63 0 13 13 40000
Lukowich, BernieBernie Lukowich RW 15 5 2 7 18-5001
Terbenche, PaulPaul Terbenche D 58 2 4 6 22-3010
Olds, WallyWally Olds D 28 0 5 5 64000
Reed, BillBill Reed D 29 0 5 5 143000
Howell, HarryHarry Howell D 31 0 3 3 64000
Westrum, PatPat Westrum D 9 0 2 2 232000
Gratton, BillBill Gratton LW 6 0 1 1 2-2000
Bilodeau, YvonYvon Bilodeau D 4 0 0 0 2-4000
Desjardine, KenKen Desjardine D 1 0 0 0 00000
Gilmour, DaveDave Gilmour LW 1 0 0 0 0-2000
Humphreys, EdEd Humphreys G 8 0 0 0 00000
McCrimmon, JimJim McCrimmon D 5 0 0 0 21000
Mercredi, VicVic Mercredi C 3 0 0 0 290000
Miller, WarrenWarren Miller RW 3 0 0 0 00000
Walton, RobRob Walton C 2 0 0 0 00000
Wood, WayneWayne Wood G 19 0 0 0 40000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
McLeod, DonDon McLeod 3534 63 30 27 3 206 3.50 1
Wood, WayneWayne Wood 880 19 9 3 1 45 3.07 1
Humphreys, EdEd Humphreys 441 8 2 5 0 27 3.67 0
Team: 4855 80 41 35 4 278 3.44 2
Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Evans, ChrisChris Evans D 10 5 5 10 4000
Kirk, GavinGavin Kirk C 10 4 6 10 19000
Chipperfield, RonRon Chipperfield C 10 5 4 9 6000
Powis, LynnLynn Powis C 10 5 4 9 2000
Lawson, DannyDanny Lawson RW 9 4 4 8 19000
Lukowich, BernieBernie Lukowich RW 10 3 4 7 8000
Driscoll, PeterPeter Driscoll LW 10 2 5 7 41000
Tannahill, DonDon Tannahill LW 10 2 5 7 8000
Terbenche, PaulPaul Terbenche D 10 0 6 6 6000
Morrison, GeorgeGeorge Morrison LW 10 3 2 5 0000
Leiter, BobbyBobby Leiter C 3 2 0 2 0000
Olds, WallyWally Olds D 9 0 2 2 4000
Rupp, DuaneDuane Rupp D 7 0 2 2 0000
Miller, WarrenWarren Miller RW 10 1 0 1 28000
Deadmarsh, ButchButch Deadmarsh LW 8 0 1 1 14000
McLeod, DonDon McLeod G 10 0 1 1 4000
Miszuk, JohnJohn Miszuk D 10 0 1 1 10000
Sentes, DickDick Sentes LW 8 0 1 1 8000
Westrum, PatPat Westrum D 6 0 1 1 19000
Haas, DerekDerek Haas C 1 0 0 0 0000
Howell, HarryHarry Howell D 2 0 0 0 2000
Humphreys, EdEd Humphreys G 1 0 0 0 0000
Israelson, LarryLarry Israelson LW 3 0 0 0 0000
Jodzio, RickRick Jodzio LW 2 0 0 0 14000
Lacombe, FrancoisFrancois Lacombe D 8 0 0 0 2000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
McLeod, DonDon McLeod 579 10 5 5 37 3.83 0
Humphreys, EdEd Humphreys 20 1 0 0 0 0.00 0
Team: 599 10 5 5 37 3.71 0

[10]

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;

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Kirshenbaum, Jerry (1975-10-20). "1975–76 WHA preview". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  2. ↑ Bilych, George (1975-05-07). "Corral roost for old Eagles". Calgary Herald. p. 53.
  3. ↑ Sandor 2005, p. 95
  4. ↑ "1975–76 Calgary Cowboys Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
  5. ↑ Sportak, Randy (2005-01-29). "Wanna be a Cowboy". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  6. 1 2 3 Bilych, George (1976-04-12). "Cowboys, Nordiques brawl gives hockey a black eye". Calgary Herald. p. 1.
  7. 1 2 Willes 2004, p. 167
  8. ↑ Willes 2004, p. 168
  9. ↑ Sandor 2005, p. 96
  10. ↑ "1975-76 Calgary Cowboys Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-07-02.

References

External links

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