1975–76 Cleveland Crusaders season

The 1975–76 Cleveland Crusaders season was the Cleveland Crusaders' fourth season of operation in the World Hockey Association. It was the last season of the franchise in Cleveland, Ohio. It would relocate to Minnesota for the next season.

1975–76 Cleveland Crusaders
Division	2nd East
1975–76 record	35–40–5
Home record	23–15–2
Road record	12–25–3
Goals for	273
Goals against	279
Team information
Coach	Johnny Wilson
Captain	Paul Shmyr
Arena	Coliseum at Richfield
Team leaders
Goals	Rich LeDuc (36)
Assists	Ron Ward (50)
Points	Ron Ward (82)
Penalty minutes	Paul Baxter (201)
Wins	Gerry Cheevers (11)
Goals against average	Cam Newton (3.21)
← 1974–75 1976–77 →

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Eastern Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Indianapolis Racers	80	35	39	6	76	245	247	1301
Cleveland Crusaders	80	35	40	5	75	273	279	1356
New England Whalers	80	33	40	7	73	255	290	1012
Cincinnati Stingers	80	35	44	1	71	285	340	1344

Schedule and results

1975–76 regular season[1]
October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 1 L October 11, 1975 0–1 Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 0–1–0 2 W October 15, 1975 8–4 @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) 1–1–0 3 L October 19, 1975 5–6 Houston Aeros (1975–76) 1–2–0 4 W October 25, 1975 5–2 Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 2–2–0 5 L October 29, 1975 1–3 Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) 2–3–0 6 W October 31, 1975 6–2 Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) 3–3–0
November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 7 W November 2, 1975 5–2 Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) 4–3–0 8 T November 4, 1975 2–2 @ Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) 4–3–1 9 L November 7, 1975 2–5 @ Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) 4–4–1 10 L November 9, 1975 1–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 4–5–1 11 W November 11, 1975 3–2 @ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 5–5–1 12 L November 13, 1975 1–3 @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 5–6–1 13 L November 15, 1975 4–5 OT @ Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) 5–7–1 14 T November 16, 1975 4–4 @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) 5–7–2 15 W November 19, 1975 4–3 OT Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) 6–7–2 16 W November 22, 1975 6–3 Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 7–7–2 17 W November 25, 1975 4–3 OT @ Toronto Toros (1975–76) 8–7–2 18 L November 26, 1975 0–3 Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) 8–8–2 19 L November 28, 1975 1–3 Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 8–9–2 20 W November 30, 1975 10–9 Toronto Toros (1975–76) 9–9–2
December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 21 L December 2, 1975 2–9 @ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) 9–10–2 22 L December 3, 1975 3–5 Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 9–11–2 23 L December 6, 1975 2–3 @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 9–12–2 24 L December 7, 1975 1–3 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 9–13–2 25 L December 9, 1975 3–6 @ Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) 9–14–2 26 W December 12, 1975 1–0 Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) 10–14–2 27 L December 13, 1975 4–5 @ New England Whalers (1975–76) 10–15–2 28 L December 14, 1975 3–4 Houston Aeros (1975–76) 10–16–2 29 L December 17, 1975 2–3 Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 10–17–2 30 L December 19, 1975 4–5 OT @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 10–18–2 31 W December 20, 1975 5–3 Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 11–18–2 32 L December 22, 1975 1–4 New England Whalers (1975–76) 11–19–2 33 W December 27, 1975 5–0 Toronto Toros (1975–76) 12–19–2 34 L December 28, 1975 0–4 @ New England Whalers (1975–76) 12–20–2
January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 35 W January 2, 1976 5–4 OT Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) 13–20–2 36 L January 3, 1976 2–3 @ New England Whalers (1975–76) 13–21–2 37 W January 4, 1976 3–2 Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) 14–21–2 38 W January 7, 1976 8–3 San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 15–21–2 39 L January 9, 1976 5–6 @ Houston Aeros (1975–76) 15–22–2 40 W January 11, 1976 4–3 Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 16–22–2 41 W January 15, 1976 3–1 @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 17–22–2 42 W January 16, 1976 4–3 New England Whalers (1975–76) 18–22–2 43 L January 17, 1976 4–5 @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 18–23–2 44 L January 21, 1976 2–8 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 18–24–2 45 T January 23, 1976 2–2 New England Whalers (1975–76) 18–24–3 46 L January 25, 1976 2–4 @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 18–25–3 47 W January 28, 1976 6–4 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 19–25–3 48 T January 30, 1976 4–4 @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) 19–25–4
February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 49 W February 1, 1976 6–5 @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) 20–25–4 50 L February 4, 1976 1–5 @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) 20–26–4 51 L February 5, 1976 2–3 @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 20–27–4 52 T February 7, 1976 4–4 Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 20–27–5 53 W February 8, 1976 6–1 @ New England Whalers (1975–76) 21–27–5 54 W February 11, 1976 4–2 Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 22–27–5 55 L February 15, 1976 2–3 New England Whalers (1975–76) 22–28–5 56 W February 18, 1976 4–0 Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) 23–28–5 57 L February 19, 1976 3–5 @ Houston Aeros (1975–76) 23–29–5 58 W February 21, 1976 3–2 Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 24–29–5 59 W February 22, 1976 2–1 Houston Aeros (1975–76) 25–29–5 60 L February 25, 1976 2–5 @ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) 25–30–5 61 L February 27, 1976 4–5 @ Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) 25–31–5 62 W February 29, 1976 5–2 @ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) 26–31–5
March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 63 L March 3, 1976 3–4 OT @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 26–32–5 64 W March 6, 1976 5–4 @ Houston Aeros (1975–76) 27–32–5 65 W March 7, 1976 5–1 @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 28–32–5 66 W March 10, 1976 5–2 Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 29–32–5 67 L March 12, 1976 2–8 @ New England Whalers (1975–76) 29–33–5 68 L March 14, 1976 2–3 OT Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) 29–34–5 69 L March 16, 1976 0–6 @ Toronto Toros (1975–76) 29–35–5 70 W March 19, 1976 6–5 OT @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) 30–35–5 71 L March 20, 1976 5–6 Toronto Toros (1975–76) 30–36–5 72 W March 21, 1976 4–1 Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 31–36–5 73 W March 23, 1976 3–1 @ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) 32–36–5 74 L March 24, 1976 2–3 Houston Aeros (1975–76) 32–37–5 75 L March 26, 1976 2–3 Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) 32–38–5 76 W March 31, 1976 5–1 New England Whalers (1975–76) 33–38–5
April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 77 L April 2, 1976 2–5 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 33–39–5 78 W April 3, 1976 4–2 San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 34–39–5 79 W April 4, 1976 6–3 Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) 35–39–5 80 L April 6, 1976 2–3 OT San Diego Mariners (1975–76) 35–40–5
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1976 Avco Cup playoffs[1]
Preliminary round vs. New England Whalers – Whalers win 3–0 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series 1 April 9 Cleveland Crusaders 3–5 New England Whalers 0–1 2 April 10 New England Whalers 6–1 Cleveland Crusaders 0–2 3 April 11 New England Whalers 3–2 Cleveland Crusaders 0–3
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Ron Ward C 75 32 50 82 24 14 11 2 2 Jim Harrison C 59 34 38 72 62 4 9 2 5 Rich Leduc C 79 36 22 58 76 7 8 2 6 Gerry Pinder LW 79 21 30 51 118 -8 8 3 2 Danny Gruen LW 80 26 24 50 72 9 5 0 4 Paul Shmyr D 70 6 44 50 101 16 4 1 2 Al McDonough RW 80 23 22 45 19 1 4 0 1 Russ Walker RW 72 23 15 38 122 -7 5 0 2 Tom Edur D 80 7 28 35 62 15 3 0 0 Gary Jarrett LW 69 16 17 33 22 -4 1 0 1 John Stewart LW 79 12 21 33 43 -3 0 0 3 Juhani Tamminen RW 65 7 14 21 0 -8 2 0 0 Bryan Maxwell D 73 3 14 17 177 -13 0 0 1 Terry Ball D 23 2 15 17 18 -21 2 0 0 Ray McKay D 68 3 10 13 44 -8 1 0 1 Lyle Moffat LW 33 4 7 11 33 10 1 0 1 John Stewart C 42 2 9 11 15 -2 0 0 0 Paul Baxter D 67 3 7 10 201 -7 1 0 1 Randy Legge D 44 1 8 9 28 -7 0 0 0 Gary MacGregor C 35 5 3 8 6 -16 4 0 2 Wayne Connelly C 12 5 2 7 4 -1 3 0 1 Barry Legge D 35 0 7 7 22 -8 0 0 0 Bill Evo RW 40 1 5 6 32 -15 0 0 0 Wayne Muloin D 27 0 5 5 12 -7 0 0 0 Terry Holbrook RW 15 1 2 3 6 -1 0 1 0 Mike Conroy LW 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Cam Newton G 15 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Brian Bowles D 3 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 Jacques Caron G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gerry Cheevers G 28 0 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 Bob Johnson G 18 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Bob Whidden G 21 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO Gerry Cheevers 1570 28 11 14 1 95 3.63 1 Bob Johnson 1043 18 9 8 0 56 3.22 1 Cam Newton 896 15 7 7 1 48 3.21 0 Bob Whidden 1230 21 7 11 2 70 3.41 1 Jacques Caron 130 2 1 0 1 8 3.69 0 Team: 4869 80 35 40 5 277 3.41 3

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG Rich Leduc C 3 2 1 3 2 0 0 0 Gary Jarrett LW 3 0 3 3 2 0 0 0 Danny Gruen LW 3 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 Tom Edur D 3 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 Ron Ward C 3 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 Wayne Connelly C 3 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 Al McDonough RW 3 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 Jim Harrison C 3 0 1 1 9 0 0 0 Barry Legge D 3 0 1 1 12 0 0 0 Bryan Maxwell D 2 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 Paul Baxter D 3 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 Terry Holbrook RW 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Bob Johnson G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Randy Legge D 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gary MacGregor C 3 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 Ray McKay D 3 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 Cam Newton G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gerry Pinder LW 3 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 John Stewart LW 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Juhani Tamminen RW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Russ Walker RW 3 0 0 0 18 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO Bob Johnson 120 2 0 2 8 4.00 0 Cam Newton 60 1 0 1 6 6.00 0 Team: 180 3 0 3 14 4.67 0

^[2]

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

Draft picks

Cleveland's draft picks at the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft.^[3]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	5	Ralph Klassen (F)	Canada	Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)
2	19	Mal Zinger (F)	Canada	Kamloops Chiefs (WCHL)
2	20	Kelly Greenbank (RW)	Austria	Winnipeg Clubs (WCHL)
3	35	Ed Staniowski (G)	Canada	Regina Pats (WCHL)
4	50	Peter Scamurra (D)	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHA)
5	65	Dennis Maruk (F)	Canada	London Knights (OHA)
6	78	Joe Augustine (D)	United States	Austin Mavericks (MidJHL)
7	92	Michel Lachance (D)	Canada	Montreal Red White and Blue (QMJHL)
8	104	Joe Fortunato (LW)	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHA)
9	116	Viktor Khatulev (F)	Latvia	Dynamo Riga (USSR)
10	129	Ari Kankaanpera (D)	Finland	Ilves Tampere (SM-sarja)
11	142	Tom McNamara (G)	United States	University of Vermont (ECAC)
12	153	Rick Marsh (D)	Canada	R.P.I. (ECAC)
13	163	Dan Shearer (C)	Canada	Hamilton Fincups (OHA)

See also

• 1975–76 WHA season