1973–74 Minnesota Fighting Saints season

1973–74 Minnesota Fighting Saints
Division	2nd West
1973–74 record	44–32–2
Home record	26–12–1
Road record	18–20–1
Goals for	332
Goals against	275
Team information
General manager	Glen Sonmor
Coach	Harry Neale
Captain	Ted Hampson
Alternate captains	Mike McMahon John Arbour Wayne Connelly
Arena	St. Paul Civic Center
Average attendance	6,584 (40.7%)
Team leaders
Goals	Mike Walton (57)
Assists	Mike Walton (60)
Points	Mike Walton (117)
Penalty minutes	Gord Gallant (223)
Wins	Mike Curran (23)
Goals against average	Mike 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).

Regular season

Final standings

Western Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PIM	Pts
Houston Aeros	78	48	25	5	318	219	1038	101
Minnesota Fighting Saints	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
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
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:

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;

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.

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

• 1973–74 WHA season