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1974–75 WHA Season
The 1974–75 WHA season was the third season of the World Hockey Association. Fourteen teams each played 78 games. Regular season The WHA expanded by adding the Indianapolis Racers and Phoenix Roadrunners, and splitting into 3 divisions (Western, Eastern, and Canadian). The top two teams in each division qualified for the playoffs along with the two next best teams overall. Prior to the season, Southern California welcomed the Jersey Knights, who moved to San Diego and became the Mariners, and said goodbye to the Los Angeles Sharks, who moved to Detroit and became the Michigan Stags. Midway through the season, the Stags moved to Baltimore and became the Blades; they folded for good after the season. Chicago also folded at season's end. Also, the New England Whalers left Boston for Hartford, but played the first half of the season in Springfield, Massachusetts until construction on the Hartford Civic Center was finished. The NHL also expanded this season, to 18 teams, making a to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926. Although the WHA was not the first league since that time to attempt to challenge the NHL's supremacy, it was by far the most successful in the modern era. The WHA tried to capitalize on the lack of hockey teams in a number of major American cities and mid-level Canadian cities, and also hoped to attract the best players by paying more than NHL owners would. The WHA successfully challenged the NHL's reserve clause, which had bound players to their NHL teams even without a valid contract, allowing players in both leagues greater freedom of movement. Sixty-seven players jumped from the NHL to the WHA in the first year, led by star forward Bobby Hull, whose ten-year, $2.75 million contr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wayne Rivers
Wayne Rivers (born February 1, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 108 games in the National Hockey League and 357 games in the World Hockey Association. During the 1977–78 season, Rivers coached the San Francisco Shamrocks to win the Pacific Hockey League : ''For the 1990s semi-professional ice hockey league, see Pacific Hockey League (1994).'' The Pacific Hockey League was a low-level minor professional hockey league that existed for two seasons in 1977–78, and 1978–79. Its member teams from C ... championship. Career statistics Regular season and playoffs References External links * 1942 births Living people Baltimore Clippers players Boston Bruins players Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Detroit Red Wings players Hershey Bears players New York Rangers players New York Raiders players New York Golden Blades players Jersey Knights players Ice hockey people from Ontario St. Louis Blues pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernie Wakely
Ernest Alfred Linton Wakely (born November 27, 1940) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Career Wakely was a goaltender in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues. He also played for the Quebec Aces, the Cleveland Barons (AHL), Winnipeg Jets, San Diego Mariners, Cincinnati Stingers, Houston Aeros, Houston Apollos, and Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association. Wakely was goaltender for the 1958–59 Memorial Cup-winning Winnipeg Braves of the MJHL. In the 1969–70 NHL season Wakely took over in St. Louis for Glenn Hall. Wakely appeared in 30 games, won 12, and recorded a NHL league leading goals against average of 2.11 in leading the Blues to the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins. Although Wakely did not start the first game of the finals, he replaced Jacques Plante early in the game after Plante was injured. Wakely played well through the second period, but Boston prevailed in that game 6–1 and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wayne Rutledge
Wayne Alvin Rutledge (January 5, 1942 – October 5, 2004) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings and the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the Houston Aeros. He died of stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ... in 2004. References External links * 1942 births 2004 deaths Barrie Colts players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Clinton Comets players Deaths from stomach cancer Denver Spurs players Houston Aeros (WHA) players Los Angeles Kings players Minnesota Rangers players Niagara Falls Flyers players Omaha Knights (CHL) players Salt Lake Golden Eagles (WHL) players Springfield Kings players Windsor Bulldogs (1963–1964) players Windsor Bulldogs (OHA) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cleveland Crusaders
The Cleveland Crusaders were a professional ice hockey team from Cleveland. They played in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1976. Their home ice was the Cleveland Arena from 1972 to 1974, and the Richfield Coliseum from 1974 to 1976. The team was owned by Nick Mileti, who had been the founder of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, and also owned Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians. He had also owned the nine-time American Hockey League champion Cleveland Barons, but moved them to Jacksonville, Florida to make room for the Crusaders. The first coach for the Crusaders was Bill Needham, a mainstay of the Barons. Needham coached the Crusaders to winning records in the first two seasons, but failed to advance past the second playoff round. In the 1974–75 season, John Hanna took over as coach, to be replaced mid-season by Jack Vivian. Cleveland finished second in the east division despite a losing record, but fell in the first round of the playoffs. Johnny Wilson led ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Whidden
Robert J. "Bob" Whidden (born July 27, 1946) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and high school ice hockey coach. He played goaltender. He was born in Sudbury, Ontario and was involved in ice hockey in various capacities for over fifty years. Playing career Whidden played junior hockey with the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1965 to 1967. In 1967, the Marlboros won the J. Ross Robertson Cup (OHA championship) and the Memorial Cup (Canadian Major Junior championship). He played four years with the Cleveland Crusaders of the World Hockey Association as the back-up to future Hall-of-Famer Gerry Cheevers. He also played with the Rochester Americans and Baltimore Clippers of the American Hockey League, the Charlotte Checkers of the Eastern Hockey League, and the Mohawk Valley Comets of the North American Hockey League. Coaching Whidden spent 21 years as the coach of the hockey team at St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio, a suburb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ron Grahame
Ronald Ian Grahame (born June 7, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played four seasons in the National Hockey League and four in World Hockey Association between 1973 and 1981. Playing career After a collegiate career with the University of Denver during which he was named a First Team All-American, Grahame was signed by the Houston Aeros of the WHA. He played a season for the minor league Macon Whoopees in 1973 before coming up to the Aeros at the end of the season. In the 1974–75 season he made the Aeros for good, leading the WHA in wins, shutouts and goals against average and backstopping the club to the AVCO World Trophy, winning both the Ben Hatskin Trophy for best goaltender, First Team All-Star accolades and the WHA Playoff MVP. His following two seasons saw an equal degree of success, including a Second Team All-Star berth in 1976 and a second Hatskin award in 1977. He became a free agent after the 1977 season and signed with the NHL's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goals Against Average
Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on sport). GAA is analogous to a baseball pitcher's earned run average (ERA). In Japanese, the same translation (防御率) is used for both GAA and ERA, because of this. For ice hockey, the goals against average statistic is the number of goals a goaltender allows per 60 minutes of playing time. It is calculated by taking the number of goals against, multiply that by 60 (minutes) and then dividing by the number of minutes played. The modification is used by the NHL since 1965 and the IIHF since 1990. When calculating GAA, overtime goals and time on ice are included, whereas empty net and shootout goals are not. It is typically given to two decimal places. The top goaltenders in the National Hockey League have a GAA of about 1.85-2.10, alth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Save Percentage
Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various goal-scoring sports that track saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse, it is a statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal a goaltender stops. It is calculated by dividing the number of saves by the total number of shots on goal. Although the statistic is called a "percentage", it is often given as a decimal, in the same way as a batting average in baseball. Thus, .933 means a goaltender saved 93.3 percent of all shots they faced. In international ice hockey, a save percentage is expressed as a true percentage, such as 90%. National Hockey League (NHL) goaltenders typically have a save percentage above .900, and National Lacrosse League (NLL) goaltenders typically have a save percentage above .750. See also *Goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minnesota Fighting Saints
The Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional ice hockey teams based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that played in the World Hockey Association. The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises, playing from 1972 to 1976. The second team was relocated from Cleveland, Ohio, and played for part of the 1976–77 season. Neither edition of the franchise completed its final season of play. Original team Founded in November 1971, the first Fighting Saints team played four seasons beginning in 1972–73 under the ownership of nine local businessmen. (St. Paul attorney Wayne Belisle purchased the team late in the 1973–74 season. Belisle was the front man for a group of owners that included Jock Irvine.) The Saints' first game, a 4–3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets, was played October 13, 1972, at the St. Paul Auditorium. The team moved to the new St. Paul Civic Center, which opened in January 1973. The first game in the new arena was on January 1, 1973, a 4–4 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Walton
Michael Robert Walton (born January 3, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Walton played forward in the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1965 until 1979. Early years Walton was born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, but his family lived a transient existence during his youth before settling north of Toronto, Ontario. They operated a restaurant/garage in Sutton, about north of the city. He inherited his nickname "Shakey" from his father, Bob Walton, who would shake his head to throw off opponents as a hockey player in England. He spent each of his first two years of junior hockey with the only two champions in the Metro Junior A League's brief history. He first attended St. Michael's College School on a partial scholarship. When the Majors' famous hockey program was discontinued after the 1961–62 season, Walton and the rest of the players were transferred to Neil McNeil Catholic Secondary School, where he scored 22 goals in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toronto Toros
The Toronto Toros were an ice hockey team based in Toronto that played in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1976. History The franchise was awarded to Doug Michel in 1971 for $25,000 to play in the WHA's inaugural 1972–73 season. Harold Ballard, owner of Maple Leaf Gardens and the Toronto Maple Leafs, offered to rent the arena to the team if it was located in Toronto, but Michel found the rent excessive. He then tried to base the team in Hamilton, but the city did not have an appropriate venue. Michel settled on Ottawa and the team became the Ottawa Nationals. Nick Trbovich became majority owner in May 1972. The team was a flop at the box office, averaging about 3,000 fans a game, and in March 1973 — just before the end of the season — the City of Ottawa demanded payment of $100,000 to guarantee the club dates at the Ottawa Civic Centre. The team decided to leave Ottawa and played their home playoff games at Maple Leaf Gardens, attracting crowds of 5,000 and 4,0 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
