1973–74 Minnesota Fighting Saints season

World Hockey Association team season August 2023 WHA 1973–74 1973 Minnesota Fighting Saints 44–32–2 26–12–1 18–20–1 West 2nd 332 275 Glen Sonmor Harry Neale Ted Hampson Mike McMahonJohn ArbourWayne Connelly St. Paul Civic Center 6,584 (40.7%) Mike Walton (57) Mike Walton (60) Mike Walton (117) Gord Gallant (223) Mike Curran (23) 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).World Hockey Association World Hockey Association 1973 WHA 1973-74 Media Guide World Hockey AssociationWorld Hockey Association World Hockey Association 1974 WHA 1974-75 Media Guide World Hockey Association 2 Regular season Final standings MIN Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#00088C 5px solid; border-bottom:#EAD151 5px solid; 1973–74 regular season1973-74 Minnesota Fighting Saints Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/MFS/1974_games.html Hockey-Reference.com April 11, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#00088C 2px solid; border-bottom:#EAD151 2px solid; October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |1||W||October 12, 1973||5–4 || align="left"| Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) ||1–0–0 |- |2||W||October 14, 1973||5–2 || align="left"| @ Toronto Toros (1973–74) ||2–0–0 |- |3||T||October 15, 1973||3–3 || align="left"| @ New England Whalers (1973–74) ||2–0–1 |- |4||W||October 19, 1973||1–0 || align="left"| New England Whalers (1973–74) ||3–0–1 |- |5||L||October 21, 1973||1–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) ||3–1–1 |- |6||L||October 24, 1973||2–5 || align="left"| @ New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74) ||3–2–1 |- |7||L||October 26, 1973||4–5 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) ||3–3–1 |- |8||W||October 27, 1973||5–2 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) ||4–3–1 |- |9||L||October 30, 1973||1–6 || align="left"| @ Houston Aeros (1973–74) ||4–4–1 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#00088C 2px solid; border-bottom:#EAD151 2px solid; November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |10||W||November 2, 1973||5–1 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) ||5–4–1 |- |11||L||November 4, 1973||3–4 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) ||5–5–1 |- |12||W||November 7, 1973||10–1 || align="left"| New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74) ||6–5–1 |- |13||W||November 9, 1973||3–1 || align="left"| Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) ||7–5–1 |- |14||W||November 11, 1973||6–4 || align="left"| Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) ||8–5–1 |- |15||L||November 13, 1973||2–5 || align="left"| Houston Aeros (1973–74) ||8–6–1 |- |16||L||November 15, 1973||5–7 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) ||8–7–1 |- |17||W||November 18, 1973||5–2 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) ||9–7–1 |- |18||L||November 20, 1973||2–6 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) ||9–8–1 |- |19||W||November 22, 1973||7–5 || align="left"| New England Whalers (1973–74) ||10–8–1 |- |20||W||November 25, 1973||5–3 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) ||11–8–1 |- |21||L||November 28, 1973||3–5 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) ||11–9–1 |- |22||L||November 30, 1973||1–2 || align="left"| Toronto Toros (1973–74) ||11–10–1 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#00088C 2px solid; border-bottom:#EAD151 2px solid; December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |23||L||December 2, 1973||1–2 || align="left"| @ New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74) ||11–11–1 |- |24||W||December 4, 1973||9–2 || align="left"| Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) ||12–11–1 |- |25||W||December 7, 1973||3–1 || align="left"| Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) ||13–11–1 |- |26||W||December 8, 1973||4–1 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) ||14–11–1 |- |27||L||December 9, 1973||1–10 || align="left"| @ Toronto Toros (1973–74) ||14–12–1 |- |28||W||December 11, 1973||5–3 || align="left"| @ Chicago Cougars (1973–74) ||15–12–1 |- |29||L||December 14, 1973||2–5 || align="left"| Houston Aeros (1973–74) ||15–13–1 |- |30||W||December 16, 1973||3–2 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) ||16–13–1 |- |31||W||December 19, 1973||4–2 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) ||17–13–1 |- |32||W||December 21, 1973||4–3 || align="left"| Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) ||18–13–1 |- |33||L||December 22, 1973||1–2 || align="left"| @ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) ||18–14–1 |- |34||L||December 23, 1973||2–4 || align="left"| Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) ||18–15–1 |- |35||W||December 27, 1973||5–4 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) ||19–15–1 |- |36||L||December 29, 1973||3–9 || align="left"| Toronto Toros (1973–74) ||19–16–1 |- |37||L||December 30, 1973||3–5 || align="left"| Chicago Cougars (1973–74) ||19–17–1 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#00088C 2px solid; border-bottom:#EAD151 2px solid; January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |38||W||January 5, 1974||6–5 || align="left"| @ Chicago Cougars (1973–74) ||20–17–1 |- |39||L||January 6, 1974||4–6 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) ||20–18–1 |- |40||L||January 9, 1974||4–6 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) ||20–19–1 |- |41||W||January 12, 1974||8–6 || align="left"| Toronto Toros (1973–74) ||21–19–1 |- |42||L||January 13, 1974||2–4 || align="left"| @ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) ||21–20–1 |- |43||L||January 15, 1974||1–4 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) ||21–21–1 |- |44||L||January 19, 1974||2–5 || align="left"| @ New England Whalers (1973–74) ||21–22–1 |- |45||L||January 20, 1974||4–5 OT|| align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) ||21–23–1 |- |46||L||January 23, 1974||1–4 || align="left"| New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74) ||21–24–1 |- |47||W||January 25, 1974||6–2 || align="left"| Chicago Cougars (1973–74) ||22–24–1 |- |48||W||January 27, 1974||12–2 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) ||23–24–1 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#00088C 2px solid; border-bottom:#EAD151 2px solid; February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |49||W||February 2, 1974||4–2 || align="left"| @ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) ||24–24–1 |- |50||L||February 3, 1974||4–5 || align="left"| @ Toronto Toros (1973–74) ||24–25–1 |- |51||W||February 5, 1974||4–1 || align="left"| Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) ||25–25–1 |- |52||W||February 6, 1974||7–2 || align="left"| Chicago Cougars (1973–74) ||26–25–1 |- |53||W||February 8, 1974||4–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) ||27–25–1 |- |54||W||February 10, 1974||5–2 || align="left"| @ New England Whalers (1973–74) ||28–25–1 |- |55||L||February 12, 1974||1–3 || align="left"| Houston Aeros (1973–74) ||28–26–1 |- |56||W||February 13, 1974||7–4 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) ||29–26–1 |- |57||W||February 15, 1974||7–1 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) ||30–26–1 |- |58||W||February 17, 1974||6–1 || align="left"| @ Houston Aeros (1973–74) ||31–26–1 |- |59||W||February 22, 1974||6–4 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) ||32–26–1 |- |60||W||February 24, 1974||2–1 || align="left"| @ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) ||33–26–1 |- |61||W||February 27, 1974||5–4 || align="left"| Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) ||34–26–1 |- |62||T||February 28, 1974||6–6 || align="left"| Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) ||34–26–2 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#00088C 2px solid; border-bottom:#EAD151 2px solid; March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |63||W||March 1, 1974||4–0 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) ||35–26–2 |- |64||W||March 3, 1974||5–3 || align="left"| Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) ||36–26–2 |- |65||W||March 6, 1974||8–6 || align="left"| New England Whalers (1973–74) ||37–26–2 |- |66||W||March 9, 1974||9–5 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) ||38–26–2 |- |67||L||March 10, 1974||5–6 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) ||38–27–2 |- |68||L||March 12, 1974||2–3 || align="left"| @ Houston Aeros (1973–74) ||38–28–2 |- |69||L||March 14, 1974||4–7 || align="left"| @ Chicago Cougars (1973–74) ||38–29–2 |- |70||L||March 15, 1974||3–5 || align="left"| @ New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74) ||38–30–2 |- |71||W||March 17, 1974||5–3 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) ||39–30–2 |- |72||L||March 19, 1974||4–5 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) ||39–31–2 |- |73||W||March 22, 1974||5–2 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) ||40–31–2 |- |74||W||March 24, 1974||5–3 || align="left"| @ Houston Aeros (1973–74) ||41–31–2 |- |75||W||March 27, 1974||6–4 || align="left"| New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74) ||42–31–2 |- |76||L||March 29, 1974||1–3 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) ||42–32–2 |- |77||W||March 31, 1974||5–2 || align="left"| Houston Aeros (1973–74) ||43–32–2 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#00088C 2px solid; border-bottom:#EAD151 2px solid; April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |78||W||April 3, 1974||9–0 || align="left"| Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) ||44–32–2 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Playoffs background:#fff; border-top:#00088C 5px solid; border-bottom:#EAD151 5px solid; 1974 Avco Cup playoffs y background:#fff; border-top:#00088C 2px solid; border-bottom:#EAD151 2px solid; 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 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#00088C 2px solid; border-bottom:#EAD151 2px solid; 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: #cfc Win 1px solid black #fcc Loss 1px solid black Player statistics Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Mike Walton C 78 57 60 117 880997 Wayne Connelly C 78 42 53 95 1601506 George Morrison George Morrison (ice hockey) LW 73 40 38 78 3701213 Murray Heatley RW 71 26 32 58 230305 Ted Hampson C 77 17 38 55 90244 Jim Johnson Jim Johnson (ice hockey b. 1942) C 71 15 39 54 300112 Mike Antonovich Mike Antonovich (ice hockey) C 68 21 29 50 40204 John Arbour D 77 6 43 49 1920001 Bob MacMillan RW 78 14 34 48 810300 Steve Cardwell LW 77 23 23 46 1000113 Mike McMahon Mike McMahon, Jr. D 71 10 35 45 820131 Rick Smith Rick Smith (ice hockey) D 71 10 28 38 980013 Keith Christiansen ice hockey C 74 11 25 36 360401 Terry Ball Terry Ball (ice hockey) D 71 8 28 36 340400 Rob Walton C 45 8 23 31 240101 Gord Gallant Gord Gallant LW 72 7 15 22 2230002 Bill Klatt Bill Klatt (ice hockey) RW 65 14 6 20 120301 Bob Boyd Bob Boyd (ice hockey) D 41 1 14 15 140000 Dick Paradise D 67 2 7 9 710000 Mike Curran G 40 0 0 0 60000 John Garrett John Garrett (ice hockey) G 40 0 0 0 100000 Jack McCartan G 2 0 0 0 00000 Blaine Rydman D 8 0 0 0 210000Goaltending Player MIN GPW LTGAGAA SO Mike Curran 2382 40 23 14 2 130 3.27 2 John Garrett John Garrett (ice hockey) 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 16003 Wayne Connelly C 11 6 7 13 4000 George Morrison George Morrison (ice hockey) LW 11 5 5 10 12000 John Arbour D 11 3 6 9 27001 Ted Hampson C 11 4 4 8 8001 Mike McMahon Mike McMahon, Jr. D 11 1 7 8 9000 Bill Klatt Bill Klatt (ice hockey) RW 11 3 2 5 18001 Bob MacMillan RW 11 2 3 5 4000 Mike Antonovich Mike Antonovich (ice hockey) C 11 1 4 5 4000 Jim Johnson Jim Johnson (ice hockey b. 1942) C 11 1 4 5 4000 Terry Ball Terry Ball (ice hockey) D 11 1 2 3 6000 Gord Gallant LW 11 1 2 3 67000 Murray Heatley RW 10 1 0 1 2000 Keith Christiansen ice hockey C 10 0 1 1 2000 Rick Smith Rick Smith (ice hockey) D 11 0 1 1 22000 Bob Boyd Bob Boyd (ice hockey) D 7 0 0 0 4000 Steve Cardwell LW 10 0 0 0 20000 Mike Curran G 5 0 0 0 10000 John Garrett John Garrett (ice hockey) G 7 0 0 0 14000 Bill Goldthorpe LW 3 0 0 0 25000 Dick Paradise D 7 0 0 0 6000 Goaltending Player MIN GPW LGAGAA SO John Garrett John Garrett (ice hockey) 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:hockey-reference.com 2009-07-02 1973-74 Minnesota Fighting Saints Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/MFS/1974.html 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.http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/wha1973a.html 1973 WHA Amateur Draft hockeyDB.com December 19, 2018 Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)17Bob Gainey (F)CanadaPeterborough Petes (OHA)221Rick Middleton (F)CanadaOshawa Generals (OHA)333Bob Gassoff (D)CanadaMedicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)446Steve Langdon (RW)CanadaLondon Knights (OHA)559Nelson Pyatt (C)CanadaOshawa Generals (OHA)672John Flesch (LW)CanadaLake Superior State University (CCHA)785Tom Machowski (D)United StatesUniversity of Wisconsin (WCHA)897Bob Young (D)United StatesUniversity of Denver (WCHA)9108Neil Korzack (F)CanadaPeterborough Petes (OHA)10118Pat Phippen (LW)United StatesSt. Paul Bruins See also 1973–74 WHA season References Category:Minnesota Fighting Saints seasons Minn