1976–77 Phoenix Roadrunners season

Professional hockey season August 2023 WHA 1976–77 1976 Phoenix Roadrunners (WHA)Phoenix Roadrunners 28–48–4 20–18–2 8–30–2 Western 6th 281 383 Al Rollins Al McLeod Jim NiekampRobbie Ftorek Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum Robbie Ftorek (46) Robbie Ftorek (71) Robbie Ftorek (117) Jerry Rollins (169) Clay Hebenton (17) Clay Hebenton (4.22) 1975–76 The 1976–77 Phoenix Roadrunners season was the third and final season of the Phoenix Roadrunners in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Roadrunners finished sixth in the Western Division and did not qualify for the playoffs. Their worst loss was an 11-3 defeat to the Québec Nordiques on October 26 when Réal Cloutier tied a WHA record with five goals in a single game."Cloutier equals WHA scoring record" Edmonton Journal, October 27, 1976, p. 65. The team announced their departure from the WHA in April shortly before the end of their season."Roadrunners: born 1967, died 1977" The Arizona Republic, April 2, 1977, p. E1. They won their last WHA home game on April 6, 1977. 2 Regular season Final standings PHO Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#101073 5px solid; border-bottom:#FFC900 5px solid; 1976–77 regular season1976-77 Phoenix Roadrunners Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/PHR/1977_games.html Hockey-Reference.com April 10, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#101073 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFC900 2px solid; October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |1||W||October 8, 1976||8–6 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1976–77) ||1–0–0 |- |2||L||October 9, 1976||3–5 || align="left"| @ Houston Aeros (1976–77) ||1–1–0 |- |3||W||October 14, 1976||4–3 || align="left"| Minnesota Fighting Saints (1976–77) ||2–1–0 |- |4||W||October 16, 1976||6–4 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) ||3–1–0 |- |5||L||October 19, 1976||4–5 OT|| align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) ||3–2–0 |- |6||W||October 22, 1976||4–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) ||4–2–0 |- |7||W||October 24, 1976||5–3 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) ||5–2–0 |- |8||L||October 26, 1976||3–11 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1976–77) ||5–3–0 |- |9||L||October 29, 1976||1–5 || align="left"| @ New England Whalers (1976–77) ||5–4–0 |- |10||L||October 30, 1976||3–9 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1976–77) ||5–5–0 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#101073 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFC900 2px solid; November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |11||W||November 2, 1976||5–3 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1976–77) ||6–5–0 |- |12||L||November 4, 1976||3–5 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) ||6–6–0 |- |13||L||November 5, 1976||1–9 || align="left"| @ Houston Aeros (1976–77) ||6–7–0 |- |14||W||November 7, 1976||3–1 || align="left"| @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1976–77) ||7–7–0 |- |15||T||November 10, 1976||3–3 || align="left"| Indianapolis Racers (1976–77) ||7–7–1 |- |16||W||November 12, 1976||3–1 || align="left"| New England Whalers (1976–77) ||8–7–1 |- |17||W||November 14, 1976||6–3 || align="left"| San Diego Mariners (1976–77) ||9–7–1 |- |18||W||November 16, 1976||5–2 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) ||10–7–1 |- |19||L||November 18, 1976||1–2 OT|| align="left"| Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) ||10–8–1 |- |20||L||November 20, 1976||2–5 || align="left"| Houston Aeros (1976–77) ||10–9–1 |- |21||T||November 24, 1976||3–3 || align="left"| Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) ||10–9–2 |- |22||W||November 26, 1976||4–2 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) ||11–9–2 |- |23||W||November 28, 1976||5–3 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) ||12–9–2 |- |24||L||November 30, 1976||2–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) ||12–10–2 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#101073 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFC900 2px solid; December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |25||L||December 2, 1976||3–4 || align="left"| @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) ||12–11–2 |- |26||L||December 4, 1976||3–4 || align="left"| San Diego Mariners (1976–77) ||12–12–2 |- |27||L||December 5, 1976||0–6 || align="left"| @ Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) ||12–13–2 |- |28||L||December 7, 1976||2–4 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) ||12–14–2 |- |29||L||December 9, 1976||4–5 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1976–77) ||12–15–2 |- |30||L||December 12, 1976||0–8 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1976–77) ||12–16–2 |- |31||L||December 14, 1976||3–8 || align="left"| @ Houston Aeros (1976–77) ||12–17–2 |- |32||W||December 15, 1976||6–5 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) ||13–17–2 |- |33||L||December 17, 1976||0–1 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) ||13–18–2 |- |34||L||December 19, 1976||4–6 || align="left"| Houston Aeros (1976–77) ||13–19–2 |- |35||L||December 22, 1976||4–5 OT|| align="left"| San Diego Mariners (1976–77) ||13–20–2 |- |36||W||December 28, 1976||4–3 || align="left"| Indianapolis Racers (1976–77) ||14–20–2 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#101073 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFC900 2px solid; January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |37||L||January 2, 1977||1–4 || align="left"| @ Indianapolis Racers (1976–77) ||14–21–2 |- |38||L||January 4, 1977||5–8 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) ||14–22–2 |- |39||W||January 8, 1977||4–3 || align="left"| @ New England Whalers (1976–77) ||15–22–2 |- |40||L||January 11, 1977||2–9 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) ||15–23–2 |- |41||W||January 12, 1977||4–2 || align="left"| Houston Aeros (1976–77) ||16–23–2 |- |42||W||January 14, 1977||6–5 OT|| align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1976–77) ||17–23–2 |- |43||L||January 16, 1977||4–5 || align="left"| Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) ||17–24–2 |- |44||W||January 20, 1977||9–4 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1976–77) ||18–24–2 |- |45||W||January 22, 1977||4–1 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) ||19–24–2 |- |46||L||January 23, 1977||2–9 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) ||19–25–2 |- |47||L||January 25, 1977||3–7 || align="left"| @ Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) ||19–26–2 |- |48||L||January 28, 1977||2–6 || align="left"| New England Whalers (1976–77) ||19–27–2 |- |49||W||January 30, 1977||8–5 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) ||20–27–2 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#101073 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFC900 2px solid; February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |50||L||February 1, 1977||1–5 || align="left"| @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) ||20–28–2 |- |51||W||February 3, 1977||5–3 || align="left"| Houston Aeros (1976–77) ||21–28–2 |- |52||L||February 5, 1977||1–4 || align="left"| Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) ||21–29–2 |- |53||W||February 9, 1977||4–3 OT|| align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) ||22–29–2 |- |54||L||February 11, 1977||3–5 || align="left"| San Diego Mariners (1976–77) ||22–30–2 |- |55||L||February 13, 1977||2–5 || align="left"| @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) ||22–31–2 |- |56||L||February 16, 1977||2–7 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) ||22–32–2 |- |57||L||February 17, 1977||2–4 || align="left"| @ New England Whalers (1976–77) ||22–33–2 |- |58||W||February 19, 1977||6–5 || align="left"| @ Indianapolis Racers (1976–77) ||23–33–2 |- |59||L||February 20, 1977||3–4 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1976–77) ||23–34–2 |- |60||W||February 23, 1977||6–3 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) ||24–34–2 |- |61||T||February 24, 1977||3–3 || align="left"| @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) ||24–34–3 |- |62||L||February 25, 1977||3–9 || align="left"| Houston Aeros (1976–77) ||24–35–3 |- |63||L||February 27, 1977||4–5 || align="left"| Houston Aeros (1976–77) ||24–36–3 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#101073 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFC900 2px solid; March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |64||L||March 1, 1977||3–8 || align="left"| @ Houston Aeros (1976–77) ||24–37–3 |- |65||W||March 5, 1977||4–1 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) ||25–37–3 |- |66||L||March 6, 1977||2–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Indianapolis Racers (1976–77) ||25–38–3 |- |67||L||March 8, 1977||2–9 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1976–77) ||25–39–3 |- |68||W||March 12, 1977||7–6 OT|| align="left"| @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) ||26–39–3 |- |69||T||March 15, 1977||4–4 || align="left"| @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) ||26–39–4 |- |70||L||March 17, 1977||3–4 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1976–77) ||26–40–4 |- |71||L||March 18, 1977||3–6 || align="left"| @ Houston Aeros (1976–77) ||26–41–4 |- |72||W||March 19, 1977||7–5 || align="left"| San Diego Mariners (1976–77) ||27–41–4 |- |73||L||March 20, 1977||1–6 || align="left"| @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) ||27–42–4 |- |74||L||March 23, 1977||0–4 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) ||27–43–4 |- |75||L||March 25, 1977||3–7 || align="left"| San Diego Mariners (1976–77) ||27–44–4 |- |76||L||March 27, 1977||4–5 || align="left"| @ Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) ||27–45–4 |- |77||L||March 29, 1977||5–9 || align="left"| @ Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) ||27–46–4 |- |78||L||March 31, 1977||2–6 || align="left"| New England Whalers (1976–77) ||27–47–4 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#101073 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFC900 2px solid; April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |79||L||April 2, 1977||5–6 OT|| align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1976–77) ||27–48–4 |- |80||W||April 6, 1977||7–3 || align="left"| Indianapolis Racers (1976–77) ||28–48–4 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Player statistics Players + Player Position GP Games played G Goals A AssistsPts Points PIM Penalty minutes+/- Plus/Minus PPG Power play goals SHG Short-handed goals GWG Game-winning goals Robbie Ftorek C/LW 80 46 71 117 86261105 Del Hall C 80 38 41 79 306910 Seppo Repo C 80 29 31 60 10−35500 Ron Huston C 80 20 39 59 10−57640 Frank Hughes Frank Hughes (ice hockey) LW 48 24 29 53 205300 Lauri Mononen RW 67 21 29 50 10−20200 Bob Liddington LW 80 20 24 44 28−22000 Juhani Tamminen RW 65 10 29 39 22−23200 Mike Hobin C 68 17 18 35 14−43200 Pekka Rautakallio D 78 4 31 35 8−24200 Garry Lariviere D 61 7 23 30 48−19300 Serge Beaudoin D 77 6 24 30 136−11000 Michel Cormier Michel Cormier (ice hockey) LW 58 13 16 29 22−26000 John Gray John Gray (ice hockey) RW 28 10 10 20 59−1000 Jim Niekamp D 79 1 15 16 91−32000 Jerry Rollins D 63 4 10 14 169−25100 Andre Hinse LW 16 2 7 9 4−7000 Duane Bray D 46 2 6 8 62−41000 Al McLeod D 29 1 5 6 35−10000 Jan Popiel LW 28 3 2 5 8−24100 Mike Sleep RW 13 2 2 4 6−3000 Howie Young D/RW 26 1 3 4 23−8000 Gary Kurt G 33 0 3 3 60000 Blair Davidson D 2 0 0 0 2−1000 Dave Gorman Dave Gorman (ice hockey) RW 5 0 0 0 0−2000 Clay Hebenton G 56 0 0 0 20000 Goaltending + Regular season Player MIN Minutes GP Games played W Wins L Losses T Ties GA Goals allowed GAA Goals Against Average SO Shutouts Clay Hebenton 3129 56 17 29 3 220 4.22 0 Gary Kurt 1752 33 11 19 1 162 5.55 0 Team: 4881 80 28 48 4 382 4.70 0 hockey-reference.com 2009-07-02 1976-77 Phoenix Roadrunners Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/PHR/1977.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; Draft picks Phoenix's draft picks at the 1976 WHA Amateur Draft.http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/wha1976a.html 1976 WHA Amateur Draft hockeyDB.com December 19, 2018 Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)442Kari Makkonen (F)FinlandAssat Pori (Liiga)554Juhani Wallenius (F)FinlandLukko Rauma (Liiga)666Doug Patey (F)CanadaSault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHA)778Mark Davidson (LW)CanadaFlin Flon Bombers (WCHL)890Jari Laiho (F)FinlandLukko Rauma (Liiga)9101Jouni Rinne (F)FinlandLukko Rauma (Liiga)10112Hannu Helander (D)FinlandIlves (Liiga) See also 1976–77 WHA season References Phoe Category:Phoenix Roadrunners seasons