Minnesota Fighting Saints
The Minnesota Fighting Saints were an ice hockey team from St. Paul, Minnesota, which was active from 1972 to 1977 in the North American World Hockey Association (WHA ). The team had to stop playing mode after financial problems in 1976. After the Cleveland Crusaders moved to St. Paul the franchise for next season was revived, but could not bring to an end this season.
History
In August 1971 St. Paul was awarded a franchise in the WHA. While many of the early locations still changed to the launch of gaming operations, they managed to also play on the originally planned location.
In St. Paul people were proud to have our own team and compete with the Minnesota North Stars, who played on the other side of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, had a positive impact for the team. After the new St. Paul Civic Center was 1972/73 not yet completed at the beginning of the season, bridged to the time until the end of 1972 at the Metropolitan Center.
While hardly found a team in the NHL, more than two U.S. players had in their ranks, you sat at the Fighting Saints to U.S. players. About a dozen players were born in the United States. After Stars that was not present at the Saints. Also worth mentioning are the squad 's first season Wayne Connelly, who had 70 points best scorer of the team and the 21 -year-old Mike Antonovich, who was to become one of the players who played the most WHA games. With nearly 6,000 spectators in the first season had a solid fan base. For reaching the playoffs you had to overcome in a playoff the Alberta Oilers. In the first round, you made the Winnipeg Jets a hard time, but dropped out.
In the 1973/74 season, the team blossomed. A stroke of luck, Mike Walton, who had previously played a proper role in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins. In the WHA he was top scorer with 117 points right off the bat. Behind the Houston Aeros finished one second. In the first playoff round, the Edmonton Oilers were off and in the second round they lost to Houston. After now you could play at the St. Paul Civic Center this season that 15,705 spectators offered a place, 81 569 spectators saw the six playoff games.
Again led by Walton and Connolly convinced the Saints with a compact squad. In the season 1974/75 achieved nine players more than 15 goals. Once again, the team survived the first playoff round, but like last year, ended the playoffs, the more than 10,000 spectators per game attracted in the semifinals. The sad climax was a punch of Minnesota's penalty king and crowd favorite Gord Gallant against their own coach Harry Neale after the first playoff game. Gallant was suspended and discharged immediately after the season.
For the 1975/76 season we undertook serious efforts with Bobby Orr to undertake the superstar in the NHL, but refused. Instead, they picked a seasoned NHL player Dave Keon. Sporty one was to collect comfortably into the playoffs on a good path and the average attendance was over 8,000. However, the solvency of the team was limited, and the players got their salaries are not paid. The League was the abandonment of the Ottawa Civics yet struck, as well as in Minnesota after 59 games on February 27, 1976 the lights went out.
Minnesota Fighting Saints II
Having an NHL team found its way into Cleveland, searched the WHA team the Cleveland Crusaders for a new home and finally decided on the solid fan base of the Saints set. They kept the old name and logo, replaced in the club colors but the blue by scarlet. Legally, was the successor team of the Cleveland Crusaders, but the content you tried the old Fighting Saints to follow and took a number of players last year back to Minnesota. Again the team of Dave Keon and Mike Antonovich was sporting success. The attendances of over 6,000 was neat, even if he did not reach the previous years. A legal dispute between the owners Nick Mileti and Bob Brown with the city of St. Paul forcing the team on 17 January 1977 on the new task.
Game times: 1972/73 | 1973/74 | 1974/75 | 1975/76 | 1976/77 | 1977/78 | 1978/79
Franchises: Alberta Oilers (1972-1973), Edmonton Oilers (1973-1979) | Chicago Cougars (1972-1975) | Cincinnati Stingers (1975-1979) | Cleveland Crusaders (1972-1976) | Denver Spurs (1975 ), Ottawa Civics (1976 ) | Houston Aeros (1972-1978) | Indianapolis Racers (1974-1979) | Los Angeles Sharks (1972-1974), Michigan Stags (1974-1975), Baltimore Blades ( 1975) | Minnesota Fighting Saints ( 1972-1977 ) | New England Whalers (1972-1979) | New York Raiders (1972-1973), New York Golden Blades ( 1973), Jersey Knights ( 1973-1974 ), San Diego Mariners ( 1974-1977 ) | Ottawa Nationals ( 1972-1973 ), Toronto Toros (1973-1976), Birmingham Bulls (1976-1979) | Philadelphia Blazers (1972-1973), Vancouver Blazers (1973-1975), Calgary Cowboys (1975-1977) | Phoenix Roadrunners (1974-1977) | Quebec Nordiques (1972-1979) | Winnipeg Jets (1972-1979)
- Hockey Association (World Hockey Association )
- Sports club in Saint Paul ( Minnesota)