1972–73 Philadelphia Blazers season

1972–73 Philadelphia Blazers
Division	3rd Eastern
1972–73 record	38–40–0 (76 pts)
Home record	24–15–0
Road record	14–25–0
Goals for	288
Goals against	305
Team information
General manager	Dave Creighton Phil Watson
Coach	John McKenzie Phil Watson
Captain	Derek Sanderson Andre Lacroix
Alternate captains	Bryan Campbell (unconfirmed) Jim Cardiff (unconfirmed) Andre Lacroix Derek Sanderson
Arena	Civic Center
Team leaders
Goals	Danny Lawson (61)
Assists	Andre Lacroix (74)
Points	Andre Lacroix (124)
Penalty minutes	Jim Cardiff (185)
Wins	Bernie Parent (33)
Goals against average	Bernie Parent (3.61)

The 1972–73 Philadelphia Blazers season was the first season of the Blazers' franchise in the World Hockey Association. It would also be the only season of the Blazers in Philadelphia, as the team relocated to Vancouver for the following season. The Blazers finished third and qualified for the playoffs losing in the first round to the Cleveland Crusaders.

Regular season

Final standings

Eastern Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PIM	Pts
New England Whalers	78	46	30	2	318	263	858	94
Cleveland Crusaders	78	43	32	3	287	239	1095	89
Philadelphia Blazers	78	38	40	0	288	305	1260	76
Ottawa Nationals	78	35	39	4	279	301	1067	74
Quebec Nordiques	78	33	40	5	276	313	1354	71
New York Raiders	78	33	43	2	303	334	900	68

Schedule and results

1972–73 regular season
October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 1 L October 12, 1972 3–4 @ New England Whalers (1972–73) 0–1–0 2 L October 15, 1972 0–5 @ New York Raiders (1972–73) 0–2–0 3 L October 19, 1972 2–4 @ Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 0–3–0 4 L October 20, 1972 1–4 @ Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 0–4–0 5 L October 22, 1972 3–6 @ Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 0–5–0 6 L October 24, 1972 3–5 @ Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 0–6–0 7 L October 25, 1972 2–8 Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) 0–7–0 8 W October 27, 1972 5–4 Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 1–7–0 9 L October 28, 1972 3–5 Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 1–8–0
November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 10 W November 1, 1972 7–5 @ Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) 2–8–0 11 L November 2, 1972 3–6 @ Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 2–9–0 12 L November 4, 1972 4–8 @ New England Whalers (1972–73) 2–10–0 13 L November 5, 1972 1–3 @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) 2–11–0 14 L November 12, 1972 1–2 @ Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 2–12–0 15 W November 14, 1972 4–3 @ Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 3–12–0 16 L November 18, 1972 4–5 OT Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) 3–13–0 17 L November 19, 1972 0–5 @ New York Raiders (1972–73) 3–14–0 18 W November 22, 1972 5–4 OT Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 4–14–0 19 L November 24, 1972 4–6 Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) 4–15–0 20 L November 25, 1972 3–4 Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 4–16–0 21 W November 28, 1972 4–3 Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 5–16–0
December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 22 W December 1, 1972 5–3 New England Whalers (1972–73) 6–16–0 23 L December 2, 1972 2–8 @ Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) 6–17–0 24 L December 5, 1972 3–4 OT Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) 6–18–0 25 W December 8, 1972 3–1 New York Raiders (1972–73) 7–18–0 26 W December 9, 1972 7–1 Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 8–18–0 27 L December 12, 1972 2–5 @ Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 8–19–0 28 W December 13, 1972 7–4 Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 9–19–0 29 W December 15, 1972 6–4 Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 10–19–0 30 L December 16, 1972 6–10 New England Whalers (1972–73) 10–20–0 31 W December 17, 1972 6–3 @ New England Whalers (1972–73) 11–20–0 32 L December 19, 1972 2–7 New York Raiders (1972–73) 11–21–0 33 W December 20, 1972 8–5 Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 12–21–0 34 L December 23, 1972 3–7 @ Houston Aeros (1972–73) 12–22–0 35 L December 25, 1972 0–8 @ Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) 12–23–0 36 W December 26, 1972 6–2 @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) 13–23–0 37 L December 28, 1972 3–6 @ Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 13–24–0 38 W December 31, 1972 3–1 @ Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 14–24–0
January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 39 W January 1, 1973 3–0 @ New York Raiders (1972–73) 15–24–0 40 L January 10, 1973 1–4 New York Raiders (1972–73) 15–25–0 41 W January 12, 1973 4–3 Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 16–25–0 42 W January 13, 1973 9–4 Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 17–25–0 43 L January 16, 1973 3–4 Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) 17–26–0 44 W January 19, 1973 4–2 Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 18–26–0 45 L January 20, 1973 3–4 Houston Aeros (1972–73) 18–27–0 46 W January 24, 1973 6–4 @ Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 19–27–0 47 W January 25, 1973 7–4 @ Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) 20–27–0 48 W January 27, 1973 1–0 OT @ Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 21–27–0 49 L January 28, 1973 2–4 @ Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 21–28–0 50 W January 30, 1973 5–4 OT @ Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 22–28–0
February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 51 L February 2, 1973 3–5 @ Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) 22–29–0 52 L February 6, 1973 3–5 @ Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 22–30–0 53 L February 7, 1973 0–3 @ Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 22–31–0 54 W February 10, 1973 5–4 OT Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 23–31–0 55 W February 11, 1973 6–1 Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) 24–31–0 56 W February 13, 1973 5–4 New England Whalers (1972–73) 25–31–0 57 W February 14, 1973 6–5 Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) 26–31–0 58 W February 16, 1973 9–2 New York Raiders (1972–73) 27–31–0 59 L February 18, 1973 1–4 Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 27–32–0 60 W February 20, 1973 4–2 New England Whalers (1972–73) 28–32–0 61 W February 22, 1973 6–5 @ Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 29–32–0 62 L February 25, 1973 3–5 @ Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 29–33–0 63 L February 27, 1973 0–3 @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) 29–34–0
March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 64 W March 4, 1973 4–2 @ New York Raiders (1972–73) 30–34–0 65 L March 6, 1973 1–2 OT @ Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 30–35–0 66 W March 8, 1973 2–1 Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) 31–35–0 67 W March 9, 1973 11–3 Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 32–35–0 68 L March 11, 1973 2–4 Houston Aeros (1972–73) 32–36–0 69 L March 12, 1973 4–6 Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 32–37–0 70 W March 13, 1973 4–3 Houston Aeros (1972–73) 33–37–0 71 L March 17, 1973 0–4 @ New England Whalers (1972–73) 33–38–0 72 L March 19, 1973 1–5 @ Houston Aeros (1972–73) 33–39–0 73 W March 21, 1973 7–3 @ Houston Aeros (1972–73) 34–39–0 74 W March 23, 1973 7–3 @ Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 35–39–0 75 L March 28, 1973 1–2 Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 35–40–0 76 W March 29, 1973 2–1 Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 36–40–0 77 W March 31, 1973 5–1 Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 37–40–0
April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 78 W April 1, 1973 4–2 Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 38–40–0
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1973 Avco Cup playoffs
Semifinals vs. Philadelphia Blazers – Blazers win 4–0 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series 1 April 4 Philadelphia Blazers 2–3 OT Cleveland Crusaders 0–1 2 April 7 Philadelphia Blazers 7–1 Cleveland Crusaders 0–2 3 April 8 Cleveland Crusaders 3–1 Philadelphia Blazers 0–3 4 April 11 Cleveland Crusaders 6–2 Philadelphia Blazers 0–4
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Andre Lacroix C 78 50 74 124 83 0 16 0 11 Danny Lawson RW 78 61 45 106 35 0 20 3 6 John McKenzie RW 60 28 50 78 157 0 8 1 7 Bryan Campbell C 75 25 48 73 85 0 6 0 1 Don Herriman LW 78 24 48 72 63 0 9 0 4 Ron Plumb D 78 10 41 51 66 0 6 0 0 Don Burgess LW 74 20 22 42 15 0 1 3 0 Don O'Donoghue RW 74 16 23 39 43 0 1 0 0 Irv Spencer D 54 2 27 29 43 0 0 0 0 Jim Cardiff D 78 3 24 27 185 0 0 2 0 Michel Plante LW 70 13 12 25 35 0 0 0 0 Rychard Campeau D 75 1 18 19 72 0 1 0 0 John Migneault LW 55 10 8 18 38 0 1 0 0 Michel Boudreau C 33 7 7 14 4 0 1 0 0 Camille Lapierre D 24 5 9 14 2 0 0 0 0 John Bennett LW 34 4 6 10 18 0 1 0 0 Derek Sanderson C 8 3 3 6 69 0 0 1 0 Pierre Henry C 19 2 3 5 13 0 0 0 0 Derek Harker D 27 0 5 5 46 0 0 0 0 John Gravel D 8 1 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 Nick Polano D 17 0 3 3 24 0 0 0 0 Denis Meloche C 4 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 Dave Hutchison D 28 0 2 2 34 0 0 0 0 Pierre Paiement RW 8 1 0 1 18 0 0 0 0 Claude St. Sauveur C 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Yves Archambault G 6 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Wayne Mosdell D 8 0 1 1 12 0 0 0 0 Bernie Parent G 63 0 1 1 36 0 0 0 0 Michel Rouleau C 6 0 1 1 15 0 0 0 0 Bob Brown D 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Jack Chipchase D 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Tom Cottringer G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sam Gellard LW 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Frank Golembrosky RW 8 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 Larry Mavety D 4 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 0 Darwin Mott LW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Murray Myers RW 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Marcel Paille G 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Danny Sullivan G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO Bernie Parent 3653 63 33 28 0 220 3.61 2 Marcel Paille 611 15 2 8 0 49 4.81 0 Yves Archambault 260 6 1 3 0 17 3.92 0 Tom Cottringer 122 2 1 1 0 8 3.93 0 Danny Sullivan 60 1 1 0 0 3 3.00 0 Team: 4706 78 38 40 0 297 3.79 2

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG John McKenzie RW 4 3 1 4 8 1 0 0 Andre Lacroix C 4 0 2 2 18 0 0 0 Camille Lapierre D 4 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 Ron Plumb D 4 0 2 2 13 0 0 0 Don Burgess LW 4 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 Rychard Campeau D 4 1 0 1 17 1 0 0 Don Herriman LW 4 1 0 1 14 1 0 0 Bryan Campbell C 3 0 1 1 8 0 0 0 Danny Lawson RW 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Don O'Donoghue RW 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Yves Archambault G 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Michel Boudreau C 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jim Cardiff D 4 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 Dave Hutchison D 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 John Migneault LW 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Murray Myers RW 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Marcel Paille G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Bernie Parent G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Michel Plante LW 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 Irv Spencer D 4 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO Yves Archambault 153 3 0 2 11 4.31 0 Marcel Paille 27 1 0 1 5 11.11 0 Bernie Parent 70 1 0 1 3 2.57 0 Team: 250 4 0 4 19 4.56 0

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;

Awards and records

Awards

League awards and honors

Award or honor	Recipient
All-Star Game representative	Danny Lawson John McKenzie
Bill Hunter Trophy	Andre Lacroix
WHA First All-Star Team	Andre Lacroix (C) Danny Lawson (RW)
WHA Second All-Star Team	Bernie Parent (G)

Transactions

Trades

Date	Details
February 12, 1972	To Philadelphia Blazers futures	To Cleveland Crusaders Paul Shmyr
March 1, 1972	To Philadelphia Blazers Andre Lacroix	To Quebec Nordiques cash
May 1, 1972	To Philadelphia Blazers John McKenzie	To Quebec Nordiques futures
May 1, 1972	To Philadelphia Blazers Bill Young cash futures	To Minnesota Fighting Saints Rick Smith
May 1, 1972	To Philadelphia Blazers Bryan Campbell	To Chicago Cougars cash
June 1, 1972	To Philadelphia Blazers Marcel Paille	To Chicago Cougars futures
June 1, 1972	To Philadelphia Blazers Don O'Donoghue	To New England Whalers cash
June 1, 1972	To Philadelphia Blazers futures	To New England Whalers Terry Caffery
October 1, 1972	To Philadelphia Blazers Larry Mavety	To Los Angeles Sharks cash
November 1, 1972	To Philadelphia Blazers John Gravel Brit Selby	To Quebec Nordiques Frank Golembrosky Michel Rouleau
November 1, 1972	To Philadelphia Blazers Bob Brown	To New England Whalers Brit Selby
November 1, 1972	To Philadelphia Blazers Roger Cote Derek Harker	To Alberta Oilers cash
November 7, 1972	To Philadelphia Blazers cash	To Chicago Cougars Larry Mavety

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the WHA General Player Draft, which was held in Anaheim, California on February 12–13, 1972. The team participated in the draft as the Miami Screaming Eagles.

Players drafted by the Miami Screaming Eagles in the General Player Draft

Round	Player	Position	Team
P	Bernie Parent	Goaltender	Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL)
P	Jude Drouin	Center	Minnesota North Stars (NHL)
P	Derek Sanderson	Center	Boston Bruins (NHL)
P	Bill White	Defense	Chicago Black Hawks (NHL)
1	Mike Bloom	Left Wing	St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
2	Terry Caffery	Center	Cleveland Barons (AHL)
3	Neil Komadoski	Defense	Springfield Kings (AHL)
4	Yvon Lambert	Left Wing	Nova Scotia Voyageurs (AHL)
5	Bryan McSheffrey	Forward	Ottawa 67's (OHA)
6	Wayne Merrick	Center	Ottawa 67's (OHA)
7	Jean Potvin	Defense	Philadelphia Flyers (NHL)
8	Phil Russell	Defense	Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL)
9	Carol Vadnais	Defense	California Golden Seals (NHL)
10	Rene Villemure	Forward	Shawinigan Bruins (QMJHL)
11	Michel Archambault	Left Wing	Dallas Black Hawks (CHL)
12	Rick Dudley	Left Wing	Cincinnati Swords (AHL)
13	Denis Dupere	Left Wing	Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL)
14	George Ferguson	Center	Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
15	Rick Foley	Defense	Philadelphia Flyers (NHL)
16	Don Martineau	Right Wing	New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
17	Jim Nichols	Forward	Cincinnati Swords (AHL)
18	Simon Nolet	Right Wing	Philadelphia Flyers (NHL)
19	Paul Shmyr	Defense	California Golden Seals (NHL)
20	Claude St. Sauveur	Center	Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)

Farm teams

The Roanoke Valley Rebels in the EHL.

See also

• 1972–73 WHA season