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1972–73 Cleveland Crusaders season

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72-73clevcrus
1972–73 Cleveland Crusaders
Division 3rd Eastern
1972–73 record 37–32–9
Home record 27-8-4
Road record 10-24-5
Goals for 266
Goals against 264
Team Information
General Manager Jack Vivian
Coach Bill Needham
Captain Paul Shmyr
Arena Cleveland Arena
Average attendance 6,212 (66.8%)
Team Leaders
Goals Gary Jarrett (31)
Assists Gary Jarrett (39)
Points Gary Jarrett (70)
Penalties in minutes Paul Shmyr (165)
Wins Gerry Cheevers (30)
Goals against average Gerry Cheevers (3.03)
1973–74>

The 1972–73 Cleveland Crusaders season was the 1st season of operation of the Cleveland Crusaders in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Crusaders finished 3rd in the Eastern Division and lost in the Semi-finals to the New England Whalers 4 games to 1.

Off-season[]

The Crusaders biggest signing was goalie Gerry Cheevers, who signed a five year deal for $200,000 per season while the Boston Bruins offered $80,000. Cheevers was a First Team All-Star and won the Ben Hatskin Trophy as the best goaltender in the 1972-73 WHA season while earning a Second All-Star Team berth in 1973-74.

The Crusaders played at the Cleveland Arena which had become decrepit and had chicken wire instead of Plexiglas on top of the boards. The area was notorious for the high level of crime. Several Crusaders players experienced theft of their cars and mugging outside the arena.[1]

Cheevers-1972-75 jersey

Gerry Cheevers' 1972-75 pattern jersey.

The Crusaders inaugural jersey colours were purple, white and black with a primarily white home jersey and a primarily purple away jersey. They'd stay with these colours throughout the club's four year existence. The jersey numbers and names were not outlined. Shoulders yolks and three stripes on the arms and body completed the design. The logo featured a white knight on a horse with a black shield against a purple background. These jerseys would remain unchanged until the 1975-76 season.

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

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties Minutes, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.


Game Log[]

Regular Season Results
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 11, 1972 2–0 Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 1–0–0
2 W October 14, 1972 3–2 Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 2–0–0
3 W October 15, 1972 7–5 @ Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 3–0–0
4 W October 17, 1972 4–3 OT New York Raiders (1972–73) 4–0–0
5 W October 19, 1972 3–1 @ New York Raiders (1972–73) 5–0–0
6 L October 21, 1972 3–5 Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 5–1–0
7 L October 24, 1972 2–3 OT New England Whalers (1972–73) 5–2–0
8 W October 25, 1972 8–2 @ Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) 6–2–0
9 W October 27, 1972 6–0 Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 7–2–0
10 T October 29, 1972 2–2 @ Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 7–2–1
11 L November 1, 1972 5–7 Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) 7–3–1
12 W November 4, 1972 5–3 Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 8–3–1
13 W November 11, 1972 4–1 @ Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 9–3–1
14 W November 12, 1972 3–1 @ Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 10–3–1
15 L November 14, 1972 3–5 @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) 10–4–1
16 W November 16, 1972 6–3 Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 11–4–1
17 W November 17, 1972 3–0 New England Whalers (1972–73) 12–4–1
18 L November 19, 1972 2–4 @ Houston Aeros (1972–73) 12–5–1
19 W November 21, 1972 5–2 @ Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 13–5–1
20 W November 24, 1972 3–2 OT Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 14–5–1
21 L November 25, 1972 1–3 Houston Aeros (1972–73) 14–6–1
22 L November 27, 1972 0–3 @ New England Whalers (1972–73) 14–7–1
23 L November 28, 1972 1–3 Houston Aeros (1972–73) 14–8–1
24 L November 30, 1972 2–3 @ Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 14–9–1
25 W December 2, 1972 8–2 Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) 15–9–1
26 L December 3, 1972 2–5 @ New York Raiders (1972–73) 15–10–1
27 W December 5, 1972 4–3 OT @ Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) 16–10–1
28 W December 7, 1972 3–1 @ Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 17–10–1
29 L December 9, 1972 2–3 OT Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 17–11–1
30 L December 10, 1972 3–4 OT @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) 17–12–1
31 W December 15, 1972 6–3 Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 18–12–1
32 L December 17, 1972 2–3 @ Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 18–13–1
33 L December 19, 1972 1–6 @ Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 18–14–1
34 W December 21, 1972 6–2 New York Raiders (1972–73) 19–14–1
35 W December 23, 1972 3–1 Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) 20–14–1
36 W December 25, 1972 8–0 Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) 21–14–1
37 W December 29, 1972 5–3 Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 22–14–1
38 W December 30, 1972 4–3 OT Houston Aeros (1972–73) 23–14–1
39 W January 11, 1973 4–3 @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) 24–14–1
40 L January 12, 1973 3–5 @ Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 24–15–1
41 L January 14, 1973 1–3 @ Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 24–16–1
42 W January 16, 1973 4–3 @ Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) 25–16–1
43 W January 17, 1973 5–0 @ Houston Aeros (1972–73) 26–16–1
44 W January 19, 1973 4–1 @ Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 27–16–1
45 L January 21, 1973 2–3 @ Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 27–17–1
46 W January 23, 1973 5–4 OT Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 28–17–1
47 L January 25, 1973 4–7 Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) 28–18–1
48 W January 27, 1973 2–1 @ Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 29–18–1
49 W January 29, 1973 3–2 New England Whalers (1972–73) 30–18–1
50 L January 31, 1973 1–4 @ New England Whalers (1972–73) 30–19–1
51 T February 1, 1973 2–2 Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 30–19–2
52 W February 2, 1973 5–3 Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) 31–19–2
53 W February 4, 1973 3–2 @ Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 32–19–2
54 W February 5, 1973 7–5 Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 33–19–2
55 W February 10, 1973 8–4 New York Raiders (1972–73) 34–19–2
56 L February 11, 1973 1–6 @ Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) 34–20–2
57 W February 12, 1973 8–2 New York Raiders (1972–73) 35–20–2
58 L February 14, 1973 5–6 @ Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) 35–21–2
59 L February 17, 1973 3–7 Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) 35–22–2
60 W February 20, 1973 5–4 Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 36–22–2
61 L February 24, 1973 2–5 Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 36–23–2
62 L February 25, 1973 5–9 @ New York Raiders (1972–73) 36–24–2
63 L February 27, 1973 1–2 @ Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 36–25–2
64 W March 3, 1973 4–3 @ New York Raiders (1972–73) 37–25–2
65 L March 7, 1973 0–1 OT @ New England Whalers (1972–73) 37–26–2
66 L March 9, 1973 4–5 @ New England Whalers (1972–73) 37–27–2
67 W March 11, 1973 11–2 @ Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 38–27–2
68 L March 13, 1973 2–4 @ Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 38–28–2
69 L March 14, 1973 2–4 @ Alberta Oilers (1972–73) 38–29–2
70 L March 17, 1973 0–2 Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 38–30–2
71 T March 19, 1973 5–5 Los Angeles Sharks (1972–73) 38–30–3
72 L March 20, 1973 1–4 @ Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) 38–31–3
73 L March 24, 1973 1–2 OT Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) 38–32–3
74 W March 25, 1973 4–2 @ Houston Aeros (1972–73) 39–32–3
75 W March 26, 1973 7–5 New England Whalers (1972–73) 40–32–3
76 W March 30, 1973 4–2 Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) 41–32–3
77 W March 31, 1973 4–2 Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) 42–32–3
78 W April 1, 1973 5–1 Chicago Cougars (1972–73) 43–32–3

[2]

Playoffs[]

Cleveland Crusaders 4, Philadelphia Blazers 0[]

# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 April 4 Philadelphia Blazers 2–3 OT Cleveland Crusaders 1–0
2 April 7 Philadelphia Blazers 7–1 Cleveland Crusaders 2–0
3 April 8 Cleveland Crusaders 3–1 Philadelphia Blazers 3–0
4 April 11 Cleveland Crusaders 6–2 Philadelphia Blazers 4–0

New England Whalers 4, Cleveland Crusaders 1[]

# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 April 18 Cleveland Crusaders 2 – 3 New England Whalers 0–1
2 April 19 Cleveland Crusaders 2 – 3 New England Whalers 0–2
3 April 21 New England Whalers 5 – 4 Cleveland Crusaders 0–3
4 April 22 New England Whalers 2 – 5 Cleveland Crusaders 1–3
5 April 26 Cleveland Crusaders 1 – 3 New England Whalers 1–4

Player Stats[]

Regular Season
Scoring
# Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
10 Buchanan, RonRon Buchanan C 75 37 44 81 20 0 6 0 5
12 Jarrett, GaryGary Jarrett LW 77 40 39 79 79 0 8 0 7
14 Wiste, JimJim Wiste C 70 28 43 71 24 0 4 0 3
7 Pinder, GerryGerry Pinder LW 78 30 36 66 121 0 7 3 3
21 Andrea, PaulPaul Andrea RW 66 21 30 51 12 0 7 0 0
25 Hardy, JoeJoe Hardy C 72 17 33 50 80 0 1 0 0
3 Shmyr, PaulPaul Shmyr D 73 5 43 48 169 0 0 1 0
6 Clearwater, RayRay Clearwater D 78 11 36 47 41 0 1 0 0
16 Erickson, GrantGrant Erickson LW 77 15 29 44 23 0 2 1 0
23 Pumple, RichRich Pumple LW 77 21 20 41 45 0 5 0 0
11 Hodgson, TedTed Hodgson RW 74 15 23 38 93 0 2 0 0
9 Brindley, DougDoug Brindley LW/C 73 15 11 26 6 0 2 0 0
2 Hanna, JohnJohn Hanna D 66 6 20 26 68 0 3 0 0
17 Krake, SkipSkip Krake C 26 9 10 19 61 0 2 0 0
26 Horton, BillBill Horton D 74 2 17 19 55 0 0 0 0
24 Dillabough, BobBob Dillabough C 72 8 8 16 8 0 1 6 0
5 Muloin, WayneWayne Muloin D 67 2 13 15 62 0 0 0 0
4 Hopiavouri, RalphRalph Hopiavouri D 29 4 5 9 44 0 0 0 0
22 McMasters, JimJim McMasters D 74 1 7 8 37 0 0 0 0
21 Rycroft, AlAl Rycroft RW 7 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
30 Cheevers, GerryGerry Cheevers G 52 0 1 1 30 0 0 0 0
1 Whidden, BobBob Whidden G 26 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Cheevers, GerryGerry Cheevers 3144 52 32 20 0 149 2.84 5
Whidden, BobBob Whidden 1609 26 11 12 3 88 3.28 0
Team: 4753 78 43 32 3 237 2.99 5
Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Jarrett, GaryGary Jarrett LW 9 8 3 11 19 3 0 1
Wiste, JimJim Wiste C 9 3 8 11 13 1 0 1
Pinder, GerryGerry Pinder LW 9 2 9 11 30 1 0 0
Buchanan, RonRon Buchanan C 9 7 3 10 0 1 0 1
Andrea, PaulPaul Andrea RW 9 2 8 10 2 1 0 0
Pumple, RichRich Pumple LW 9 3 5 8 11 1 0 0
Hodgson, TedTed Hodgson RW 9 1 3 4 13 1 0 0
Muloin, WayneWayne Muloin D 9 1 3 4 14 0 0 0
Shmyr, PaulPaul Shmyr D 8 1 3 4 19 0 0 0
Erickson, GrantGrant Erickson LW 9 2 1 3 2 0 0 1
Clearwater, RayRay Clearwater D 9 1 2 3 8 0 0 0
Krake, SkipSkip Krake C 9 1 2 3 27 0 0 1
Hardy, JoeJoe Hardy C 7 0 2 2 0 0 0 0
Dillabough, BobBob Dillabough C 9 1 0 1 0 0 1 0
Hopiavouri, RalphRalph Hopiavouri D 8 0 1 1 6 0 0 0
Horton, BillBill Horton D 9 0 1 1 10 0 0 0
McMasters, JimJim McMasters D 9 0 1 1 6 0 0 0
Ball, BlakeBlake Ball D 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Brindley, DougDoug Brindley LW/C 9 0 0 0 6 0 0 0
Cheevers, GerryGerry Cheevers G 9 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Cheevers, GerryGerry Cheevers 548 9 5 4 22 2.41 0
Team: 548 9 5 4 22 2.41 0

[3]

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[]

Transactions[]

Draft Picks[]

Farm Teams[]

Gallery[]

See Also[]

References[]

  1. ↑ The Rebel League, Ed Willis, McClelland & Stewart Ltd, 1994, p.110
  2. ↑ 1972–73 Cleveland Crusaders Games. Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-06-29.
  3. ↑ 1972-73 Cleveland Crusaders Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com. hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-06-30.
1972–73 WHA season by team
Eastern DivisionCleveland • New England • New York • Ottawa • Philadelphia • Quebec
Western DivisionAlberta • Chicago • Houston • Los Angeles • Minnesota • Winnipeg
See alsoAvco World Trophy
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