1975–76 Cincinnati Stingers season

1975–76 Cincinnati Stingers
Division	4th Eastern
1975–76 record	35–44–1
Goals for	285
Goals against	340
Team Information
Coach	Terry Slater
Captain	Rick Dudley
Alternate captains	Bryan Campbell
Arena	Riverfront Coliseum
Team Leaders
Goals	Rick Dudley (43)
Assists	Bryan Campbell (50)
Points	Rick Dudley (81)
Penalties in minutes	John Hughes (204)
Wins	Paul Hoganson (19)
Goals against average	Paul Hoganson (3.64)

1976–77>

The 1975–76 Cincinnati Stingers season was the Stingers' 1st season of operation in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Stingers finished 4th in the Eastern Division and did not qualify for the playoffs.

Off-season

The Cincinnati Stingers were granted their franchise on May 6, 1973 but had to wait until their new home arena, the Riverfront Coliseum, was constructed before they could begin play in the 1975-76 season. The team took part in the WHA drafts while they waited for the arena to be ready, drafting Dean Talafous with their first pick, and loaning Dennis Sobchuk and John Hughes to the Phoenix Roadrunners.

Bryan Campbell and Rick Dudley's 1975-76 jerseys.

The Stingers inaugural jersey colours were yellow, white and black with a primarily yellow home jersey and a primarily black away jersey. The design was very similiar to that worn by the 1972-73 Boston Bruins. They'd stay with these colours throughout the club's existence. Five stripes on the arms and body and shoulder yolks with a stripe underneath completed the design. The numbers and names were outlined. The logo was the letter "C" which became a hornet at the top. This jersey design remained unchanged throughout the Stingers four year stint in the WHA.

Regular Season

Final Standings

Eastern Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Indianapolis Racers	80	35	39	6	76	245	247	1301
Cleveland Crusaders	80	35	40	5	75	273	279	1356
New England Whalers	80	33	40	7	73	255	290	1012
Cincinnati Stingers	80	35	44	1	71	285	340	1344

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

Game Log

Regular Season Results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
2	W	October 17, 1975	6–2	@ Calgary Cowboys (1975–76)	2–0–0
3	L	October 19, 1975	2–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76)	2–1–0
4	L	October 21, 1975	0–7	@ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76)	2–2–0
5	W	October 23, 1975	6–4	Edmonton Oilers (1975–76)	3–2–0
6	W	October 25, 1975	7–4	Houston Aeros (1975–76)	4–2–0
7	W	October 29, 1975	6–4	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76)	5–2–0
8	L	October 30, 1975	0–4	@ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76)	5–3–0
9	W	November 1, 1975	3–2	Calgary Cowboys (1975–76)	6–3–0
10	L	November 6, 1975	3–8	@ New England Whalers (1975–76)	6–4–0
11	W	November 8, 1975	7–4	San Diego Mariners (1975–76)	7–4–0
12	W	November 9, 1975	4–2	New England Whalers (1975–76)	8–4–0
13	W	November 15, 1975	8–5	Houston Aeros (1975–76)	9–4–0
14	L	November 16, 1975	2–3	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76)	9–5–0
15	L	November 18, 1975	4–6	@ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76)	9–6–0
16	L	November 21, 1975	7–8	@ Toronto Toros (1975–76)	9–7–0
17	L	November 22, 1975	6–9	Quebec Nordiques (1975–76)	9–8–0
18	L	November 23, 1975	3–5	@ Denver Spurs (1975–76)	9–9–0
19	L	November 26, 1975	3–11	Winnipeg Jets (1975–76)	9–10–0
20	L	November 27, 1975	3–5	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76)	9–11–0
21	L	November 29, 1975	5–9	Toronto Toros (1975–76)	9–12–0
22	W	December 3, 1975	5–3	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	10–12–0
23	L	December 4, 1975	1–7	@ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	10–13–0
24	W	December 6, 1975	3–2	Denver Spurs (1975–76)	11–13–0
25	W	December 7, 1975	3–1	Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	12–13–0
26	L	December 9, 1975	4–6	@ Houston Aeros (1975–76)	12–14–0
27	W	December 12, 1975	4–2	@ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76)	13–14–0
28	T	December 13, 1975	3–3	@ San Diego Mariners (1975–76)	13–14–1
29	L	December 16, 1975	2–3 OT	@ Denver Spurs (1975–76)	13–15–1
30	L	December 18, 1975	3–7	@ San Diego Mariners (1975–76)	13–16–1
31	W	December 20, 1975	4–2	New England Whalers (1975–76)	14–16–1
32	W	December 21, 1975	11–7	Quebec Nordiques (1975–76)	15–16–1
33	L	December 23, 1975	3–5	Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76)	15–17–1
34	L	December 26, 1975	3–4	@ New England Whalers (1975–76)	15–18–1
35	L	December 27, 1975	1–2	@ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	15–19–1
36	W	December 28, 1975	4–1	Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	16–19–1
37	W	January 2, 1976	2–1	Ottawa Civics (1975–76)	17–19–1
38	W	January 3, 1976	5–3	San Diego Mariners (1975–76)	18–19–1
39	L	January 6, 1976	3–7	@ Houston Aeros (1975–76)	18–20–1
40	L	January 8, 1976	1–7	@ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76)	18–21–1
41	L	January 11, 1976	4–7	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76)	18–22–1
42	L	January 15, 1976	2–5	@ New England Whalers (1975–76)	18–23–1
43	W	January 17, 1976	4–0	@ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	19–23–1
44	W	January 21, 1976	8–2	Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	20–23–1
45	L	January 23, 1976	3–4	@ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	20–24–1
46	W	January 24, 1976	6–3	New England Whalers (1975–76)	21–24–1
47	L	January 27, 1976	1–9	@ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76)	21–25–1
48	L	January 28, 1976	4–6	Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	21–26–1
49	L	January 31, 1976	2–5	Winnipeg Jets (1975–76)	21–27–1
50	L	February 1, 1976	2–5	@ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76)	21–28–1
51	L	February 3, 1976	2–3	@ Calgary Cowboys (1975–76)	21–29–1
52	W	February 6, 1976	7–0	Edmonton Oilers (1975–76)	22–29–1
53	L	February 7, 1976	1–5	@ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	22–30–1
54	L	February 11, 1976	2–4	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	22–31–1
55	W	February 13, 1976	5–1	@ New England Whalers (1975–76)	23–31–1
56	W	February 14, 1976	3–2	Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	24–31–1
57	W	February 15, 1976	5–4 OT	Calgary Cowboys (1975–76)	25–31–1
58	W	February 20, 1976	4–1	Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76)	26–31–1
59	W	February 21, 1976	3–2	San Diego Mariners (1975–76)	27–31–1
60	W	February 24, 1976	9–6	@ Toronto Toros (1975–76)	28–31–1
61	W	February 25, 1976	5–2	New England Whalers (1975–76)	29–31–1
62	L	February 28, 1976	2–4	Houston Aeros (1975–76)	29–32–1
63	L	February 29, 1976	2–5	Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	29–33–1
64	W	March 3, 1976	4–3 OT	Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	30–33–1
65	L	March 4, 1976	1–3	@ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	30–34–1
66	L	March 6, 1976	2–3	Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	30–35–1
67	W	March 7, 1976	5–3	New England Whalers (1975–76)	31–35–1
68	L	March 10, 1976	2–5	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	31–36–1
69	L	March 12, 1976	3–6	Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	31–37–1
70	L	March 13, 1976	1–5	New England Whalers (1975–76)	31–38–1
71	W	March 17, 1976	5–4	Toronto Toros (1975–76)	32–38–1
72	L	March 19, 1976	5–6 OT	@ New England Whalers (1975–76)	32–39–1
73	W	March 20, 1976	2–1	Houston Aeros (1975–76)	33–39–1
74	L	March 21, 1976	1–4	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	33–40–1
75	W	March 24, 1976	5–4	@ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76)	34–40–1
76	L	March 25, 1976	1–9	@ San Diego Mariners (1975–76)	34–41–1
77	L	March 26, 1976	1–5	@ Houston Aeros (1975–76)	34–42–1
78	L	March 31, 1976	2–7	Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76)	34–43–1
79	W	April 2, 1976	5–2	Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	35–43–1
80	L	April 4, 1976	3–6	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	35–44–1

Playoffs

• The Stingers did not qualify for the post season.

Player Stats

Scoring

#	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
9	Dudley, RickRick Dudley	L	74	43	38	81	156
11, 18	Locas, JacquesJacques Locas	C	80	27	46	73	70
14	Sobchuk, DennisDennis Sobchuk	C	79	32	40	72	74
7, 12	Campbell, BryanBryan Campbell	C	77	22	50	72	24
8	Larose, ClaudeClaude Larose	L	79	28	24	52	19
2	Plumb, RonRon Plumb	D	80	10	36	46	31
13	Guite, PierrePierre Guite	L	52	20	24	44	80
22	Sobchuk, GeneGene Sobchuk	L	78	23	18	41	37
10	Hughes, JohnJohn Hughes	D	79	3	34	37	204
4	Pelyk, MikeMike Pelyk	D	75	10	23	33	117
21	Myers, MurrayMurray Myers	R	56	14	15	29	12
5	Inkpen, DaveDave Inkpen	D	80	4	24	28	95
16	MacNeil, BernieBernie MacNeil	C	77	15	12	27	83
17	Smedsmo, DaleDale Smedsmo	L	66	8	14	22	187
19, 21	Ball, TerryTerry Ball	D	36	3	14	17	12
	McKenzie, JohnJohn McKenzie	R	12	3	10	13	6
21	Donnelly, PatPat Donnelly	C	23	5	7	12	4
12	O'Donoghue, DonDon O'Donoghue	F	20	1	8	9	0
15	Byers, MikeMike Byers	R	20	3	3	6	0
11, 18	Veneruzzo, GaryGary Veneruzzo	L	14	3	2	5	8
23	Andrascik, SteveSteve Andrascik	R	20	3	2	5	21
20	Beaton, FrankFrank Beaton	L	29	2	3	5	61
	Steele, BillBill Steele	R	3	2	0	2	0
15	Serafini, RonRon Serafini	D	16	0	2	2	15
6	Abbey, BruceBruce Abbey	D	17	1	0	1	12
35	Aubry, SergeSerge Aubry	G	12	0	1	1	4
25	Kiely, JohnJohn Kiely	G	22	0	1	1	6
1	Hoganson, PaulPaul Hoganson	G	45	0	1	1	4
31	Coutu, RichRich Coutu	G	3	0	0	0	0
1	LaPointe, NormandNormand LaPointe	G	12	0	0	0	2
3	Justin, DanDan Justin	D	17	0	0	0	2

Goaltending

#	Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
1	Hoganson, PaulPaul Hoganson	2392	45	19	24	0	145	3.64	2
35	Aubry, SergeSerge Aubry	549	12	6	4	0	38	4.15	1
25	Kiely, JohnJohn Kiely	1087	22	6	8	1	78	4.31	0
1	LaPointe, NormandNormand LaPointe	641	12	4	6	0	145	5.15	0
31	Coutu, RichRich Coutu	149	3	0	2	0	17	6.85	0

Awards and Records

• The Stingers did not win any awards this season.

Draft Picks

Cincinnati's draft picks at the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	1	Claude Larose (LW)	Canada	Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
2	16	Bob Sauve (G)	Canada	Laval National (QMJHL)
3	31	Larry Hendrick (G)	Canada	Calgary Centennials (WCHL)
4	46	Norm LaPointe (G)	Canada	Trois-Rivieres Draveurs (QMJHL)
5	61	Paul Harrison (G)	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHA)
6	75	Jackie Laine (F)	Canada	Bowling Green State University (CCHA)
7	89	Gary Carr (G)	Canada	Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
8	102	Greg Clause (RW)	Canada	Hamilton Fincups (OHA)
9	114	Yvon Disotell (F)	Canada	Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
10	126	Gary Burns (F)	USA	University of New Hampshire (ECAC)
11	139	Bill Reber (RW)	USA	University of Vermont (ECAC)
12	151	David McNab (G)	Canada	University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
13	161	Peter Shier (D)	Canada	Cornell University (ECAC)
14	170	Francois Robert (D)	Canada	Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)

Farm Teams

• Mohawk Valley Comets, NAHL

Gallery

Veli-Pekka Ketola scores on Serge Aubry, October 21, 1975.

John Kiely makes a save on Don Borgeson, December 16, 1975.

See Also

• 1975–76 WHA season