1975–76 Calgary Cowboys season

Regular season

In their first season, the Cowboys were not expected to ice a strong team, having inherited a franchise that finished in a last place tie with the Oilers the previous year. Calgary finished 41–35–4 however, as a 44-goal season by Danny Lawson and 42 goals from Ron Chipperfield helped the Cowboys finish a surprising third in the Canadian division.

Final standings

Schedule and results

|- |1||L||October 12, 1975||0–2 || align="left"| Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) ||0–1–0 |- |2||W||October 14, 1975||5–3 || align="left"| Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) ||1–1–0 |- |3||L||October 17, 1975||2–6 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) ||1–2–0 |- |4||L||October 22, 1975||1–2 || align="left"| Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) ||1–3–0 |- |5||L||October 24, 1975||3–4 || align="left"| Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) ||1–4–0 |- |6||L||October 26, 1975||1–3 || align="left"| @ New England Whalers (1975–76) ||1–5–0 |- |7||W||October 29, 1975||3–1 || align="left"| @ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) ||2–5–0 |- |8||W||October 30, 1975||7–5 || align="left"| @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) ||3–5–0

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Playoffs

In the playoffs, the Cowboys met the Quebec Nordiques in the first round. The series is best known for one of hockey's most legendary brawls. The incident began when Calgary's Rick Jodzio cross-checked Quebec's Marc Tardif in the head, causing both teams to leave their benches. The brawl lasted 20 minutes, and ended only when Quebec police gathered at the players benches and escorted the teams back to their dressing rooms. The game resumed following a 20-minute break to allow both teams to cool down, then resumed without eleven players who were ejected from the game. The incident caught the attention of Quebec's Solicitor General Fernand Lalonde, who had the incident investigated as a criminal matter. Jodzio was suspended indefinitely by the league, and later pleaded guilty in a Quebec court to a charge of assault over the incident. Cowboys coach Joe Crozier was suspended for the rest of the series.

Calgary went on to defeat the Nordiques, who had finished 18-points ahead of Calgary in the regular season, but were defeated by the Winnipeg Jets in the second round. The team never really captured the attention of Calgarians, as fewer than 5,000 fans, on average, attended playoff games against the Jets.

|- | 1 || April 10 || Calgary Cowboys || 3–1 || Quebec Nordiques || 1–0 |- | 2 || April 11 || Calgary Cowboys || 8–4 || Quebec Nordiques || 2–1 |- | 3 || April 14 || Quebec Nordiques || 2–3 || Calgary Cowboys || 3–1 |- | 4 || April 16 || Quebec Nordiques || 4–3 || Calgary Cowboys || 3–1 |- | 5 || April 18 || Calgary Cowboys || 6–4 || Quebec Nordiques || 4–1

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Player statistics

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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

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

Notes

References

References

1. Kirshenbaum, Jerry. (1975-10-20). "1975–76 WHA preview". [[Sports Illustrated]].
2. Bilych, George. (1975-05-07). "Corral roost for old Eagles". Calgary Herald.
3. {{Harvnb. Sandor. 2005
4. "1975-76 Calgary Cowboys Schedule".
5. Sportak, Randy. (2005-01-29). "Wanna be a Cowboy". [[Calgary Sun]].
6. Bilych, George. (1976-04-12). "Cowboys, Nordiques brawl gives hockey a black eye". Calgary Herald.
7. {{Harvnb. Willes. 2004
8. {{Harvnb. Willes. 2004
9. {{Harvnb. Sandor. 2005
10. "1975-76 Calgary Cowboys Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com.
11. "1975 WHA Amateur Draft".