1975 Stanley Cup Finals

1975 Stanley Cup Finals
1975 Stanley Cup Finals
	* overtime periods
Location(s)	Philadelphia: Spectrum (1, 2, 5); Buffalo: Memorial Auditorium (3, 4, 6)
Coaches	Philadelphia: Fred Shero; Buffalo: Floyd Smith
Captains	Philadelphia: Bobby Clarke; Buffalo: Jim Schoenfeld
National anthems	Philadelphia: Kate Smith; Buffalo: Unknown
Referees	Art Skov (1, 5); Bruce Hood (2, 6); Lloyd Gilmour (3); Wally Harris (4)
Dates	May 15–27, 1975
MVP	Bernie Parent (Flyers)
Series-winning goal	Bob Kelly (0:11, third, G6)
Hall of Famers	Flyers:; Bill Barber (1990); Bobby Clarke (1987); Bernie Parent (1984); Sabres:; Gilbert Perreault (1990); Coaches:; Fred Shero (2013)
Networks	Canada:; (English): CBC; (French): SRC; United States:; (National): NBC (2, 5); (Philadelphia area): WTAF (3–4, 6); (Buffalo area): WKBW (1, 3–4, 6)
Announcers	(CBC) Danny Gallivan (1–2, 6) Jim Robson (3–5), Dick Irvin Jr. (1–2, 4, 6), and Bill Good (Games 3, 5); (SRC) Rene Lecavalier and Gilles Tremblay; (NBC) Tim Ryan and Ted Lindsay; (WTAF) Don Earle and Gene Hart; (WKBW) Ted Darling and Pat Hannigan

The 1975 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1974–75 season, and the culmination of the 1975 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Buffalo Sabres and the defending champion Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers defeated the Sabres in six games to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, becoming the first expansion team to accomplish such a feat. This was the first Final to have two non-"Original Six" teams since the 1967 expansion, and also the first contested by any team that had joined the league after 1967 (the Sabres were part of the 1970 expansion). The 1975 Flyers are the last Stanley Cup championship team to be composed solely of Canadian players.^[2]

This was the only Final between 1965 and 1979 not to feature either the Boston Bruins or the Montreal Canadiens.

Paths to the Finals

Buffalo defeated the Chicago Black Hawks 4–1 and the Montreal Canadiens 4–2 to advance to the final.

Philadelphia defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–0 and the New York Islanders 4–3 to make it to the final.

Game summaries

Bernie Parent was the outgunned Flyers' best player, allowing only 12 goals in the six games, capped with a shutout. He became the first player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy for two consecutive years. Since Parent, only two players have also won consecutive Conn Smythe Trophies: the Pittsburgh Penguins' Mario Lemieux in the Penguins' Stanley Cup wins in 1991 and 1992 and Sidney Crosby in the Penguins' 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup championships. In the deciding game six played in Buffalo, the Sabres' offensive big guns rained shot after shot on Parent in an all-out effort to turn the series around, but Parent remained perfect. He stopped French Connection linemates Gilbert Perreault and Rick Martin on a 2–1 late in period two that had Flyers broadcaster Gene Hart screaming into his microphone:

Out come the Sabres...two on one...Perreault and Martin with just Dupont back...Perrault to Martin...He's in...Shot!....save by Parent...and he hangs on!...Oh baby!

The dramatic stop by Parent took the offensive energy out of the Sabres and the Flyers scored two third-period goals to take the championship.

Fog and the bat

The third game of the series was the Fog Game. Due to unusual heat in Buffalo in May 1975, and the lack of an air conditioning system in the auditorium, portions of the game were played in heavy fog. During stoppages of play, rink employees skated around the arena ice carrying bed sheets in an attempt to dispel the fog. Players, officials, and the puck were invisible to many spectators. The fog began to form just minutes after another odd incident: A bat in the arena, which flew above and around the players for the majority of the game, until Sabres center Jim Lorentz killed it with his stick. Many superstitious Buffalo fans considered this to be an 'evil omen', pertaining to the result of the series. The game continued and the Sabres won thanks to Rene Robert's goal in overtime.^[3]

Series box score

May 15	Buffalo Sabres		1–4	Philadelphia Flyers	The Spectrum	Recap
No scoring		First period		No scoring
No scoring		Second period		No scoring
Richard Martin (6) - pp - 11:07		Third period		3:42 - Bill Barber (5) 7:29 - pp - Ross Lonsberry (3) 11:41 - pp - Bobby Clarke (3) 19:02 - Bill Barber (6)
Gerry Desjardins		Goalie stats		Bernie Parent

May 18	Buffalo Sabres		1–2	Philadelphia Flyers	The Spectrum	Recap
No scoring		First period		No scoring
No scoring		Second period		8:24 - Reggie Leach (6)
Jerry Korab (2) - 2:18		Third period		6:43 - pp - Bobby Clarke (4)
Gerry Desjardins		Goalie stats		Bernie Parent

May 20	Philadelphia Flyers		4–5	OT	Buffalo Sabres	The Aud	Recap
Gary Dornhoefer (4) - 00:39 Don Saleski (2) - 3:09 Rick MacLeish (11) - 14:13		First period			11:46 - Danny Gare (6) 12:03 - Richard Martin (7)
Reggie Leach (7) - 14:30		Second period			00:29 - Don Luce (4)
No scoring		Third period			9:56 - Bill Hajt (1)
No scoring		First overtime period			18:29 - Rene Robert (5)
Bernie Parent		Goalie stats			Gerry Desjardins, Roger Crozier

May 22	Philadelphia Flyers		2–4	Buffalo Sabres	The Aud	Recap
Andre Dupont (3) - 11:28		First period		No scoring
Ross Lonsberry (4) - 4:20		Second period		3:46 - pp - Jerry Korab (3) 10:07 - pp - Gilbert Perreault (6) 15:07 - Jim Lorentz (6)
No scoring		Third period		19:28 - Danny Gare (7)
Bernie Parent		Goalie stats		Gerry Desjardins

May 25	Buffalo Sabres		1–5	Philadelphia Flyers	The Spectrum	Recap
No scoring		First period		3:12 - Dave Schultz (1) 12:31 - Gary Dornhoefer (5) 12:50 - Bob Kelly (2)
No scoring		Second period		1:55 - pp - Reggie Leach (8) 9:56 - Dave Schultz (2)
Don Luce (5) - 14:02		Third period		No scoring
Gerry Desjardins		Goalie stats		Bernie Parent

May 27	Philadelphia Flyers		2–0	Buffalo Sabres	The Aud	Recap
No scoring		First period		No scoring
No scoring		Second period		No scoring
Bob Kelly (3) - 00:11 Bill Clement (1) - 17:13		Third period		No scoring
Bernie Parent		Goalie stats		Roger Crozier

Philadelphia won series 4–2

Team rosters

Philadelphia Flyers


No.	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
1	Bernie Parent	G	L	30	1973	Montreal, Quebec
2	Ed Van Impe	D	L	35	1967	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
3	Tom Bladon	D	R	22	1972	Edmonton, Alberta
5	Larry Goodenough	D	R	22	1973	Toronto, Ontario
6	Andre Dupont	D	L	25	1972	Trois-Rivières, Quebec
7	Bill Barber	LW	L	22	1972	Callander, Ontario
8	Dave Schultz	LW	L	25	1969	Waldheim, Saskatchewan
9	Bob Kelly	LW	L	24	1970	Oakville, Ontario
10	Bill Clement	C	L	24	1970	Buckingham, Quebec
11	Don Saleski	RW	R	25	1972	Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
12	Gary Dornhoefer (A)	RW	R	32	1967	Kitchener, Ontario
14	Joe Watson (A)	D	L	31	1967	Smithers, British Columbia
15	Terry Crisp (A)	C	L	31	1973	Parry Sound, Ontario
16	Bobby Clarke (C)	C	L	25	1969	Flin Flon, Manitoba
18	Ross Lonsberry	LW	L	28	1972	Watson, Saskatchewan
19	Rick MacLeish	C	L	25	1971	Cannington, Ontario
20	Jim Watson	D	L	22	1972	Smithers, British Columbia
25	Ted Harris	D	L	38	1974	Winnipeg, Manitoba
26	Orest Kindrachuk	C	L	24	1972	Nanton, Alberta
27	Reggie Leach	RW	R	25	1974	Riverton, Manitoba
30	Bobby Taylor	G	R	30	1968	Calgary, Alberta
35	Wayne Stephenson	G	L	30	1974	Fort William, Ontario

Buffalo Sabres


No.	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
1	Roger Crozier	G	R	33	1970	Bracebridge, Ontario
3	Paul McIntosh	D	R	21	1974	Listowel, Ontario
4	Jerry Korab	D	L	26	1973	Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
5	Lee Fogolin Jr.	D	R	20	1974	Chicago, Illinois
6	Jim Schoenfeld (C)	D	L	22	1972	Galt, Ontario
7	Rick Martin	W	L	23	1971	LaSalle, Quebec
8	Jim Lorentz	C	L	28	1972	Waterloo, Ontario
9	Rick Dudley	LW	L	26	1972	Toronto, Ontario
10	Craig Ramsay	LW	L	24	1971	Weston, Ontario
11	Gilbert Perreault	C	L	24	1970	Victoriaville, Quebec
14	Rene Robert	RW	R	26	1972	Trois Rivieres, Quebec
15	Michel Deziel	LW	L	21	1974	Sorel, Quebec
16	Peter McNab	C	L	23	1972	Vancouver, British Columbia
17	Fred Stanfield	LW	L	31	1975	Toronto, Ontario
18	Danny Gare	RW	R	21	1974	Nelson, British Columbia
20	Don Luce	C	L	26	1971	London, Ontario
21	Brian Spencer	LW	L	25	1974	Fort St. James, British Columbia
22	Jocelyn Guevremont	D	R	24	1974	Montreal, Quebec
23	Larry Carriere	D	L	23	1972	Montreal, Quebec
24	Bill Hajt	D	L	23	1971	Radisson, Saskatchewan
29	Gary Bromley	G	L	25	1971	Edmonton, Alberta
30	Gerry Desjardins	G	L	30	1975	Sudbury, Ontario

Stanley Cup engraving

The 1975 Stanley Cup was presented to Flyers captain Bobby Clarke by NHL President Clarence Campbell following the Flyers 2–0 win over the Sabres in game six.

The following Flyers players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup

1974–75 Philadelphia Flyers

Players

Centres

10 – Bill Clement
15 – Terry Crisp (A)
16 – Bobby Clarke (Captain)
19 – Rick MacLeish
26 – Orest Kindrachuk

Wingers

7 – Bill Barber
8 – Dave Schultz
9 – Bob Kelly
11 – Don Saleski
12 – Gary Dornhoefer (A)
18 – Ross Lonsberry
27 – Reggie Leach

Defencemen

2 – Ed Van Impe
3 – Tom Bladon
4-27-23-5 – Larry Goodenough
6 – Andre Dupont
14 – Joe Watson (A)
20 – Jimmy Watson
25 – Edward Ted Harris

Goaltenders

Coaching and administrative staff

Ed Snider (Chairman/Owner), Joe Scott (President)
F. Eugene Dixon Jr. (Vice Chairman), Fred Shero (Head Coach)
Keith Allen (Vice President/General Manager)
Lou Scheinfield (Vice President), Mike Nykoluk (Asst. Coach),
Marcel Pelletier (Director of Player Development), Barry Ashbee (Asst. Coach)
Frank Lewis (Trainer), Jim McKenzie (Asst. Trainer)

Stanley Cup engraving

Edward "Ted" Harris won 5 Stanley Cups. He was engraved on the Stanley Cup with Montreal Canadiens as Edward Harris in 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969. Harris was engraved as Ted Harris with Philadelphia Flyers in 1975.
Joe Kadlec^, John Brogan^ (Directors of Public Relations) were included on Philadelphia's Stanley Cup winning pictures in 1974, 1975, but their names do not appear on the Stanley Cup.
Bobby Taylor only played 3 regular season games after coming out of retirement. His name was engraved on the Stanley Cup, because he was dressed for games 1 & 2 in Stanely Cup Semi-Finals.
Reggie Leach was the first aboriginal born NHL Hockey player to get his name on the Stanley Cup.

Notes

^ "Hockey finals on tap". The Day. May 17, 1975. p. 18A.
^ Weekes, Don (2005). The Big Book of Hockey Trivia. Greystone Books. p. 558. ISBN 1-55365-119-7.
^ "Sabres, Flyers played 'Fog Game' in Stanley Cup Final 42 years ago". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L.P. May 19, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2024.

References

Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Stanley Cup. NHL.
Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7.

Preceded by Philadelphia Flyers 1974	Philadelphia Flyers Stanley Cup Champions 1975	Succeeded by Montreal Canadiens 1976

[1] "Hockey finals on tap". The Day. May 17, 1975. p. 18A.

[2] Weekes, Don (2005). The Big Book of Hockey Trivia. Greystone Books. p. 558. ISBN 1-55365-119-7.

[3] "Sabres, Flyers played 'Fog Game' in Stanley Cup Final 42 years ago". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L.P. May 19, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Paths to the Finals

Game summaries

Fog and the bat

Series box score

Team rosters

Philadelphia Flyers

Buffalo Sabres

Stanley Cup engraving

Players

Coaching and administrative staff

Stanley Cup engraving

See also

Notes

References