Standings

Veterans Memorial Coliseum

2nd

-

The Stingers entered Veterans Memorial Coliseum in what would be the last game they ever played there. Regrettably it would not be a performance worth remembering. Most of the first period saw little action despite some nice saves by Norm LaPointe. Deep into the period Cincinnati lost defenseman John Hughes to the penalty box after a slashing call and shortly after Dave Inkpen was sent to the penalty box to join him after a high sticking call. Moments later the Roadrunners struck with a goal by Gary Lariviere. Lariviere cut in from the point and proceeded to knock a shot past LaPointe. Moments after Hughes returned to the ice, but still minus Inkpen, the Roadrunners scored again. The goal came from Seppo Repo who got the puck in front of the Stingers net and bounced it off of LaPointes pad into the net.

In less then three minutes into the second period, the Roadrunners added another goal to the board. Andre Hinse took a pass from fellow Roadrunner Michel Cormier and scored after a hard shot at the net. After the third goal, Terry Slater pulled LaPointe and for Paul Hoganson in hopes of ending the Roadrunners advance. The Stingers finally got on the board after Peter Marsh passed the puck to teammate Blaine Stoughton during a power play. Stoughton blasted a shot past Roadrunners Gary Kurt for the score. But Phoenix went on to score again at 11:56 by Michel Cormier. The goal came after Roadrunner Duane Bray took a long shot from the blue line and Cormier then deflected the puck past Hoganson for the score. The Stingers managed to score again at 15:49 when Rich Leduc took a pass from team captain Rick Dudley. Leduc then slipped the puck into the net from right in front.

The Stingers pulled within one goal in the third period after Dennis Sobchuk took a pass from Jamie Hislop. Sobchuk then shot from right in front of the Roadrunners net for the score. But the next four minutes of the period proved to be disastrous for the Stingers. The Roadrunners went on a tear and scored four straight goals which ended any real comeback possibility for Cincinnati. The first goal came from Mike Hobin after he tossed the puck up from behind the Stingers net. The puck hit a Stingers player and bounced into the net for the score. The second goal came from Ron Huston when he gunned the puck from the slot off of Hogansons glove. Gary Lariviere and Seppo Repo scored the third and fourth goal to seal the deal. But the Roadrunners would score again later in the period. Hobin scored on a rebound from Repo to put the Roadrunners up by a score of 9-3. The Stingers rookie Jamie Hislop bagged a meaningless goal at 17:40 for the heck of it.

-

-

-

FIRST PERIOD

GOALS - PHO: Lariviere (Huston, Ftorek) 17:41. PHO: Repo (Liddington, Niekamp) 19:04.

PENALTIES - CIN: Roy (high sticking) 6:36. PHO: Lariviere (holding) 7:46. CIN: Hughes (slashing) 16:55. CIN: Inkpen (high sticking) 17:34.

SECOND PERIOD

GOALS - PHO: Hinse (Cornier, Kurt) 2:39. CIN: Stoughton (Marsh, Larose) 9:30. PHO: Cormier (Bray, Huston) 11:56. CIN: Leduc (unassisted) 15:49.

PENALTIES - PHO: Beaudoin (tripping) 9:25. PHO: Niekamp (interference) 18:37.

-

THIRD PERIOD

GOALS - CIN: Sobchuk (Hislop) 1:31. PHO: Hobin (Liddington, Repo) 3:28. PHO: Huston (Kurt) 4:50. PHO: Lariviere (Ftorek, Kurt) 6:53. PHO: Repo (Tamminen, Hobin) 7:49. PHO: Hobin (Repo, Liddington) 16:20. CIN: Hislop (Sobchuk, Marsh) 17:40.

PENALTIES - PHO: Rollins (tripping) 12:27.

-

SHOTS ON GOAL

-

GOALTENDERS - CIN: LaPointe, Hoganson. PHO: Kurt.

ATTENDANCE - ?

REFEREE - Ron Harris

-

1976-77 WHA Standings

-

--

-

-