PHL

One of the biggest stories entering the 1972-73 season was when Skippy Cleveland, arguably the greatest player in PHL history, anounced that he would retire at season's end. Cleveland set records for longevity, playing more seasons than anyone else (27) and becoming the oldest player in league history at age 49. The Wranglers were determined to give Cleveland a proper sendoff. Young forward Warren Jensen enjoyed a breakout season, scoring 56 goals, while goaltender Jimmy Underwood also enjoyed an incredible season in net. Calgary finished the season first place in the Pacific Division. The Vancouver Bighorns, demoralized by the loss of Jim Cobb the previous year, dropped to last pace in the division. Things came right down to the wire in the race between LA and Calgary for first place, LA had an opportunity to take the division for the second straight year, but ultimately lost the last game of the season to Minnesota to drop to second. Speaking of the Lumberjacks, they enjoyed their best season in franchise history, winning 53 games on the strength of a 59 goal effort from Guy Dupont. Detroit finished with 52 wins for second in the division. In the East, only two teams made the playoffs in the Northeast Division under the new playoff format. Montreal took first place while Ottawa finished second. Toronto continued their rebuild, winning only 30 games. The Atlantic Division turned out to be a war, figuratively and literally. The feisty Nova Scotia Clayomores took first place while Boston and Philadelphia battled it out all season for second place. Things came to a head on February 22, 1973 in Boston when the Bulldogs' Jeff Coleman jumped Philadelphia's Frank McDermit. The attack was a response to McDermit's hit on Boston goaltender Ricky Spooner the previous year. The benches cleared and the brawl went on for nearly 30 minutes, eventually spilling into the stands. Officials and police attempted to break up the melee but were eventually forced to call the game a draw. The decision launched a major controversy, however, as the officials were accused of robbing the Redshirts of a win (they led 4-0 at the time) for fear of the Boston fans. However, the league backed the officials stating that they had done the best that they could to restrain the teams and ultimately the Redshirts had to be made accountable for their actions in the brawl as well. Despite missing out on those two points, Philadelphia finished the season strong, taking second place, while Boston settled for third. The fourth-place New York Civics returned to the post-season thanks partly to the return of franchise defenseman Freddie Huff as well as the new playoff format which allowed them into the Northeast Division playoff. Heading into the 1973 playoffs, Minnesota, Detroit, and Montreal all looked like the teams to beat once again. 

Philadelphia and Boston engage in a brawl, February 22, 1973.