09/03/2023
The Minnesota Fighting Saints were a professional ice hockey team that played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 to 1976. The team was based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and played their home games at the St. Paul Civic Center.
The Fighting Saints were one of the original WHA teams, and they enjoyed a fair amount of success during their four seasons in the league. They made the playoffs in three of their four seasons, and in their first season, they advanced to the league championship series, where they lost to the Winnipeg Jets.
The team was known for their aggressive style of play and physical brand of hockey, which earned them the nickname "the Slapshots". They also had several notable players on their roster, including Mike Walton, Bill Butters, and Mike Antonovich.
Despite their relative success on the ice, the Fighting Saints struggled financially, and the team was sold and moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1976. The team played one more season as the Cleveland Crusaders before folding in 1977 when the WHA merged with the National Hockey League (NHL).
