Winston-Salem Polar Twins (SHL)
# Winston-Salem Polar Twins (SHL)

The Winston-Salem Polar Twins were a minor league professional ice hockey team, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The team was a founding member of the Southern Hockey League in 1973, and played home games at the Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum. The initial owners of the team were a group of 15 investors, led by Ed Timmerman and Eldridge Hanes. In the 1973–74 season, Winstom-Salem finished fourth place, and lost in the first round of the playoffs under player-coach Don Carter. In 1974, Forbes Kennedy was brought in to coach, and improved results two years in a row, despite losing in the first round of the playoffs both seasons. In December 1975, the Polar Twins were sold to Jim Crockett Jr. Player-coach Ron Anderson took over in the fourth season, and the team was in last place in January. On January 7, 1977, during the team's fourth season, Crockett announced he was folding the team.

## Major league affiliations

The Polar Twins were affiliated with the World Hockey Association in the 1973–74 season, and with the National Hockey League from 1974 to 1977.

| Years | Affiliations |
| - | - |
| 1973–74 | Edmonton Oilers, New York Golden Blades, Jersey Knights |
| 1974–75 | New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings |
| 1975–76 | New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues |
| 1976–77 | New York Rangers |

## Notable players

Notable Polar Twins players that also played in the National Hockey League or World Hockey Association:

* Ron Anderson
* Randy Andreachuk
* Ron Ashton
* Bernie Blanchette
* Bob Boyd
* Ken Brown
* Brian Carlin
* Bob Champoux
* Howie Colborne
* Roger Cote
* Gary Cunningham
* Brian Derksen
* Gary Doyle
* Bob Fitchner
* Derek Harker
* Rich Hart
* Don Herriman
* Greg Holst
* Jim Jones
* Dennis Kassian
* Jamie Kennedy
* Bill Laing
* Rick Lalonde
* John Mazur
* Bob McAneeley
* Jim McCrimmon
* Bill Morris
* Jim Murray
* Terry Ryan
* Blaine Rydman
* Ron Serafini
* Danny Sullivan
* Jim Watt
* Don Wheldon
* Bill Young

## Results

Season-by-season results:

| Season | GP | W | L | T | Pts | Pct | GF | GA | PIM | Standing | Playoffs |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1973–74 | 72 | 26 | 44 | 2 | 54 | 0.375 | 283 | 363 | 1273 | 4th, SHL | Lost in round 1 |
| 1974–75 | 72 | 32 | 40 | 0 | 64 | 0.444 | 300 | 345 | 1831 | 3rd, SHL | Lost in round 1 |
| 1975–76 | 72 | 30 | 29 | 13 | 73 | 0.507 | 252 | 251 | 1127 | 3rd, SHL | Lost in round 1 |
| 1976–77 | 42 | 11 | 30 | 1 | 23 | 0.274 | 130 | 193 | 585 | 7th, SHL | folded |
| TOTALS | 258 | 99 | 143 | 16 | 214 | 0.415 | 965 | 1152 | 4816 | | |

## Franchise leaders

All-time and season leaders:

### All-time regular season

* Games played: Bill Morris, 186
* Goals scored: Ken Gassoff, 83
* Assists: Ken Gassoff, 135
* Points: Ken Gassoff, 218
* Penalty minutes: Brian Molvik, 318

### Single-season records

* Goals scored: Bernie Blanchette, 39 (1973–74)
* Assists: John Campbell, 59 (1975–76)
* Points: John Campbell, 92 (1975–76)
* Penalty minutes: Ron Fogal, 248 (1974–75)

### Postseason records

* Goals scored: Bill Morris, 6 (1974)
* Assists: Bill Morris, 8 (1974)
* Points: Bill Morris, 14 (1974)
* Penalty minutes: Greg Holst, 42 (1975)
