1977–78 New England Whalers season

1977–78 New England Whalers
Division 2nd WHA
1977–78 record 44–31–5
Goals for 335
Goals against 269
Team information
General Manager Jack Kelley
Coach Harry Neale
Captain Rick Ley

The 1977–78 New England Whalers season was the Whalers' sixth season of operation in the World Hockey Association (WHA). This season saw the debut of Gordie Howe and his sons with the Whalers' franchise. The trio helped the Whalers advance to the Avco Cup final, where they were defeated by the Winnipeg Jets.

Regular season

Final standings

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points

WHA Team W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Winnipeg Jets 50 28 2102 381 270 988
New England Whalers 44 31 5 93 335 269 1255
Houston Aeros 42 34 4 88 296 302 1543
Quebec Nordiques 40 37 3 83 349 347 1185
Edmonton Oilers 38 39 3 79 309 307 1296
Birmingham Bulls 36 41 3 75 287 314 2177
Cincinnati Stingers 35 42 3 73 298 332 1701
Indianapolis Racers 24 51 5 53 267 353 1189
Soviet All-Stars 3 4 1 7 27 36 120
Czechoslovakia All-Stars 1 6 1 3 21 40 87

Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1WOctober 12, 19773–0 @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) 1–0–0
2WOctober 15, 19775–2 Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 2–0–0
3LOctober 16, 19772–6 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 2–1–0
4TOctober 18, 19772–2 @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 2–1–1
5WOctober 19, 19776–3 @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 3–1–1
6WOctober 21, 19775–2 @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 4–1–1
7WOctober 26, 19777–1 Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 5–1–1
8WOctober 29, 19777–2 Houston Aeros (1977–78) 6–1–1
9WNovember 1, 19776–3 @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 7–1–1
10WNovember 4, 19774–3 Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 8–1–1
11WNovember 6, 19775–2 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 9–1–1
12WNovember 8, 19774–3 @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 10–1–1
13WNovember 10, 19775–3 Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 11–1–1
14WNovember 12, 19775–3 Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 12–1–1
15WNovember 15, 19776–4 @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 13–1–1
16WNovember 18, 19773–2 Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 14–1–1
17WNovember 20, 19775–4 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 15–1–1
18LNovember 22, 19774–5 @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 15–2–1
19TNovember 23, 19773–3 Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 15–2–2
20LNovember 25, 19772–6 Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 15–3–2
21LNovember 26, 19771–3 Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 15–4–2
22TNovember 30, 19773–3 @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) 15–4–3
23WDecember 2, 19774–1 Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 16–4–3
24LDecember 3, 19772–5 Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 16–5–3
25LDecember 6, 19772–5 @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 16–6–3
26WDecember 7, 19776–3 @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 17–6–3
27WDecember 9, 19772–1 OT @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 18–6–3
28WDecember 14, 19777–2 Soviet All-Stars (1977–78) 19–6–3
29WDecember 16, 19775–3 Czechoslovakia (1977–78) 20–6–3
30LDecember 17, 19773–6 Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 20–7–3
31LDecember 18, 19773–7 @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 20–8–3
32WDecember 23, 19775–3 Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 21–8–3
33WDecember 27, 19778–1 Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 22–8–3
34WDecember 30, 19776–2 Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 23–8–3
35WJanuary 1, 19784–3 OT @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 24–8–3
36LJanuary 4, 19784–6 Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 24–9–3
37LJanuary 6, 19783–4 @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 24–10–3
38WJanuary 7, 19785–3 Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 25–10–3
39LJanuary 8, 19784–5 Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 25–11–3
40WJanuary 13, 19782–0 Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 26–11–3
41LJanuary 14, 19784–5 OT Houston Aeros (1977–78) 26–12–3
42LJanuary 18, 19780–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 26–13–3
43TJanuary 20, 19784–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 26–13–4
44LJanuary 21, 19782–3 @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 26–14–4
45WJanuary 22, 19786–3 Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 27–14–4
46LJanuary 25, 19787–8 OT @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 27–15–4
47WJanuary 27, 19786–2 @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 28–15–4
48WJanuary 28, 19783–0 @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) 29–15–4
49LJanuary 29, 19784–6 @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) 29–16–4
50WFebruary 1, 19784–3 Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 30–16–4
51LFebruary 3, 19783–6 Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 30–17–4
52LFebruary 4, 19784–5 @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) 30–18–4
53WFebruary 11, 19788–7 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 31–18–4
54WFebruary 14, 19785–1 Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 32–18–4
55LFebruary 16, 19781–2 OT Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 32–19–4
56WFebruary 18, 19784–1 @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 33–19–4
57LFebruary 21, 19785–6 OT @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 33–20–4
58LFebruary 22, 19782–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 33–21–4
59LFebruary 24, 19782–7 @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 33–22–4
60WFebruary 26, 19786–5 @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 34–22–4
61LMarch 1, 19783–4 OT Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 34–23–4
62LMarch 3, 19782–3 OT Houston Aeros (1977–78) 34–24–4
63LMarch 4, 19782–5 Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 34–25–4
64LMarch 5, 19781–2 @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 34–26–4
65LMarch 9, 19784–6 @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) 34–27–4
66WMarch 10, 19785–4 OT @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 35–27–4
67WMarch 14, 19786–0 Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 36–27–4
68WMarch 15, 19787–0 Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 37–27–4
69WMarch 17, 19786–2 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 38–27–4
70LMarch 18, 19783–5 @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 38–28–4
71WMarch 21, 19786–3 Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 39–28–4
72LMarch 22, 19783–5 Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 39–29–4
73LMarch 24, 19780–1 Houston Aeros (1977–78) 39–30–4
74WMarch 26, 19785–3 Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 40–30–4
75WMarch 29, 19786–1 Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 41–30–4
76WApril 3, 19788–6 Houston Aeros (1977–78) 42–30–4
77TApril 5, 19784–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 42–30–5
78LApril 6, 19784–7 @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 42–31–5
79WApril 10, 19786–1 Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 43–31–5
80WApril 11, 19786–3 Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 44–31–5

Playoffs

New England Whalers 4, Edmonton Oilers 1 – Division Quarterfinals

Game Date Visitor Score Home Series
1 April 14 Edmonton Oilers 4–6 New England Whalers 1–0
2 April 16 Edmonton Oilers 1–4 New England Whalers 2–0
3 April 19 New England Whalers 0–2 Edmonton Oilers 2–1
4 April 21 New England 9–1 Edmonton Oilers 3–1
5 April 23 Edmonton Oilers 1–4 New England Whalers 4–1

New England Whalers 4, Quebec Nordiques 1 – Division Semifinals

Game Date Visitor Score Home Series
1 April 28 Quebec Nordiques 1–5 New England Whalers 1–0
2 April 30 Quebec Nordiques 3–2 New England Whalers 1–1
3 May 3 New England Whalers 5–4 Quebec Nordiques 2–1
4 May 5 New England Whalers 7–3 Quebec Nordiques 3–1
5 May 7 Quebec Nordiques 3–6 New England Whalers 4–1

Winnipeg Jets 4, New England Whalers 1 – Avco Cup Finals

Game Date Visitor Score Home Series
1 May 12 Winnipeg Jets 4–1 New England Whalers 0–1
2 May 14 Winnipeg Jets 2–5 New England Whalers 0–2
3 May 19 New England Whalers 2–10 Winnipeg Jets 0–3
4 May 22 New England Whalers 3–5 Winnipeg Jets 0–4

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Howe, GordieGordie Howe RW 76 34 62 96 85461600
Howe, MarkMark Howe D 70 30 61 91 3230400
Rogers, MikeMike Rogers C 80 28 43 71 4622410
Antonovich, MikeMike Antonovich C 75 32 35 67 3217500
Keon, DaveDave Keon C 77 24 38 62 2−4150
Roberts, GordieGordie Roberts D 78 15 46 61 11817500
McKenzie, JohnJohn McKenzie RW 79 27 29 56 6115900
Lyle, GeorgeGeorge Lyle LW 68 30 24 54 7412300
Ley, RickRick Ley D 73 3 41 44 9536000
Pleau, LarryLarry Pleau C 54 16 18 34 412200
Selwood, BradBrad Selwood D 80 6 25 31 8811200
Hangsleben, AlAl Hangsleben D 79 11 18 29 14017000
Carlson, JackJack Carlson LW 67 9 20 29 1929000
Carroll, GregGreg Carroll C 48 9 14 23 273020
Webster, TomTom Webster RW 20 15 5 20 58500
Mayer, JimJim Mayer RW 51 11 9 20 211100
Howe, MartyMarty Howe D 75 10 10 20 6610100
Sheehy, TimTim Sheehy RW 25 8 11 19 14−2300
Butters, BillBill Butters D 45 1 13 14 6921000
Carlson, SteveSteve Carlson C 38 6 7 13 117110
Bolduc, DannyDanny Bolduc LW 41 5 5 10 226000
Plumb, RonRon Plumb D 27 1 9 10 186000
Maxwell, BryanBryan Maxwell D 17 2 1 3 119000
Smith, AlAl Smith G 55 0 3 3 40000
Peloffy, AndreAndre Peloffy C 10 2 0 2 2−2000
Levasseur, Jean-LouisJean-Louis Levasseur G 27 0 0 0 20000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Smith, AlAl Smith 3246 55 30 20 3 174 3.22 2
Levasseur, Jean-LouisJean-Louis Levasseur 1655 27 14 11 2 91 3.30 3
Team: 4901 80 44 31 5 265 3.24 5
Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Antonovich, MikeMike Antonovich C 14 10 7 17 4001
Keon, DaveDave Keon C 14 5 11 16 4001
Howe, MarkMark Howe D 14 8 7 15 18000
McKenzie, JohnJohn McKenzie RW 14 6 6 12 16001
Rogers, MikeMike Rogers C 14 5 6 11 8000
Howe, GordieGordie Howe RW 14 5 5 10 15002
Pleau, LarryLarry Pleau C 14 5 4 9 8001
Carlson, SteveSteve Carlson C 13 2 7 9 2000
Ley, RickRick Ley D 14 1 8 9 4000
Bolduc, DannyDanny Bolduc LW 14 2 4 6 4000
Plumb, RonRon Plumb D 14 1 5 6 16001
Hangsleben, AlAl Hangsleben D 14 1 4 5 37000
Roberts, GordieGordie Roberts D 14 0 5 5 29000
Sheehy, TimTim Sheehy RW 13 1 3 4 9000
Lyle, GeorgeGeorge Lyle LW 12 2 1 3 13000
Selwood, BradBrad Selwood D 14 0 3 3 8000
Carlson, JackJack Carlson LW 9 1 1 2 14000
Howe, MartyMarty Howe D 14 1 1 2 13001
Levasseur, Jean-LouisJean-Louis Levasseur G 12 0 1 1 2000
Peloffy, AndreAndre Peloffy C 2 0 0 0 0000
Smith, AlAl Smith G 3 0 0 0 0000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Levasseur, Jean-LouisJean-Louis Levasseur 719 12 8 4 31 2.59 0
Smith, AlAl Smith 120 3 0 2 14 7.00 0
Team: 839 14 8 6 45 3.22 0

[1]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts;

See also

References

  1. "1977-78 New England Whalers Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
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