1978–79 New England Whalers season

World Hockey Association team season August 2023 WHA 1978–79 1978 New England Whalers 37–34–9 22–19–0 15–15–9 WHA 4th Jack Kelley Bill Dineen (33–29–9)Don Blackburn (4–5–0) Rick Ley Springfield Civic Center 298 287 Mark Howe (42) Mark Howe (65) Mark Howe (107) Alan Hangsleben (148) John Garrett (20) Al Smith (3.31) 1979–80 The 1978–79 New England Whalers season was the seventh season of the Whalers' franchise. This was the second of three seasons where the Whalers played at Springfield Civic Center. This was the final season in the World Hockey Association, which ceased operations after the season. The Whalers (along with the Winnipeg Jets, the Edmonton Oilers, and the Quebec Nordiques) were admitted to the National Hockey League as expansion teams. The Whalers (as part of the agreement suggested by the Boston Bruins) changed their name to the Hartford Whalers. The Whalers made the playoffs, with only five teams participating in the postseason. Don Blackburn took over the team as coach before the season ended, and he became the first coach of the team in the NHL. Regular season Final standings NEW Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 5px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 5px solid; 1978–79 regular season1978-79 New England Whalers Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NEW/1979_games.html Hockey-Reference.com March 18, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 2px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 2px solid; October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |1||W||October 15, 1978||6–5 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||1–0–0 |- |2||W||October 17, 1978||2–1 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) ||2–0–0 |- |3||T||October 18, 1978||4–4 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||2–0–1 |- |4||W||October 21, 1978||7–1 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||3–0–1 |- |5||W||October 22, 1978||6–3 || align="left"| @ Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) ||4–0–1 |- |6||W||October 24, 1978||2–1 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||5–0–1 |- |7||L||October 26, 1978||5–8 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||5–1–1 |- |8||L||October 27, 1978||4–6 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||5–2–1 |- |9||L||October 29, 1978||4–7 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||5–3–1 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 2px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 2px solid; November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |10||W||November 3, 1978||6–3 || align="left"| Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) ||6–3–1 |- |11||T||November 4, 1978||6–6 || align="left"| @ Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) ||6–3–2 |- |12||L||November 5, 1978||4–5 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||6–4–2 |- |13||W||November 9, 1978||6–1 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) ||7–4–2 |- |14||W||November 11, 1978||2–1 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||8–4–2 |- |15||T||November 14, 1978||5–5 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||8–4–3 |- |16||T||November 15, 1978||4–4 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||8–4–4 |- |17||L||November 17, 1978||1–7 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||8–5–4 |- |18||L||November 18, 1978||2–3 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||8–6–4 |- |19||W||November 22, 1978||5–2 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||9–6–4 |- |20||W||November 25, 1978||5–2 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||10–6–4 |- |21||W||November 26, 1978||9–3 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||11–6–4 |- |22||L||November 29, 1978||2–4 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||11–7–4 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 2px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 2px solid; December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |23||L||December 1, 1978||2–8 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) ||11–8–4 |- |24||W||December 3, 1978||7–0 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) ||12–8–4 |- |25||T||December 5, 1978||2–2 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||12–8–5 |- |26||W||December 7, 1978||5–3 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) ||13–8–5 |- |27||L||December 9, 1978||4–7 || align="left"| Soviet All-Stars (1978–79) ||13–9–5 |- |28||W||December 12, 1978||7–4 || align="left"| @ Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) ||14–9–5 |- |29||W||December 16, 1978||2–1 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||15–9–5 |- |30||T||December 17, 1978||4–4 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||15–9–6 |- |31||W||December 23, 1978||4–3 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||16–9–6 |- |32||W||December 27, 1978||10–4 || align="left"| Czechoslovakia (1978–79) ||17–9–6 |- |33||W||December 29, 1978||5–0 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||18–9–6 |- |34||L||December 30, 1978||1–2 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||18–10–6 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 2px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 2px solid; January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |35||W||January 7, 1979||5–4 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||19–10–6 |- |36||L||January 13, 1979||0–3 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) ||19–11–6 |- |37||L||January 14, 1979||2–4 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||19–12–6 |- |38||L||January 18, 1979||2–4 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||19–13–6 |- |39||W||January 20, 1979||3–1 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||20–13–6 |- |40||L||January 23, 1979||1–5 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) ||20–14–6 |- |41||L||January 26, 1979||4–5 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||20–15–6 |- |42||W||January 28, 1979||8–6 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||21–15–6 |- |43||W||January 30, 1979||5–2 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||22–15–6 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 2px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 2px solid; February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |44||W||February 2, 1979||4–1 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||23–15–6 |- |45||T||February 3, 1979||2–2 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||23–15–7 |- |46||W||February 6, 1979||5–3 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||24–15–7 |- |47||W||February 10, 1979||7–2 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||25–15–7 |- |48||L||February 11, 1979||2–5 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||25–16–7 |- |49||L||February 14, 1979||4–7 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||25–17–7 |- |50||L||February 16, 1979||2–4 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) ||25–18–7 |- |51||W||February 17, 1979||4–1 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||26–18–7 |- |52||W||February 18, 1979||7–1 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||27–18–7 |- |53||L||February 20, 1979||2–8 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) ||27–19–7 |- |54||L||February 21, 1979||2–5 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||27–20–7 |- |55||W||February 23, 1979||5–4 OT|| align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||28–20–7 |- |56||L||February 24, 1979||0–6 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||28–21–7 |- |57||L||February 25, 1979||5–7 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||28–22–7 |- |58||T||February 27, 1979||1–1 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) ||28–22–8 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 2px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 2px solid; March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |59||W||March 2, 1979||4–1 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||29–22–8 |- |60||L||March 4, 1979||3–4 OT|| align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||29–23–8 |- |61||L||March 9, 1979||1–3 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||29–24–8 |- |62||W||March 11, 1979||2–1 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||30–24–8 |- |63||W||March 13, 1979||4–3 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||31–24–8 |- |64||L||March 15, 1979||3–4 OT|| align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||31–25–8 |- |65||T||March 16, 1979||5–5 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||31–25–9 |- |66||L||March 18, 1979||1–4 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||31–26–9 |- |67||W||March 20, 1979||7–6 OT|| align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||32–26–9 |- |68||W||March 23, 1979||5–3 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||33–26–9 |- |69||L||March 24, 1979||3–4 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||33–27–9 |- |70||L||March 27, 1979||1–3 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||33–28–9 |- |71||L||March 30, 1979||1–3 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) ||33–29–9 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 2px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 2px solid; April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |72||L||April 1, 1979||3–5 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) ||33–30–9 |- |73||W||April 4, 1979||4–2 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||34–30–9 |- |74||L||April 6, 1979||2–7 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) ||34–31–9 |- |75||L||April 8, 1979||4–6 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||34–32–9 |- |76||W||April 10, 1979||5–2 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||35–32–9 |- |77||W||April 12, 1979||4–0 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||36–32–9 |- |78||L||April 14, 1979||0–4 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||36–33–9 |- |79||L||April 15, 1979||1–4 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) ||36–34–9 |- |80||W||April 17, 1979||3–2 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||37–34–9 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Playoffs background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 5px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 5px solid; 1979 Avco Cup playoffs y background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 2px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 2px solid; Preliminary Round vs. Cincinnati Stingers – Whalers win 3–0 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series |- | 1 || April 21 || Cincinnati Stingers || 3 – 5 || New England Whalers || 1–0 |- | 2 || April 22 || New England Whalers || 3 – 6 || Cincinnati Stingers || 1–1 |- | 3 || April 24 || New England Whalers || 2 – 1 || Cincinnati Stingers || 2–1 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 2px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 2px solid; Semifinals vs. Edmonton Oilers – Oilers win 4–3 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series |- | 1 || April 26 || New England Whalers || 2 – 6 || Edmonton Oilers || 0–1 |- | 2 || April 27 || New England Whalers || 5 – 9 || Edmonton Oilers || 0–2 |- | 3 || April 29 || Edmonton Oilers || 1 – 4 || New England Whalers || 1–2 |- | 4 || May 1 || Edmonton Oilers || 4 – 5 || New England Whalers || 2–2 |- | 5 || May 3 || New England Whalers || 2 – 5 || Edmonton Oilers || 2–3 |- | 6 || May 6 || Edmonton Oilers || 8 – 4 || New England Whalers || 3–3 |- | 7 || May 8 || New England Whalers || 3 – 6 || Edmonton Oilers || 3–4 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win 1px solid black #fcc Loss 1px solid black Player statistics Regular season Scoring Player GP G A Pts PIM Mark Howe 77 42 65 107 32 Andre Lacroix André Lacroix (ice hockey) 78 32 56 88 34 Mike Rogers Mike Rogers (ice hockey) 80 27 45 72 31 Dave Keon 79 22 43 65 2 Gordie Roberts 79 11 46 57 113 Warren Miller Warren Miller (ice hockey) 77 26 23 49 44 Mike Antonovich Mike Antonovich (ice hockey) 69 20 27 47 35 John McKenzie John McKenzie (ice hockey) 76 19 28 47 115 Gordie Howe 58 19 24 43 51 George Lyle George Lyle (ice hockey) 59 17 18 35 54 Alan Hangsleben 77 10 19 29 148 Rick Ley 73 7 20 27 135 Marty Howe 66 9 15 24 31 Ron Plumb 78 4 16 20 33 Jordy Douglas 51 6 10 16 15 Brad Selwood 42 4 12 16 47 Jim Warner 41 6 9 15 20 Blaine Stoughton 36 9 3 12 2 Larry Pleau 28 6 6 12 6 Jack Carlson Jack Carlson (ice hockey) 34 2 7 9 61 Dave Inkpen 41 0 7 7 15 Al Smith Al Smith (ice hockey) 40 0 3 3 35 Jeff Brubaker 12 0 0 0 19 John Garrett John Garrett (ice hockey) 41 0 0 0 6 Pierre Roy 1 0 0 0 2 Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LTGAGAASASVSV% SO John Garrett John Garrett (ice hockey) 2496 41 20 17 4 149 3.58 1180 1031 .874 2 Al Smith Al Smith (ice hockey) 2396 40 17 17 5 132 3.31 1124 992 .883 1 Team: 4892 80 37 34 9 281 3.45 2304 2023 .878 3 Playoffs Scoring Player GP G A Pts PIM Dave Keon 10 3 9 12 2 John McKenzie John McKenzie (ice hockey) 10 3 7 10 10 Mike Antonovich Mike Antonovich (ice hockey) 10 5 3 8 14 Andre Lacroix André Lacroix (ice hockey) 10 4 4 8 0 George Lyle George Lyle (ice hockey) 9 3 5 8 25 Mike Rogers Mike Rogers (ice hockey) 10 2 6 8 2 Warren Miller Warren Miller (ice hockey) 10 0 8 8 28 Blaine Stoughton 7 4 3 7 4 Mark Howe 6 4 2 6 6 Jordy Douglas 10 4 0 4 23 Gordie Howe 10 3 1 4 4 Ron Plumb 9 1 3 4 0 Rick Ley 9 0 4 4 11 Gordie Roberts 10 0 4 4 10 Larry Pleau 10 2 1 3 0 Al Hangsleben 10 1 2 3 12 Marty Howe 9 0 1 1 8 Dave Inkpen 5 0 1 1 4 Jeff Brubaker 3 0 0 0 12 John Garrett John Garrett (ice hockey) 8 0 0 0 0 Al Smith Al Smith (ice hockey) 4 0 0 0 0 Jim Warner 1 0 0 0 0 Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LTGAGAASASVSV% SO John Garrett John Garrett (ice hockey) 447 8 4 3 32 4.30 0 Al Smith Al Smith (ice hockey) 153 4 1 2 12 4.71 0 Team: 600 10 5 5 44 4.40 0 hockey-reference.com 2009-05-27 1978-79 New England Whalers Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NEW/1979.html See also 1978–79 WHA season References New Category:New England Whalers seasons New England New England