1975–76 Houston Aeros season

none August 2023 The Summit WHA 1975–76 1975 Houston Aeros (WHA)Houston Aeros 53–27–0 33–7–0 20–20–0 West 1st Bill Dineen Ted Taylor Gordie HoweGord LabossierePoul Popiel 341 263 Mark Howe (39) Gordie Howe (70) Gordie Howe (102) Glen Irwin (116) Ron Grahame (39) Wayne Rutledge (3.17) 1974–75 1976–77 The 1975–76 Houston Aeros season was the Houston Aeros' fourth season of operation in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Aeros again qualified first for the playoffs and made it to the Avco Cup Final but lost the championship to the Winnipeg Jets. This was the first season that the Aeros played in the Summit after three seasons at Sam Houston Coliseum. 2 Regular season Gordie Howe scored 102 points, while his son Mark led the team with 39 goals. Final standings HOU Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#101077 5px solid; border-bottom:#34AACD 5px solid; 1975–76 regular season1975-76 Houston Aeros Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/HSA/1976_games.html Hockey-Reference.com April 9, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#101077 2px solid; border-bottom:#34AACD 2px solid; October: 3–4–0, 6 points (home: 0–0–0; road: 3–4–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |1||W||October 11, 1975||5–0 || align="left"| @ New England Whalers (1975–76) ||1–0–0 |- |2||L||October 14, 1975||3–6 || align="left"| @ Toronto Toros (1975–76) ||1–1–0 |- |3||L||October 18, 1975||2–3 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) ||1–2–0 |- |4||W||October 19, 1975||6–5 || align="left"| @ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) ||2–2–0 |- |5||L||October 23, 1975||0–4 || align="left"| @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) ||2–3–0 |- |6||L||October 25, 1975||4–7 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) ||2–4–0 |- |7||W||October 30, 1975||4–2 || align="left"| @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) ||3–4–0 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#101077 2px solid; border-bottom:#34AACD 2px solid; November: 11–3–0, 22 points (home: 9–0–0; road: 2–3–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |8||W||November 1, 1975||3–2 || align="left"| @ Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) ||4–4–0 |- |9||W||November 5, 1975||6–4 || align="left"| Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) ||5–4–0 |- |10||W||November 7, 1975||5–3 || align="left"| Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) ||6–4–0 |- |11||W||November 9, 1975||3–2 || align="left"| Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) ||7–4–0 |- |12||W||November 11, 1975||5–4 || align="left"| Toronto Toros (1975–76) ||8–4–0 |- |13||L||November 12, 1975||1–4 || align="left"| @ New England Whalers (1975–76) ||8–5–0 |- |14||L||November 15, 1975||5–8 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) ||8–6–0 |- |15||L||November 16, 1975||3–5 || align="left"| @ Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) ||8–7–0 |- |16||W||November 18, 1975||3–2 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) ||9–7–0 |- |17||W||November 21, 1975||4–2 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) ||10–7–0 |- |18||W||November 23, 1975||4–0 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) ||11–7–0 |- |19||W||November 25, 1975||4–1 || align="left"| Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) ||12–7–0 |- |20||W||November 28, 1975||7–4 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) ||13–7–0 |- |21||W||November 30, 1975||8–4 || align="left"| San Diego Mariners (1975–76) ||14–7–0 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#101077 2px solid; border-bottom:#34AACD 2px solid; December: 7–6–0, 14 points (home: 5–3–0; road: 2–3–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |22||L||December 2, 1975||2–5 || align="left"| New England Whalers (1975–76) ||14–8–0 |- |23||W||December 5, 1975||5–4 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) ||15–8–0 |- |24||L||December 6, 1975||5–6 OT|| align="left"| @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) ||15–9–0 |- |25||W||December 9, 1975||6–4 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) ||16–9–0 |- |26||W||December 12, 1975||4–2 || align="left"| Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) ||17–9–0 |- |27||L||December 13, 1975||3–4 || align="left"| @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) ||17–10–0 |- |28||W||December 14, 1975||4–3 || align="left"| @ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) ||18–10–0 |- |29||L||December 16, 1975||2–4 || align="left"| San Diego Mariners (1975–76) ||18–11–0 |- |30||W||December 20, 1975||4–3 || align="left"| @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) ||19–11–0 |- |31||L||December 21, 1975||1–3 || align="left"| @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) ||19–12–0 |- |32||W||December 26, 1975||9–4 || align="left"| Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) ||20–12–0 |- |33||W||December 27, 1975||5–0 || align="left"| Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) ||21–12–0 |- |34||L||December 30, 1975||3–5 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) ||21–13–0 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#101077 2px solid; border-bottom:#34AACD 2px solid; January: 10–5–0, 20 points (home: 6–1–0; road: 4–4–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |35||W||January 3, 1976||4–2 || align="left"| Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) ||22–13–0 |- |36||W||January 6, 1976||7–3 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) ||23–13–0 |- |37||W||January 9, 1976||6–5 || align="left"| Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) ||24–13–0 |- |38||W||January 10, 1976||4–1 || align="left"| @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) ||25–13–0 |- |39||W||January 11, 1976||5–3 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) ||26–13–0 |- |40||L||January 14, 1976||1–4 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76) ||26–14–0 |- |41||W||January 15, 1976||5–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics (1975–76) ||27–14–0 |- |42||L||January 17, 1976||2–4 || align="left"| @ Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) ||27–15–0 |- |43||L||January 20, 1976||5–7 || align="left"| Toronto Toros (1975–76) ||27–16–0 |- |44||W||January 21, 1976||9–3 || align="left"| New England Whalers (1975–76) ||28–16–0 |- |45||W||January 23, 1976||2–0 || align="left"| Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) ||29–16–0 |- |46||W||January 25, 1976||5–3 || align="left"| Calgary Cowboys (1975–76) ||30–16–0 |- |47||W||January 28, 1976||6–5 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76) ||31–16–0 |- |48||L||January 30, 1976||1–2 || align="left"| @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) ||31–17–0 |- |49||L||January 31, 1976||1–4 || align="left"| @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) ||31–18–0 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#101077 2px solid; border-bottom:#34AACD 2px solid; February: 9–4–0, 18 points (home: 5–1–0; road: 4–3–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |50||W||February 3, 1976||8–4 || align="left"| Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76) ||32–18–0 |- |51||W||February 6, 1976||4–3 || align="left"| Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) ||33–18–0 |- |52||W||February 8, 1976||5–2 || align="left"| San Diego Mariners (1975–76) ||34–18–0 |- |53||W||February 12, 1976||4–1 || align="left"| @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) ||35–18–0 |- |54||L||February 14, 1976||1–5 || align="left"| @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) ||35–19–0 |- |55||L||February 15, 1976||2–4 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) ||35–20–0 |- |56||W||February 17, 1976||4–3 || align="left"| New England Whalers (1975–76) ||36–20–0 |- |57||W||February 19, 1976||5–3 || align="left"| Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) ||37–20–0 |- |58||L||February 22, 1976||1–2 || align="left"| @ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) ||37–21–0 |- |59||L||February 24, 1976||1–4 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76) ||37–22–0 |- |60||W||February 26, 1976||5–2 || align="left"| @ New England Whalers (1975–76) ||38–22–0 |- |61||W||February 27, 1976||7–6 OT|| align="left"| @ Toronto Toros (1975–76) ||39–22–0 |- |62||W||February 28, 1976||4–2 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) ||40–22–0 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#101077 2px solid; border-bottom:#34AACD 2px solid; March: 9–5–0, 18 points (home: 6–2–0; road: 3–3–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |63||W||March 5, 1976||6–3 || align="left"| Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) ||41–22–0 |- |64||L||March 6, 1976||4–5 || align="left"| Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) ||41–23–0 |- |65||W||March 9, 1976||9–2 || align="left"| San Diego Mariners (1975–76) ||42–23–0 |- |66||L||March 11, 1976||1–4 || align="left"| @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) ||42–24–0 |- |67||W||March 13, 1976||3–2 || align="left"| @ San Diego Mariners (1975–76) ||43–24–0 |- |68||W||March 17, 1976||7–4 || align="left"| @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) ||44–24–0 |- |69||W||March 19, 1976||8–3 || align="left"| San Diego Mariners (1975–76) ||45–24–0 |- |70||L||March 20, 1976||1–2 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) ||45–25–0 |- |71||W||March 21, 1976||4–3 || align="left"| Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) ||46–25–0 |- |72||W||March 24, 1976||3–2 || align="left"| @ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76) ||47–25–0 |- |73||L||March 25, 1976||3–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) ||47–26–0 |- |74||W||March 26, 1976||5–1 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76) ||48–26–0 |- |75||W||March 28, 1976||7–4 || align="left"| Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) ||49–26–0 |- |76||L||March 30, 1976||3–4 || align="left"| San Diego Mariners (1975–76) ||49–27–0 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#101077 2px solid; border-bottom:#34AACD 2px solid; April: 4–0–0, 8 points (home: 2–0–0; road: 2–0–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |77||W||April 1, 1976||4–1 || align="left"| @ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76) ||50–27–0 |- |78||W||April 3, 1976||8–2 || align="left"| @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) ||51–27–0 |- |79||W||April 4, 1976||5–2 || align="left"| San Diego Mariners (1975–76) ||52–27–0 |- |80||W||April 6, 1976||8–5 || align="left"| Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76) ||53–27–0 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Playoffs 1976 WHA playoffs The Aeros defeated the San Diego Mariners in the quarter-final round 4–2. The Aeros next defeated the New England Whalers 4–3 in the semi-final round to advance to the Final. While the Aeros won the series, they had nothing left for the Final and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Aeros 4–0 to win the Avco Cup. background:#fff; border-top:#101077 5px solid; border-bottom:#34AACD 5px solid; 1976 Avco Cup playoffs y background:#fff; border-top:#101077 2px solid; border-bottom:#34AACD 2px solid; Quarterfinals vs. San Diego Mariners – Aeros win 4–2 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series |- | 1 || April 21 || San Diego Mariners || 6–8 || Houston Aeros || 1–0 |- | 2 || April 23 || San Diego Mariners || 1–3 || Houston Aeros || 2–0 |- | 3 || April 25 || Houston Aeros || 8–4 || San Diego Mariners || 3–0 |- | 4 || April 27 || Houston Aeros || 2–3 || San Diego Mariners || 3–1 |- | 5 || April 28 || San Diego Mariners || 3–2 || Houston Aeros || 3–2 |- | 6 || April 30 || Houston Aeros || 3–2 || San Diego Mariners || 4–2 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#101077 2px solid; border-bottom:#34AACD 2px solid; Semifinals vs. New England Whalers – Aeros win 4–3 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series |- | 1 || May 5 || New England Whalers || 4–2 || Houston Aeros || 0–1 |- | 2 || May 7 || New England Whalers || 2–5 || Houston Aeros || 1–1 |- | 3 || May 9 || Houston Aeros || 1–4 || New England Whalers || 1–2 |- | 4 || May 11 || Houston Aeros || 4–3 || New England Whalers || 2–2 |- | 5 || May 13 || New England Whalers || 2–4 || Houston Aeros || 3–2 |- | 6 || May 15 || Houston Aeros || 1–6 || New England Whalers || 3–3 |- | 5 || May 16 || New England Whalers || 0–2 || Houston Aeros || 4–3 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#101077 2px solid; border-bottom:#34AACD 2px solid; Avco Cup Finals vs. Winnipeg Jets – Jets win 4–0 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series |- | 1 || May 20 || Winnipeg Jets || 4–3 || Houston Aeros || 0–1 |- | 2 || May 23 || Winnipeg Jets || 5–4 || Houston Aeros || 0–2 |- | 3 || May 25 || Houston Aeros || 3–6 || Winnipeg Jets || 0–3 |- | 4 || May 27 || Houston Aeros || 1–9 || Winnipeg Jets || 0–4 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win 1px solid black #fcc Loss 1px solid black Player statistics Scoring + Regular seasonhockey-reference.com 2009-06-30 1975-76 Houston Aeros Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/HSA/1976.html Player Pos Position GP Games playedG Goals A AssistsPts Points PIM Penalty minutes +/- Plus/Minus PPG Power play goals SHG Short-handed goals GWG Game-winning goals Gordie Howe RW 78 32 70 102 76141214 Mark Howe LW 72 39 37 76 38291368 Frank Hughes Frank Hughes (ice hockey) LW 80 31 45 76 26121206 Andre Hinse LW 70 35 38 73 6121206 Larry Lund C 73 24 49 73 503611 Gord Labossiere C 80 23 32 55 18-1403 Rich Preston RW 77 22 33 55 3330124 Don Larway RW 79 30 20 50 569303 Terry Ruskowski C 65 14 35 49 10018302 Murray Hall Murray Hall (ice hockey) RW 80 20 26 46 18-3308 Poul Popiel D 78 10 36 46 7129222 Ted Taylor Ted Taylor (ice hockey) LW 68 15 26 41 88-10300 John Schella D 74 6 32 38 1068000 Marty Howe D 80 14 23 37 8140002 John Tonelli LW 79 17 14 31 6611312 Larry Hale D 77 2 12 14 307001 Jan Popiel LW 67 4 7 11 59-13000 Glen Irwin D 72 3 8 11 1163000 Bill Butters D 14 0 4 4 188000 Ron Grahame G 57 0 1 1 220000 Bob Liddington LW 2 0 0 0 20000 Wayne Rutledge G 25 0 0 0 60000 Mike Stevens ice hockey, born 1950 D 6 0 0 0 2-2000 + GoaltendingPlayerMIN MinutesGP Games played W WinL Loss T Ties GA Goals against GAA Goals against averageSO Shutouts Ron Grahame 3343 57 39 17 0 182 3.27 3 Wayne Rutledge 1456 25 14 10 0 77 3.17 1 Team: 4799 80 53 27 0 259 3.24 4 Player Pos Position GP Games playedG Goals A AssistsPts Points PIM Penalty minutes PPG Power play goals SHG Short-handed goals GWG Game-winning goals Mark Howe D 17 6 10 16 18000 Terry Ruskowski C 16 6 10 16 64000 John Tonelli LW 17 7 7 14 8000 Don Larway RW 16 7 5 12 21000 Gordie Howe RW 17 4 8 12 31000 Rich Preston RW 17 4 6 10 8000 Gord Labossiere C 17 2 8 10 14000 Marty Howe D 16 4 4 8 12000 Poul Popiel D 17 3 5 8 16000 John Schella D 17 1 6 7 38000 Frank Hughes Frank Hughes (ice hockey) LW 17 5 1 6 20000 Andre Hinse LW 17 2 3 5 2000 Murray Hall Murray Hall (ice hockey) RW 17 1 4 5 0000 Larry Hale D 17 0 5 5 8000 Ted Taylor Ted Taylor (ice hockey) LW 11 2 2 4 17000 Bill Butters D 17 0 3 3 51000 Larry Lund C 5 1 1 2 4000 Jan Popiel LW 8 1 1 2 4000 Steve West Steve West (ice hockey) C 7 0 1 1 0000 Ron Grahame G 14 0 0 0 0000 Glen Irwin D 5 0 0 0 9000 Wayne Rutledge G 4 0 0 0 0000 + PlayerMIN MinutesGP Games played W WinL Loss GA Goals against GAA Goals against averageSO Shutouts Ron Grahame 817 14 6 8 54 3.97 1 Wayne Rutledge 200 4 2 1 10 3.00 0 Team: 1017 17 8 9 64 3.78 1 hockey-reference.com 2009-06-30 1975-76 Houston Aeros Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/HSA/1976.html 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; Awards and records Ron Grahame, WHA All-Star Team (Second Team) WHA All-Star Game (January 13, 1976) John Schella Marty Howe Gordie Howe Mark Howe Draft picks Houston's draft picks at the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft.http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/wha1975a.html 1975 WHA Amateur Draft hockeyDB.com December 19, 2018 Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)115Richard Mulhern (D)CanadaSherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)230Doug Jarvis (C)CanadaPeterborough Petes (OHA)345Kevin Campbell (D)CanadaSt. Lawrence University (ECAC)460Dave Salvian (LW)CanadaSt. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)574Paul Crowley (RW)CanadaSudbury Wolves (OHA)688Bill Cheropita (G)CanadaSt. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)7101John Glynne (D)United StatesUniversity of Vermont (ECAC)8113Dave Taylor (F)CanadaClarkson University (ECAC)9125Jim Maxfield (D)CanadaSudbury Wolves (OHA)10138Chad Campbell (LW)CanadaUniversity of Denver (WCHA)11150Bill Oleschuk (G)CanadaSaskatoon Blades (WCHL)12160Jim Lundquist (D)United StatesBrown University (ECAC)13169Rick St. Croix (G)CanadaOshawa Generals (OHA)14175Paul Jensen (D)United StatesMichigan Tech University (WCHA) See also 1975–76 WHA season References Houston Category:Houston Aeros seasons