1972–73 Los Angeles Sharks season

World Hockey Association team season August 2023 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (35 games)Long Beach Arena (4 games) 5,982 (41.7%) WHA 1972–73 1972 Los Angeles Sharks 37–35–6 18–20–1 19–15–5 Western 3rd Dennis Murphy Terry Slater Ted McCaskill Earl HeiskalaGerry OdrowskiJim Watson 259 250 Gary Veneruzzo (43) J.P. LeBlanc (50) Gary Veneruzzo (73) Tom Gilmore (191) George Gardner (19) Russ Gillow (2.88) 1972–73 Los Angeles Sharks season was the Los Angeles Sharks inaugural season in the World Hockey Association.World Hockey Association World Hockey Association 1972 WHA 1972-73 Media Guide World Hockey AssociationWorld Hockey Association World Hockey Association 1973 WHA 1973-74 Media Guide World Hockey Association 2 Offseason The WHA awarded a franchise to Los Angeles and it was originally called the "Los Angeles Aces," while the San Francisco franchise was called the Sharks. However, when funding fell through and the San Francisco franchise was then moved to Quebec to become the Nordiques, the Los Angeles group took the name Sharks and created the stylized menacing shark logo. The team colors of red and black were based on the original nickname "aces", being that the two colors in a deck of cards are red and black. Regular season The Sharks hung around the .500 mark for much of the season. The Winnipeg Jets, led by Bobby Hull, were clearly the class of the WHA's Western Division. Four teams (the Houston Aeros, Minnesota Fighting Saints, Alberta Oilers, and Sharks staged a season long see-saw battle for 2nd through 5th place, with only the top four making the playoffs (The Chicago Cougars finished in a distant 6th place). The Sharks strength was their defense, which ranked 3rd in the league. Bart Crashley, Gerry Odrowski, and Jim Watson anchored the blue line. George Gardner (GAA 3.30) was a capable #1 goalie for the first half of the season, while 32-year-old rookie Russ Gillow (2.91 GAA) took over the top spot for most of the second half. In fact, Gillow was second in the WHA to Gerry Cheevers in GAA. The offense had quality but lacked depth. It was led by 43 goal scorer Gary Veneruzzo while Alton White was 2nd on the team in goals with 20. Veneruzzo also led the team in points with 73, followed by playmaking center J.P. LeBlanc (19 goals and 50 assists for 69 points), and defenseman Bart Crashley, who anchored the power play and chipped in 18 goals and 27 assists. Sharks special teams were solid, ranking 4th in the league in power play and 5th in penalty killing. Ultimately, the Sharks went 6–3–1 in their last 10 games, including winning their last two to climb from 5th place to 3rd. Final standings LAS Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#E51837 5px solid; border-bottom:#000000 5px solid; 1972–73 regular season1972-73 Los Angeles Sharks Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/LAS/1973_games.html Hockey-Reference.com April 11, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#E51837 2px solid; border-bottom:#000000 2px solid; October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |1||L||October 13, 1972||2–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Houston Aeros (1972–73) ||0–1–0 |- |2||W||October 15, 1972||5–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Houston Aeros (1972–73) ||1–1–0 |- |3||W||October 17, 1972||5–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) ||2–1–0 |- |4||W||October 19, 1972||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) ||3–1–0 |- |5||L||October 22, 1972||2–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Chicago Cougars (1972–73) ||3–2–0 |- |6||L||October 25, 1972||5–8 || style="text-align:left;"| Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) ||3–3–0 |- |7||L||October 27, 1972||4–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) ||3–4–0 |- |8||W||October 28, 1972||4–3 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Raiders (1972–73) ||4–4–0 |- |9||W||October 31, 1972||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) ||5–4–0 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#E51837 2px solid; border-bottom:#000000 2px solid; November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |10||T||November 2, 1972||1–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) ||5–4–1 |- |11||W||November 4, 1972||3–2 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ Chicago Cougars (1972–73) ||6–4–1 |- |12||W||November 5, 1972||4–0 || style="text-align:left;"| Houston Aeros (1972–73) ||7–4–1 |- |13||W||November 8, 1972||2–1 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Raiders (1972–73) ||8–4–1 |- |14||L||November 9, 1972||2–7 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Alberta Oilers (1972–73) ||8–5–1 |- |15||L||November 11, 1972||3–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Alberta Oilers (1972–73) ||8–6–1 |- |16||L||November 12, 1972||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) ||8–7–1 |- |17||L||November 14, 1972||0–8 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) ||8–8–1 |- |18||W||November 15, 1972||6–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Houston Aeros (1972–73) ||9–8–1 |- |19||L||November 17, 1972||1–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) ||9–9–1 |- |20||L||November 19, 1972||3–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) ||9–10–1 |- |21||L||November 21, 1972||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) ||9–11–1 |- |22||L||November 23, 1972||3–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) ||9–12–1 |- |23||L||November 24, 1972||2–3 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) ||9–13–1 |- |24||W||November 26, 1972||6–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Raiders (1972–73) ||10–13–1 |- |25||L||November 28, 1972||3–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) ||10–14–1 |- |26||W||November 30, 1972||6–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Houston Aeros (1972–73) ||11–14–1 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#E51837 2px solid; border-bottom:#000000 2px solid; December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |27||W||December 1, 1972||5–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Chicago Cougars (1972–73) ||12–14–1 |- |28||W||December 2, 1972||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Chicago Cougars (1972–73) ||13–14–1 |- |29||W||December 8, 1972||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Alberta Oilers (1972–73) ||14–14–1 |- |30||W||December 10, 1972||5–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Alberta Oilers (1972–73) ||15–14–1 |- |31||T||December 12, 1972||3–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) ||15–14–2 |- |32||L||December 14, 1972||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| New England Whalers (1972–73) ||15–15–2 |- |33||T||December 17, 1972||4–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Houston Aeros (1972–73) ||15–15–3 |- |34||L||December 19, 1972||5–7 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Houston Aeros (1972–73) ||15–16–3 |- |35||T||December 21, 1972||4–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) ||15–16–4 |- |36||L||December 23, 1972||1–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) ||15–17–4 |- |37||W||December 24, 1972||5–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New England Whalers (1972–73) ||16–17–4 |- |38||L||December 28, 1972||2–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) ||16–18–4 |- |39||W||December 29, 1972||5–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) ||17–18–4 |- |40||L||December 31, 1972||1–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) ||17–19–4 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#E51837 2px solid; border-bottom:#000000 2px solid; January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |41||W||January 9, 1973||4–3 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) ||18–19–4 |- |42||W||January 10, 1973||8–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Chicago Cougars (1972–73) ||19–19–4 |- |43||L||January 12, 1973||1–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Alberta Oilers (1972–73) ||19–20–4 |- |44||L||January 13, 1973||1–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Alberta Oilers (1972–73) ||19–21–4 |- |45||W||January 15, 1973||4–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Alberta Oilers (1972–73) ||20–21–4 |- |46||L||January 16, 1973||5–6 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ Alberta Oilers (1972–73) ||20–22–4 |- |47||L||January 19, 1973||1–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) ||20–23–4 |- |48||W||January 21, 1973||3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) ||21–23–4 |- |49||L||January 26, 1973||4–5 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| New York Raiders (1972–73) ||21–24–4 |- |50||W||January 28, 1973||9–2 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Raiders (1972–73) ||22–24–4 |- |51||W||January 30, 1973||5–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Houston Aeros (1972–73) ||23–24–4 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#E51837 2px solid; border-bottom:#000000 2px solid; February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |52||W||February 2, 1973||3–1 || style="text-align:left;"| New England Whalers (1972–73) ||24–24–4 |- |53||W||February 4, 1973||4–3 || style="text-align:left;"| New England Whalers (1972–73) ||25–24–4 |- |54||W||February 8, 1973||3–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) ||26–24–4 |- |55||L||February 10, 1973||5–6 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) ||26–25–4 |- |56||L||February 11, 1973||0–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) ||26–26–4 |- |57||L||February 13, 1973||1–6 || style="text-align:left;"| Chicago Cougars (1972–73) ||26–27–4 |- |58||L||February 15, 1973||5–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New England Whalers (1972–73) ||26–28–4 |- |59||T||February 16, 1973||2–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) ||26–28–5 |- |60||W||February 18, 1973||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) ||27–28–5 |- |61||W||February 20, 1973||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) ||28–28–5 |- |62||L||February 24, 1973||3–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) ||28–29–5 |- |63||W||February 25, 1973||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) ||29–29–5 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#E51837 2px solid; border-bottom:#000000 2px solid; March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |64||W||March 1, 1973||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73) ||30–29–5 |- |65||L||March 2, 1973||1–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) ||30–30–5 |- |66||L||March 4, 1973||1–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1972–73) ||30–31–5 |- |67||W||March 6, 1973||3–2 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| Quebec Nordiques (1972–73) ||31–31–5 |- |68||L||March 7, 1973||1–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Houston Aeros (1972–73) ||31–32–5 |- |69||W||March 9, 1973||5–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Houston Aeros (1972–73) ||32–32–5 |- |70||W||March 11, 1973||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) ||33–32–5 |- |71||L||March 13, 1973||1–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Ottawa Nationals (1972–73) ||33–33–5 |- |72||W||March 15, 1973||6–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Raiders (1972–73) ||34–33–5 |- |73||W||March 17, 1973||2–0 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) ||35–33–5 |- |74||T||March 19, 1973||5–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73) ||35–33–6 |- |75||L||March 20, 1973||1–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New England Whalers (1972–73) ||35–34–6 |- |76||L||March 23, 1973||3–7 || style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73) ||35–35–6 |- |77||W||March 25, 1973||1–0 || style="text-align:left;"| Chicago Cougars (1972–73) ||36–35–6 |- |78||W||March 27, 1973||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Chicago Cougars (1972–73) ||37–35–6 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Playoffs The Sharks' 3rd place finish enabled them to avoid a first round matchup with Bobby Hull's powerful Winnipeg Jets and earned them a series with the 2nd place Houston Aeros, who finished 2 points ahead of the Sharks in the standings. After opening in Houston with an uninspired 7–2 loss, the Sharks bounced back to win game two by a 4–2 score. Heading back to L.A. with a split, the Sharks won a thrilling game three by a score of 3–2; goalie Russ Gillow made several spectacular saves to preserve the win. The turning point was game four. The clubs battled through regulation tied at 2; if the Sharks scored the next goal, they would have a commanding 3–1 series lead but if Houston scored, the series would be tied going back to Houston. Winger Murray Hall scored for Houston, and the Sharks didn't win another game, losing game five 6–3 and game six, 3–2. After the series, coach Terry Slater was criticized for starting George Gardner in games 1 and 5 despite the fact Gillow played better the second half of the season. Gardner was pulled in game 1 (a 7–2 loss) and did not play well in game 5 (a 6–3 loss). Garnder's GAA for the series was 5.69 while Gillow's was 2.91. Slater stated he wanted the veteran Gardner to start game 1 over the rookie Gillow. background:#fff; border-top:#E51837 5px solid; border-bottom:#000000 5px solid; 1973 Avco Cup playoffs y background:#fff; border-top:#E51837 2px solid; border-bottom:#000000 2px solid; Division Semifinals vs. Houston Aeros – Aeros win 4–2 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series |- | 1 || April 5 || Los Angeles Sharks || 2–7 || Houston Aeros || 0–1 |- | 2 || April 7 || Los Angeles Sharks || 4–2 || Houston Aeros || 1–1 |- | 3 || April 11 || Houston Aeros || 2–3 || Los Angeles Sharks || 2–1 |- | 4 || April 13 || Houston Aeros || 3–2 OT || Los Angeles Sharks || 2–2 |- | 5 || April 15 || Los Angeles Sharks || 3–6 || Houston Aeros || 2–3 |- | 6 || April 17 || Houston Aeros || 3–2 || Los Angeles Sharks || 2–4 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win 1px solid black #fcc Loss 1px solid black Player statistics + Regular season Player Position GP Games played G Goals A Assists Pts Points PIM Penalty minutes +/- Plus/Minus PPG Power play goals SHG Short-handed goals GWG Game-winning goals Gary Veneruzzo W 78 43 30 73 3401305 J.P. LeBlanc Jean-Paul LeBlanc (ice hockey) C 77 19 50 69 490213 Bart Crashley D 70 18 27 45 100700 Joe Szura C 73 13 32 45 250300 Alton White RW 57 20 17 37 220200 Tom Serviss C 73 11 26 37 320030 Gerry Odrowski D 78 6 31 37 890010 Mike Byers RW 56 19 17 36 200200 Tom Gilmore Tom Gilmore (ice hockey) LW 71 17 18 35 1910600 Earl Heiskala LW 70 12 17 29 1500200 Jim Niekamp D 78 7 22 29 1550010 Bill Young Bill Young (ice hockey) LW 50 14 12 26 460600 Peter Slater Peter Slater (ice hockey) RW 73 12 12 24 870300 Ralph MacSweyn D 78 0 23 23 390000 Ted McCaskill C 73 11 11 22 1500020 Jim Watson Jim Watson (ice hockey) D 75 5 15 20 1230100 Steve Sutherland Steve Sutherland (ice hockey) LW 44 11 6 17 980000 Fred Speck C 28 3 13 16 220000 Mike Hyndman RW 19 8 7 15 110100 Bernie MacNeil LW 42 4 7 11 480000 Bob Jones Bob Jones (ice hockey) LW 20 2 7 9 80100 Howie Heggedal LW 8 2 1 3 00100 Jarda Krupicka RW 6 1 0 1 20000 Larry Mavety D 2 1 0 1 20100 George Gardner George Gardner (ice hockey) G 49 0 1 1 20000 Russ Gillow G 38 0 0 0 60000 Mike Jakubo Mike Jakubo (ice hockey) C 7 0 0 0 00000 Bob Perreault G 1 0 0 0 00000 Jerry Zrymiak D 1 0 0 0 00000 Playoffs + Player Position GP Games played G Goals A Assists Pts Points PIM Penalty minutes PPG Power play goals SHG Short-handed goals GWG Game-winning goals Fred Speck C 6 3 2 5 2100 Ted McCaskill C 6 2 3 5 12000 J.P. LeBlanc Jean-Paul LeBlanc (ice hockey) C 6 0 5 5 2000 Tom Gilmore Tom Gilmore (ice hockey) LW 5 1 3 4 2000 Gary Veneruzzo W 6 3 0 3 4101 Jim Niekamp D 6 2 1 3 10000 Ralph MacSweyn D 6 1 2 3 4000 Gerry Odrowski D 6 1 2 3 6001 Mike Hyndman RW 6 0 3 3 17000 Earl Heiskala LW 5 1 1 2 4100 Bart Crashley D 6 0 2 2 2000 Steve Sutherland Steve Sutherland (ice hockey) LW 6 0 2 2 8000 Alton White RW 6 1 0 1 0100 Jerry Zrymiak D 2 1 0 1 2000 Jim Watson Jim Watson (ice hockey) D 4 0 1 1 2000 George Gardner George Gardner (ice hockey) G 3 0 0 0 0000 Russ Gillow G 5 0 0 0 0000 Howie Heggedal LW 1 0 0 0 0000 Bernie MacNeil LW 3 0 0 0 4000 Tom Serviss C 6 0 0 0 0000 Peter Slater Peter Slater (ice hockey) RW 6 0 0 0 2000 Joe Szura C 2 0 0 0 0000 Goaltending Player MIN Minutes GP Games played W Wins L Losses T Ties GA Goals allowed GAA Goals Against Average SO Shutouts George Gardner George Gardner (ice hockey) 2713 49 19 22 4 149 3.30 1 Russ Gillow 1982 38 17 13 2 96 2.91 2 Bob Perreault 60 1 1 0 0 2 2.00 0 Team: 4755 78 37 35 6 247 3.12 3 Playoffs Player MIN Minutes GP Games played W Wins L Losses GA Goals allowed GAA Goals Against Average SO Shutouts George Gardner George Gardner (ice hockey) 116 3 1 2 11 5.69 0 Russ Gillow 247 5 1 2 12 2.91 0 Team: 363 6 2 4 23 3.80 0 hockey-reference.com 2009-06-29 1972-73 Los Angeles Sharks Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/LAS/1973.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; Draft picks 3rd round, 8th pick (32nd overall pick) – Robert Klein, D – Kamloops See also 1972–73 WHA season References Category:Los Angeles Sharks seasons Los