1976–77 WCHL season

Junior ice hockey season August 2023 1976–77 WCHL season Western Hockey League Ice hockey Playoffs New Westminster Bruins (3) Brandon Wheat Kings 12 Regular season Season champions Brandon Wheat Kings (1) Four Broncos Memorial Trophy Barry Beck (New Westminster Bruins) Bob Clarke Trophy Bill Derlago (Brandon Wheat Kings) WHL 1975–76 1977–78 1976–77 CHL season #4B489D #FFFFFF Canadian Hockey League Ice hockey 34 OMJHL QMJHL WCHL Memorial Cup New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) 1 Ottawa 67's (OMJHL) The 1976–77 WCHL season was the 11th season of the Western Canada Hockey League. It featured twelve teams and a 72-game regular season. The Brandon Wheat Kings won their first regular season title, posting 54 wins on the season. However, in the playoffs the New Westminster Bruins continued their run of dominance and won their third consecutive President's Cup, defeating the Wheat Kings in the championship series. The Bruins advanced to the 1977 Memorial Cup tournament, and there they secured their first Memorial Cup title. The season was the first for the Portland Winter Hawks, who became the league's first American-based club when the charter Edmonton Oil Kings relocated to Portland, Oregon prior to the season. The Winnipeg Clubs also changed their name to the Monarchs. League notes The league adopted a new divisional format, dividing into three divisions of four teams each. Team changes The Edmonton Oil Kings relocated to Portland, Oregon, becoming the Portland Winterhawks. The Winnipeg Clubs are renamed the Winnipeg Monarchs. Regular season Final standings main WDL 2 y y n before qualified for playoffs East Division SAS Saskatoon Blades BRA Brandon Wheat Kings LET Lethbridge Broncos WIN Winnipeg Clubs REG Regina Pats FLI Flin Flon Bombers 43 19 10 390 269 x 34 30 8 341 303 x 28 35 9 293 352 x 27 39 6 302 378 x 22 42 8 278 347 x 18 44 10 279 441 complete main WDL 2 y y n before qualified for playoffs West Division NEW New Westminster Bruins KAM Kamloops Chiefs MED Medicine Hat Tigers VIC Victoria Cougars EDM Edmonton Oil Kings CAL Calgary Centennials 54 14 4 463 247 x 40 26 6 365 285 x 38 24 10 379 306 x 37 28 7 343 320 x 25 42 5 312 400 x 22 45 5 284 381 complete Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes Player Team GP G A Pts PIM Bernie Federko Saskatoon Blades 72 72 115 187 108 Greg Carroll Medicine Hat Tigers 71 60 109 169 118 Don Murdoch Medicine Hat Tigers 70 88 77 165 202 Blair Chapman Saskatoon Blades 69 71 86 157 67 Fred Berry New Westminster Bruins 72 59 87 146 164 Rick Shinske New Westminster Bruins 70 52 91 143 86 Jim Gustafson Victoria Cougars 69 46 95 141 72 Morris Lukowich Medicine Hat Tigers 72 65 75 140 195 Rich Gosselin Flin Flon Bombers 69 67 66 133 192 Dale McMullin Brandon Wheat Kings 72 56 74 130 28 Regular season Final standings East Division GP W L T Pts GF GA x Brandon Wheat Kings72 54 10 8 116 447 242 x Saskatoon Blades 72 30 30 12 72 317 290 Flin Flon Bombers 72 16 42 14 46 294 411 Regina Pats 72 8 53 11 27 218 464 Central Division GP W L T Pts GF GA x Medicine Hat Tigers72 32 28 12 76 330 304 x Winnipeg Monarchs 72 31 34 7 69 341 384 x Lethbridge Broncos 72 28 32 12 68 324 335 x Calgary Centennials 72 22 34 15 59 329 397 West Division GP W L T Pts GF GA x New Westminster Bruins 72 47 14 11 105 363 216 x Kamloops Chiefs 72 34 26 12 80 308 291 x Portland Winter Hawks 72 36 29 7 79 359 294 x Victoria Cougars 72 27 32 13 67 299 301 Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes Player Team GP G A Pts PIM Bill Derlago Brandon Wheat Kings 72 96 82 178 63 Ray Allison Brandon Wheat Kings 71 45 92 137 198 Brian Propp Brandon Wheat Kings 72 55 80 135 47 Kevin McCarthy Winnipeg Monarchs 72 22 105 127 110 Dan Bonar Brandon Wheat Kings 72 75 50 125 70 Tony Currie Portland Winter Hawks 72 73 52 125 50 Mark Lofthouse New Westminster Bruins 70 54 58 112 59 Wayne Babych Portland Winter Hawks 72 50 62 112 76 Brent Peterson Portland Winter Hawks 69 34 78 112 98 Kim Davis Flin Flon Bombers 69 56 55 111 250 1977 WCHL Playoffs Preliminary round Calgary defeated Medicine Hat 4 games to 0 Lethbridge defeated Saskatoon 4 games to 2 League quarter-finals Brandon defeated Winnipeg 5 games to 2 Lethbridge defeated Calgary 3 games to 2 New Westminster defeated Victoria 4 games to 0 Portland defeated Kamloops 4 games to 1 League semi-finals Brandon defeated Lethbridge 4 games to 0 New Westminster defeated Portland 4 games to 1 WHL Championship New Westminster defeated Brandon 4 games to 1 All-Star game On January 19, the West All-Stars defeated the East All-Stars 3–2 at Brandon, Manitoba before a crowd of 4,120. WHL awards Most Valuable Player: Barry Beck, New Westminster BruinsTop Scorer: Bill Derlago, Brandon Wheat KingsMost Sportsmanlike Player: Steve Tambellini, Lethbridge BroncosTop Defenseman: Barry Beck, New Westminster BruinsRookie of the Year: Brian Propp, Brandon Wheat KingsTop Goaltender: Glen Hanlon, Brandon Wheat KingsCoach of the Year: Dunc McCallum, Brandon Wheat KingsRegular season champions: Brandon Wheat Kings All-Star teams First Team Second Team Goal Glen Hanlon Brandon Wheat Kings Dave Parro Saskatoon BladesDefense Barry Beck New Westminster Bruins Brad Maxwell New Westminster Bruins Kevin McCarthy Winnipeg Monarchs Brad McCrimmon Brandon Wheat Kings Center Bill Derlago Brandon Wheat Kings Ron Areshenkoff Medicine Hat Tigers Left Wing Reg Kerr Kamloops Chiefs Brian Propp Brandon Wheat Kings Right Wing Wayne Babych Portland Winter Hawks Mark Lofthouse New Westminster Bruins See also 1977 NHL entry draft 1976 in sports 1977 in sports References 2005–06 WHL Guide 1975–76 WCHL season 1977–78 WCHL season WHL seasons Category:Western Hockey League seasons WHL WCHL