1977–78 New England Whalers season

World Hockey Association team season August 2023 WHA 1977–78 1977 Hartford Civic Center (23 games)Springfield Civic Center (18 games) New England Whalers 44–31–5 26–14–1 18–17–4 WHA 2nd Jack Kelley Harry Neale Rick Ley 335 269 Gordie Howe (34) Gordie Howe (62) Gordie Howe (96) Jack Carlson (192) Al Smith (30) Al Smith (3.22) 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. On December 7, 1977, playing against the Birmingham Bulls at BJCC Coliseum in the first period, Howe became the first player to score 1,000 professional goals, doing so off goaltender John Garrett at 1:36 in the first period off assists by John McKenzie and Mike Antonovich.https://www.espn.com/classic/s/moment011207-gordie-1000-goals.html ESPN Classic November 19, 2003 Gordie Howe is first to net 1,000 goals Larry Schwartz June 6, 2026http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2016/06/when_hockey_was_big_in_birming.html "When hockey was big in Birmingham, Gordie Howe made it huge" The Birmingham News 2016-06-10 live https://web.archive.org/web/20160925032313/http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2016/06/when_hockey_was_big_in_birming.html 2016-09-25Newspaper Archive December 8, 1977 UPI https://newspaperarchive.com/other-clipping-dec-08-1977-5733341/?utm_source=newspaperarchive&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=share_link&utm_content=newspaper_clipping/ The Berkshire Eagle Howe's 1,000th goal is certain reliefNewspaper Archive December 8, 1977 https://newspaperarchive.com/other-clipping-dec-08-1977-5733343/?utm_source=newspaperarchive&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=share_link&utm_content=newspaper_clipping/ The Berkshire Eagle Gordie Howe scores 1,000th goal, snapping his 10-game slump On the early morning of January 18, 1978, the roof at the Hartford Civic Center collapsed. The team played their remaining home games at Springfield Civic Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Howe trio helped the Whalers advance to the Avco Cup Finals, where they were defeated by the Winnipeg Jets. 2 Regular season Final standings NEW Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 5px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 5px solid; 1977–78 regular season1977-78 New England Whalers Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NEW/1978_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 12, 1977||3–0 || align="left"| @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) ||1–0–0 |- |2||W||October 15, 1977||5–2 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) ||2–0–0 |- |3||L||October 16, 1977||2–6 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) ||2–1–0 |- |4||T||October 18, 1977||2–2 || align="left"| @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) ||2–1–1 |- |5||W||October 19, 1977||6–3 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) ||3–1–1 |- |6||W||October 21, 1977||5–2 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) ||4–1–1 |- |7||W||October 26, 1977||7–1 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) ||5–1–1 |- |8||W||October 29, 1977||7–2 || align="left"| Houston Aeros (1977–78) ||6–1–1 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 2px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 2px solid; November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |9||W||November 1, 1977||6–3 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) ||7–1–1 |- |10||W||November 4, 1977||4–3 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) ||8–1–1 |- |11||W||November 6, 1977||5–2 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) ||9–1–1 |- |12||W||November 8, 1977||4–3 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) ||10–1–1 |- |13||W||November 10, 1977||5–3 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) ||11–1–1 |- |14||W||November 12, 1977||5–3 || align="left"| Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) ||12–1–1 |- |15||W||November 15, 1977||6–4 || align="left"| @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) ||13–1–1 |- |16||W||November 18, 1977||3–2 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) ||14–1–1 |- |17||W||November 20, 1977||5–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) ||15–1–1 |- |18||L||November 22, 1977||4–5 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) ||15–2–1 |- |19||T||November 23, 1977||3–3 || align="left"| Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) ||15–2–2 |- |20||L||November 25, 1977||2–6 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) ||15–3–2 |- |21||L||November 26, 1977||1–3 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) ||15–4–2 |- |22||T||November 30, 1977||3–3 || align="left"| @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) ||15–4–3 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 2px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 2px solid; December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |23||W||December 2, 1977||4–1 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) ||16–4–3 |- |24||L||December 3, 1977||2–5 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) ||16–5–3 |- |25||L||December 6, 1977||2–5 || align="left"| @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) ||16–6–3 |- |26||W||December 7, 1977||6–3 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) ||17–6–3 |- |27||W||December 9, 1977||2–1 OT|| align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) ||18–6–3 |- |28||W||December 14, 1977||7–2 || align="left"| Soviet All-Stars (1977–78) ||19–6–3 |- |29||W||December 16, 1977||5–3 || align="left"| Czechoslovakia (1977–78) ||20–6–3 |- |30||L||December 17, 1977||3–6 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) ||20–7–3 |- |31||L||December 18, 1977||3–7 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) ||20–8–3 |- |32||W||December 23, 1977||5–3 || align="left"| Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) ||21–8–3 |- |33||W||December 27, 1977||8–1 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) ||22–8–3 |- |34||W||December 30, 1977||6–2 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) ||23–8–3 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 2px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 2px solid; January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |35||W||January 1, 1978||4–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) ||24–8–3 |- |36||L||January 4, 1978||4–6 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) ||24–9–3 |- |37||L||January 6, 1978||3–4 || align="left"| @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) ||24–10–3 |- |38||W||January 7, 1978||5–3 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) ||25–10–3 |- |39||L||January 8, 1978||4–5 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) ||25–11–3 |- |40||W||January 13, 1978||2–0 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) ||26–11–3 |- |41||L||January 14, 1978||4–5 OT|| align="left"| Houston Aeros (1977–78) ||26–12–3 |- |42||L||January 18, 1978||0–1 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) ||26–13–3 |- |43||T||January 20, 1978||4–4 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) ||26–13–4 |- |44||L||January 21, 1978||2–3 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) ||26–14–4 |- |45||W||January 22, 1978||6–3 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) ||27–14–4 |- |46||L||January 25, 1978||7–8 OT|| align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) ||27–15–4 |- |47||W||January 27, 1978||6–2 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) ||28–15–4 |- |48||W||January 28, 1978||3–0 || align="left"| @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) ||29–15–4 |- |49||L||January 29, 1978||4–6 || align="left"| @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) ||29–16–4 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 2px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 2px solid; February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |50||W||February 1, 1978||4–3 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) ||30–16–4 |- |51||L||February 3, 1978||3–6 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) ||30–17–4 |- |52||L||February 4, 1978||4–5 || align="left"| @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) ||30–18–4 |- |53||W||February 11, 1978||8–7 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) ||31–18–4 |- |54||W||February 14, 1978||5–1 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) ||32–18–4 |- |55||L||February 16, 1978||1–2 OT|| align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) ||32–19–4 |- |56||W||February 18, 1978||4–1 || align="left"| @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) ||33–19–4 |- |57||L||February 21, 1978||5–6 OT|| align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) ||33–20–4 |- |58||L||February 22, 1978||2–4 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) ||33–21–4 |- |59||L||February 24, 1978||2–7 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) ||33–22–4 |- |60||W||February 26, 1978||6–5 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) ||34–22–4 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 2px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 2px solid; March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |61||L||March 1, 1978||3–4 OT|| align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) ||34–23–4 |- |62||L||March 3, 1978||2–3 OT|| align="left"| Houston Aeros (1977–78) ||34–24–4 |- |63||L||March 4, 1978||2–5 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) ||34–25–4 |- |64||L||March 5, 1978||1–2 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) ||34–26–4 |- |65||L||March 9, 1978||4–6 || align="left"| @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) ||34–27–4 |- |66||W||March 10, 1978||5–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) ||35–27–4 |- |67||W||March 14, 1978||6–0 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) ||36–27–4 |- |68||W||March 15, 1978||7–0 || align="left"| Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) ||37–27–4 |- |69||W||March 17, 1978||6–2 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) ||38–27–4 |- |70||L||March 18, 1978||3–5 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) ||38–28–4 |- |71||W||March 21, 1978||6–3 || align="left"| Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) ||39–28–4 |- |72||L||March 22, 1978||3–5 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) ||39–29–4 |- |73||L||March 24, 1978||0–1 || align="left"| Houston Aeros (1977–78) ||39–30–4 |- |74||W||March 26, 1978||5–3 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) ||40–30–4 |- |75||W||March 29, 1978||6–1 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) ||41–30–4 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 2px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 2px solid; April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |76||W||April 3, 1978||8–6 || align="left"| Houston Aeros (1977–78) ||42–30–4 |- |77||T||April 5, 1978||4–4 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) ||42–30–5 |- |78||L||April 6, 1978||4–7 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) ||42–31–5 |- |79||W||April 10, 1978||6–1 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) ||43–31–5 |- |80||W||April 11, 1978||6–3 || align="left"| Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) ||44–31–5 |- |- | 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; 1978 Avco Cup playoffs y background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 2px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 2px solid; Division Quarterfinals vs. Edmonton Oilers – Whalers win 4–1 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 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 2px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 2px solid; Division Semifinals vs. Quebec Nordiques – Whalers win 4–1 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 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009A44 2px solid; border-bottom:#F7BD03 2px solid; Avco Cup Finals vs. Winnipeg Jets – Jets win 4–0 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 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win 1px solid black #fcc Loss 1px solid black Player statistics Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Gordie Howe RW 76 34 62 96 85461600 Mark Howe D 70 30 61 91 3230400 Mike Rogers Mike Rogers (ice hockey) C 80 28 43 71 4622410 Mike Antonovich Mike Antonovich (ice hockey) C 75 32 35 67 3217500 Dave Keon C 77 24 38 62 2−4150 Gordie Roberts D 78 15 46 61 11817500 John McKenzie John McKenzie (ice hockey) RW 79 27 29 56 6115900 George Lyle George Lyle (ice hockey) LW 68 30 24 54 7412300 Rick Ley D 73 3 41 44 9536000 Larry Pleau C 54 16 18 34 412200 Brad Selwood D 80 6 25 31 8811200 Al Hangsleben D 79 11 18 29 14017000 Jack Carlson Jack Carlson (ice hockey) LW 67 9 20 29 1929000 Greg Carroll Greg Carroll (ice hockey) C 48 9 14 23 273020 Tom Webster Tom Webster (ice hockey) RW 20 15 5 20 58500 Jim Mayer Jim Mayer (ice hockey) RW 51 11 9 20 211100 Marty Howe D 75 10 10 20 6610100 Tim Sheehy Timothy Sheehy (ice hockey) RW 25 8 11 19 14−2300 Bill Butters D 45 1 13 14 6921000 Steve Carlson C 38 6 7 13 117110 Danny Bolduc LW 41 5 5 10 226000 Ron Plumb D 27 1 9 10 186000 Bryan Maxwell D 17 2 1 3 119000 Al Smith Al Smith (ice hockey) G 55 0 3 3 40000 Andre Peloffy C 10 2 0 2 2−2000 Jean-Louis Levasseur G 27 0 0 0 20000Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LTGAGAA SO Al Smith Al Smith (ice hockey) 3246 55 30 20 3 174 3.22 2 Jean-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 Mike Antonovich Mike Antonovich (ice hockey) C 14 10 7 17 4001 Dave Keon C 14 5 11 16 4001 Mark Howe D 14 8 7 15 18000 John McKenzie John McKenzie (ice hockey) RW 14 6 6 12 16001 Mike Rogers Mike Rogers (ice hockey) C 14 5 6 11 8000 Gordie Howe RW 14 5 5 10 15002 Larry Pleau C 14 5 4 9 8001 Steve Carlson C 13 2 7 9 2000 Rick Ley D 14 1 8 9 4000 Danny Bolduc LW 14 2 4 6 4000 Ron Plumb D 14 1 5 6 16001 Al Hangsleben D 14 1 4 5 37000 Gordie Roberts D 14 0 5 5 29000 Tim Sheehy Timothy Sheehy (ice hockey) RW 13 1 3 4 9000 George Lyle George Lyle (ice hockey) LW 12 2 1 3 13000 Brad Selwood D 14 0 3 3 8000 Jack Carlson Jack Carlson (ice hockey) LW 9 1 1 2 14000 Marty Howe D 14 1 1 2 13001 Jean-Louis Levasseur G 12 0 1 1 2000 Andre Peloffy C 2 0 0 0 0000 Al Smith Al Smith (ice hockey) G 3 0 0 0 0000 Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LGAGAA SO Jean-Louis Levasseur 719 12 8 4 31 2.59 0 Al Smith Al Smith (ice hockey) 120 3 0 2 14 7.00 0 Team: 839 14 8 6 45 3.22 0 hockey-reference.com 2009-06-30 1977-78 New England Whalers Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NEW/1978.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 New England's draft picks at the 1977 WHA Amateur Draft.http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/wha1977a.html 1977 WHA Amateur Draft hockeyDB.com December 18, 2018 Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)215Moe Robinson (D)CanadaKingston Canadians (OHA)219Randy Pierce (RW)CanadaSudbury Wolves (OHA)323John Baby (D)CanadaSudbury Wolves (OHA)543Brian Hill (RW)AustriaMedicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)652Jim Korn (D)United StatesProvidence College (ECAC) See also 1977–78 WHA season References New Category:New England Whalers seasons New England New England