1976 WHA playoffs

Last updated

1976 WHA playoffs
Tournament details
DatesApril 9 – May 27, 1976
Season 1975–76
Teams10
Final positions
Champions Winnipeg Jets (1st title)
Runner-up Houston Aeros
Semifinalists
←  1975
1977  →

The 1976 WHA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the World Hockey Association's 1975-1976 season. The fourth WHA tournament, it was the only one with ten teams in competition with each other. The Winnipeg Jets won the Avco Cup over the Houston Aeros for their first ever championship. [1] Ulf Nilsson was named the WHA Playoff MVP. [2]

Contents

Bracket

Quarterfinals
April 9-30		Semifinals
April 23 - May 16		Avco Cup
May 20-27
W1 Houston Aeros 4
W3 San Diego Mariners 2
W1Houston Aeros4
E3New England Whalers3
E3 New England Whalers 4
'
E1 Indianapolis Racers 3
C1Winnipeg Jets4
W1Houston Aeros0
C3 Calgary Cowboys 4
C2 Quebec Nordiques 1
C1Winnipeg Jets4
C3Calgary Cowboys1
C1 Winnipeg Jets 4
C4 Edmonton Oilers 0
Preliminary RoundPreliminary Round
New England Whalers 3 San Diego Mariners 3
Cleveland Crusaders 0 Phoenix Roadrunners 2

Preliminary Round

San Diego Mariners vs. Phoenix Roadrunners

Unusually, Game 5 had no penalties called for the duration of the game. It also was the last playoff game played in the state of Arizona until the Arizona Coyotes played in 1997.

April 9San Diego Mariners2–3 (OT)
(1–2, 1–0, 0–0, 0–1)		Phoenix Roadrunners Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Ernie Wakely Goalies Jack Norris
Wayne Rivers
Bob Falkenberg 		Goals Gary Veneruzzo
Serge Beaudoin
GW - Del Hall (0:31)
25
(10–9–6–0)		Shots29
(9–7–12–1)
April 10Phoenix Roadrunners2–4
(1–1, 0–1, 1–2)		San Diego Mariners San Diego Sports Arena
Jack Norris Goalies Ernie Wakely
Jim Boyd Goals John French
Joe Noris
Norm Ferguson
André Lacroix
24
(7–13–4)		Shots37
(9–12–16)
April 13San Diego Mariners4–6
(4–1, 0–4, 0–1)		Phoenix Roadrunners Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Ernie Wakely Goalies Jack Norris
Brent Hughes
Gene Peacosh
Ray Adduono
John French 		Goals Del Hall
Jim Boyd
Robbie Ftorek
Gary Veneruzzo
Ron Huston
Lauri Mononen
24
(10–6–8)		Shots40
(16–14–10)
April 15Phoenix Roadrunners1–5
(0–2, 0–1, 1–2)		San Diego Mariners San Diego Sports Arena
Jack Norris Goalies Ernie Wakely
Cam Connor Goals Kevin Devine
Brian Morenz
Andre Lacroix
Alex Tidey
Bob Wall
21
(3–7–11)		Shots33
(11–15–7)
April 17San Diego Mariners2–1
(1–0, 1–1, 0–0)		Phoenix Roadrunners Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Ernie Wakely Goalies Jack Norris
Alex Tidey
Norm Ferguson 		Goals John Gray
23
(9–11–3)		Shots30
(10–10–10)

New England Whalers vs. Cleveland Crusaders

Mike Rogers delivered the go-ahead goal in Game 3 with four minutes remaining to eliminate Cleveland. This was the final game played by the Crusaders in Cleveland, as they relocated to Minnesota in the offseason when the National Hockey League approved the move of the California Golden Seals to Cleveland.

April 9Cleveland Crusaders3–5
(1–3, 1–1, 1–1)		New England Whalers Hartford Civic Center
Bob Johnson Goalies Bruce Landon
Rich Leduc
Wayne Connelly
Danny Gruen 		Goals Ralph Backstrom
Gordie Roberts
Nick Fotiu
Larry Pleau
Mike Rogers
31
(10–10–11)		Shots33
(10–16–7)
April 10New England Whalers6–1
(1–1, 2–0, 3–0)		Cleveland Crusaders Richfield Coliseum
Bruce Landon Goalies Cam Newton
Larry Pleau (2)
Fred O'Donnell
Tom Webster
Brad Selwood
Mike Rogers 		Goals Rich Leduc
40
13–9–18)		Shots30
(11–11–8)
April 11New England Whalers3–2
(0–2, 1–0, 2–0)		Cleveland Crusaders Richfield Coliseum
Bruce Landon Goalies Bob Johnson
Bob McManama
Ralph Backstrom
16:38 (3rd) – Mike Rogers 		Goals Danny Gruen
Al McDonough
36
(12–11–13)		Shots35
(16–9–10)

Quarterfinals

(C1) Winnipeg Jets vs. (E4) Edmonton Oilers

April 9Edmonton Oilers3–7
(1–3, 1–2, 1–2)		Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Arena
Dave Dryden Goalies Joe Daley
Bob Russell
Ken Baird
Tim Sheehy 		Goals Bobby Hull
Bob Guindon
Mats Lindh
Veli-Pekka Ketola
Thommie Bergman
Norm Beaudin
Peter Sullivan
21
(7–6–8)		Shots48
(18–13–17)
April 11Edmonton Oilers4–5 (OT)
(1–1, 2–2, 1–1, 0–1)		Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Arena
Dave Dryden Goalies Joe Daley / Curt Larsson
Dan Spring
Ed Patenaude
Ken Baird
18:10 (3rd) - Tim Sheehy 		Goals Ulf Nilsson
Lyle Moffat
Bobby Hull
Willy Lindström
GW - Ulf Nilsson (0:54)
24
(10–11–3–0)		Shots62
(24–16–21–1)
April 14Winnipeg Jets3–2
(2–0, 0–2, 1–0)		Edmonton Oilers Edmonton Coliseum
Curt Larsson Goalies Dave Dryden
Anders Hedberg
Peter Sullivan
10:22 (3rd) - Bobby Hull 		Goals Bob McAneeley
Ken Baird
29
(10–10–9)		Shots29
(12–12–5)
April 16Winnipeg Jets7–2
(1–1, 5–1, 1–0)		Edmonton Oilers Edmonton Coliseum
Joe Daley Goalies Chris Worthy
Bobby Hull (2)
Veli-Pekka Ketola
Bill Lesuk
Mats Lindh
Norm Beaudin
Asmundson		Goals Wayne Carleton
Norm Ullman
38
(13–14–11)		Shots20
(5–13–2)

(C3) Calgary Cowboys vs. (C2) Quebec Nordiques

In a shocking upset, the Cowboys prevailed over the Nordiques. However, it mostly became known for an infamous brawl during Game 2 that saw eleven ejections, a coach suspended the rest of the series, and criminal matters. The incident began when Calgary's Rick Jodzio cross-checked Quebec's Marc Tardif in the head, causing both teams to leave their benches. [3] [4] The brawl lasted 20 minutes, and ended only when Quebec police gathered at the players benches and escorted the teams back to their dressing rooms. [5] The game resumed following a 20-minute break to allow both teams to cool down, then resumed without eleven players who were ejected from the game. [4] The incident caught the attention of Quebec's Solicitor General Fernand Lalonde, who had the incident investigated as a criminal matter. [4] Jodzio was suspended indefinitely by the league, and later pleaded guilty in a Quebec court to a charge of assault over the incident. [6] Cowboys coach Joe Crozier was suspended for the rest of the series. [5]

April 10Calgary Cowboys3–1
(1–0, 1–0, 1–1)		Quebec Nordiques Colisée de Québec
Don McLeod Goalies Richard Brodeur
Chris Evans (2)
Ron Chipperfield 		Goals Réal Cloutier
24
(9–5–10)		Shots28
(10–7–11)
April 11Calgary Cowboys8–4
(2–2, 0–2, 6–0)		Quebec Nordiques Colisée de Québec
Don McLeod Goalies Richard Brodeur
George Morrison
Gavin Kirk (2)
Don Tannahill
Bernie Lukowich
Ron Chipperfield
Lynn Powis 		Goals Serge Bernier (2)
Marc Tardif
Bob Fitchner
29
(8–8–13)		Shots25
(8–8–9)
April 14Quebec Nordiques2–3
(0–1, 1–1, 1–1)		Calgary Cowboys Stampede Corral
Richard Brodeur Goalies Don McLeod
Réal Cloutier
Dale Hoganson 		Goals Lynn Powis (2)
Bernie Lukowich
20
(5–8–7)		Shots27
(14–9–4)
April 16Quebec Nordiques4–3
(0–1, 4–0, 0–2)		Calgary Cowboys Stampede Corral
Richard Brodeur Goalies Don McLeod
Réal Cloutier (2)
Réjean Houle (2)		Goals Ron Chipperfield
Gavin Kirk
Danny Lawson
25
(8–12–5)		Shots29
(8–9–12)
April 18Calgary Cowboys6–4
(2–0, 1–3, 3–1)		Quebec Nordiques Colisée de Québec
Richard Brodeur Goalies Don McLeod
Chris Evans (2)
Peter Driscoll
George Morrison
Bernie Lukowich
Danny Lawson 		Goals Steve Sutherland (2)
Christian Bordeleau
Pierre Roy
28
(11–6–11)		Shots41
(13–15–13)

(E3) New England Whalers vs. (E1) Indianapolis Racers

April 16New England Whalers4–1
(1–1, 1–0, 2–0)		Indianapolis Racers Market Square Arena
Bruce Landon Goalies Michel Dion
Larry Pleau
Rosaire Paiement
Doug Roberts
Ralph Backstrom 		Goals Michel Parizeau
32
(15–7–10)		Shots24
(8–8–8)
April 17New England Whalers0–4
(0–2, 0–1, 0–1)		Indianapolis Racers Market Square Arena
Cap Raeder Goalies Jim Park
No scoringGoals Kerry Bond
Michel Parizeau
Hugh Harris
Rene LeClerc
29
(11–6–12)		Shots25
(11–6–8)
April 21Indianapolis Racers0–3
(0–1, 0–1, 0–1)		New England Whalers Hartford Civic Center
Michel Dion Goalies Cap Raeder
Al Hangsleben(2)
Garry Swain 		GoalsNo scoring
22
(9–5–8)		Shots34
(10–14–10)
April 23Indianapolis Racers1–2
(0–0, 0–1, 1–1)		New England Whalers Hartford Civic Center
Michel Dion Goalies Cap Raeder
Hugh Harris Goals Larry Pleau
19:03 (3rd) - Mike Rogers
33
(9–14–10)		Shots39
(8–16–15)
April 24New England Whalers0–4
(0–1, 0–2, 0–1)		Indianapolis Racers Market Square Arena
Cap Raeder Goalies Jim Park
No scoringGoals Michel Parizeau (2)
Reg Thomas
Dave Keon
30
(13–5–12)		Shots34
(14–11–9)
April 27Indianapolis Racers5–3
(0–0, 4–1, 1–2)		New England Whalers Hartford Civic Center
Jim Park Goalies Cap Raeder
Nick Harbaruk (2)
Darryl Maggs
Rene LeClerc
Dave Keon 		Goals Tom Webster
Nick Fotiu
Bob McManama
31
(10–12–9)		Shots37
(7–15–15)
April 29New England Whalers6–0
(1–0, 3–0, 2–0)		Indianapolis Racers Market Square Arena
Cap Raeder Goalies Jim Park
Danny Bolduc
Tom Webster
Fred O'Donnell
Garry Swain
Rosaire Paiement
Ralph Backstrom 		GoalsNo scoring
29
(10–9–10)		Shots26
(7–11–8)

(W1) Houston Aeros vs. (W3) San Diego Mariners

April 21San Diego Mariners6–8
(2–6, 2–2, 2–0)		Houston Aeros The Summitt
Ernie Wakely / Russ Gillow Goalies Ron Grahame
John French (2)
André Lacroix
Brian Morenz
Ray Adduono
Wayne Rivers 		Goals Rich Preston (3)
Terry Ruskowski (2)
Gord Labossiere (2)
Frank Hughes
27
(6–7–14)		Shots39
(14–6–19)
April 23San Diego Mariners1–3
(0–0, 0–2, 1–1)		Houston Aeros The Summitt
Ernie Wakely Goalies Ron Grahame
17:21 (3rd) - André Lacroix Goals John Tonelli
Frank Hughes
Gordie Howe
26
(10–8–8)		Shots27
(8–8–11)
April 25Houston Aeros8–4
(1–1, 4–2, 3–1)		San Diego Mariners San Diego Sports Arena
Ron Grahame Goalies Ernie Wakely
Don Larway (3)
John Tonelli (2)
Marty Howe
John Schella
Gordie Howe 		Goals Alex Tidey
Kevin Morrison
Ray Adduono
Joe Noris
34
(10–12–12)		Shots32
(10–10–12)
April 27Houston Aeros2–3
(1–0, 0–1, 1–2)		San Diego Mariners San Diego Sports Arena
Ron Grahame Goalies Ernie Wakely
Don Larway
John Tonelli 		Goals Wayne Rivers
Bob Dobek
Kevin Devine
36
(10–15–11)		Shots39
(21–8–10)
April 28San Diego Mariners3–2
(1–0, 2–1, 0–1)		Houston Aeros The Summitt
Ron Grahame Goalies Ernie Wakely
John Tonelli
Gordie Howe 		Goals Ray Adduono
Gene Peacosh
Kevin Devine
28
(14–7–7)		Shots27
(7–8–12)
April 30Houston Aeros3–2
(1–0, 1–0, 1–2)		San Diego Mariners San Diego Sports Arena
Wayne Rutledge Goalies Ernie Wakely
Frank Hughes
Rich Preston
Murray Hall 		Goals Don Burgess
Wayne Rivers
23
(7–10–6)		Shots43
(12–17–14)

Semifinals

(C1) Winnipeg Jets vs. (C3) Calgary Cowboys

Winnipeg beat Calgary in five games.

In Game 3, Lynn Powis and Don Tannahill each recorded a goal three seconds apart from each other, the fastest in WHA history.

April 23Calgary Cowboys1–6
(0–3, 0–3, 1–0)		Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Arena
Don McLeod / Ed Humphreys Goalies Joe Daley
Chris Evans Goals Willy Lindström
Ulf Nilsson
Peter Sullivan
Bobby Hull
Bob Guindon
Veli-Pekka Ketola
4 8 5 - 17Shots9 11 9 - 29
April 25Calgary Cowboys2–3
(1–2, 1–0, 0–1)		Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Arena
Don McLeod Goalies Joe Daley
Ron Chipperfield
Warren Miller 		Goals Bobby Hull (2)
1:32 (3rd) - Anders Hedberg
10 7 5 - 22Shots15 15 15 - 45
April 28Winnipeg Jets6–3
(1–0, 1–3, 4–0)		Calgary Cowboys Stampede Corral
Joe Daley Goalies Don McLeod
Anders Hedberg (2)
Bobby Hull
Ulf Nilsson
Veli-Pekka Ketola
Bill Lesuk 		Goals4:08 (2nd) - Lynn Powis
4:11 (2nd) - Don Tannahill
Peter Driscoll
35
(10–12–13)		Shots32<br(6–17–9)
April 30Winnipeg Jets3–7
(1–3, 1–2, 1–2)		Calgary Cowboys Stampede Corral
Joe Daley Goalies Don McLeod
Anders Hedberg
Ulf Nilsson
Thommie Bergman 		Goals Danny Lawson (2)
Bob Leiter (2)
Gavin Kirk
Lynn Powis
Ron Chipperfield
31
(11–7–13)		Shots26
(11–8–7)
May 2Calgary Cowboys0–4
(0–0, 0–1, 0–3)		Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Arena
Don McLeod Goalies Joe Daley
No scoringGoals Anders Hedberg (2)
Willy Lindström
Freeman Asmundson
6 7 4 - 17Shots13 10 8 - 31

(W1) Houston Aeros vs. (E3) New England Whalers

May 5New England Whalers4–2
(0–0, 3–2, 1–0)		Houston Aeros The Summitt
Cap Raeder Goalies Ron Grahame
Tom Webster (3)
Rosaire Paiement 		Goals Marty Howe
Larry Lund
18
(5–10–3)		Shots30
(9–10–11)
May 7New England Whalers2–5
(1–0, 0–4, 1–1)		Houston Aeros The Summitt
Cap Raeder / Gaye Cooley Goalies Wayne Rutledge
Thommy Abrahamsson
Bob McManama 		Goals Terry Ruskowski
John Tonelli
Ted Taylor
Mark Howe
André Hinse
21
(6–6–9)		Shots32
(10–12–10)
May 9Houston Aeros1–4
(0–2, 0–1, 1–1)		New England Whalers Hartford Civic Center
Wayne Rutledge Goalies Cap Raeder
16:20 (3rd) - Mark Howe Goals Rosaire Paiement
Don Borgeson
Thommy Abrahamsson
Bob McManama
30
(9–7–14)		Shots34
(16–10–8)
May 11Houston Aeros4–3
(3–0, 1–1, 0–2)		New England Whalers Hartford Civic Center
Ron Grahame Goalies Cap Raeder
Poul Popiel (2)
Jan Popiel
Terry Ruskowski 		Goals Brad Selwood
Tom Webster
Gordie Roberts
25
(11–6–8)		Shots35
(8–15–12)
May 13New England Whalers2–4
(1–0, 0–2, 1–2)		Houston Aeros The Summitt
Cap Raeder / Christer Abrahamsson Goalies Ron Grahame
Tom Webster
Rick Ley 		Goals John Tonelli
Frank Hughes
Terry Ruskowski
André Hinse
27
(10–7–10)		Shots45
(15–16–14)
May 15Houston Aeros1–6
(0–1, 0–3, 1–2)		New England Whalers Hartford Civic Center
Ron Grahame / Wayne Rutledge Goalies Cap Raeder
Don Larway Goals Tom Webster (2)
Mike Rogers
Nick Fotiu
Ralph Backstrom
Garry Swain
40
(9–13–18)		Shots28
(11–10–7)
May 16New England Whalers0–2
(0–1, 0–0, 0–1)		Houston Aeros The Summitt
Cap Raeder Goalies Ron Grahame
No scoringGoals Poul Popiel
Mark Howe
21
(9–5–7)		Shots37
(10–16–11)

Avco Cup Finals

The first two games were tight affairs that Winnipeg won before a four-goal first period in Game 3 and three in the first period in Game 4 carried them to victory. [7]

May 20Winnipeg Jets4–3Houston Aeros The Summit  
13:08 - Anders Hedberg (Hull, Nilsson)
15:36 - Lyle Moffat (Beaudin, Lindh)		First period9:37 - Frank Hughes (Butters, Hale) 9:37
19:35 - Mark Howe (West, Hale)
16:10 - Anders Hedberg (Bergman)Second periodNo scoring
16:43 - Bobby Hull (Nilsson)Third period0:46 - Mark Howe (Preston)
Joe Daley 26 saves / 29 shotsGoalie stats Ron Grahame 25 shots / 29 shots
May 23Winnipeg Jets5–4Houston Aeros The Summit  
13:52 - Anders Hedberg (Nilsson)First periodNo scoring
2:17 - Willy Lindström (Sullivan, Bergman)
16:53 - Asmundson (Lesuk, Guindon)		Second period1:22 - Gordie Howe (M. Howe, Schella)
12:44 - Marty Howe (Hall)
5:19 - Thommie Bergman
18:06 - Bobby Hull (Bergman, Hedberg)		Third period1:29 - Terry Ruskowski (Preston, Popiel)
3:23 - Marty Howe (Taylor, Popiel)
Joe Daley 28 saves / 32 shotsGoalie stats Ron Grahame 21 saves / 26 shots
May 25Houston Aeros3–6Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Arena  
3:48 - Mark Howe (Schella)First period2:24 - Veli-Pekka Ketola (Lindstrom, Riihiranta)
3:23 - Ulf Nilsson (Hedberg)
8:49 - Anders Hedberg (Ford, Ketola)
11:33 - Peter Sullivan (Hull, Lindstrom)
14:28 - Don Larway (Marty Howe, Tonelli)Second period7:46 - Ulf Nilsson (Sjoberg)
13:22 - Don Larway (Tonelli, Ruskowski)Third period1:44 - Ulf Nilsson
Ron Grahame 19 saves / 25 shotsGoalie stats Joe Daley 15 saves / 18 shots
May 27Houston Aeros3–9Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Arena  
9:45 - Ted Taylor (Labossiere, Marty Howe)First period5:47 - Bobby Hull (Ford, Nilsson)
10:22 - Veli-Pekka Ketola (Ford, Hull)
11:21 - Lyle Moffat (Sjoberg, Ford)
No scoringSecond period1:07 - Veli-Pekka Ketola (Lindstrom, Sullivan)
3:11 - Anders Hedberg (Nilsson, Hull)
9:19 - Anders Hedberg (Nilsson)
12:14 - Peter Sullivan (Hillman)
No scoringThird period1:33 - Peter Sullivan (Ford, Riihiranta)
9:30 - Bob Guindon (Riihiranta, Ketola) 9:30
Ron Grahame 24 saves / 33 shotsGoalie stats Joe Daley 14 saves / 17 shots
Winnipeg won series 4–0

Statistical leaders

Skaters

These were the top ten skaters based on points. [8]

PlayerTeamGPGAPts+/–PIM
Ulf Nilsson Winnipeg Jets 1371926156
Bobby Hull Winnipeg Jets 1312820154
Anders Hedberg Winnipeg Jets 13136191615
Tom Webster New England Whalers 171091936
Mark Howe Houston Aeros 1761016018
Terry Ruskowski Houston Aeros 1661016864
Rosaire Paiement New England Whalers 1741115341
John Tonelli Houston Aeros 17771488
Thommie Bergman Winnipeg Jets 1331013108
Mike Ford Winnipeg Jets 121121388
Mike Rogers New England Whalers 17581312
Peter Sullivan Winnipeg Jets 13671370

References

  1. ↑ https://www.surgent.net/wha/year/197576/playoffs.html
  2. ↑ Surgent, Scott (1990). The Complete World Hockey Association 11th Edition. Surgent. p. 222-223, 246-247. ISBN   978-1727753424.
  3. ↑ Sportak, Randy (January 29, 2005). "Wanna be a Cowboy". Calgary Sun. Archived from the original on January 10, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 Bilych, George (April 12, 1976). "Cowboys, Nordiques brawl gives hockey a black eye". Calgary Herald. p. 1.
  5. 1 2 Willes, Ed (2004), The Rebel League , McClelland & Stewart, p. 167, ISBN   0-7710-8947-3
  6. ↑ Willes 2004 , p. 168
  7. ↑ https://www.surgent.net/wha/finals/1976finals.html
  8. ↑ https://www.hockey-reference.com/playoffs/WHA_1976_skaters.html#stats::points

WHA playoffs

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