WHA 1978/79
World Hockey Association | |||
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◄ previous | 1978/79 season | ||
Master: | Winnipeg Jets | ||
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The 1978/79 WHA season was the seventh and final season of the World Hockey Association (WHA).
After the renegotiations with the National Hockey League failed, the league was in a depression . The Houston Eros took the consequences of the financial difficulties of the pre-season and broke up in the summer. The Indianapolis Racers were less sensible . The team started the season and had to stop playing after 25 games, which forced the league to change the schedule. A young Racers player, who had contributed three assists and three goals in his eight appearances, moved to the Edmonton Oilers and inspired their game. His name was Wayne Gretzky . He played a strong season and brought new life to the declared dead league.
As in the previous season, the national teams from the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia toured North America and played one game with each team of the WHA. Since Edmonton could not fill its game plan completely, they denied an additional game against Finland .
In the finals of the Avco World Trophy , the Edmonton Oilers met the Winnipeg Jets . The Jets were underdogs, but their experience prevailed against the talented Edmonton players 4–2. When Edmonton's Dave Semenko scored twelve seconds before the end of the sixth and final game against Gary Smith , a goal was celebrated for the last time in the WHA.
2,085,574 spectators watched last season's 259 games. The average was 8,052 per game, which meant only a very small decrease of 200 viewers per game compared to the previous season. In the NHL at that time, the average attendance had fallen to just under 11,409.
Regular season
Closing tables
As in the previous year, all teams played a game against the Soviet All Stars and Czechoslovakia. These games were part of the regular season. After the Indianapolis Racers gave up, the Edmonton Oilers would have had to end the season with just 79 games. To give them an 80th game, they played against Finland on March 20, 1979.
Abbreviations: GP = games, W = wins, L = defeats, T = draws, GF = goals scored, GA = goals conceded, Pts = points
Explanations: The position within the conference is in brackets; = Playoff qualification, = division winner, = abandonment during the season, = visiting team
GP | W. | L. | T | GF | GA | Pts | Zø | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 48 | 30th | 2 | 340 | 266 | 98 | 11,255 |
Québec Nordiques | 80 | 41 | 34 | 5 | 288 | 271 | 87 | 8,834 |
Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 39 | 35 | 6th | 307 | 306 | 84 | 8,683 |
New England Whalers | 80 | 37 | 34 | 9 | 298 | 287 | 83 | 6,988 |
Cincinnati stingers | 80 | 33 | 41 | 6th | 274 | 284 | 72 | 7,048 |
Birmingham Bulls | 80 | 32 | 42 | 6th | 286 | 311 | 70 | 6.316 |
Indianapolis Racers (retired December 15, 1978) | 25th | 5 | 18th | 2 | 78 | 130 | 12 | 6.364 |
Soviet All-Stars | 6th | 4th | 1 | 1 | 27 | 20th | 9 | - |
Czechoslovakia | 6th | 1 | 4th | 1 | 14th | 33 | 3 | - |
Finland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4th | 8th | 0 | - |
Best scorer
Abbreviations: GP = games, G = goals, A = assists , Pts = points, PIM = penalty minutes; Bold: Season best
player | team | GP | G | A. | Pts | +/- | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Real Cloutier | Quebec | 77 | 75 | 54 | 129 | +6 | 48 |
Robbie Ftorek | Cincinnati | 80 | 39 | 77 | 116 | +11 | 87 |
Wayne Gretzky | Indianapolis / Edmonton | 80 | 46 | 64 | 110 | −2 | 19th |
Mark Howe | New England | 77 | 42 | 65 | 107 | +4 | 32 |
Kent Nilsson | Winnipeg | 78 | 39 | 68 | 107 | 0 | 8th |
Morris Lukowich | Winnipeg | 80 | 65 | 34 | 99 | +12 | 119 |
Marc Tardif | Quebec | 74 | 41 | 55 | 96 | +8 | 98 |
André Lacroix | New England | 78 | 32 | 56 | 88 | −2 | 34 |
Terry Ruskowski | Winnipeg | 75 | 20th | 66 | 86 | +5 | 211 |
Peter Sullivan | Winnipeg | 80 | 46 | 40 | 86 | −2 | 24 |
Best goalkeeper
Abbreviations: GP = games, TOI = ice age (in minutes), W = wins, L = defeats, OTL = overtime / shootout defeats , GA = goals conceded, SO = shutouts , Sv% = shots saved (in%), GAA = Conceded goal; Bold: Season best
player | team | GP | TOI | W. | L. | T | GA | SO | ATM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dave Dryden | Edmonton | 63 | 3531 | 41 | 17th | 2 | 170 | 3 | 2.89 |
Richard Brodeur | Quebec | 42 | 2433 | 25th | 13 | 3 | 126 | 3 | 3.11 |
Jim Corsi | Quebec | 40 | 2291 | 16 | 20th | 1 | 126 | 3 | 3.30 |
Al Smith | New England | 40 | 2396 | 17th | 17th | 5 | 132 | 1 | 3.31 |
Michel Dion | Cincinnati | 30th | 1681 | 10 | 14th | 2 | 93 | 0 | 3.32 |
Playoff
mode
After the first five teams have qualified, the playoffs , which are held in the knockout system , start . The teams in fourth and fifth played the place against the team with the highest points. The second met the third. The winning teams then played in the final series for the Avco World Trophy .
All series from the semi-finals onwards were played in best-of-seven mode, which means that a team needed four wins to reach the next round. The higher ranked team had the first two games at home, the next two the opposing team. If no winner emerged from the round up to then, the home law changed from game to game. The higher-ranked team had a home advantage in games 1, 2, 5 and 7, i.e. four of the maximum seven games.
In the final, the team with the most points in the regular season started with two home games. Two away games followed.
Overtime was intended for games that were tied after the regular playing time of 60 minutes . The thirds lasted 20 minutes and the game was played until one team scored the first goal. No overtime was required this season.
Playoff tree
Quarter finals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||
1 | |||||||||||||
8th | |||||||||||||
1 | Edmonton Oilers | 4th | |||||||||||
4th | New England Whalers | 3 | |||||||||||
4th | New England Whalers | 2 | |||||||||||
5 | Cincinnati stingers | 1 | |||||||||||
1 | Edmonton Oilers | 2 | |||||||||||
3 | Winnipeg Jets | 4th | |||||||||||
3 | |||||||||||||
6th | |||||||||||||
3 | Winnipeg Jets | 4th | |||||||||||
2 | Québec Nordiques | 0 | |||||||||||
2 | |||||||||||||
7th |
Quarterfinals (Round 1)
New England Whalers (4) vs. Cincinnati Stingers (5) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
date | Away team | Home team | Note | |||
April 21 | Cincinnati | 3 | 5 | New England | ||
April 22 | New England | 3 | 6th | Cincinnati | ||
April 24th | Cincinnati | 1 | 2 | New England | ||
New England wins the series 2-1. |
In the crucial series for the semi-finals there were only home wins. The New England Whalers, who came fourth in the regular season and had two home rights, advanced to the next round. |
Semifinals (round 2)
Edmonton Oilers (1) vs. New England Whalers (4) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
date | Away team | Home team | Note | |||
26th of April | New England | 2 | 6th | Edmonton | ||
April 27 | New England | 5 | 9 | Edmonton | ||
April 29 | Edmonton | 1 | 4th | New England | ||
1st of May | Edmonton | 4th | 5 | New England | ||
May 3rd | New England | 2 | 5 | Edmonton | ||
May 6th | Edmonton | 4th | 8th | New England | ||
8th of May | New England | 3 | 6th | Edmonton | ||
Edmonton wins the series 4-3. |
With their home strength, the Whalers also challenged the team from Edmonton. Even if they didn't even come close to winning at the Oilers, New England won all three home games and forced the Oilers to go the full distance.
Québec Nordiques (2) vs. Winnipeg Jets (3) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
date | Away team | Home team | Note | |||
April 23 | Winnipeg | 6th | 3 | Quebec | ||
April 25 | Winnipeg | 9 | 2 | Quebec | ||
April 27 | Quebec | 5 | 9 | Winnipeg | ||
April 29 | Quebec | 2 | 6th | Winnipeg | ||
Winnipeg wins the series 4-0. |
One expected an exciting series in which the Nordiques were slightly favored, but the Jets surprised the team from Québec and won both games in eastern Canada. At home, Winnipeg made the sweep perfect. At Québec only Marc Tardif convinced , who scored six of the twelve goals for his team and submitted another two.
Avco World Trophy Championship
Edmonton Oilers (1) vs. Winnipeg Jets (3) | ||||||
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date | Away team | Home team | Note | |||
May 11th | Winnipeg |
3 R. Preston ( P. Sullivan ) 3:29 B. Lesuk ( R. Eriksson , L. Moffat ) 15:23 R. Preston ( K. Nilsson ) 56:24 |
1 B. Flett ( P. Shmyr ) 17:48 |
Edmonton | ||
May 13th | Winnipeg |
3 P. Sullivan ( P. Terbenche ) 41:17 M. Lukowich ( S. Campbell , T. Ruskowski ) 51:53 W. Lindström ( B. Long , M. Lukowich) 55:24 |
2 D. Sobchuk ( P. Driscoll ) 26:12 A. Hamilton 44:10 |
Edmonton | ||
May 15 | Edmonton |
8 A. Hamilton ( W. Gretzky , B. Callighen ) 9:03 P. Driscoll ( B. Goldsworthy ) 9:44 R. Chipperfield ( P. Shmyr , P. Driscoll) 12:45 B. Goldsworthy (A. Hamilton, R. Chipperfield) 4:01 pm B. MacDonald ( R. Siltanen ) 41:42 B. Callighen (B. MacDonald, W. Gretzky) 44:14 B.-Å. Gustafsson ( D. Hunter , S. Weir ) 49:52 D. Hunter (B.-Å. Gustafsson, A. Hamilton) 51:00 |
3 M. Lukowich ( T. Ruskowski , K. Nilsson ) 4:54 W. Lindström 15:53 M. Lukowich ( P. MacKinnon , R. Eriksson ) 31:56 |
Winnipeg | ||
May 16 | Edmonton | 2 W. Gretzky ( B. MacDonald , B. Callighen ) 7:41 B. Callighen (W. Gretzky, B.-Å. Gustafsson ) 33:42 |
3 R. Preston ( P. Sullivan ) 12:54 M. Lukowich ( K. Nilsson , W. Lindström ) 49:24 L. Moffat ( B. Lesuk , R. Eriksson ) 53:34 |
Winnipeg | ||
May 18 | Winnipeg | 2 R. Preston ( M. Lukowich , K. Nilsson ) 20:22 K. Nilsson 43:14 |
10 D. Sobchuk ( R. Chipperfield , P. Shmyr ) 4:23 W. Gretzky ( B. Callighen , R. Chipperfield) 16:28 S. Weir ( J. Micheletti , D. Sobchuk) 17:29 R. Chipperfield ( D. Langevin ) 18:01 D. Sobchuk (P. Shmyr, S. Weir) 22:58 R. Chipperfield ( R. Siltanen , J. Micheletti) 24:51 R. Chipperfield ( P. Driscoll , D. Semenko ) 30 : 45 J. Hughes (D. Sobchuk) 34:23 R. Chipperfield (D. Semenko) 47:45 R. Chipperfield (J. Micheletti, R. Siltanen) 54:31 |
Edmonton | ||
May 20th | Edmonton | 3 R. Chipperfield ( P. Driscoll , R. Siltanen ) 38:45 B. Flett ( A. Hamilton ) 41:48 D. Semenko (R. Chipperfield, R. Siltanen) 59:48 |
7 W. Lindström ( T. Ruskowski , M. Lukowich ) 2:14 B. Long (T. Ruskowski, M. Lukowich) 13:42 P. MacKinnon ( P. Sullivan , G. Hicks ) 25:22 L. Moffat ( R. Eriksson , M. Lukowich) 26:35 B. Long (T. Ruskowski, P. MacKinnon) 29:23 K. Nilsson (P. Sullivan) 42:09 W. Lindström (T. Ruskowski) 53:38 |
Winnipeg | ||
Winnipeg wins the series 4-2 and the Avco World Trophy . |
The Winnipeg Jets had made good use of the nine-day longer recovery period and won the first two games in Edmonton. The Oilers made a remarkable comeback to the series with 8-3 in their first game in Winnipeg. After the Jets managed their third win in game four, the Oilers overran the Jets in game 5. Ron Chipperfield scored five of the ten goals and put on two more. Back in Winnipeg, the jets decided the series. In the middle of the second third they were already leading 5-0. The Oilers only had the last goal in the history of the WHA.
Avco World Trophy Winner
The 21 players in the Jets consist of two goalkeepers, six defenders and 13 attackers.
Several players who were used during the season were not part of the winning team. In particular, goalkeeper Markus Mattsson (52 appearances in the regular season) and defender Mike Amodeo (64) - who had played a large part of the season's games - were not taken into account because they did not appear in the final round. After the first attack formation - consisting of the greats Bobby Hull , Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg - had left the Winnipeg Jets, a new formation was formed with the actors Morris Lukowich , Rich Preston and Terry Ruskowski , which led the offensive of the Jets. The team was complemented by the former Houston Eros defenders Scott Campbell and Paul Terbenche .
In addition to head coach Tom McVie and General Manager John Ferguson , the following players were engraved on the Avco World Trophy, the championship trophy of the WHA:
Avco World Trophy winner Winnipeg Jets |
Goalkeepers: Joe Daley , Gary Smith Defenders: Scott Campbell , Kim Clackson , Barry Long ( C ), Paul MacKinnon , Lars-Erik Sjöberg (C), Paul Terbenche Attackers: Roland Eriksson , John Gray , Bob Guindon , Glenn Hicks , Bill Lesuk , Willy Lindström , Morris Lukowich , Lyle Moffat , Kent Nilsson , Rich Preston , Terry Ruskowski , Peter Sullivan , Steve West Head Coach: Tom McVie General Manager: John Ferguson |
Best scorer
Abbreviations: GP = games, G = goals, A = assists , Pts = points, PIM = penalty minutes; Bold: Season best
player | team | GP | G | A. | Pts | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wayne Gretzky | Edmonton | 13 | 10 | 10 | 20th | 2 |
Ron Chipperfield | Edmonton | 13 | 9 | 10 | 19th | 8th |
Blair MacDonald | Edmonton | 13 | 8th | 10 | 18th | 6th |
Willy Lindström | Winnipeg | 10 | 10 | 5 | 15th | 9 |
Morris Lukowich | Winnipeg | 10 | 8th | 7th | 15th | 21st |
Brett Callighen | Edmonton | 13 | 5 | 10 | 15th | 15th |
WHA Awards and trophies awarded
WHA All-Star Teams
WHA First All-Star Team
Abbreviations: GP = games, G = goals, A = assists , Pts = points, W = wins, SO = shutouts , GAA = conceded goals
player | position | team | GP | G | A. | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Robbie Ftorek | center | Cincinnati stingers | 80 | 39 | 77 | 116 |
Real Cloutier | Winger | Québec Nordiques | 77 | 75 | 54 | 129 |
Mark Howe | Winger | New England Whalers | 77 | 42 | 65 | 107 |
Rick Ley | defender | New England Whalers | 78 | 11 | 39 | 50 |
Rob Ramage | defender | Birmingham Bulls | 80 | 12 | 36 | 48 |
player | position | team | GP | W. | SO | ATM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dave Dryden | goalkeeper | Edmonton Oilers | 63 | 41 | 3 | 2.89 |
WHA Second All-Star Team
Abbreviations: GP = games, G = goals, A = assists , Pts = points, W = wins, SO = shutouts , GAA = conceded goals
player | position | team | GP | G | A. | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wayne Gretzky | center | Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 46 | 64 | 110 |
Blair MacDonald | Winger | Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 34 | 37 | 71 |
Morris Lukowich | Winger | Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 65 | 34 | 99 |
Dave Langevin | defender | Edmonton Oilers | 77 | 6th | 21st | 27 |
Paul Shmyr | defender | Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 8th | 39 | 47 |
player | position | team | GP | W. | SO | ATM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Richard Brodeur | goalkeeper | Québec Nordiques | 42 | 25th | 3 | 3.11 |
Web links
- The 1978/79 WHA season at hockeydb.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ Scott Surgent: The World Hockey Association Factbook. 2010, p. 238, ISBN 978-0-9644774-8-3