# 1977–78 New England Whalers season

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 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 trio helped the Whalers advance to the Avco Cup final, where they were defeated by the Winnipeg Jets.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
| WHA Team | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
| Winnipeg Jets | 50 | 28 | 2 | 102 | 381 | 270 | 988 |
| New England Whalers | 44 | 31 | 5 | 93 | 335 | 269 | 1255 |
| Houston Aeros | 42 | 34 | 4 | 88 | 296 | 302 | 1543 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 40 | 37 | 3 | 83 | 349 | 347 | 1185 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 38 | 39 | 3 | 79 | 309 | 307 | 1296 |
| Birmingham Bulls | 36 | 41 | 3 | 75 | 287 | 314 | 2177 |
| Cincinnati Stingers | 35 | 42 | 3 | 73 | 298 | 332 | 1701 |
| Indianapolis Racers | 24 | 51 | 5 | 53 | 267 | 353 | 1189 |
| Soviet All-Stars | 3 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 27 | 36 | 120 |
| Czechoslovakia All-Stars | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 21 | 40 | 87 |

## Schedule and results

1977–78 regular season :
October
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
1WOctober 12, 19773–0@ Houston Aeros (1977–78)1–0–0
2WOctober 15, 19775–2Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)2–0–0
3LOctober 16, 19772–6@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)2–1–0
4TOctober 18, 19772–2@ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)2–1–1
5WOctober 19, 19776–3@ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)3–1–1
6WOctober 21, 19775–2@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)4–1–1
7WOctober 26, 19777–1Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)5–1–1
8WOctober 29, 19777–2Houston Aeros (1977–78)6–1–1 :
November
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
9WNovember 1, 19776–3@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)7–1–1
10WNovember 4, 19774–3Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)8–1–1
11WNovember 6, 19775–2@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)9–1–1
12WNovember 8, 19774–3@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)10–1–1
13WNovember 10, 19775–3Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)11–1–1
14WNovember 12, 19775–3Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)12–1–1
15WNovember 15, 19776–4@ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)13–1–1
16WNovember 18, 19773–2Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)14–1–1
17WNovember 20, 19775–4 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)15–1–1
18LNovember 22, 19774–5@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)15–2–1
19TNovember 23, 19773–3Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)15–2–2
20LNovember 25, 19772–6Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)15–3–2
21LNovember 26, 19771–3Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)15–4–2
22TNovember 30, 19773–3@ Houston Aeros (1977–78)15–4–3 :
December
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
23WDecember 2, 19774–1Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)16–4–3
24LDecember 3, 19772–5Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)16–5–3
25LDecember 6, 19772–5@ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)16–6–3
26WDecember 7, 19776–3@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)17–6–3
27WDecember 9, 19772–1 OT@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)18–6–3
28WDecember 14, 19777–2Soviet All-Stars (1977–78)19–6–3
29WDecember 16, 19775–3Czechoslovakia (1977–78)20–6–3
30LDecember 17, 19773–6Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)20–7–3
31LDecember 18, 19773–7@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)20–8–3
32WDecember 23, 19775–3Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)21–8–3
33WDecember 27, 19778–1Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)22–8–3
34WDecember 30, 19776–2Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)23–8–3 :
January
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
35WJanuary 1, 19784–3 OT@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)24–8–3
36LJanuary 4, 19784–6Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)24–9–3
37LJanuary 6, 19783–4@ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)24–10–3
38WJanuary 7, 19785–3Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)25–10–3
39LJanuary 8, 19784–5Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)25–11–3
40WJanuary 13, 19782–0Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)26–11–3
41LJanuary 14, 19784–5 OTHouston Aeros (1977–78)26–12–3
42LJanuary 18, 19780–1@ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)26–13–3
43TJanuary 20, 19784–4@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)26–13–4
44LJanuary 21, 19782–3@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)26–14–4
45WJanuary 22, 19786–3Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)27–14–4
46LJanuary 25, 19787–8 OT@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)27–15–4
47WJanuary 27, 19786–2@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)28–15–4
48WJanuary 28, 19783–0@ Houston Aeros (1977–78)29–15–4
49LJanuary 29, 19784–6@ Houston Aeros (1977–78)29–16–4 :
February
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
50WFebruary 1, 19784–3Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)30–16–4
51LFebruary 3, 19783–6Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)30–17–4
52LFebruary 4, 19784–5@ Houston Aeros (1977–78)30–18–4
53WFebruary 11, 19788–7@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)31–18–4
54WFebruary 14, 19785–1Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)32–18–4
55LFebruary 16, 19781–2 OTWinnipeg Jets (1977–78)32–19–4
56WFebruary 18, 19784–1@ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)33–19–4
57LFebruary 21, 19785–6 OT@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)33–20–4
58LFebruary 22, 19782–4@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)33–21–4
59LFebruary 24, 19782–7@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)33–22–4
60WFebruary 26, 19786–5@ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)34–22–4 :
March
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
61LMarch 1, 19783–4 OTQuebec Nordiques (1977–78)34–23–4
62LMarch 3, 19782–3 OTHouston Aeros (1977–78)34–24–4
63LMarch 4, 19782–5Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)34–25–4
64LMarch 5, 19781–2@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)34–26–4
65LMarch 9, 19784–6@ Houston Aeros (1977–78)34–27–4
66WMarch 10, 19785–4 OT@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)35–27–4
67WMarch 14, 19786–0Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)36–27–4
68WMarch 15, 19787–0Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)37–27–4
69WMarch 17, 19786–2@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)38–27–4
70LMarch 18, 19783–5@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)38–28–4
71WMarch 21, 19786–3Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)39–28–4
72LMarch 22, 19783–5Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)39–29–4
73LMarch 24, 19780–1Houston Aeros (1977–78)39–30–4
74WMarch 26, 19785–3Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)40–30–4
75WMarch 29, 19786–1Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)41–30–4 :
April
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
76WApril 3, 19788–6Houston Aeros (1977–78)42–30–4
77TApril 5, 19784–4@ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)42–30–5
78LApril 6, 19784–7@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)42–31–5
79WApril 10, 19786–1Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)43–31–5
80WApril 11, 19786–3Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)44–31–5 :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Playoffs

1978 Avco Cup playoffs :
Division Quarterfinals vs. Edmonton Oilers – Whalers win 4–1
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeSeries
1April 14Edmonton Oilers4–6New England Whalers1–0
2April 16Edmonton Oilers1–4New England Whalers2–0
3April 19New England Whalers0–2Edmonton Oilers2–1
4April 21New England9–1Edmonton Oilers3–1
5April 23Edmonton Oilers1–4New England Whalers4–1 :
Division Semifinals vs. Quebec Nordiques – Whalers win 4–1
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeSeries
1April 28Quebec Nordiques1–5New England Whalers1–0
2April 30Quebec Nordiques3–2New England Whalers1–1
3May 3New England Whalers5–4Quebec Nordiques2–1
4May 5New England Whalers7–3Quebec Nordiques3–1
5May 7Quebec Nordiques3–6New England Whalers4–1 :
Avco Cup Finals vs. Winnipeg Jets – Jets win 4–0
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeSeries
1May 12Winnipeg Jets4–1New England Whalers0–1
2May 14Winnipeg Jets2–5New England Whalers0–2
3May 19New England Whalers2–10Winnipeg Jets0–3
4May 22New England Whalers3–5Winnipeg Jets0–4 :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics

Regular season :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Gordie Howe | RW | 76 | 34 | 62 | 96 | 85 | 46 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Howe | D | 70 | 30 | 61 | 91 | 32 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Rogers | C | 80 | 28 | 43 | 71 | 46 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Mike Antonovich | C | 75 | 32 | 35 | 67 | 32 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Keon | C | 77 | 24 | 38 | 62 | 2 | −4 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Gordie Roberts | D | 78 | 15 | 46 | 61 | 118 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| John McKenzie | RW | 79 | 27 | 29 | 56 | 61 | 15 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| George Lyle | LW | 68 | 30 | 24 | 54 | 74 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Ley | D | 73 | 3 | 41 | 44 | 95 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Pleau | C | 54 | 16 | 18 | 34 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Selwood | D | 80 | 6 | 25 | 31 | 88 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Hangsleben | D | 79 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 140 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Carlson | LW | 67 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 192 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Carroll | C | 48 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Tom Webster | RW | 20 | 15 | 5 | 20 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Mayer | RW | 51 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Marty Howe | D | 75 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 66 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Sheehy | RW | 25 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 14 | −2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Butters | D | 45 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 69 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Carlson | C | 38 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Danny Bolduc | LW | 41 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Plumb | D | 27 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Maxwell | D | 17 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Smith | G | 55 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andre Peloffy | C | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean-Louis Levasseur | G | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Al Smith | 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 | C | 14 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave Keon | C | 14 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mark Howe | D | 14 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John McKenzie | RW | 14 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Rogers | C | 14 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gordie Howe | RW | 14 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Larry Pleau | C | 14 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Steve Carlson | C | 13 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Ley | D | 14 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Bolduc | LW | 14 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Plumb | D | 14 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Al Hangsleben | D | 14 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gordie Roberts | D | 14 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Sheehy | RW | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Lyle | LW | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Selwood | D | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Carlson | LW | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marty Howe | D | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jean-Louis Levasseur | G | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andre Peloffy | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Smith | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Jean-Louis Levasseur | 719 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 31 | 2.59 | 0 |
| Al Smith | 120 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 7.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 839 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 45 | 3.22 | 0 |
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.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 2 | 15 | Moe Robinson (D) | Canada | Kingston Canadians (OHA) |
| 2 | 19 | Randy Pierce (RW) | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OHA) |
| 3 | 23 | John Baby (D) | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OHA) |
| 5 | 43 | Brian Hill (RW) | Austria | Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL) |
| 6 | 52 | Jim Korn (D) | United States | Providence College (ECAC) |