The 1977–78 AHL season was the 42nd season of the American Hockey League.
 The season was in jeopardy when the last of the original eight franchises of the "International-American Hockey League", the Rhode Island Reds (previously Providence Reds) folded in the offseason, and the AHL was left with five teams.
 The league increased its member teams by four, when the North American Hockey League and Southern Hockey Leagues both folded before the 1977–78 season.
 Two teams joined from the NAHL, and another from the SHL, along with one expansion team.
The Pacific Hockey League was a low-level minor professional hockey league that existed for two seasons in 1977-78, and 1978-79.
 Its member teams from California, Arizona and Washington states, replaced the void left by defunct World Hockey Association franchises, with some teams sharing the names of their predecessors.
The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league in the United States.
 The USHL has 17 member teams located in the Midwestern United States, consisting of players who are 20 years of age and younger.
 The USHL is strictly amateur, allowing former players to compete in NCAA college hockey.
Denny Lambert (born January 7, 1970) is a former professional Canadian ice hockey player and member of the Batchewana First Nation.
 Lambert was drafted in the Ontario Hockey League where he played for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for three years.
 He then played 2 seasons in the International Hockey League with the San Diego Gulls before being drafted to the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
 He was then signed as a free agent with the Ottawa Senators in July 1996 and went on to play for the Nashville Predators (1998-1999) and the Atlanta Thrashers.
 He rejoined the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2001-2002) for his final NHL season before finishing off his career in the American Hockey League with the Milwaukee Admirals.
 He also coached the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League from 2008–2011.
 He went on to be a First Nations Police Officer with the Anishinabek Police Service.
 Denny graduated from the Ontario Police College in November 2012.
 He is currently hired by the Gatineau Olympiques of the Quebec Major Jr.
 Hockey League as an associate coach as of 2016.
<http://www.batchewana.ca/election/dlambert.html> <http://www.saultstar.com/2012/01/18/lambert-passing-on-wisdom>
The 1988 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 4th Tournament in the history of the conference.
 It was played between March 3 and March 11, 1989.
 Quarterfinal and semifinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final game was played at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, the home venue of the NHL's Boston Bruins.
 This was the final year the Hockey East championship was decided at a home venue to one of its member teams .
 By winning the tournament, Northeastern received the Hockey East's automatic bid to the 1988 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
John Albert "Jack" McDonald (November 24, 1921 in Swan River, Manitoba – March 13, 1990) was a professional ice hockey player who played 43 games in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers.
 John McDonald was born November 24, 1921 in Swan River, Manitoba.
 Nicknamed Jack, a common practice of the era, McDonald was a big 6'1" 215 lbs, high-scoring left winger when he captained the Portage Terriers during the 1939-40 and 1941-42 season that won the Memorial Cup.
 The 1942-43 season was spent with the Flin Flon Bombers of the Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League.
 Jack McDonald was one of several wartime additions, joining New York Rangers for the 1943-44 season.
 Playing in 43 NHL games, McDonald scored a respectable 10 goals, adding 9 assists.
 Persuaded to play in the Western Hockey League by good friend Alex Shibicky, McDonald played up and down the west coast for the next 6 years.
 After his hockey career he worked for the Hudson Bay Company as a bush pilot in northern Manitoba and Ontario.
 A long time recreation professional Jack managed hockey rinks all over Canada.
 His last stop was at the Burnaby Winter Club where he and Shibicky reunited some 30 years later and coached many players that went on to NHL careers.
The 1989 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 5th Tournament in the history of the conference.
 It was played between March 3 and March 11, 1989.
 Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were played at the newly opened Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, the home venue of the Boston College Eagles.
 This was the final year the Hockey East championship was decided at a home venue to one of its member teams .
 By winning the tournament, Maine received the Hockey East's automatic bid to the 1989 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The Metropolitan Junior Hockey League was an American Tier III Junior ice hockey league with teams throughout the eastern United States.
 The MJHL was part of the Atlantic Metropolitan Hockey League organization.
 Founded in 1966 by New York Rangers GM, Emile Francis, the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League played its 50th season in 2015–16.
 Prior to its 51st season, the league's operations were taken over by the North American Hockey League and it was renamed to North American 3 Atlantic Hockey League (NA3AHL) for the 2016–17 season.
 In 2017, the remaining teams joined the Eastern Hockey League.
The 1990 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 6th Tournament in the history of the conference.
 It was played between March 1 and March 11, 1990.
 Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were played at the Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, the home venue of the Boston College Eagles.
 This was the final year the Hockey East championship was decided at a home venue to one of its member teams .
 By winning the tournament, Boston College received the Hockey East's automatic bid to the 1990 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
Murray Williamson (born January 13, 1934 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) is a retired ice hockey player and coach.
 Williamson was an All American at the University of Minnesota in 1959 and played, coached and managed in the United States Hockey League with the St. Paul Steers.
 He coached the United States National teams in the World Hockey Championships in 1967, 1969 and 1971 and the United States Olympic teams in 1968 and 1972.
 The 1972 team won the silver medal at the 1972 Winter Olympics held in Sapporo, Japan.
 He was instrumental in the founding of the Midwest Junior Hockey League in 1973 (now called the United States Hockey League) and was the coach and general manager of the first United States National Junior team that participated in the inaugural World Junior Tournament held in Lennigrad, Russia in 1973.
 Williamson was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005,the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000, the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009 and the University of Minnesota Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.
 He was awarded the Legend of Hobey Baker Award in 2005 for his contributions to college hockey.
 He is featured in the book "Striking Silver" the untold story of America's forgotten hockey team, published by Sorts Publishing LLC in 2006 by the Caraccioli brothers

Question: How many member teams are in the hockey league which Murray Williamson played, coached, and managed within?
Answer: 17