1976–77 Houston Aeros season

1976–77 Houston Aeros
Division	1st West
1976–77 record	50–24–6
Home record	33–3–4
Road record	17–21–2
Goals for	320
Goals against	241
Team information
Coach	Bill Dineen
Captain	Ted Taylor
Alternate captains	Gordie Howe Poul Popiel
Arena	The Summit
Team leaders
Goals	Rich Preston (38)
Assists	Terry Ruskowski (60)
Points	Terry Ruskowski (84)
Penalty minutes	Cam Connor (224)
Wins	Ron Grahame (27)
Goals against average	Ron Grahame (2.74)

The 1976–77 Houston Aeros season was the Aeros' fifth season of operation in the World Hockey Association. The Aeros finished first in the West to qualify for the playoffs. The Aeros lost in the semi-finals to the Winnipeg Jets.

Regular season

Final standings

Western Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Houston Aeros	80	50	24	6	320	241	106
Winnipeg Jets	80	46	32	2	366	291	94
San Diego Mariners	81	40	37	4	284	283	85
Edmonton Oilers	81	34	43	4	243	304	72
Calgary Cowboys	81	31	43	7	252	296	69
Phoenix Roadrunners	80	28	48	4	281	383	60

Schedule and results

1976–77 regular season
October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 1 L October 8, 1976 2–4 @ Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) 0–1–0 2 W October 9, 1976 5–3 Phoenix Roadrunners (1976–77) 1–1–0 3 W October 13, 1976 2–1 Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) 2–1–0 4 W October 16, 1976 3–0 Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) 3–1–0 5 T October 19, 1976 4–4 New England Whalers (1976–77) 3–1–1 6 L October 21, 1976 5–8 @ Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) 3–2–1 7 L October 22, 1976 2–5 @ New England Whalers (1976–77) 3–3–1 8 L October 23, 1976 2–6 @ Quebec Nordiques (1976–77) 3–4–1 9 W October 26, 1976 3–1 Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) 4–4–1 10 T October 28, 1976 1–1 Minnesota Fighting Saints (1976–77) 4–4–2 11 L October 30, 1976 4–6 @ Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) 4–5–2 12 W October 31, 1976 4–0 @ Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) 5–5–2
November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 13 W November 2, 1976 3–1 @ Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) 6–5–2 14 W November 5, 1976 9–1 Phoenix Roadrunners (1976–77) 7–5–2 15 L November 6, 1976 1–4 @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 7–6–2 16 W November 9, 1976 7–2 Indianapolis Racers (1976–77) 8–6–2 17 W November 12, 1976 4–1 San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 9–6–2 18 W November 16, 1976 4–2 Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) 10–6–2 19 L November 19, 1976 3–5 @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 10–7–2 20 W November 20, 1976 5–2 @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1976–77) 11–7–2 21 W November 23, 1976 5–3 Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) 12–7–2 22 T November 26, 1976 1–1 Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) 12–7–3
December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 23 T December 3, 1976 0–0 Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) 12–7–4 24 L December 5, 1976 2–7 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1976–77) 12–8–4 25 L December 8, 1976 1–5 @ New England Whalers (1976–77) 12–9–4 26 L December 10, 1976 2–6 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1976–77) 12–10–4 27 L December 11, 1976 1–4 @ Quebec Nordiques (1976–77) 12–11–4 28 W December 12, 1976 3–1 @ Indianapolis Racers (1976–77) 13–11–4 29 W December 14, 1976 8–3 Phoenix Roadrunners (1976–77) 14–11–4 30 L December 17, 1976 3–4 Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) 14–12–4 31 L December 18, 1976 3–4 @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 14–13–4 32 W December 19, 1976 6–4 @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1976–77) 15–13–4 33 W December 21, 1976 4–0 New England Whalers (1976–77) 16–13–4 34 W December 23, 1976 6–5 OT Cincinnati Stingers (1976–77) 17–13–4 35 L December 26, 1976 2–6 @ Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) 17–14–4 36 W December 28, 1976 6–3 Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) 18–14–4
January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 37 L January 2, 1977 2–5 @ Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) 18–15–4 38 W January 4, 1977 5–3 @ Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) 19–15–4 39 W January 5, 1977 4–3 @ Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) 20–15–4 40 T January 7, 1977 1–1 @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1976–77) 20–15–5 41 L January 12, 1977 2–4 @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1976–77) 20–16–5 42 W January 14, 1977 5–3 Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) 21–16–5 43 W January 16, 1977 3–1 Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) 22–16–5 44 W January 21, 1977 6–1 Birmingham Bulls (1976–77) 23–16–5 45 W January 22, 1977 6–0 @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 24–16–5 46 W January 23, 1977 5–3 San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 25–16–5 47 W January 25, 1977 5–2 Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) 26–16–5 48 W January 28, 1977 4–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) 27–16–5 49 W January 29, 1977 6–4 @ Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) 28–16–5
February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 50 W February 1, 1977 6–1 Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) 29–16–5 51 L February 3, 1977 3–5 @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1976–77) 29–17–5 52 W February 4, 1977 4–1 New England Whalers (1976–77) 30–17–5 53 T February 8, 1977 4–4 @ Indianapolis Racers (1976–77) 30–17–6 54 W February 12, 1977 7–3 Quebec Nordiques (1976–77) 31–17–6 55 W February 15, 1977 4–2 Quebec Nordiques (1976–77) 32–17–6 56 W February 18, 1977 4–2 San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 33–17–6 57 W February 19, 1977 5–3 San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 34–17–6 58 L February 22, 1977 2–3 @ Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) 34–18–6 59 L February 23, 1977 2–3 @ Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) 34–19–6 60 W February 25, 1977 9–3 @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1976–77) 35–19–6 61 W February 26, 1977 5–4 @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 36–19–6 62 W February 27, 1977 5–4 @ Phoenix Roadrunners (1976–77) 37–19–6
March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 63 W March 1, 1977 8–3 Phoenix Roadrunners (1976–77) 38–19–6 64 L March 4, 1977 2–3 @ New England Whalers (1976–77) 38–20–6 65 W March 6, 1977 7–3 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1976–77) 39–20–6 66 W March 8, 1977 5–3 Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) 40–20–6 67 W March 11, 1977 5–0 Cincinnati Stingers (1976–77) 41–20–6 68 W March 13, 1977 5–0 Indianapolis Racers (1976–77) 42–20–6 69 W March 15, 1977 4–3 Quebec Nordiques (1976–77) 43–20–6 70 W March 18, 1977 6–3 Phoenix Roadrunners (1976–77) 44–20–6 71 W March 20, 1977 8–3 @ Indianapolis Racers (1976–77) 45–20–6 72 L March 22, 1977 2–6 @ Quebec Nordiques (1976–77) 45–21–6 73 W March 25, 1977 4–2 Calgary Cowboys (1976–77) 46–21–6 74 L March 27, 1977 3–5 Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) 46–22–6 75 W March 29, 1977 5–2 @ Winnipeg Jets (1976–77) 47–22–6 76 L March 30, 1977 0–8 @ Edmonton Oilers (1976–77) 47–23–6
April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 77 W April 1, 1977 5–4 Cincinnati Stingers (1976–77) 48–23–6 78 L April 3, 1977 3–7 Indianapolis Racers (1976–77) 48–24–6 79 W April 5, 1977 3–1 San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 49–24–6 80 W April 6, 1977 5–3 @ San Diego Mariners (1976–77) 50–24–6
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

The Aeros defeated the Edmonton Oilers in the Division Semi-final 4–1. In the Division Final, the Aeros were defeated by the Winnipeg Jets 4–2 in a rematch of the 1976 Avco Cup final.

1977 Avco Cup playoffs
Quarterfinals vs. Edmonton Oilers – Aeros win 4–1 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series 1 April 13 Edmonton Oilers 3–4 OT Houston Aeros 1–0 2 April 15 Edmonton Oilers 2–6 Houston Aeros 2–0 3 April 17 Houston Aeros 2–7 Edmonton Oilers 2–1 4 April 20 Houston Aeros 4–1 Edmonton Oilers 3–1 5 April 22 Edmonton Oilers 3–4 Houston Aeros 4–1
Semifinals vs. Winnipeg Jets – Jets win 4–2 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series 1 April 26 Winnipeg Jets 4–3 OT Houston Aeros 0–1 2 April 28 Winnipeg Jets 2–7 Houston Aeros 1–1 3 April 30 Houston Aeros 3–4 Winnipeg Jets 1–2 4 May 1 Houston Aeros 4–6 Winnipeg Jets 1–3 5 May 3 Winnipeg Jets 2–3 Houston Aeros 2–3 6 May 5 Houston Aeros 3–6 Winnipeg Jets 2–4
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Terry Ruskowski C 80 24 60 84 146 31 7 0 5 Rich Preston RW 80 38 41 79 54 37 6 5 5 Mark Howe D 57 23 52 75 46 41 5 3 8 Gordie Howe RW 62 24 44 68 57 27 5 1 3 Poul Popiel D 80 12 56 68 87 53 2 0 0 Cam Connor RW 76 35 32 67 224 23 6 1 6 Larry Lund C 80 29 38 67 36 20 7 0 11 John Tonelli LW 80 24 31 55 109 14 6 1 0 Ted Taylor LW 78 16 35 51 90 28 4 0 0 Morris Lukowich LW 68 27 18 45 67 20 6 0 0 Marty Howe D 80 17 28 45 103 29 3 0 0 John Gray RW 47 21 20 41 25 22 3 0 0 Al McLeod D 51 7 21 28 20 19 1 0 0 Don Larway RW 75 11 13 24 112 5 3 0 0 Larry Hale D 67 0 14 14 18 9 0 0 0 Frank Hughes LW 27 3 8 11 2 −5 0 0 0 Ron Hansis RW 22 4 3 7 6 −4 0 0 0 Glen Irwin D 44 2 4 6 168 −12 0 0 0 John Schella D 20 0 6 6 28 8 0 0 0 Andre Hinse LW 26 2 3 5 8 −9 0 0 0 Dwayne Pentland D 29 1 2 3 6 3 0 0 0 Wayne Rutledge G 42 0 3 3 6 0 0 0 0 Gary Donaldson RW 5 0 0 0 6 −3 0 0 0 Mike Fedorko C 4 0 0 0 0 −4 0 0 0 Ron Grahame G 39 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Steve West C 3 0 0 0 2 −3 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO Ron Grahame 2345 39 27 10 2 107 2.74 4 Wayne Rutledge 2512 42 23 14 4 132 3.15 3 Team: 4857 80 50 24 6 239 2.95 7

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG Terry Ruskowski C 11 6 11 17 67 0 0 0 Mark Howe D 11 4 10 14 2 0 0 1 Morris Lukowich LW 11 6 4 10 19 0 0 1 Larry Lund C 11 2 8 10 17 0 0 0 Gordie Howe RW 11 5 3 8 11 0 0 0 Ted Taylor LW 11 4 4 8 28 0 0 2 Rich Preston RW 11 3 5 8 10 0 0 0 Cam Connor RW 11 3 4 7 47 0 0 0 John Tonelli LW 11 3 4 7 12 0 0 0 Poul Popiel D 11 0 7 7 10 0 0 0 Marty Howe D 11 3 1 4 10 0 0 1 Al McLeod D 10 1 3 4 9 0 0 0 John Schella D 6 1 2 3 6 0 0 0 Ron Hansis RW 8 1 1 2 4 0 0 1 Larry Hale D 11 0 2 2 6 0 0 0 Don Larway RW 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 Ron Grahame G 9 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 John Gray RW 6 0 1 1 8 0 0 0 Dwayne Pentland D 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wayne Rutledge G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Steve West C 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO Wayne Rutledge 120 2 4 5 4 2.00 0 Ron Grahame 561 9 2 0 36 3.85 0 Team: 681 11 6 5 40 3.52 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

Houston's draft picks at the 1976 WHA Amateur Draft.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
2	22	Morris Lukowich (LW)	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)
3	34	Jim Roberts (LW)	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OHA)
4	46	Mike Fedorko (D)	Canada	Hamilton Fincups (OHA)
5	58	Larry Skinner (C)	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OHA)
6	70	Kevin Schamehorn (RW)	Canada	New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
7	82	Mike Hordy (D)	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHA)
8	93	Larry Riggin (D)	Canada	London Knights (OHA)
9	104	Bill Wells (LW)	Canada	Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
10	116	Bob Pazzelli (F)	United States	University of Denver (WCHA)

See also

• 1976–77 WHA season