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1978–79 New England Whalers season

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1978–79 New England Whalers
Division4th WHA
1978–79 record37–34–9
Home record22–19–0
Road record15–15–9
Goals for298
Goals against287
Team information
General managerJack Kelley
CoachBill Dineen (33-29-9)
Don Blackburn (4-5-0)
CaptainRick Ley
ArenaSpringfield Civic Center
Team leaders
GoalsMark Howe (42)
AssistsMark Howe (65)
PointsMark Howe (107)
Penalty minutesAlan Hangsleben (148)
WinsJohn Garrett (20)
Goals against averageAl Smith (3.31)

The 1978–79 New England Whalers season was the seventh season of the Whalers' franchise. This was the second of three seasons where the Whalers played at Springfield Civic Center. This was the final season in the World Hockey Association, which ceased operations after the season. The Whalers (along with the Winnipeg Jets, the Edmonton Oilers, and the Quebec Nordiques) were admitted to the National Hockey League as expansion teams. The Whalers (as part of the agreement suggested by the Boston Bruins) changed their name to the Hartford Whalers. The Whalers made the playoffs, with only five teams participating in the postseason. Don Blackburn took over the team as coach before the season ended, and he became the first coach of the team in the NHL.

Offseason

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Regular season

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Final standings

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Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points

WHA Team GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Edmonton Oilers 80 48 30 2 98 340 266 1220
Quebec Nordiques 80 41 34 5 87 288 271 1399
Winnipeg Jets 80 39 35 6 84 307 306 1342
New England Whalers 80 37 34 9 83 298 287 1090
Cincinnati Stingers 80 33 41 6 72 274 284 1651
Birmingham Bulls 80 32 42 6 70 286 311 1661
xIndianapolis Racers 25 5 18 2 12 78 130 557
#Soviet All-Stars 6 4 1 1 9 27 20 77
#Czechoslovakia 6 1 4 1 3 14 33 107
#Finland 1 0 1 0 0 4 8 2

x-team folded during season #-played limited schedule


Schedule and results

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1978–79 regular season[1]
October
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 15, 1978 6–5 @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) 1–0–0
2 W October 17, 1978 2–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) 2–0–0
3 T October 18, 1978 4–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) 2–0–1
4 W October 21, 1978 7–1 Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) 3–0–1
5 W October 22, 1978 6–3 @ Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) 4–0–1
6 W October 24, 1978 2–1 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) 5–0–1
7 L October 26, 1978 5–8 @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) 5–1–1
8 L October 27, 1978 4–6 Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) 5–2–1
9 L October 29, 1978 4–7 Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) 5–3–1
November
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
10 W November 3, 1978 6–3 Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) 6–3–1
11 T November 4, 1978 6–6 @ Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) 6–3–2
12 L November 5, 1978 4–5 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) 6–4–2
13 W November 9, 1978 6–1 Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) 7–4–2
14 W November 11, 1978 2–1 Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) 8–4–2
15 T November 14, 1978 5–5 @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) 8–4–3
16 T November 15, 1978 4–4 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) 8–4–4
17 L November 17, 1978 1–7 @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) 8–5–4
18 L November 18, 1978 2–3 Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) 8–6–4
19 W November 22, 1978 5–2 Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) 9–6–4
20 W November 25, 1978 5–2 Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) 10–6–4
21 W November 26, 1978 9–3 Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) 11–6–4
22 L November 29, 1978 2–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) 11–7–4
December
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
23 L December 1, 1978 2–8 @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) 11–8–4
24 W December 3, 1978 7–0 @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) 12–8–4
25 T December 5, 1978 2–2 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) 12–8–5
26 W December 7, 1978 5–3 Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) 13–8–5
27 L December 9, 1978 4–7 Soviet All-Stars (1978–79) 13–9–5
28 W December 12, 1978 7–4 @ Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) 14–9–5
29 W December 16, 1978 2–1 Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) 15–9–5
30 T December 17, 1978 4–4 @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) 15–9–6
31 W December 23, 1978 4–3 Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) 16–9–6
32 W December 27, 1978 10–4 Czechoslovakia (1978–79) 17–9–6
33 W December 29, 1978 5–0 Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) 18–9–6
34 L December 30, 1978 1–2 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) 18–10–6
January
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
35 W January 7, 1979 5–4 Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) 19–10–6
36 L January 13, 1979 0–3 Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) 19–11–6
37 L January 14, 1979 2–4 Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) 19–12–6
38 L January 18, 1979 2–4 Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) 19–13–6
39 W January 20, 1979 3–1 Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) 20–13–6
40 L January 23, 1979 1–5 @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) 20–14–6
41 L January 26, 1979 4–5 @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) 20–15–6
42 W January 28, 1979 8–6 Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) 21–15–6
43 W January 30, 1979 5–2 Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) 22–15–6
February
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
44 W February 2, 1979 4–1 Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) 23–15–6
45 T February 3, 1979 2–2 @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) 23–15–7
46 W February 6, 1979 5–3 @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) 24–15–7
47 W February 10, 1979 7–2 Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) 25–15–7
48 L February 11, 1979 2–5 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) 25–16–7
49 L February 14, 1979 4–7 Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) 25–17–7
50 L February 16, 1979 2–4 Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) 25–18–7
51 W February 17, 1979 4–1 Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) 26–18–7
52 W February 18, 1979 7–1 @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) 27–18–7
53 L February 20, 1979 2–8 @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) 27–19–7
54 L February 21, 1979 2–5 @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) 27–20–7
55 W February 23, 1979 5–4 OT Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) 28–20–7
56 L February 24, 1979 0–6 @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) 28–21–7
57 L February 25, 1979 5–7 Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) 28–22–7
58 T February 27, 1979 1–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) 28–22–8
March
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
59 W March 2, 1979 4–1 @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) 29–22–8
60 L March 4, 1979 3–4 OT Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) 29–23–8
61 L March 9, 1979 1–3 Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) 29–24–8
62 W March 11, 1979 2–1 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) 30–24–8
63 W March 13, 1979 4–3 @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) 31–24–8
64 L March 15, 1979 3–4 OT Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) 31–25–8
65 T March 16, 1979 5–5 @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) 31–25–9
66 L March 18, 1979 1–4 Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) 31–26–9
67 W March 20, 1979 7–6 OT @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) 32–26–9
68 W March 23, 1979 5–3 Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) 33–26–9
69 L March 24, 1979 3–4 Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) 33–27–9
70 L March 27, 1979 1–3 @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) 33–28–9
71 L March 30, 1979 1–3 Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) 33–29–9
April
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
72 L April 1, 1979 3–5 Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) 33–30–9
73 W April 4, 1979 4–2 @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) 34–30–9
74 L April 6, 1979 2–7 @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) 34–31–9
75 L April 8, 1979 4–6 @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) 34–32–9
76 W April 10, 1979 5–2 @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) 35–32–9
77 W April 12, 1979 4–0 Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) 36–32–9
78 L April 14, 1979 0–4 Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) 36–33–9
79 L April 15, 1979 1–4 Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) 36–34–9
80 W April 17, 1979 3–2 @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) 37–34–9

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

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1979 Avco Cup playoffs[1]
Preliminary Round vs. Cincinnati Stingers – Whalers win 3–0
Game Date Visitor Score Home Series
1 April 21 Cincinnati Stingers 3 – 5 New England Whalers 1–0
2 April 22 New England Whalers 3 – 6 Cincinnati Stingers 1–1
3 April 24 New England Whalers 2 – 1 Cincinnati Stingers 2–1
Semifinals vs. Edmonton Oilers – Oilers win 4–3
Game Date Visitor Score Home Series
1 April 26 New England Whalers 2 – 6 Edmonton Oilers 0–1
2 April 27 New England Whalers 5 – 9 Edmonton Oilers 0–2
3 April 29 Edmonton Oilers 1 – 4 New England Whalers 1–2
4 May 1 Edmonton Oilers 4 – 5 New England Whalers 2–2
5 May 3 New England Whalers 2 – 5 Edmonton Oilers 2–3
6 May 6 Edmonton Oilers 8 – 4 New England Whalers 3–3
7 May 8 New England Whalers 3 – 6 Edmonton Oilers 3–4

Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

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Regular season

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Scoring
Player GP G A Pts PIM
Mark Howe 77 42 65 107 32
Andre Lacroix 78 32 56 88 34
Mike Rogers 80 27 45 72 31
Dave Keon 79 22 43 65 2
Gordie Roberts 79 11 46 57 113
Warren Miller 77 26 23 49 44
Mike Antonovich 69 20 27 47 35
John McKenzie 76 19 28 47 115
Gordie Howe 58 19 24 43 51
George Lyle 59 17 18 35 54
Alan Hangsleben 77 10 19 29 148
Rick Ley 73 7 20 27 135
Marty Howe 66 9 15 24 31
Ron Plumb 78 4 16 20 33
Jordy Douglas 51 6 10 16 15
Brad Selwood 42 4 12 16 47
Jim Warner 41 6 9 15 20
Blaine Stoughton 36 9 3 12 2
Larry Pleau 28 6 6 12 6
Jack Carlson 34 2 7 9 61
Dave Inkpen 41 0 7 7 15
Al Smith 40 0 3 3 35
Jeff Brubaker 12 0 0 0 19
John Garrett 41 0 0 0 6
Pierre Roy 1 0 0 0 2
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SA SV SV% SO
John Garrett 2496 41 20 17 4 149 3.58 1180 1031 .874 2
Al Smith 2396 40 17 17 5 132 3.31 1124 992 .883 1
Team: 4892 80 37 34 9 281 3.45 2304 2023 .878 3

Playoffs

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Scoring
Player GP G A Pts PIM
Dave Keon 10 3 9 12 2
John McKenzie 10 3 7 10 10
Mike Antonovich 10 5 3 8 14
Andre Lacroix 10 4 4 8 0
George Lyle 9 3 5 8 25
Mike Rogers 10 2 6 8 2
Warren Miller 10 0 8 8 28
Blaine Stoughton 7 4 3 7 4
Mark Howe 6 4 2 6 6
Jordy Douglas 10 4 0 4 23
Gordie Howe 10 3 1 4 4
Ron Plumb 9 1 3 4 0
Rick Ley 9 0 4 4 11
Gordie Roberts 10 0 4 4 10
Larry Pleau 10 2 1 3 0
Al Hangsleben 10 1 2 3 12
Marty Howe 9 0 1 1 8
Dave Inkpen 5 0 1 1 4
Jeff Brubaker 3 0 0 0 12
John Garrett 8 0 0 0 0
Al Smith 4 0 0 0 0
Jim Warner 1 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SA SV SV% SO
John Garrett 447 8 4 3 32 4.30 0
Al Smith 153 4 1 2 12 4.71 0
Team: 600 10 5 5 44 4.40 0

[2]

Awards and records

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Transactions

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "1978-79 New England Whalers Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  2. ^ "1978-79 New England Whalers Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
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