1975–76 New England Whalers season

1975–76 New England Whalers
Division	3rd Eastern
1975–76 record	33–40–7
Goals for	255
Goals against	290
Team Information
General Manager	Jack Kelley (Oct–Dec) Ron Ryan (Dec–Apr)
Coach	Jack Kelley (14–16–3) Don Blackburn (14–18–3) Harry Neale (5–6–1)
Captain	Rick Ley
Alternate captains	Tom Webster Larry Pleau
Arena	Hartford Civic Center
Team Leaders
Goals	Tom Webster (30)
Assists	Tom Webster (53)
Points	Tom Webster (83)
Penalties in minutes	Gordie Roberts (102)
Wins	Christer Abrahamsson (18)
Goals against average	Christer Abrahamsson (3.42)

<1974–75

1976–77>

The 1975–76 New England Whalers season was the 3rd season of the Whalers' franchise in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Whalers finished 3rd in the Eastern Division and lost in the Semi-finals to the Houston Aeros 4 games to 3.

Off-season

The Whalers jerseys were the same design as in the 1974-75 season.

Regular Season

Final Standings

Eastern Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Indianapolis Racers	80	35	39	6	76	245	247	1301
Cleveland Crusaders	80	35	40	5	75	273	279	1356
New England Whalers	80	33	40	7	73	255	290	1012
Cincinnati Stingers	80	35	44	1	71	285	340	1344

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties Minutes
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game Log

Regular Season Results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 11, 1975	0–5	Houston Aeros (1975–76)	0–1–0
2	W	October 15, 1975	5–4 OT	Edmonton Oilers (1975–76)	1–1–0
3	W	October 18, 1975	3–1	Toronto Toros (1975–76)	2–1–0
4	L	October 21, 1975	1–6	@ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76)	2–2–0
5	W	October 24, 1975	5–4	@ Toronto Toros (1975–76)	3–2–0
6	W	October 26, 1975	3–1	Calgary Cowboys (1975–76)	4–2–0
7	W	October 29, 1975	4–2	Quebec Nordiques (1975–76)	5–2–0
8	T	October 31, 1975	2–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76)	5–2–1
9	L	November 2, 1975	3–4 OT	@ Calgary Cowboys (1975–76)	5–3–1
10	L	November 4, 1975	2–3 OT	@ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76)	5–4–1
11	W	November 6, 1975	8–3	Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76)	6–4–1
12	L	November 8, 1975	2–3	Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76)	6–5–1
13	L	November 9, 1975	2–4	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76)	6–6–1
14	W	November 12, 1975	4–1	Houston Aeros (1975–76)	7–6–1
15	L	November 15, 1975	1–3	Quebec Nordiques (1975–76)	7–7–1
16	L	November 19, 1975	1–3	@ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	7–8–1
17	L	November 20, 1975	0–2	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76)	7–9–1
18	W	November 22, 1975	7–5	Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76)	8–9–1
19	L	November 23, 1975	2–3	Winnipeg Jets (1975–76)	8–10–1
20	L	November 25, 1975	2–3 OT	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76)	8–11–1
21	W	November 28, 1975	7–3	Denver Spurs (1975–76)	9–11–1
22	L	November 29, 1975	2–3	Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	9–12–1
23	W	December 2, 1975	5–2	@ Houston Aeros (1975–76)	10–12–1
24	L	December 4, 1975	4–5	@ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76)	10–13–1
25	L	December 6, 1975	1–4	@ San Diego Mariners (1975–76)	10–14–1
26	L	December 7, 1975	1–5	@ Denver Spurs (1975–76)	10–15–1
27	W	December 10, 1975	3–2	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76)	11–15–1
28	W	December 13, 1975	5–4	Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	12–15–1
29	T	December 14, 1975	2–2	@ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	12–15–2
30	T	December 17, 1975	0–0	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1975–76)	12–15–3
31	W	December 19, 1975	4–2	Edmonton Oilers (1975–76)	13–15–3
32	L	December 20, 1975	2–4	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76)	13–16–3
33	W	December 22, 1975	4–1	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	14–16–3
34	W	December 26, 1975	4–3	Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76)	15–16–3
35	W	December 28, 1975	4–0	Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	16–16–3
36	W	December 30, 1975	5–3	San Diego Mariners (1975–76)	17–16–3
37	W	January 3, 1976	3–2	Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	18–16–3
38	L	January 4, 1976	2–3	@ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	18–17–3
39	W	January 7, 1976	3–2	@ Ottawa Civics (1975–76)	19–17–3
40	L	January 9, 1976	3–5	San Diego Mariners (1975–76)	19–18–3
41	W	January 11, 1976	8–4	San Diego Mariners (1975–76)	20–18–3
42	W	January 15, 1976	5–2	Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76)	21–18–3
43	L	January 16, 1976	3–4	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	21–19–3
44	L	January 18, 1976	0–8	@ Winnipeg Jets (1975–76)	21–20–3
45	T	January 20, 1976	4–4	@ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76)	21–20–4
46	L	January 21, 1976	3–9	@ Houston Aeros (1975–76)	21–21–4
47	T	January 23, 1976	2–2	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	21–21–5
48	L	January 24, 1976	3–6	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76)	21–22–5
49	W	January 28, 1976	6–4	Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	22–22–5
50	L	January 30, 1976	3–6	Winnipeg Jets (1975–76)	22–23–5
51	W	February 1, 1976	7–5	@ Toronto Toros (1975–76)	23–23–5
52	L	February 3, 1976	0–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1975–76)	23–24–5
53	W	February 5, 1976	6–4	@ Calgary Cowboys (1975–76)	24–24–5
54	W	February 7, 1976	7–3	Toronto Toros (1975–76)	25–24–5
55	L	February 8, 1976	1–6	Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	25–25–5
56	L	February 13, 1976	1–5	Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76)	25–26–5
57	W	February 15, 1976	3–2	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	26–26–5
58	L	February 17, 1976	3–4	@ Houston Aeros (1975–76)	26–27–5
59	L	February 19, 1976	3–10	@ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	26–28–5
60	L	February 22, 1976	0–4	@ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76)	26–29–5
61	L	February 25, 1976	2–5	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76)	26–30–5
62	L	February 26, 1976	2–5	Houston Aeros (1975–76)	26–31–5
63	T	February 28, 1976	4–4	Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	26–31–6
64	W	March 2, 1976	4–3	@ San Diego Mariners (1975–76)	27–31–6
65	L	March 4, 1976	2–8	@ San Diego Mariners (1975–76)	27–32–6
66	W	March 6, 1976	5–3	@ Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76)	28–32–6
67	L	March 7, 1976	3–5	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76)	28–33–6
68	L	March 10, 1976	2–3	Phoenix Roadrunners (1975–76)	28–34–6
69	W	March 12, 1976	8–2	Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	29–34–6
70	W	March 13, 1976	5–1	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76)	30–34–6
71	L	March 16, 1976	1–5	@ Quebec Nordiques (1975–76)	30–35–6
72	L	March 17, 1976	2–5	Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	30–36–6
73	W	March 19, 1976	6–5 OT	Cincinnati Stingers (1975–76)	31–36–6
74	T	March 20, 1976	1–1	Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	31–36–7
75	L	March 24, 1976	6–7	Calgary Cowboys (1975–76)	31–37–7
76	W	March 26, 1976	4–1	Calgary Cowboys (1975–76)	32–37–7
77	L	March 28, 1976	1–3	Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	32–38–7
78	L	March 31, 1976	1–5	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1975–76)	32–39–7
79	W	April 3, 1976	5–2	@ Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	33–39–7
80	L	April 4, 1976	2–4	Indianapolis Racers (1975–76)	33–40–7

Playoffs

New England Whalers 3, Cleveland Crusaders 0

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Series
1	April 9	Cleveland Crusaders	3–5	New England Whalers	1–0
2	April 10	New England Whalers	6–1	Cleveland Crusaders	2–0
3	April 11	New England Whalers	3–2	Cleveland Crusaders	3–0

New England Whalers 4, Indianapolis Racers 3

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Series
1	April 16	New England Whalers	4–1	Indianapolis Racers	1–0
2	April 17	New England Whalers	0–4	Indianapolis Racers	1–1
3	April 21	Indianapolis Racers	0–3	New England Whalers	2–1
4	April 23	Indianapolis Racers	1–2	New England Whalers	3–1
5	April 24	New England Whalers	0–4	Indianapolis Racers	3–2
6	April 27	Indianapolis Racers	5–3	New England	3–3
7	April 29	New England Whalers	6–0	Indianapolis Racers	4–3

Houston Aeros 4, New England Whalers 3

Ron Grahame stops Tom Webster, Game 7 of the 1976 Semi-finals, May 16, 1976.

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Series
1	May 5	New England Whalers	4–2	Houston Aeros	1–0
2	May 7	New England Whalers	2–5	Houston Aeros	1–1
3	May 9	Houston Aeros	1–4	New England Whalers	2–1
4	May 11	Houston Aeros	4–3	New England Whalers	2–2
5	May 13	New England Whalers	2–4	Houston Aeros	3–2
6	May 15	Houston Aeros	1–6	New England Whalers	3–3
7	May 16	New England Whalers	0–2	Houston Aeros	3–4

Player Stats

Skaters

Note: GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties In Minutes

#	Player	Regular Season					Playoffs
		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
8	Tom Webster	55	33	50	83	52	17	10	9	19	6
4	Larry Pleau	75	29	45	74	21	14	5	7	12	0
12	Rosaire Paiement	80	28	43	71	89	17	4	11	15	41
15	Ron Climie	65	25	20	45	17	—	—	—	—	—
2	Rick Ley	67	8	30	38	78	17	1	4	5	49
6	Thommy Abrahamsson	63	14	21	35	47	17	2	4	6	15
9	Ralph Backstrom	38	14	19	33	6	17	5	4	9	8
9	Wayne Carleton	35	12	21	33	6	—	—	—	—	—
17	Mike Rogers	36	18	14	32	10	17	5	8	13	2
20	Gary Swain	79	10	16	26	46	17	3	2	5	15
10	Alan Hangsleben	78	2	23	25	62	13	2	3	5	20
16	Fred O'Donnell	79	11	11	22	81	17	2	5	7	20
7, 22	Gordie Roberts	77	3	19	22	102	17	2	9	11	36
27	Tommy Earl	66	8	11	19	26	17	0	5	5	4
22	Don Borgeson	31	9	8	17	4	3	1	1	2	0
14, 17	Doug Roberts	76	4	13	17	51	17	1	1	2	8
19	Danny Arndt	69	8	8	16	10	8	0	0	0	0
5	Paul Hurley	46	0	14	14	20	—	—	—	—	—
11	Bob McManama	37	3	10	13	28	12	4	3	7	4
3	Brad Selwood	40	2	10	12	28	17	2	2	4	27
21	Mike Byers	18	4	3	7	0	—	—	—	—	—
21	Dan Bolduc	14	2	5	7	14	16	1	6	7	4
18	Bob Charlebois	28	3	3	6	0	—	—	—	—	—
23	Nick Fotiu	49	3	2	5	94	16	3	2	5	57
22	Don Blackburn	21	2	3	5	6	—	—	—	—	—
5	Ron Busniuk	11	0	3	3	55	17	0	2	2	14
29	Paul Hoganson	4	0	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—
26	Marty Gateman	12	0	1	1	6	—	—	—	—	—
30	Bruce Landon	38	0	1	1	0	4	0	0	0	0
1	Christer Abrahamsson	40	0	1	1	6	1	0	0	0	0
30	Gaye Cooley	—	—	—	—	—	1	0	0	0	0
	John Danby	1	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
7	Terry Caffery	2	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
35	Cap Raeder	3	0	0	0	0	14	0	1	1	0
17	Steve Richardson	6	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
25	Jim Troy	14	0	0	0	43	2	0	0	0	29

Statistics for all players reflect only games played with the Whalers.

Goaltenders

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Abrahamsson, ChristerChrister Abrahamsson	2385	41	18	18	2	136	3.42	2
Landon, BruceBruce Landon	2181	38	14	19	5	126	3.47	0
Hoganson, PaulPaul Hoganson	224	4	1	2	0	16	4.29	0
Raeder, CapCap Raeder	100	2	0	1	0	8	4.80	0

Awards and Records

• The Whalers did not win any awards this season.

Draft Picks

New England's draft picks at the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	13	Terry McDonald (C)	Canada	Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL)
2	28	Danny Arndt (LW)	Canada	Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)
3	43	Matti Hagman (C)	Finland	HIFK (SM-sarja)
4	58	Derek Spring (F)	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)
5	72	Gary McFadyen (RW)	Canada	Hull Festivals (QMJHL)
6	86	Terry Martin (F)	Canada	London Knights (OHA)
7	99	John Tweedle (F)	Canada	Lake Superior State University (CCHA)
8	111	Mike Harazny (D)	Canada	Regina Pats (WCHL)
9	123	Dave Norris (LW)	Canada	Hamilton Fincups (OHA)
10	136	Paul Stevenson (F)	USA	Brown University (ECAC)
11	149	Clark Jantzie (F)	Canada	University of Alberta (CWUAA)

Farm Teams

• Cape Codders, NAHL

See Also

• 1975–76 WHA season

References

• 1975–76 New England Whalers Games. Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-05-21.