1976–77 Houston Aeros season

	1976–77 Houston Aeros
Division	1st Western
1976–77 record	50–24–6
Goals for	320
Goals against	241
Team information
General manager	Bill Dineen
Coach	Bill Dineen
Captain	Ted Taylor
Alternate captains	Gordie Howe
Arena	Sam Houston Coliseum
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)
	← 1975–76 1977–78 →

The 1976–77 Houston Aeros season was the Aeros' 5th season in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Aeros finished 1st in the Western Division and lost in the Semi-finals to the Winnipeg Jets 4 games to 2.

Off-season[]

The Aeros jerseys were the same design as in the 1973-74 season.

Pre-season[]

The Aeros had two exhibition games against teams from the NHL, losing both:

September 21, 1976: Pittsburgh Penguins 5, Houston Aeros 1
September 30, 1976: Atlanta Flames 8, Houston Aeros 4

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

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

Game Log[]

Regular Season Results
No.	R	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
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
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
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
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
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
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

^[1]

Playoffs[]

Houston Aeros 4, Edmonton Oilers 1[]

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
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

Winnipeg Jets 4, Houston Aeros 2[]

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
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

Player Stats[]

Regular Season

Scoring

#	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
8	Ruskowski, TerryTerry Ruskowski	C	80	24	60	84	146	31	7	0	5
21	Preston, RichRich Preston	RW	80	38	41	79	54	37	6	5	5
4	Howe, MarkMark Howe	D	57	23	52	75	46	41	5	3	8
9	Howe, GordieGordie Howe	RW	62	24	44	68	57	27	5	1	3
6	Popiel, PoulPoul Popiel	D	80	12	56	68	87	53	2	0	0
15	Connor, CamCam Connor	RW	76	35	32	67	224	23	6	1	6
3,13	Lund, LarryLarry Lund	C	80	29	38	67	36	20	7	0	11
18	Tonelli, JohnJohn Tonelli	LW	80	24	31	55	109	14	6	1	0
14	Taylor, TedTed Taylor	LW	78	16	35	51	90	28	4	0	0
12	Lukowich, MorrisMorris Lukowich	LW	68	27	18	45	67	20	6	0	0
3	Howe, MartyMarty Howe	D	80	17	28	45	103	29	3	0	0
10	Gray, JohnJohn Gray	RW	47	21	20	41	25	22	3	0	0
5	McLeod, AlAl McLeod	D	51	7	21	28	20	19	1	0	0
27	Larway, DonDon Larway	RW	75	11	13	24	112	5	3	0	0
17	Hale, LarryLarry Hale	D	67	0	14	14	18	9	0	0	0
7	Hughes, FrankFrank Hughes	LW	27	3	8	11	2	-5	0	0	0
5,26	Hansis, RonRon Hansis	RW	22	4	3	7	6	-4	0	0	0
24	Irwin, GlenGlen Irwin	D	44	2	4	6	168	-12	0	0	0
2	Schella, JohnJohn Schella	D	20	0	6	6	28	8	0	0	0
16	Hinse, AndreAndre Hinse	LW	26	2	3	5	8	-9	0	0	0
19	Pentland, DwayneDwayne Pentland	D	29	1	2	3	6	3	0	0	0
30	Rutledge, WayneWayne Rutledge	G	42	0	3	3	6	0	0	0	0
20	West, SteveSteve West	C	3	0	0	0	2	-3	0	0	0
20	Fedorko, MikeMike Fedorko	C	4	0	0	0	0	-4	0	0	0
	Donaldson, GaryGary Donaldson	RW	5	0	0	0	6	-3	0	0	0
29	Grahame, RonRon Grahame	G	39	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Grahame, RonRon Grahame	2345	39	27	10	2	107	2.74	4
Rutledge, WayneWayne 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	GWG
Ruskowski, TerryTerry Ruskowski	C	11	6	11	17	67	0
Howe, MarkMark Howe	D	11	4	10	14	2	1
Lukowich, MorrisMorris Lukowich	LW	11	6	4	10	19	1
Lund, LarryLarry Lund	C	11	2	8	10	17	0
Howe, GordieGordie Howe	RW	11	5	3	8	11	0
Taylor, TedTed Taylor	LW	11	4	4	8	28	2
Preston, RichRich Preston	RW	11	3	5	8	10	0
Connor, CamCam Connor	RW	11	3	4	7	47	0
Tonelli, JohnJohn Tonelli	LW	11	3	4	7	12	0
Popiel, PoulPoul Popiel	D	11	0	7	7	10	0
Howe, MartyMarty Howe	D	11	3	1	4	10	1
McLeod, AlAl McLeod	D	10	1	3	4	9	0
Schella, JohnJohn Schella	D	6	1	2	3	6	0
Hansis, RonRon Hansis	RW	8	1	1	2	4	1
Hale, LarryLarry Hale	D	11	0	2	2	6	0
Larway, DonDon Larway	RW	3	1	0	1	0	0
Gray, JohnJohn Gray	RW	6	0	1	1	8	0
Grahame, RonRon Grahame	G	9	0	1	1	2	0
Pentland, DwayneDwayne Pentland	D	2	0	0	0	0	0
West, SteveSteve West	C	6	0	0	0	0	0
Rutledge, WayneWayne Rutledge	G	2	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA
Rutledge, WayneWayne Rutledge	120	2	4	5	4	2.00
Grahame, RonRon Grahame	561	9	2	0	36	3.85
Team:	681	11	6	5	40	3.52

^[2]

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

Awards and Records[]

Ben Hatskin Trophy (Best Goaltender): Ron Grahame
Robert Schmertz Memorial Trophy (Coach of the Year): Bill Dineen
Poul Popiel, Defense, WHA Second Team All-Star
Mark Howe, Defense, WHA Second Team All-Star

Transactions[]

Draft Picks[]

Farm Teams[]

Oklahoma City Blazers, Central Hockey League

References[]

↑ 1976–77 Houston Aeros Games. Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-06-30.
↑ 1976-77 Houston Aeros Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com. hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-06-30.

[1] 1976–77 Houston Aeros Games. Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-06-30.

[2] 1976-77 Houston Aeros Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com. hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-06-30.

[1]

[2]

1976–77 WHA season by team
Eastern Division	Birmingham • Cincinnati • Indianapolis • Minnesota • New England • Quebec
Western Division	Calgary • Edmonton • Houston • Phoenix • San Diego • Winnipeg