1976-77 Southern Hockey League season

This was the 1976-77 Southern Hockey League season. The league folded mid-season.

League Demise

The league imploded with dramatic speed in January 1977. The teams' rosters were decimated by numerous World Hockey Association callups, and the unstable fiscal situation resulted in further roster instability. On January 3, 1977, the Richmond Wildcats folded after not being paid for most of the season, followed hours later by the Greensboro Generals. On January 7, the Tidewater Sharks shut down after missing payroll, and the Winston-Salem Polar Twins followed suit on the same day. This left the SHL with just three teams--the Baltimore Clippers, Charlotte Checkers and Hampton Gulls.

Without enough teams to carry on alone, the SHL debated whether to end the season and play a round-robin tournament to determine a champion, play an interlocking schedule with the NAHL or International Hockey League, or fold. When the NAHL and IHL rejected overtures for interlocking play, the SHL decided a round-robin tournament was not viable and suspended operations on January 31, 1977. Plans to return in 1977-78 came to nothing, and the SHL never returned.

Regular season

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Hampton Gulls	50	32	16	2	198	152	66
Tidewater Sharks	41	26	13	2	158	131	54
Charlotte Checkers	50	22	25	3	180	186	47
Baltimore Clippers	47	21	24	2	182	169	44
Richmond Wildcats	38	21	16	1	160	144	43
Greensboro Generals	40	15	24	1	140	173	31
Winston-Salem Polar Twins	42	11	30	1	130	193	23

External Links

• Season 1976/77 on hockeydb.com