1977–78 Indianapolis Racers season

1977–78 Indianapolis Racers
Division	8th WHA
1977–78 record	24–51–5
Goals for	267
Goals against	353
Team Information
Coach	Ron Ingram Bill Goldsworthy
Arena	Market Square Arena
Team Leaders
Goals	Claude St. Sauveur (36)
Assists	Claude St. Sauveur (42)
Points	Claude St. Sauveur (78)
Penalties in minutes	Kevin Devine (141)
Wins	Gary Inness (14)
Goals against average	Gary Inness Jim Park (4.21)

<1976–77

1978–79>

The 1977–78 Indianapolis Racers season was the Racers' 4th season in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Racers finished 8th in the league and did not qualify for the playoffs.

Off-season

Bobby Sheehan and Barry Wilkins 1977-78 jerseys.

The Racers jerseys were the same design as in the 1974-75 season except that the names were no longer outlined.

Regular Season

Final Standings

WHA Team	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Winnipeg Jets	80	50	28	2	102	381	270	988
New England Whalers	80	44	31	5	93	335	269	1255
Houston Aeros	80	42	34	4	88	296	302	1543
Quebec Nordiques	80	40	37	3	83	349	347	1185
Edmonton Oilers	80	38	39	3	79	309	307	1296
Birmingham Bulls	80	36	41	3	75	287	314	2177
Cincinnati Stingers	80	35	42	3	73	298	332	1701
Indianapolis Racers	80	24	51	5	53	267	353	1189
Soviet All-Stars	8	3	4	1	7	27	36	120
Czechoslovakia All-Stars	8	1	6	1	3	21	40	87

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

Game Log

Regular Season Results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 12, 1977	5–4	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	1–0–0
2	L	October 15, 1977	1–5	@ Houston Aeros (1977–78)	1–1–0
3	L	October 16, 1977	1–9	@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	1–2–0
4	T	October 18, 1977	2–2	New England Whalers (1977–78)	1–2–1
5	T	October 21, 1977	4–4	Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	1–2–2
6	W	October 25, 1977	5–4	@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	2–2–2
7	W	October 26, 1977	5–3	Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	3–2–2
8	W	October 29, 1977	6–2	Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	4–2–2
9	W	November 1, 1977	6–3	Houston Aeros (1977–78)	5–2–2
10	L	November 4, 1977	1–3	@ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	5–3–2
11	L	November 11, 1977	3–5	@ Houston Aeros (1977–78)	5–4–2
12	L	November 12, 1977	3–5	@ New England Whalers (1977–78)	5–5–2
13	L	November 15, 1977	4–6	New England Whalers (1977–78)	5–6–2
14	L	November 18, 1977	1–2	Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	5–7–2
15	L	November 19, 1977	4–6	Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	5–8–2
16	L	November 20, 1977	2–5	@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	5–9–2
17	T	November 23, 1977	3–3	@ New England Whalers (1977–78)	5–9–3
18	W	November 24, 1977	5–4 OT	Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	6–9–3
19	L	November 26, 1977	5–7	Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	6–10–3
20	L	November 30, 1977	0–3	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	6–11–3
21	W	December 1, 1977	5–4	Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	7–11–3
22	W	December 2, 1977	4–2	@ Houston Aeros (1977–78)	8–11–3
23	L	December 4, 1977	0–3	@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	8–12–3
24	W	December 6, 1977	5–2	New England Whalers (1977–78)	9–12–3
25	L	December 9, 1977	3–5	Czechoslovakia (1977–78)	9–13–3
26	L	December 10, 1977	3–5	@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	9–14–3
27	L	December 11, 1977	1–7	@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	9–15–3
28	L	December 14, 1977	1–3	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	9–16–3
29	T	December 15, 1977	3–3	Houston Aeros (1977–78)	9–16–4
30	L	December 18, 1977	3–4	Soviet All-Stars (1977–78)	9–17–4
31	L	December 22, 1977	1–4	Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	9–18–4
32	L	December 23, 1977	3–5	@ New England Whalers (1977–78)	9–19–4
33	L	December 28, 1977	4–5 OT	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	9–20–4
34	L	December 29, 1977	1–7	Houston Aeros (1977–78)	9–21–4
35	L	December 30, 1977	5–8	@ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	9–22–4
36	W	January 4, 1978	4–1	Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	10–22–4
37	W	January 6, 1978	4–3	New England Whalers (1977–78)	11–22–4
38	W	January 7, 1978	2–1 OT	@ Houston Aeros (1977–78)	12–22–4
39	L	January 8, 1978	2–4	@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	12–23–4
40	W	January 11, 1978	2–1	Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	13–23–4
41	L	January 14, 1978	3–6	Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	13–24–4
42	L	January 20, 1978	3–4	Houston Aeros (1977–78)	13–25–4
43	L	January 21, 1978	2–3	Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	13–26–4
44	W	January 22, 1978	5–4	@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	14–26–4
45	L	January 25, 1978	2–6	@ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	14–27–4
46	L	January 30, 1978	3–4	Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	14–28–4
47	L	January 31, 1978	4–6	Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	14–29–4
48	L	February 1, 1978	0–8	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	14–30–4
49	W	February 3, 1978	5–4 OT	Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	15–30–4
50	L	February 4, 1978	2–5	@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	15–31–4
51	W	February 5, 1978	6–1	Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	16–31–4
52	L	February 11, 1978	3–5	Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	16–32–4
53	W	February 15, 1978	9–6	Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	17–32–4
54	L	February 17, 1978	4–5 OT	@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	17–33–4
55	L	February 18, 1978	1–4	New England Whalers (1977–78)	17–34–4
56	L	February 19, 1978	3–4 OT	@ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	17–35–4
57	L	February 25, 1978	5–7	@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	17–36–4
58	W	February 26, 1978	6–3	@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	18–36–4
59	W	March 1, 1978	5–1	Houston Aeros (1977–78)	19–36–4
60	W	March 3, 1978	8–6	@ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	20–36–4
61	W	March 4, 1978	8–6	Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	21–36–4
62	W	March 5, 1978	4–2	Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	22–36–4
63	L	March 8, 1978	4–5 OT	Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	22–37–4
64	L	March 9, 1978	5–6	@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	22–38–4
65	W	March 11, 1978	4–2	Houston Aeros (1977–78)	23–38–4
66	L	March 12, 1978	3–6	@ Houston Aeros (1977–78)	23–39–4
67	L	March 15, 1978	0–7	@ New England Whalers (1977–78)	23–40–4
68	L	March 16, 1978	2–5	@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	23–41–4
69	L	March 18, 1978	2–4	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	23–42–4
70	T	March 19, 1978	3–3	@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	23–42–5
71	L	March 21, 1978	3–6	@ New England Whalers (1977–78)	23–43–5
72	L	March 24, 1978	0–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	23–44–5
73	L	March 28, 1978	3–4 OT	Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	23–45–5
74	L	March 30, 1978	1–4	Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	23–46–5
75	L	April 1, 1978	1–4	Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	23–47–5
76	W	April 2, 1978	6–3	Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	24–47–5
77	L	April 7, 1978	4–6	Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	24–48–5
78	L	April 8, 1978	3–7	@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	24–49–5
79	L	April 9, 1978	7–9	Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	24–50–5
80	L	April 11, 1978	3–6	@ New England Whalers (1977–78)	24–51–5

Playoffs

• The Racers did not qualify for the post season.

Player Stats

Regular Season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG St. Sauveur, ClaudeClaude St. Sauveur C 72 36 42 78 24 -5 7 0 0 Morrison, KevinKevin Morrison D 75 17 40 57 49 -32 6 1 0 Driscoll, PeterPeter Driscoll LW 56 25 21 46 130 0 5 0 0 Patenaude, RustyRusty Patenaude RW 76 23 19 42 71 -20 1 0 0 Devine, KevinKevin Devine LW 76 19 23 42 141 -24 1 0 0 Parizeau, MichelMichel Parizeau C 70 13 27 40 47 -13 2 0 0 Thomas, RegReg Thomas LW 49 15 16 31 44 -11 7 0 0 Larose, ClaudeClaude Larose LW 28 14 16 30 12 -15 3 0 0 Paiement, RosaireRosaire Paiement C 61 6 24 30 81 -13 1 0 0 Leclerc, ReneRene Leclerc RW 60 12 15 27 31 -7 2 0 0 Stoughton, BlaineBlaine Stoughton RW 47 13 13 26 28 -24 5 0 0 Block, KenKen Block D 77 1 25 26 34 -39 1 0 0 Leduc, RichRich Leduc C 28 10 15 25 38 -16 3 0 0 Burgess, DonDon Burgess LW 79 11 12 23 2 -30 2 0 0 Wilkins, BarryBarry Wilkins D 79 2 21 23 79 -35 1 0 0 Maggs, DarylDaryl Maggs D 51 6 15 21 30 -27 3 0 0 Goldsworthy, BillBill Goldsworthy RW 32 8 10 18 10 2 0 0 0 French, JohnJohn French C/LW 74 9 8 17 6 -25 2 2 0 Fortier, DaveDave Fortier D 54 1 15 16 86 -17 0 0 0 Sheehan, BobbyBobby Sheehan C 29 8 7 15 6 -19 1 3 0 Marotte, GillesGilles Marotte D 44 2 13 15 18 -17 0 0 0 Powis, LynnLynn Powis C 14 4 6 10 2 -5 0 0 0 Inkpen, DaveDave Inkpen D 24 1 9 10 24 -5 0 0 0 Baltimore, BryonBryon Baltimore D 22 1 7 8 23 0 0 0 0 Harris, HughHugh Harris C 19 1 7 8 6 -4 0 0 0 Rhiness, BradBrad Rhiness C 12 3 3 6 2 -4 0 0 0 Spring, FrankFrank Spring RW 13 2 4 6 2 1 1 0 0 Constantin, CharlesCharles Constantin LW 6 2 1 3 0 1 2 0 0 Adduono, RayRay Adduono C 8 1 2 3 0 -5 0 0 0 Smedsmo, DaleDale Smedsmo LW 6 0 3 3 7 3 0 0 0 Prentice, BillBill Prentice D 21 1 1 2 28 -4 0 0 0 Dornseif, DaveDave Dornseif D 3 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 Blackwood, BillBill Blackwood D 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Irwin, GlenGlen Irwin D 20 0 0 0 72 0 0 0 0 Park, JimJim Park G 12 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 McDuffe, PeterPeter McDuffe G 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mio, EddieEddie Mio G 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Inness, GaryGary Inness G 52 0 0 0 42 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO Inness, GaryGary Inness 2850 52 14 30 4 200 4.21 0 Mio, EddieEddie Mio 900 17 6 8 0 64 4.27 0 Park, JimJim Park 584 12 3 7 0 41 4.21 0 McDuffe, PeterPeter McDuffe 539 12 1 6 1 39 4.34 0 Team: 4873 80 24 51 5 344 4.24 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

Awards and Records

• The Racers did not win any awards this season.

Draft Picks

Indianapolis's draft picks at the 1977 WHA Amateur Draft.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	5	Doug Wilson (D)	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OHA)
2	16	Wayne Ramsey (D)	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)
4	35	Dale McCourt (F)	Canada	St. Catharines Fincups (OHA)
5	44	Mike Bossy (F)	Canada	Laval National (QMJHL)
6	53	Rick Vasko (D)	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHA)
7	62	Brian Drumm (LW)	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHA)

See Also

• 1977–78 WHA season