1975–76 Houston Aeros season

1975–76 Houston Aeros
Division1st West
1975–76 record53–27–0
Home record33–7–0
Road record20–20–0
Goals for341
Goals against263
Team information
CoachBill Dineen
CaptainTed Taylor
Alternate captainsGordie Howe
Gord Labossiere
Poul Popiel
ArenaThe Summit
Team leaders
GoalsMark Howe
AssistsGordie Howe
PointsGordie Howe

The 1975–76 Houston Aeros season was the Aeros' fourth season of operation in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Aeros again qualified first for the playoffs and made it to the Avco Cup Final but lost the championship to the Winnipeg Jets. This was the first season that the Aeros played in the Summit after three seasons at Sam Houston Coliseum.

Regular season

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Gordie Howe scored 102 points, while his son Mark led the team with 39 goals.[1]

Final standings

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Western Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Houston Aeros 80 53 27 0 106 341 263 1093
Phoenix Roadrunners 80 39 35 6 84 302 287 1292
San Diego Mariners 80 36 38 6 78 303 290 716
Minnesota Fighting Saints 59 30 25 4 64 211 212 1354


Game log

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

Playoffs

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The Aeros defeated the San Diego Mariners in the quarter-final round 4–2. The Aeros next defeated the New England Whalers 4–3 in the semi-final round to advance to the Final. While the Aeros won the series, they had nothing left for the Final and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Aeros 4–0 to win the Avco Cup.

Houston Aeros 4, San Diego Mariners 2 – Quarterfinals

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# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 April 21 San Diego Mariners 6–8 Houston Aeros 1–0
2 April 23 San Diego Mariners 1–3 Houston Aeros 2–0
3 April 25 Houston Aeros 8–4 San Diego Mariners 3–0
4 April 27 Houston Aeros 2–3 San Diego Mariners 3–1
5 April 28 San Diego Mariners 3–2 Houston Aeros 3–2
6 April 30 Houston Aeros 3–2 San Diego Mariners 4–2

Houston Aeros 4, New England Whalers 3 – Semifinals

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# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 May 5 New England Whalers 4–2 Houston Aeros 0–1
2 May 7 New England Whalers 2–5 Houston Aeros 1–1
3 May 9 Houston Aeros 1–4 New England Whalers 1–2
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
5 May 16 New England Whalers 0–2 Houston Aeros 4–3

Winnipeg Jets 4, Houston Aeros 0 – Avco Cup Finals

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# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 May 20 Winnipeg Jets 4–3 Houston Aeros 0–1
2 May 23 Winnipeg Jets 5–4 Houston Aeros 0–2
3 May 25 Houston Aeros 3–6 Winnipeg Jets 0–3
4 May 27 Houston Aeros 1–9 Winnipeg Jets 0–4

Player stats

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Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Gordie Howe RW 78 32 70 102 76 14 12 1 4
Mark Howe D 72 39 37 76 38 29 13 6 8
Frank Hughes LW 80 31 45 76 26 12 12 0 6
Andre Hinse LW 70 35 38 73 6 12 12 0 6
Larry Lund C 73 24 49 73 50 3 6 1 1
Gord Labossiere C 80 23 32 55 18 -1 4 0 3
Rich Preston RW 77 22 33 55 33 30 1 2 4
Don Larway RW 79 30 20 50 56 9 3 0 3
Terry Ruskowski C 65 14 35 49 100 18 3 0 2
Murray Hall RW 80 20 26 46 18 -3 3 0 8
Poul Popiel D 78 10 36 46 71 29 2 2 2
Ted Taylor LW 68 15 26 41 88 -10 3 0 0
John Schella D 74 6 32 38 106 8 0 0 0
Marty Howe D 80 14 23 37 81 40 0 0 2
John Tonelli LW 79 17 14 31 66 11 3 1 2
Larry Hale D 77 2 12 14 30 7 0 0 1
Jan Popiel LW 67 4 7 11 59 -13 0 0 0
Glen Irwin D 72 3 8 11 116 3 0 0 0
Bill Butters D 14 0 4 4 18 8 0 0 0
Ron Grahame G 57 0 1 1 22 0 0 0 0
Bob Liddington LW 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Wayne Rutledge G 25 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0
Mike Stevens D 6 0 0 0 2 -2 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Ron Grahame 3343 57 39 17 0 182 3.27 3
Wayne Rutledge 1456 25 14 10 0 77 3.17 1
Team: 4799 80 53 27 0 259 3.24 4
Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Mark Howe D 17 6 10 16 18 0 0 0
Terry Ruskowski C 16 6 10 16 64 0 0 0
John Tonelli LW 17 7 7 14 8 0 0 0
Don Larway RW 16 7 5 12 21 0 0 0
Gordie Howe RW 17 4 8 12 31 0 0 0
Rich Preston RW 17 4 6 10 8 0 0 0
Gord Labossiere C 17 2 8 10 14 0 0 0
Marty Howe D 16 4 4 8 12 0 0 0
Poul Popiel D 17 3 5 8 16 0 0 0
John Schella D 17 1 6 7 38 0 0 0
Frank Hughes LW 17 5 1 6 20 0 0 0
Andre Hinse LW 17 2 3 5 2 0 0 0
Murray Hall RW 17 1 4 5 0 0 0 0
Larry Hale D 17 0 5 5 8 0 0 0
Ted Taylor LW 11 2 2 4 17 0 0 0
Bill Butters D 17 0 3 3 51 0 0 0
Larry Lund C 5 1 1 2 4 0 0 0
Jan Popiel LW 8 1 1 2 4 0 0 0
Steve West C 7 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Ron Grahame G 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Glen Irwin D 5 0 0 0 9 0 0 0
Wayne Rutledge G 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Ron Grahame 817 14 6 8 54 3.97 1
Wayne Rutledge 200 4 2 1 10 3.00 0
Team: 1017 17 8 9 64 3.78 1

[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

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Transactions

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Draft picks

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Houston's draft picks at the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft.[3]

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 15 Richard Mulhern (D)  Canada Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
2 30 Doug Jarvis (C)  Canada Peterborough Petes (OHA)
3 45 Kevin Campbell (D)  Canada St. Lawrence University (ECAC)
4 60 Dave Salvian (LW)  Canada St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
5 74 Paul Crowley (RW)  Canada Sudbury Wolves (OHA)
6 88 Bill Cheropita (G)  Canada St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
7 101 John Glynne (D)  United States University of Vermont (ECAC)
8 113 Dave Taylor (F)  Canada Clarkson University (ECAC)
9 125 Jim Maxfield (D)  Canada Sudbury Wolves (OHA)
10 138 Chad Campbell (LW)  Canada University of Denver (WCHA)
11 150 Bill Oleschuk (G)  Canada Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)
12 160 Jim Lundquist (D)  United States Brown University (ECAC)
13 169 Rick St. Croix (G)  Canada Oshawa Generals (OHA)
14 175 Paul Jensen (D)  United States Michigan Tech University (WCHA)

Farm teams

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "1975–76 Houston Aeros Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
  2. ^ "1975-76 Houston Aeros Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
  3. ^ "1975 WHA Amateur Draft". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
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