1977–78 Houston Aeros season

1977–78 Houston Aeros
Division	3rd WHA
1977–78 record	42–34–4
Goals for	296
Goals against	302
Team Information
General Manager	Bill Dineen
Coach	Bill Dineen
Captain	Terry Ruskowski
Alternate captains	André Lacroix
Arena	Sam Houston Coliseum
Team Leaders
Goals	Morris Lukowich (40)
Assists	Andre Lacroix (77)
Points	Andre Lacroix (113)
Penalties in minutes	Cam Connor (217)
Wins	Ernie Wakely (28)
Goals against average	Ernie Wakely (3.24)

<1976–77

The 1977–78 Houston Aeros season was the Houston Aeros' 6th and final season in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Aeros finished 3rd in the league and lost in the Quarter-finals to the Quebec Nordiques 4 games to 2.

Off-season

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

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	L	October 12, 1977	0–3	New England Whalers (1977–78)	0–1–0
2	L	October 14, 1977	3–5	@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	0–2–0
3	W	October 15, 1977	5–1	Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	1–2–0
4	W	October 21, 1977	6–5	Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	2–2–0
7	L	October 30, 1977	4–5	@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	3–4–0
13	W	November 11, 1977	5–3	Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	5–8–0
14	W	November 18, 1977	6–5	Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	6–8–0
15	L	November 19, 1977	3–4	@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	6–9–0
16	W	November 23, 1977	3–0	Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	7–9–0
17	W	November 25, 1977	3–1	Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	8–9–0
18	T	November 30, 1977	3–3	New England Whalers (1977–78)	8–9–1
19	L	December 2, 1977	2–4	Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	8–10–1
20	W	December 4, 1977	3–2	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	9–10–1
21	L	December 6, 1977	3–4 OT	@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	9–11–1
22	L	December 7, 1977	2–5	@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	9–12–1
23	W	December 9, 1977	5–3	@ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	10–12–1
24	W	December 11, 1977	4–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	11–12–1
25	L	December 13, 1977	3–5	Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	11–13–1
26	T	December 15, 1977	3–3	@ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	11–13–2
27	W	December 18, 1977	3–2	Czechoslovakia (1977–78)	12–13–2
28	W	December 20, 1977	6–4	Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	13–13–2
29	L	December 21, 1977	3–4	Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	13–14–2
30	L	December 23, 1977	2–6	Soviet All-Stars (1977–78)	13–15–2
31	W	December 29, 1977	7–1	@ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	14–15–2
32	T	December 30, 1977	5–5	Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	14–15–3
33	W	January 1, 1978	2–1	@ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	15–15–3
34	L	January 4, 1978	3–5	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	15–16–3
35	L	January 6, 1978	4–6	@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	15–17–3
36	L	January 7, 1978	1–2 OT	Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	15–18–3
37	L	January 8, 1978	2–4	Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	15–19–3
38	W	January 13, 1978	3–2	Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	16–19–3
39	W	January 14, 1978	5–4 OT	@ New England Whalers (1977–78)	17–19–3
40	W	January 20, 1978	4–3	@ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	18–19–3
41	W	January 21, 1978	5–2	Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	19–19–3
42	W	January 22, 1978	4–2	Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	20–19–3
43	W	January 24, 1978	6–5	@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	21–19–3
44	W	January 26, 1978	2–1 OT	Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	22–19–3
45	L	January 28, 1978	0–3	New England Whalers (1977–78)	22–20–3
46	W	January 29, 1978	6–4	New England Whalers (1977–78)	23–20–3
47	W	January 31, 1978	4–2	@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	24–20–3
48	L	February 3, 1978	0–1	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	24–21–3
49	W	February 4, 1978	5–4	New England Whalers (1977–78)	25–21–3
50	W	February 9, 1978	2–1	Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	26–21–3
51	W	February 11, 1978	8–4	Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	27–21–3
52	L	February 12, 1978	5–6	Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	27–22–3
53	W	February 15, 1978	5–2	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	28–22–3
54	L	February 16, 1978	2–5	Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	28–23–3
55	L	February 17, 1978	3–4 OT	Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	28–24–3
56	W	February 18, 1978	3–2	@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	29–24–3
57	W	February 22, 1978	6–5	@ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	30–24–3
58	L	February 24, 1978	4–5 OT	@ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	30–25–3
59	L	February 26, 1978	6–9	@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	30–26–3
60	L	February 28, 1978	2–5	@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	30–27–3
61	L	March 1, 1978	1–5	@ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	30–28–3
62	W	March 3, 1978	3–2 OT	@ New England Whalers (1977–78)	31–28–3
63	T	March 4, 1978	3–3	@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	31–28–4
64	W	March 5, 1978	4–3	@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	32–28–4
65	W	March 7, 1978	4–3	Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	33–28–4
66	W	March 9, 1978	6–4	New England Whalers (1977–78)	34–28–4
67	L	March 11, 1978	2–4	@ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	34–29–4
68	W	March 12, 1978	6–3	Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	35–29–4
69	L	March 17, 1978	2–3	Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	35–30–4
70	L	March 22, 1978	2–9	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	35–31–4
71	W	March 24, 1978	1–0	@ New England Whalers (1977–78)	36–31–4
72	W	March 25, 1978	4–3 OT	Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	37–31–4
73	W	March 28, 1978	5–3	Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	38–31–4
74	W	March 30, 1978	5–1	Edmonton Oilers (1977–78)	39–31–4
75	L	April 2, 1978	1–7	@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	39–32–4
76	L	April 3, 1978	6–8	@ New England Whalers (1977–78)	39–33–4
77	W	April 4, 1978	6–3	Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	40–33–4
78	L	April 7, 1978	3–5	@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	40–34–4
79	W	April 8, 1978	5–4	Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	41–34–4
80	W	April 9, 1978	5–4	@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	42–34–4

Playoffs

Quebec Nordiques 4, Houston Aeros 2

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 16	Quebec Nordiques	3–4	Houston Aeros	1–0
2	April 18	Quebec Nordiques	5–4	Houston Aeros	1–1
3	April 20	Houston Aeros	1–5	Quebec Nordiques	1–2
4	April 21	Houston Aeros	0–3	Quebec Nordiques	1–3
5	April 23	Quebec Nordiques	2–5	Houston Aeros	2–3
6	April 25	Houston Aeros	2–11	Quebec Nordiques	2–4

Player Stats

Regular Season
Scoring
# Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG 7 Lacroix, AndreAndre Lacroix C 78 36 77 113 57 8 7 0 0 12 Lukowich, MorrisMorris Lukowich LW 80 40 35 75 131 13 13 0 0 8 Ruskowski, TerryTerry Ruskowski C 78 15 57 72 170 13 3 1 0 18 Tonelli, JohnJohn Tonelli LW 65 23 41 64 103 13 5 0 0 27 Larway, DonDon Larway RW 69 24 35 59 52 1 5 0 0 10 Gray, JohnJohn Gray RW 77 35 23 58 80 15 6 0 0 21 Preston, RichRich Preston RW 73 25 25 50 52 3 7 3 0 15 Connor, CamCam Connor RW 68 21 16 37 217 4 0 0 0 4 Campbell, ScottScott Campbell D 75 8 29 37 116 10 1 0 0 6 Popiel, PoulPoul Popiel D 80 6 31 37 53 -6 1 1 0 19 West, SteveSteve West C 71 11 21 32 23 4 0 0 0 2 Schella, JohnJohn Schella D 63 9 20 29 125 -2 4 0 0 20 Hughes, JohnJohn Hughes D 79 3 25 28 130 20 1 0 0 13 Lund, LarryLarry Lund C 76 9 17 26 36 -22 1 0 0 5 McLeod, AlAl McLeod D 80 2 22 24 54 18 0 0 0 26 Hansis, RonRon Hansis RW 78 13 9 22 51 0 1 0 0 14 Taylor, TedTed Taylor LW 54 11 11 22 46 8 1 1 0 17 Hale, LarryLarry Hale D 56 2 11 13 22 4 0 0 0 16 Hughes, FrankFrank Hughes LW 11 3 2 5 2 -10 0 0 0 31 Wakely, ErnieErnie Wakely G 51 0 4 4 2 0 0 0 0 Mortson, ClelandCleland Mortson RW 6 0 1 1 7 -1 0 0 0 Mazur, JohnJohn Mazur LW 1 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 24 Irwin, GlenGlen Irwin D 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30 Rutledge, WayneWayne Rutledge G 12 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 Zimmerman, LynnLynn Zimmerman G 20 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO Wakely, ErnieErnie Wakely 3070 51 28 18 4 166 3.24 2 Zimmerman, LynnLynn Zimmerman 1166 20 10 9 0 84 4.32 0 Rutledge, WayneWayne Rutledge 634 12 4 7 0 47 4.45 0 Team: 4870 80 42 34 4 297 3.66 2

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG Taylor, TedTed Taylor LW 6 3 1 4 10 0 0 1 Lacroix, AndreAndre Lacroix C 6 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 Tonelli, JohnJohn Tonelli LW 6 1 3 4 8 0 0 0 Larway, DonDon Larway RW 6 1 2 3 4 0 0 0 Lukowich, MorrisMorris Lukowich LW 6 1 2 3 17 0 0 0 Gray, JohnJohn Gray RW 6 0 3 3 10 0 0 0 Campbell, ScottScott Campbell D 6 1 1 2 8 0 0 1 Hansis, RonRon Hansis RW 6 1 1 2 4 0 0 0 Hughes, JohnJohn Hughes D 6 1 1 2 6 0 0 0 Ruskowski, TerryTerry Ruskowski C 4 1 1 2 5 0 0 0 Terbenche, PaulPaul Terbenche D 6 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 Lund, LarryLarry Lund C 6 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 Popiel, PoulPoul Popiel D 6 0 2 2 13 0 0 0 Connor, CamCam Connor RW 2 1 0 1 22 0 0 0 McLeod, AlAl McLeod D 6 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 West, SteveSteve West C 6 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 Mortson, ClelandCleland Mortson RW 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Schella, JohnJohn Schella D 6 0 1 1 33 0 0 0 Rutledge, WayneWayne Rutledge G 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 Zimmerman, LynnLynn Zimmerman G 4 0 0 0 6 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO Rutledge, WayneWayne Rutledge 239 3 1 2 21 5.27 0 Zimmerman, LynnLynn Zimmerman 131 4 1 2 8 3.66 0 Team: 370 6 2 4 29 4.70 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

• Robert Schmertz Memorial Trophy (Coach of the Year): Bill Dineen
• Ernie Wakely, Goalie, WHA Second Team All-Star

Draft Picks

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

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	1	Scott Campbell (D)	Canada	London Knights (OHA)
1	10	Dwight Foster (F)	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHA)
2	21	Dave Semenko (LW)	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)
3	30	Glen Hanlon (G)	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)
4	39	Reg Kerr (D)	Canada	Kamloops Chiefs (WCHL)
5	48	Kevin McCarthy (D)	Canada	Winnipeg Monarchs (WCHL)
6	57	Markus Mattsson (G)	Finland	Ilves (Liiga)
7	66	Harald Luckner (F)	Sweden	Farjestads BK (Elitserien)
8	74	Matti Forss (F)	Finland	Lukko Rauma (Liiga)
9	82	Mike Dwyer (LW)	Canada	Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA)
10	90	Dave Parro (G)	Canada	Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)

Video

Whalers-Aeros game from March 9, 1978.

WHA- New England Whalers vs. Houston Aeros – March 9, 1978

Jets-Aeros game from April 4, 1978.

WHA Houston Aeros - Winnipeg Jets 78-79

Nordiques-Aeros Quarter-finals Game 5, April 23, 1978.

WHA- Houston Aeros vs. Quebec Nordiques, Game 5, 1978 Quarterfinals

See Also

• 1977–78 WHA season