1972–73 Ottawa Nationals | |
---|---|
Division | 4th Eastern |
1972–73 record | 35–39–4 |
Home record | 21–15–3 |
Road record | 14–24–1 |
Goals for | 279 |
Goals against | 301 |
Team Information | |
General Manager | Doug Michel |
Coach | Billy Harris |
Captain | Guy Trottier |
Alternate captains | Rick Sentes Wayne Carleton |
Arena | Ottawa Civic Centre |
Average attendance | 3,226 |
Team Leaders | |
Goals | Wayne Carleton (42) |
Assists | Wayne Carleton (49) |
Points | Wayne Carleton (91) |
Penalties in minutes | Rick Cunningham (121) |
Wins | Gilles Gratton (25) |
Goals against average | Gilles Gratton (3.71) |
1973–74 > |
The 1972–73 Ottawa Nationals season was the 1st season of the Nationals franchise in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Nationals finished 4th in the Eastern Division and lost in the Quarter-finals to the New England Whalers 4 games to 1.
Off-season[]
The Nationals were originally owned by Doug Michel, who rumoured he would place the team in either Hamilton or Toronto, however, he placed the club in Ottawa. After the team was placed to play in Ottawa, Nick Trbovich became the majority owner, with Michel running hockey operations. The club was placed in the six team Eastern Division, with the top four clubs earning a playoff berth.
In June 1972, the team signed its first players, Rich Leduc and Ron Climie.
The Nationals hired former Toronto Maple Leafs player Billy Harris to coach the team. Ottawa's top signing was Wayne Carleton, who had previously played with the Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and California Golden Seals in the NHL.
The Nationals jersey colours for their only WHA season were red, white and blue with a primarily white home jersey and a primarily red away jersey. Jersey numbers were outlined with the names were not. Shoulders yolks with three stripes underneath the front and back and three stripes on the arms and body completed the design. The logo was a rounded rectangle containing the letters "ON" with a maple leaf inside the "O". Both jerseys had the player's names on the back with no nameplate.
Pre-season[]
The Nationals held their training camp in Hull, Quebec. NHL players the team had signed couldn't attend camp until October 1, 1972, the day their NHL contracts expired. The team held its first exhibition game on October 1 and lost 3-1 to the Philadelphia Blazers. The Nationals lost all five of their exhibition games.
Regular Season[]
The first game in the WHA was a match between the Nationals and the Alberta Oilers at the Civic Centre, with Alberta winning the game 7-4 on October 11, 1972. Ottawa recorded their first victory in their fourth game, a 6-2 decision over the Chicago Cougars. The Nationals would eventually find themselves a season high two games over .500 with a 12-10-1 record before falling into a long slump, in which the club had a record of 7-21-3 in their next 31 games and see themselves in last place in the Eastern Division. Ottawa would play very good hockey down the stretch, and finish the season at 35-39-4, earning 74 points and the fourth and final playoff position.
Attendance was an issue for the club though, as they drew an average of just over 3,000 fans per game, as the team was competing against the very popular Ottawa 67's OHA team for fans.
Offensively, Ottawa was led by Carleton, who scored a team high 42 goals and 49 assists for 91 points, which ranked him tenth in league scoring. Twenty year old Gavin Kirk had a very good season, earning 68 points in 78 games, while Bob Charlebois earned 64 points. On the blueline, Brian Gibbons had 42 points to lead the way, while Rick Cunningham had 41 points, and a team high 121 penalty minutes.
In goal, Gilles Gratton had the majority of playing time, winning a team high 25 games and posting a 3.71 GAA. Les Binkley backed him up, earning 10 wins and a GAA of 3.72.
The Nationals would play the season in Ottawa, but transferred their playoff games to Toronto. Due to low attendance in Ottawa, an arena lease dispute and much better attendance in their two playoff games in Toronto, where they averaged over 5000 fans per game, the Nationals would relocate to Toronto permanently beginning in the 1973-74, and the club would be renamed the Toronto Toros.
Final Standings[]
GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PIM | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New England Whalers | 78 | 46 | 30 | 2 | 318 | 263 | 858 | 94 |
Cleveland Crusaders | 78 | 43 | 32 | 3 | 287 | 239 | 1095 | 89 |
Philadelphia Blazers | 78 | 38 | 40 | 0 | 288 | 305 | 1260 | 76 |
Ottawa Nationals | 78 | 35 | 39 | 4 | 279 | 301 | 1067 | 74 |
Quebec Nordiques | 78 | 33 | 40 | 5 | 276 | 313 | 1354 | 71 |
New York Raiders | 78 | 33 | 43 | 2 | 303 | 334 | 900 | 68 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties Minutes, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.
Game Log[]
Regular Season Schedule | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record | Pts |
1 | October 11 | Alberta Oilers | 7–4 | Ottawa Nationals | 0–1–0 | 0 |
2 | October 14 | Ottawa Nationals | 6–8 | New York Raiders | 0–2–0 | 0 |
3 | October 15 | Cleveland Crusaders | 7–5 | Ottawa Nationals | 0–3–0 | 0 |
4 | October 19 | Chicago Cougars | 2–6 | Ottawa Nationals | 1–3–0 | 2 |
5 | October 21 | Ottawa Nationals | 5–3 | Cleveland Crusaders | 2–3–0 | 4 |
6 | October 22 | Ottawa Nationals | 3–2 | Quebec Nordiques | 3–3–0 | 6 |
7 | October 25 | Ottawa Nationals | 8–5 | Los Angeles Sharks | 4–3–0 | 8 |
8 | October 26 | Ottawa Nationals | 3–7 | Houston Aeros | 4–4–0 | 8 |
9 | October 28 | Ottawa Nationals | 5–3 | Philadelphia Blazers | 5–4–0 | 10 |
10 | November 2 | Los Angeles Sharks | 1–1 | Ottawa Nationals | 5–4–1 | 11 |
11 | November 5 | Ottawa Nationals | 5–3 | Alberta Oilers | 6–4–1 | 13 |
12 | November 9 | Winnipeg Jets | 4–1 | Ottawa Nationals | 6–5–1 | 13 |
13 | November 12 | Philadelphia Blazers | 1–2 | Ottawa Nationals | 7–5–1 | 15 |
14 | November 16 | Ottawa Nationals | 3–6 | Cleveland Crusaders | 7–6–1 | 15 |
15 | November 18 | Ottawa Nationals | 2–3 | New England Whalers | 7–7–1 | 15 |
16 | November 20 | Ottawa Nationals | 5–7 | New England Whalers | 7–8–1 | 15 |
17 | November 21 | Quebec Nordiques | 2–4 | Ottawa Nationals | 8–8–1 | 17 |
18 | November 23 | Chicago Cougars | 8–1 | Ottawa Nationals | 8–9–1 | 17 |
19 | November 26 | Alberta Oilers | 2–1 | Ottawa Nationals | 8–10–1 | 17 |
20 | November 28 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | 2–3 | Ottawa Nationals | 9–10–1 | 19 |
21 | November 30 | Cleveland Crusaders | 2–3 | Ottawa Nationals | 10–10–1 | 21 |
22 | December 1 | Ottawa Nationals | 4–3 | Winnipeg Jets | 11–10–1 | 23 |
23 | December 3 | Houston Aeros | 4–5 | Ottawa Nationals | 12–10–1 | 25 |
24 | December 4 | Ottawa Nationals | 2–7 | New England Whalers | 12–11–1 | 25 |
25 | December 7 | New England Whalers | 4–2 | Ottawa Nationals | 12–12–1 | 25 |
26 | December 9 | Ottawa Nationals | 1–7 | Philadelphia Blazers | 12–13–1 | 25 |
27 | December 10 | Quebec Nordiques | 6–7 | Ottawa Nationals | 13–13–1 | 27 |
28 | December 14 | New York Raiders | 4–3 | Ottawa Nationals | 13–14–1 | 27 |
29 | December 15 | Ottawa Nationals | 4–3 | Alberta Oilers | 14–14–1 | 29 |
30 | December 17 | Ottawa Nationals | 1–3 | Alberta Oilers | 14–15–1 | 29 |
31 | December 19 | Ottawa Nationals | 3–7 | Quebec Nordiques | 14–16–1 | 29 |
32 | December 21 | Los Angeles Sharks | 4–4 | Ottawa Nationals | 14–16–2 | 30 |
33 | December 22 | Ottawa Nationals | 5–7 | New York Raiders | 14–17–2 | 30 |
34 | December 24 | Quebec Nordiques | 2–6 | Ottawa Nationals | 15–17–2 | 32 |
35 | December 26 | Houston Aeros | 3–3 | Ottawa Nationals | 15–17–3 | 33 |
36 | December 30 | Ottawa Nationals | 4–2 | Chicago Cougars | 16–17–3 | 35 |
37 | December 31 | Ottawa Nationals | 4–8 | Quebec Nordiques | 16–18–3 | 35 |
38 | January 4 | Ottawa Nationals | 4–9 | New York Raiders | 16–19–3 | 35 |
39 | January 9 | Quebec Nordiques | 5–7 | Ottawa Nationals | 17–19–3 | 37 |
40 | January 11 | New York Raiders | 1–4 | Ottawa Nationals | 18–19–3 | 39 |
41 | January 12 | Ottawa Nationals | 3–4 | Philadelphia Blazers | 18–20–3 | 39 |
42 | January 14 | Ottawa Nationals | 2–3 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | 18–21–3 | 39 |
43 | January 16 | Ottawa Nationals | 4–5 | Quebec Nordiques | 18–22–3 | 39 |
44 | January 18 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | 3–6 | Ottawa Nationals | 19–22–3 | 41 |
45 | January 19 | Ottawa Nationals | 2–4 | Philadelphia Blazers | 19–23–3 | 41 |
46 | January 21 | Ottawa Nationals | 2–5 | Houston Aeros | 19–24–3 | 41 |
47 | January 23 | Ottawa Nationals | 3–11 | Houston Aeros | 19–25–3 | 41 |
48 | January 25 | New England Whalers | 4–2 | Ottawa Nationals | 19–26–3 | 41 |
49 | January 26 | Ottawa Nationals | 2–4 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | 19–27–3 | 41 |
50 | January 28 | Winnipeg Jets | 5–4 | Ottawa Nationals | 19–28–3 | 41 |
51 | January 30 | Philadelphia Blazers | 5–4 | Ottawa Nationals | 19–29–3 | 41 |
52 | February 1 | Ottawa Nationals | 2–2 | Cleveland Crusaders | 19–29–4 | 42 |
53 | February 2 | Ottawa Nationals | 1–4 | Chicago Cougars | 19–30–4 | 42 |
54 | February 4 | Cleveland Crusaders | 3–2 | Ottawa Nationals | 19–31–4 | 42 |
55 | February 6 | Philadelphia Blazers | 3–5 | Ottawa Nationals | 20–31–4 | 44 |
56 | February 8 | New York Raiders | 3–2 | Ottawa Nationals | 20–32–4 | 44 |
57 | February 9 | Ottawa Nationals | 7–4 | New England Whalers | 21–32–4 | 46 |
58 | February 11 | Ottawa Nationals | 2–3 | New York Raiders | 21–33–4 | 46 |
59 | February 14 | Ottawa Nationals | 6–3 | Quebec Nordiques | 22–33–4 | 48 |
60 | February 15 | Ottawa Nationals | 0–3 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | 22–34–4 | 48 |
61 | February 17 | Ottawa Nationals | 3–1 | Chicago Cougars | 23–34–4 | 50 |
62 | February 20 | Los Angeles Sharks | 4–2 | Ottawa Nationals | 23–35–4 | 50 |
63 | February 22 | Philadelphia Blazers | 6–5 | Ottawa Nationals | 23–36-4 | 50 |
64 | February 25 | Alberta Oilers | 2–3 | Ottawa Nationals | 24–36–4 | 52 |
65 | February 27 | Cleveland Crusaders | 1–2 | Ottawa Nationals | 25–36–4 | 54 |
66 | March 1 | New York Raiders | 1–2 | Ottawa Nationals | 26–36–4 | 56 |
67 | March 4 | Chicago Cougars | 4–6 | Ottawa Nationals | 27–36–4 | 58 |
68 | March 6 | Winnipeg Jets | 2–5 | Ottawa Nationals | 28–36–4 | 60 |
69 | March 11 | Ottawa Nationals | 2–4 | Los Angeles Sharks | 28–37–4 | 60 |
70 | March 13 | Ottawa Nationals | 3–1 | Los Angeles Sharks | 29–37–4 | 62 |
71 | March 16 | Ottawa Nationals | 6–1 | Winnipeg Jets | 30–37–4 | 64 |
72 | March 18 | Ottawa Nationals | 4–2 | Winnipeg Jets | 31–37–4 | 66 |
73 | March 22 | New England Whalers | 2–4 | Ottawa Nationals | 32–37–4 | 68 |
74 | March 25 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | 1–6 | Ottawa Nationals | 33–37–4 | 70 |
75 | March 27 | Quebec Nordiques | 2–6 | Ottawa Nationals | 34–37–4 | 72 |
76 | March 29 | New England Whalers | 2–5 | Ottawa Nationals | 35–37–4 | 74 |
77 | March 31 | Ottawa Nationals | 2–4 | Cleveland Crusaders | 35–38–4 | 74 |
78 | April 1 | Houston Aeros | 6–3 | Ottawa Nationals | 35–39–4 | 74 |
Playoffs[]
The Nationals would open the playoffs with a best of seven series against the New England Whalers, who had a league high 94 points. The series opened up with two games in New England, and the Whalers took advantage of their home ice, defeating Ottawa 6-3 and 4-3 to take a two game series lead. The series moved to Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, as the Nationals ownership decided to move their playoff games from Ottawa due to attendance problems. The Nationals used their "home ice" advantage in the third game, defeating the Whalers 4-2 to get back into the series, however, New England easily defeated Ottawa in the fourth game 7-3 to take a 3-1 series lead. The Whalers would close out the series in the fifth game back in New England, as they beat Ottawa 5-4 in overtime to eliminate the Nationals.
New England Whalers 4, Ottawa Nationals 1[]
# | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record |
1 | April 7 | Ottawa Nationals | 3–6 | New England Whalers | 0–1 |
2 | April 8 | Ottawa Nationals | 3–4 | New England Whalers | 0–2 |
3 | April 10 | New England Whalers | 2–4 | Ottawa Nationals | 1-2 |
4 | April 12 | New England Whalers | 7–3 | Ottawa Nationals | 1–3 |
5 | April 14 | Ottawa Nationals | 4–5 | New England Whalers | 1-4 |
Player Stats[]
Regular Season[]
- Scoring Leaders
# | Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9 | Wayne Carleton | 75 | 42 | 49 | 91 | 42 |
11 | Gavin Kirk | 78 | 28 | 40 | 68 | 54 |
16 | Bob Charlebois | 78 | 24 | 40 | 64 | 28 |
7 | Guy Trottier | 72 | 26 | 32 | 58 | 25 |
19 | Bob Leduc | 78 | 22 | 33 | 55 | 71 |
12 | Steve King | 69 | 18 | 34 | 52 | 28 |
17 | Tom Martin | 74 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 27 |
6 | Brian Gibbons | 73 | 7 | 35 | 42 | 62 |
8 | Rick Sentes | 74 | 22 | 19 | 41 | 78 |
3 | Rick Cunningham | 78 | 9 | 32 | 41 | 121 |
21 | Jack Gibson | 59 | 22 | 13 | 35 | 48 |
23 | Ron Climie | 31 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 2 |
20 | Brian Conacher | 69 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 32 |
4 | Ken Stephanson | 77 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 93 |
14 | Tom Simpson | 57 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 44 |
10 | Mike Boland | 41 | 1 | 15 | 16 | 44 |
5 | Mike Amodeo | 61 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 77 |
2 | Steve Warr | 72 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 79 |
22 | Chris Meloff | 28 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 40 |
15 | Ron Riley | 22 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
24 | John Donnelly | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 44 |
Merv Haney | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
33 | Gilles Gratton | 51 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
1 | John Blum | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
30 | Les Binkley | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- Goaltending
Player | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | SO | GAA | Save % |
Gilles Gratton | 51 | 3021 | 25 | 22 | 3 | 187 | 0 | 3.71 | .882 |
Les Binkley | 30 | 1709 | 10 | 17 | 1 | 106 | 0 | 3.72 | .882 |
Frank Blum | 2 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6.43 | .824 |
Playoffs[]
- Scoring Leaders
Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wayne Carleton | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
Gavin Kirk | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 |
Tom Martin | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
Rick Sentes | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
Brian Conacher | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
- Goaltending
Player | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | GAA |
Les Binkley | 4 | 223 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 4.57 |
Gilles Gratton | 2 | 87 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4.83 |
Awards and Records[]
- Wayne Carleton, Left Wing, WHA Third Team All-Star
Gallery[]
See Also[]
References[]
Ottawa Nationals - Toronto Toros - Birmingham Bulls Seasons |
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Ottawa:1972–73 Toronto: 1973–74 • 1974–75 • 1975–76 Birmingham: 1976–77 • 1977–78 • 1978–79 |
1972–73 WHA season by team | |
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Eastern Division | Cleveland • New England • New York • Ottawa • Philadelphia • Quebec |
Western Division | Alberta • Chicago • Houston • Los Angeles • Minnesota • Winnipeg |
See also | Avco World Trophy |