The 1971–72 WHL season was the 20th season of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

. Six teams played a 72-game schedule, and the

Denver Spurs The Denver Spurs were a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Spurs began play in the Western Hockey League in 1968, and played at the Denver Coliseum. The Spurs became the first professional sports team in Colorado to win a champions ...

were the

Lester Patrick Cup The Lester Patrick Cup was the championship trophy of the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 1949 to 1974. Originally known as the Phil Henderson Cup and then in 1952 it was renamed to the President's Cup. The t ...

champions, defeating the

Portland Buckaroos The Portland Buckaroos was the name of several professional ice hockey teams based in Portland, Oregon. PCHL/NWHL era (1928–1941) The first incarnation of Portland Buckaroos played their home games at the Portland Ice Arena (Oregon), Portland ...

four games to one in the final series. Art Jones of Portland led the league in scoring and Fran Huck of Denver was named the most valuable player.

Teams

Map of teams

Final standings

bold - qualified for playoffs

Playoffs

The Portland Buckaroos defeated the Phoenix Roadrunnrers 4 games to 1 to win the Lester Patrick Cup.

References

Bibliography

* Western Hockey League (1952–1974) seasons 1971–72 in American ice hockey by league 1971–72 in Canadian ice hockey by league {{Icehockey-competition-stub