The 1976–77 WCHL season was the 11th season of the
Western Canada Hockey League
The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921–22 WCHL season, 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 and disbanded in 1926.
...
. It featured twelve teams and a 72-game regular season. The
Brandon Wheat Kings
The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadians, Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. Founded in 1936, the team was for three decades a successful junior team playing principally in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The Whe ...
won their first regular season title, posting 54 wins on the season. However, in the playoffs the
New Westminster Bruins
The New Westminster Bruins were a Junior ice hockey#Major junior, major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. There were two franchises that carried this name:
* 1971–1981 (formerly the Estevan Bruins, now the Kamloops Blazers)
* ...
continued their run of dominance and won their third consecutive
President's Cup, defeating the Wheat Kings in the championship series. The Bruins advanced to the
1977 Memorial Cup tournament, and there they secured their first
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...
title.
The season was the first for the
Portland Winter Hawks, who became the league's first American-based club when the charter
Edmonton Oil Kings relocated to
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
prior to the season. The Winnipeg Clubs also changed their name to the
Monarchs
A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority an ...
.
League notes
*The league adopted a new divisional format, dividing into three divisions of four teams each.
Team changes
*The
Edmonton Oil Kings relocated to
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, becoming the
Portland Winterhawks
The Portland Winterhawks are a junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1950 as the Edmonton Oil Kings, the team relocated to Portland in 1976 and was known as the Winter Hawks until 2009. The team plays in the U.S. Divisio ...
.
*The
Winnipeg Clubs are renamed the
Winnipeg Monarchs Winnipeg Monarchs is a name used by several Canadian ice hockey teams in Winnipeg, Manitoba and may refer to:
* Winnipeg Monarchs (senior), a defunct ice hockey team, 1935 World Ice Hockey Champions
* Winnipeg Monarchs (MJHL), a defunct junior ice ...
.
Regular season
Final standings
Scoring leaders
''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes''
Regular season
Final standings
Scoring leaders
''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes''
1977 WCHL Playoffs
Preliminary round
*Calgary defeated Medicine Hat 4 games to 0
*Lethbridge defeated Saskatoon 4 games to 2
League quarter-finals
*Brandon defeated Winnipeg 5 games to 2
*Lethbridge defeated Calgary 3 games to 2
*New Westminster defeated Victoria 4 games to 0
*Portland defeated Kamloops 4 games to 1
League semi-finals
*Brandon defeated Lethbridge 4 games to 0
*New Westminster defeated Portland 4 games to 1
WHL Championship
*New Westminster defeated Brandon 4 games to 1
All-Star game
On January 19, the West All-Stars defeated the East All-Stars 3–2 at
Brandon, Manitoba
Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the ...
before a crowd of 4,120.
WHL awards
All-Star Teams
See also
*
1977 NHL Entry Draft
*
1976 in sports
1976 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
Alpine skiing
* 1975–76 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Alpine Skiing World Cup
** Men's overall season champion: Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden
** Women's overall season champion: Rosi Mittermaie ...
*
1977 in sports
References
* 2005–06 WHL Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:1976-77 Wchl Season
Western Hockey League seasons
WHL
WCHL