The 1977–78 AHL

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

was the 42nd season of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

. The season was in jeopardy when the last of the original eight franchises of the "International-American Hockey League", the Rhode Island Reds (previously Providence Reds) folded in the offseason, and the AHL was left with five teams. The league increased its member teams by four, when the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 50th season of operation in 2024–25. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

and Southern Hockey Leagues both folded before the 1977–78 season. Two teams joined from the NAHL, and another from the SHL, along with one expansion team. North and south divisions were resumed. The F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy resumes as the regular season championship trophy for the north division, and the John D. Chick Trophy resumes as the regular season championship trophy for the south division. The Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award is first awarded to the player best exemplifying sportsmanship, determination and dedication to hockey. Nine teams were scheduled to play 80 games each, however the Hampton Gulls folded on February 10, 1978, playing 46 games. The Maine Mariners finished first overall in the regular season, and won the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League (AHL). It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In it ...

championship as a first year expansion team.

Team changes

* The Maine Mariners join the AHL as an expansion team, based in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, playing in the North Division. * The Broome Dusters, of the defunct

, acquire and merge with the Rhode Island Reds. The Reds are relocated to

Binghamton, New York Binghamton ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the c ...

, and play as the

Binghamton Dusters The Binghamton Dusters were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Binghamton, New York, USA at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. The team logo was designed by Johnny Hart, artist of the comic strip " B.C." an ...

in the North Division. * The Philadelphia Firebirds, based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, transfer to the AHL as an expansion team, from the defunct North American Hockey League, and play in the South Division. * The Hampton Gulls, based in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 137,148 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, seve ...

, transfer to the AHL as an expansion team, from the defunct Southern Hockey League, and play in the South Division.

Final standings

''Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points;'' ^†Suspended operations.

Scoring leaders

''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes''
complete list

Calder Cup playoffs

Trophy and award winners

;Team awards ;Individual awards ;Other awards

External links