The 1977–78 WCHL season was the 12th 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. ...

(WCHL), featuring 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 second consecutive regular season title, topping the standings with 46 wins. 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) * ...

solidified their dynasty in winning their fourth consecutive President's Cup, defeating the Billings Bighorns—the first American-based club to make the league playoff final—in the championship series. The Bruins earned a berth in the

1978 Memorial Cup The 1978 Memorial Cup occurred May 6–13 at the Sudbury Community Arena in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario, and at the Sault Memorial Gardens in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It was the 60th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the ...

tournament, and there won the club's second consecutive

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 a trio of franchises. The Calgary Centennials relocated to

Billings, Montana Billings is the most populous Lists of populated places in the United States, city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, i ...

and became the Bighorns. However, Calgary was not left without a team as 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 ...

relocated there and became the

Calgary Wranglers The Calgary Wranglers are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. They are members of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays at the Scotiabank Saddledome, the home of their Na ...

. Finally, the Kamloops Chiefs relocated to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

and became the

Seattle Breakers Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the coun ...

, bringing the number of American clubs in the league up to three.

Team changes

*The Calgary Centennials relocated to

, becoming the Billings Bighorns. *The

relocated to

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

, becoming the

. *The Kamloops Chiefs relocated to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, becoming the

Regular season

Final standings

Scoring leaders

''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes''

1978 WCHL Playoffs

Division Semi-finals

Round Robin format *Flin Flon (4–4) advanced *Regina (4–4) advanced *Brandon (4–4) eliminated *Billings (6–2) advanced *Medicine Hat (3–5) advanced *Lethbridge (3–5) eliminated *New Westminster (7–1) advanced *Victoria (4–4) advanced *Portland (1–7) eliminated

Division Finals

*Flin Flon defeated Regina 4 games to 1 *Billings defeated Medicine Hat 4 games to 0 *New Westminster defeated Victoria 4 games to 1

League semi-finals

Round Robin format *Billings (3–1) advanced *New Westminster (3–1) advanced *Flin Flon (0–4) eliminated

WHL Championship

*New Westminster defeated Billings 4 games to 0

All-Star game

On January 18, the West All-Stars defeated the East All-Stars 2–1 at

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

before a crowd of 2,814.

WHL awards

All-Star Teams

References

* 2005–06 WHL Guide {{DEFAULTSORT:1977-78 Wchl Season Western Hockey League seasons WCHL WCHL