• Al Hamilton, Eddie Joyal, Doug Barrie, Bob Wall, Ross Perkins, Roger Cote and Brian Carlin signed to contracts, Jun 1972
• Jack Norris' rights acquired from Calgary/Cleveland Jun 1972, subsequently signed to contract
• Derek Harker, Bob McAneeley signed to contracts, Jul 1972
• Rights to Ken Brown acquired from Cleveland, Jul 1972
• Rights to Steve Carlyle acquired from Cleveland, Jul 1972
• Dennis Kassian, Bill Hicke signed to contracts, Sep 1972
• Jim Benzelock traded to Chicago for Bernie Blanchette, Dec 1972
• Derek Harker sold to Philadelphia, Nov 1972
Splits versus opposing teams, home and away, and by month
On the surface, it was quite obvious what had happened. It was the sudden death game in Calgary to decide 4th place in the World Hockey Association's wild and wacky West Division.
Mel Pearson, Wayne Connelly, Mike Antonovich, and Bill Young scored for Minnesota, Ron Walters and Ken Baird scored for Alberta. Minnesota fighting Saints won, Alberta Oilers lost.
But, the more you looked at it, the Oilers were winners as well. Their season was over but, at the end of the game, it was obvious the Oilers season was suddenly a success. For the first time all year, it had become obvious this hockey club finally had fans living and dying with it.
For the sudden death game in Calgary, more than 3,000 fans made the 180-mile trip to the southern Alberta city to be a part of the sold out arena. it was a 9:00 PM game in the middle of the working week. The Oilers hired 38 buses for fans who paid $12 to take the trip which didn't conclude until 4:00 AM the following morning with the arrival back in Edmonton.
There were more Edmonton fans in Calgary for the game than there were in Edmonton at the first of the year when the Oilers were in first and second place. The secret, it seems, was losing.
Edmonton is used to having hockey teams that win. Clubs that have the playoffs made by Christmas and, often is not, first place clinched by Valentine's Day. The Oilers sold themselves with the excitement of their come-from-behind playoff battle.
It seems you don't appreciate winning until you've known losing.
Suddenly, late in the schedule, the Oilers put it all back together and came from 11 points out of the playoffs to finish in a tie with the Saints.
Never had Bryan Hall's hockey broadcasts had such a large following as when he described the final six games on the road as the Oilers finished up the schedule like they started it.
"The biggest mistake I made all year was not taking over at Christmas," said Bill Hunter, the general manager who became coach late in the season.
Maybe Bill, that was the smartest thing you ever did.
Regardless, the Oilers are likely to enjoy a season of sellouts in 1973 at the 5,200-seat Edmonton Gardens. Two hundred feet from the Gardens is a 16,000-seat arena going up. The future looks good.
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• Article: Color of Hockey: Alton White (The Hockey News), by William Douglas — March 8, 2020
(c) Scott Surgent
opponent
overall
gf-ga
home
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away
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Chicago 4-3-1 28-23 2-1-1 16-11 2-2-0 12-12
Cleveland 2-4-0 15-21 2-1-0 9-7 0-3-0 6-14
Houston 3-5-0 28-31 2-2-0 15-15 1-3-0 13-16
Los Angeles 5-3-0 32-25 3-1-0 21-14 2-2-0 11-11
Minnesota 4-4-0 34-27 3-1-0 22-14 1-3-0 12-13
New England 3-3-0 18-21 2-1-0 10-9 1-2-0 8-12
New York 3-3-0 31-26 3-0-0 23-10 0-3-0 8-16
Ottawa 3-3-0 20-18 1-2-0 9-10 2-1-0 11-8
Philadelphia 3-3-0 15-12 2-1-0 8-4 1-2-0 7-8
Quebec 3-3-0 15-23 2-1-0 9-8 1-2-0 9-15
Winnipeg 5-3-2 30-29 3-1-1 19-14 2-2-1 11-15
October 5-5-1 33-39 2-1-1 13-10 3-4-0 20-29
November 7-7-1 46-47 6-2-1 33-23 1-5-0 13-24
December 3-8-0 33-44 2-3-0 17-21 1-5-0 16-23
January 7-4-0 48-33 5-3-0 41-25 2-1-0 7-8
February 6-9-0 59-56 5-3-0 37-28 1-6-0 22-28
March 10-4-1 50-37 5-0-0 20-9 5-4-1 30-28
The Oilers Were Winners, Too • by Terry Jones • The Hockey Spectator • April 20, 1973
• Review: US Sports History, by Rick Macales — Feb 6, 2021
• Podcast: Good Seats Still Available, by Tim Hanlon — Feb 28, 2021
• Podcast: Digital to Dice (Youtube), by Dave Gardner — July 3, 2022
WHA Fact Book, 2nd ed
Complete WHA, 11th ed