1976-77 • Franchise

1976-77 Cincinnati Stingers

Record: 39-37-5, 83 pts
Finish: 2nd, East
Playoffs: Lost in first round to Indianapolis
Coach: Terry Slater

Stingers Preview, 1976-77 • by Barry Wilner • The Hockey News 1977 Yearbook Stingers, under the guidance of Terry Slater, just missed the playoffs in their first year. Some feel he should have done better. Their second season will be more rewarding. The Stingers had but one man in the top 25 in WHA scoring last year, but they potted 285 goals, the most in the East. They are a well-balanced team led by winger Rick Dudley, a versatile two-way bruiser with a fine touch around the net, and a bruising way in the corners. Dudley is supported by the likes of Claude Larose, Jacques Locas, and Dennis Sobchuk, all solid all-around performers. Cincinnati, the only WHA team to crack the NHL monopoly on top juniors, signed forward Peter Marsh, who logged 75 goals and 156 points for Sherbrooke. Cincinnati is in need of defensive help too. Serge Aubry and Paul Hoganson shared most of the duties last season but there were rumors that the Stingers will have an entirely new face in goal in the upcoming campaign. The back line is anchored down by Mike Pelyk, but needs shoring up. The Stingers gave up the most goals in their division, 340, last year, but much of that can be attributed to expansion baby blues. Another worry is the summer knee surgery which Locas underwent. Cincinnati is a city used to success, with playoff squads like the Reds in baseball and the Bengals in football. The Stingers, who have the whole area to themselves in the winter since there is no basketball on the pro level in Cincinnati, can expect to prosper at the gate if they are successful on the ice. Cincinnatians will support a winner. The Stingers completed some minor transactions during the summer, sending center Bryan Campbell to Indianapolis, and Gene Sobchuk, brother of Dennis, to Florida. They reclaimed Sobchuk when Florida became St. Paul. Slater hopes that Mike Pelyk, Ron Plumb and John Hughes, who racked up 204 penalty minutes, will form the nucleus of a consistent defense. It will be up to Slater to get his charges to play two-way hockey more often. "They don't expect us to have much trouble making the playoffs," offers Slater. "Last year was a good experience for the guys no benefit from it this year." They should benefit enough to pass Quebec and finish runner up to New England in the East.

Game Log ... (@ away game, * overtime)

no.	Date	Opponent	Score		w-l-t	pts	gf-ga	no.	Date	Opponent	Score		w-l-t	pts	gf-ga
1.	Oct 7	Minnesota	7-2	W	1-0-0	2	7-2	41.	Jan 14	@ Phoenix	*5-6	L	21-18-2	44	187-145
2.	Oct 8	@ Phoenix	6-8	L	1-1-0	2	13-10	42.	Jan 16	@ Winnipeg	6-4	W	22-18-2	46	193-149
3.	Oct 9	@ San Diego	7-7	T	1-1-1	3	20-17	43.	Jan 20	@ Phoenix	4-9	L	22-19-2	46	197-158
4.	Oct 14	@ Birmingham	7-7	T	1-1-2	4	27-24	44.	Jan 21	@ Winnipeg	*5-6	L	22-20-2	46	202-164
5.	Oct 15	@ Indianapolis	*5-6	L	1-2-2	4	32-30	45.	Jan 23	@ New England	3-4	L	22-21-2	46	205-168
6.	Oct 17	@ Quebec	5-2	W	2-2-2	6	37-32	46.	Jan 25	New England	4-2	W	23-21-2	48	209-170
7.	Oct 19	@ Minnesota	4-2	W	3-2-2	8	41-34	47.	Jan 29	@ Quebec	2-7	L	23-22-2	48	211-177
8.	Oct 23	@ New England	4-5	L	3-3-2	8	45-39	48.	Jan 30	@ Birmingham	1-7	L	23-23-2	48	212-184
9.	Oct 26	@ New England	1-0	W	4-3-2	10	46-39	49.	Feb 2	Birmingham	2-3	L	23-24-2	48	214-187
10.	Oct 29	San Diego	4-2	W	5-3-2	12	50-41	50.	Feb 5	New England	8-3	W	24-24-2	50	222-190
11.	Oct 30	Phoenix	9-3	W	6-3-2	14	59-44	51.	Feb 6	@ Quebec	1-6	L	24-25-2	50	223-196
12.	Nov 3	Indianapolis	8-2	W	7-3-2	16	67-46	52.	Feb 9	Indianapolis	9-0	W	25-25-2	52	232-196
13.	Nov 4	@ Indianapolis	2-5	L	7-4-2	16	69-51	53.	Feb 11	Winnipeg	4-0	W	26-25-2	54	236-196
14.	Nov 6	Winnipeg	7-3	W	8-4-2	18	76-54	54.	Feb 13	New England	4-5	L	26-26-2	54	240-201
15.	Nov 10	Edmonton	4-2	W	9-4-2	20	80-56	55.	Feb 15	@ Edmonton	7-4	W	27-26-2	56	247-205
16.	Nov 13	Indianapolis	7-3	W	10-4-2	22	87-59	56.	Feb 16	@ Calgary	7-3	W	28-26-2	58	254-208
17.	Nov 16	@ Indianapolis	3-5	L	10-5-2	22	90-64	57.	Feb 18	@ Calgary	3-5	L	28-27-2	58	257-213
18.	Nov 19	@ Edmonton	*3-4	L	10-6-2	22	93-68	58.	Feb 19	Quebec	3-1	W	29-27-2	60	260-214
19.	Nov 21	@ Winnipeg	4-2	W	11-6-2	24	97-70	59.	Feb 20	Phoenix	4-3	W	30-27-2	62	264-217
20.	Nov 23	@ Minnesota	0-4	L	11-7-2	24	97-74	60.	Feb 22	@ Birmingham	4-4	T	30-27-3	63	268-221
21.	Nov 24	Indianapolis	4-6	L	11-8-2	24	101-80	61.	Feb 25	Quebec	5-2	W	31-27-3	65	273-223
22.	Nov 27	Birmingham	2-1	W	12-8-2	26	103-81	62.	Feb 26	Winnipeg	6-8	L	31-28-3	65	279-231
23.	Nov 30	@ Birmingham	1-3	L	12-9-2	26	104-84	63.	Mar 5	Indianapolis	6-0	W	32-28-3	67	285-231
24.	Dec 3	Calgary	6-4	W	13-9-2	28	110-88	64.	Mar 6	Houston	3-7	L	32-29-3	67	288-238
25.	Dec 5	Houston	7-2	W	14-9-2	30	117-90	65.	Mar 9	Edmonton	5-3	W	33-29-3	69	293-241
26.	Dec 8	San Diego	1-6	L	14-10-2	30	118-96	66.	Mar 11	@ Houston	0-5	L	33-30-3	69	293-246
27.	Dec 10	Houston	6-2	W	15-10-2	32	124-98	67.	Mar 12	Calgary	9-2	W	34-30-3	71	302-248
28.	Dec 12	Phoenix	8-0	W	16-10-2	34	132-98	68.	Mar 13	Birmingham	7-4	W	35-30-3	73	309-252
29.	Dec 15	Minnesota	5-0	W	17-10-2	36	137-98	69.	Mar 15	@ Birmingham	2-4	L	35-31-3	73	311-256
30.	Dec 18	@ Minnesota	3-4	L	17-11-2	36	140-102	70.	Mar 16	Calgary	4-3	W	36-31-3	75	315-259
31.	Dec 19	@ Edmonton	2-4	L	17-12-2	36	142-106	71.	Mar 18	Quebec	7-3	W	37-31-3	77	322-262
32.	Dec 22	Birmingham	2-6	L	17-13-2	36	144-112	72.	Mar 22	@ Indianapolis	1-3	L	37-32-3	77	323-265
33.	Dec 23	@ Houston	*5-6	L	17-14-2	36	149-118	73.	Mar 23	Quebec	4-6	L	37-33-3	77	327-271
34.	Dec 26	@ Calgary	3-6	L	17-15-2	36	152-124	74.	Mar 25	Edmonton	*3-4	L	37-34-3	77	330-275
35.	Dec 30	New England	4-6	L	17-16-2	36	156-130	75.	Mar 26	@ Quebec	6-4	W	38-34-3	79	336-279
36.	Jan 2	@ New England	2-3	L	17-17-2	36	158-133	76.	Mar 27	@ Quebec	0-4	L	38-35-3	79	336-283
37.	Jan 7	Birmingham	7-1	W	18-17-2	38	165-134	77.	Mar 29	@ Birmingham	4-2	W	39-35-3	81	340-285
38.	Jan 8	San Diego	2-1	W	19-17-2	40	167-135	78.	Mar 30	@ Indianapolis	5-5	T	39-35-4	82	345-290
39.	Jan 11	New England	8-2	W	20-17-2	42	175-137	79.	Apr 1	@ Houston	4-5	L	39-36-4	82	349-295
40.	Jan 13	@ San Diego	7-2	W	21-17-2	44	182-139	80.	Apr 2	@ San Diego	3-6	L	39-37-4	82	352-301
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	81.	Apr 6	Quebec	2-2	T	39-37-5	83	354-303

Player Scoring

pos.	#	Player	gp	g	a	pts	pim	+/-	ppg	shg	sog	sc%	gp	g	a	pts	pim
RW	15	Abgrall, Dennis	80	23	39	62	22	+26	4	0	125	0.184	4	2	0	2	5
G	35	Caron, Jacques	24	0	1	1	0	-	0	0	0	-	1	0	0	0	0
C	26	Carroll, Greg	77	15	39	54	53	+16	0	0	125	0.120	4	1	2	3	0
LW	9	Dudley, Rick	77	41	47	88	102	+25	7	0	229	0.179	4	0	1	1	7
LW	13	Guite, Pierre	27	10	8	18	32	-2	2	0	69	0.145	-	-	-	-	-
RW	24	Hislop, Jamie	46	7	19	26	6	+11	1	0	60	0.117	4	0	1	1	5
G	1	Hoganson, Paul	17	0	0	0	2	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-
D	10	Hughes, John	79	3	27	30	113	+15	0	0	107	0.028	4	0	0	0	8
D	5	Inkpen, Dave	48	3	14	17	61	+6	0	0	81	0.037	-	-	-	-	-
D	3	Justin, Dan	6	0	2	2	4	+3	0	0	5	0.000	-	-	-	-	-
G	30	Lapointe, Norm	52	0	0	0	2	-	0	0	0	-	4	0	0	0	0
LW	8	Larose, Claude	81	30	46	76	8	+18	1	0	273	0.110	4	2	1	3	0
C	25	Leduc, Richie	81	52	55	107	75	+28	11	0	357	0.146	4	1	3	4	16
D	21	Legge, Barry	74	7	22	29	39	+20	0	0	107	0.065	4	0	0	0	0
C	11	Locas, Jacques	45	18	13	31	27	0	5	0	89	0.202	-	-	-	-	-
D	3	Long, Ted	1	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	4	0.000	-	-	-	-	-
RW	18	Marsh, Peter	76	23	28	51	52	+11	3	0	186	0.124	4	2	0	2	0
D	6	Maxwell, Bryan	34	1	8	9	29	+2	0	0	44	0.023	4	0	0	0	29
D	4	Melrose, Barry	29	1	4	5	8	-22	0	0	17	0.059	-	-	-	-	-
D	23	Ouimet, Francois	16	1	8	9	10	+12	0	0	11	0.091	-	-	-	-	-
D	2	Plumb, Ron	79	11	58	69	52	+64	1	0	223	0.049	4	1	2	3	0
D	3	Roy, Pierre	39	3	12	15	126	+19	0	0	65	0.046	3	0	1	1	7
LW	16	Smedsmo, Dale	23	0	5	5	43	-7	0	0	21	0.000	2	0	1	1	0
C	14	Sobchuk, Dennis	81	44	52	96	38	+14	6	5	312	0.141	3	0	1	1	2
RW	12	Steele, Billy	81	9	22	31	21	+11	3	1	76	0.118	2	0	0	0	0
RW	17	Stoughton, Blaine	81	52	52	104	39	+24	11	0	284	0.183	4	0	3	3	2

Goaltending

Goaltender	gp	min	ga	en	so	w-l-t	gaa	sog	sv%	gp	min	ga	w-l	gaa
Caron, Jacques	24	1292	61	1	3	13-6-2	2.83	565	0.892	1	14	3	0-1	12.86
Hoganson, Paul	17	823	64	0	1	5-6-1	4.67	401	0.840	-	-	-	-	-
Lapointe, Norm	52	2817	175	2	2	21-25-2	3.73	1434	0.878	4	273	16	0-3	3.52

Transactions

• Dennis Abgrall signed to contract, Jun 1976
• Mike Pelyk sold to Toronto (NHL), Jun 1976
• Richie Leduc purchased from Cleveland, Jun 1976
• Rights to Gilles Marotte acquired from Edmonton, Jul 1976
• Jacques Caron, Jamie Hislop signed to contracts, Jul 1976
• Blaine Stoughton signed to contract, Aug 1976
• Bryan Maxwell acquired from Minnesota for John McKenzie, Sep 1976
• Barry Legge purchased from Minnesota, Oct 1976
• Pierre Guite traded to Quebec for Pierre Roy, Jan 1977
• Jacques Locas traded to Calgary for future considerations, Feb 1977 (Calgary returned Locas to Cincinnati, May 1977)
• Dale Smedsmo acquired from New England, Feb 1977
• Paul Hoganson and Dave Inkpen sold to Indianapolis, Feb 1977

Splits versus opposing teams, home and away, and by month

opponent	overall	gf-ga	home	gf-ga	away	gf-ga
Birmingham	4-5-2	39-42	3-2-0	20-15	1-3-2	19-27
Calgary	4-2-0	32-23	3-0-0	19-9	1-2-0	13-14
Edmonton	3-3-0	24-21	2-1-0	12-9	1-2-0	12-12
Houston	2-4-0	25-27	2-1-0	16-11	0-3-0	9-16
Indianapolis	4-5-1	50-35	4-1-0	34-11	0-4-1	16-24
Minnesota	3-2-0	19-12	2-0-0	12-2	1-2-0	7-10
New England	4-5-0	38-30	3-2-0	28-18	1-3-0	10-12
Phoenix	3-3-0	36-29	3-0-0	21-6	0-3-0	15-23
Quebec	5-4-1	35-37	3-1-1	21-14	2-3-0	14-23
San Diego	3-2-1	24-24	2-1-0	7-9	1-1-1	17-15
Winnipeg	4-2-0	32-23	2-1-0	17-11	2-1-0	15-12
October	6-3-2	59-44	3-0-0	20-7	3-3-2	39-37
November	6-6-0	45-40	5-1-0	32-17	1-5-0	13-23
December	5-7-0	52-46	5-3-0	39-26	0-4-0	13-20
January	6-7-0	56-54	4-0-0	21-6	2-7-0	35-48
February	8-5-1	67-47	6-3-0	45-25	2-2-1	22-22
March	8-7-1	66-59	6-3-0	48-32	2-4-1	18-27
April	0-2-1	9-13	0-0-1	2-2	0-2-0	7-11

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