1972-73 Season

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1972 General Player Draft
Statistical Leaders & Award Winners
Significant Games
All-Star Game
Playoff Results
AVCO Cup Championship Finals
Hat Tricks

Final Standings

Eastern Division
Team	gp	w	l	t	pts	pct	gf	ga
New England WHALERS	78	46	30	2	94	.603	318	263
Cleveland CRUSADERS	78	43	32	3	89	.571	287	239
Philadelphia BLAZERS	78	38	40	0	76	.487	288	305
Ottawa NATIONALS	78	35	39	4	74	.474	279	301
Quebec NORDIQUES	78	33	40	5	71	.455	276	313
New York RAIDERS	78	33	43	2	68	.436	303	334
Western Division
Team	gp	w	l	t	pts	pct	gf	ga
Winnipeg JETS	78	43	31	4	90	.577	285	249
Houston AEROS	78	39	35	4	82	.526	284	269
Los Angeles SHARKS	78	37	35	6	80	.513	259	250
Minnesota FIGHTING SAINTS	78	38	37	3	79	.506	250	269
Alberta OILERS	78	38	37	3	79	.506	269	256
Chicago COUGARS	78	26	50	2	54	.346	245	295

Home Records

Team	gp	w	l	t	pts	pct	gf	ga
New England	39	30	8	1	61	.782	169	112
Cleveland	39	26	11	2	54	.692	164	115
Winnipeg	39	26	11	2	54	.692	156	112
Alberta	39	25	12	2	52	.667	161	116
Quebec	39	22	12	5	49	.628	155	126
Minnesota	39	24	14	1	49	.628	129	117
Philadelphia	39	24	15	0	48	.615	172	144
New York	39	23	15	1	47	.603	176	144
Ottawa	39	21	15	3	45	.577	146	130
Houston	39	22	16	1	45	.577	162	139
Los Angeles	39	18	20	1	37	.474	117	122
Chicago	39	17	22	0	34	.436	129	130

Away Records

Team	gp	w	l	t	pts	pct	gf	ga
Los Angeles	39	19	15	5	43	.551	142	128
Houston	39	17	19	3	37	.474	122	130
Winnipeg	39	17	20	2	36	.462	129	137
Cleveland	39	17	21	1	35	.449	123	124
New England	39	16	22	1	33	.423	149	151
Minnesota	39	14	25	2	30	.385	121	152
Ottawa	39	14	24	1	29	.372	133	171
Philadelphia	39	14	25	0	28	.359	116	161
Alberta	39	13	25	1	27	.346	108	140
Quebec	39	11	28	0	22	.282	121	187
New York	39	10	28	1	21	.269	127	190
Chicago	39	9	28	2	20	.256	116	165

1972-73 Calendar Game results and standings for dates shown in boldface.

October 1972 Su M T W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31	November 1972 Su M T W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30	December 1972 Su M T W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
January 1973 Su M T W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31	February 1973 Su M T W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28	March 1973 Su M T W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
April 1973 Su M T W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30	May 1973 Su M T W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

After 17 months of promises, the World Hockey Association achieved its first historic goal: it survived to see the start of its first season. Twelve teams found enough willing NHL players and journeymen to jump to the new league, and plenty of career minor leaguers and college players happy to play at salaries comparable to that of a seasoned NHL veteran. The twelve teams settled into two divisions: The Western Division counted the Alberta (Edmonton) Oilers, Chicago Cougars, Houston Aeros, Los Angeles Sharks, Minnesota (St. Paul) Fighting Saints and Winnipeg Jets as members, while the Eastern Division included the Cleveland Crusaders, New England (Boston) Whalers, New York Raiders, Ottawa Nationals, Philadelphia Blazers and Quebec Nordiques. Lawsuits kept Bobby Hull from playing in the Jets' first fourteen games, while the highly-paid Derek Sanderson lasted eight games for the Blazers before leaving on less-than-amicable terms. By the sheer determination of its teams and players, the World Hockey Association played the 78-game schedule to its completion. Not one team folded, and attendance figures proved encouraging for the brand-new league. The 78-game schedule had a team play each of the six teams in the other division six times (three home and away), four of the five teams in its own division eight times (four and four), with the remaining fifth team, the "designated rival", being played ten times (five and five). The new league featured parity among its teams, with all but one (Chicago) of the teams in the hunt for a playoff spot in the season's closing weeks. There were exciting races to the finish: in the Eastern Division, Philadelphia and Ottawa both overcame terrible starts with strong finishes to secure the third- and fourth-place slots. In the Western Division, just three points separated Houston, Los Angeles, Minnesota and Alberta at the final horn. A hastily concocted one-game playoff between Minnesota and Alberta decided who would advance and who would stay home. Winnipeg and New England won their respective division crowns handily, while Cleveland was a strong second in the East. The top four teams in each division advanced to the postseason. Divisional semifinals led to divisional finals, where the winners vied for the World Trophy, underwritten by the AVCO Financial Services Corporation. The New England Whalers beat the Golden Jet's Winnipeg Jets in five games for the first championship. However, a one-game, neutral ice challenge issued by the Whalers' president, Howard Baldwin, to the NHL champion Montreal Canadiens for the Stanley Cup went unheeded. Top individual performances included the Blazers' Danny Lawson's 61 goals and teammate Andre Lacroix's 124 points. The Crusaders' Gerry Cheevers led all goaltenders with 5 shutouts and a 2.84 average. Houston's John Schella was the league's most penalized player with 239 minutes. Bobby Hull, the league's foundation, scored 51 goals and 103 points after being cleared by the courts to play. Alberta's Ron Anderson scored the league's first goal on opening night, October 11th in Ottawa, and teammate Bill Hicke attempted the league's first penalty shot a mere 16:37 into the first period the same night. Gerry Cheevers turned in the first shutout a few hundred miles away in Cleveland.

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