1977–78 Birmingham Bulls season

The 1977–78 Birmingham Bulls season was the Birmingham Bulls second season of operation in the World Hockey Association. The Bulls qualified for the playoffs, losing in the quarter-finals to the Winnipeg Jets.

1977–78 Birmingham Bulls
League	6th WHA
1977–78 record	36–41–3
Home record	23–16–2
Road record	13–25–1
Goals for	287
Goals against	314
Team information
Coach	Glen Sonmor, John F. Bassett
Captain	Dale Hoganson
Alternate captains	Paul Henderson Brent Hughes
Arena	Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex
Team leaders
Goals	Ken Linseman (38)
Assists	Peter Marrin (43)
Points	Ken Linseman (76)
Penalty minutes	Steve Durbano (284)
Wins	John Garrett (24)
Goals against average	John Garrett (3.81)

Regular season

Final standings

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points

WHA Team	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Winnipeg Jets	50	28	2	102	381	270	988
New England Whalers	44	31	5	93	335	269	1255
Houston Aeros	42	34	4	88	296	302	1543
Quebec Nordiques	40	37	3	83	349	347	1185
Edmonton Oilers	38	39	3	79	309	307	1296
Birmingham Bulls	36	41	3	75	287	314	2177
Cincinnati Stingers	35	42	3	73	298	332	1701
Indianapolis Racers	24	51	5	53	267	353	1189
Soviet All-Stars	3	4	1	7	27	36	120
Czechoslovakia All-Stars	1	6	1	3	21	40	87

Schedule and results

1977–78 regular season
October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 1 W October 14, 1977 5–3 Houston Aeros (1977–78) 1–0–0 2 L October 15, 1977 2–5 @ New England Whalers (1977–78) 1–1–0 3 L October 22, 1977 5–8 @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 1–2–0 4 L October 23, 1977 3–10 @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 1–3–0 5 L October 25, 1977 4–5 Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 1–4–0 6 L October 28, 1977 2–3 Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 1–5–0 7 L October 29, 1977 2–6 @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 1–6–0
November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 8 L November 2, 1977 3–5 @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) 1–7–0 9 L November 4, 1977 2–4 Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 1–8–0 10 W November 5, 1977 5–4 OT Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 2–8–0 11 L November 8, 1977 3–4 New England Whalers (1977–78) 2–9–0 12 L November 9, 1977 1–2 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 2–10–0 13 T November 12, 1977 1–1 Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 2–10–1 14 T November 16, 1977 2–2 @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 2–10–2 15 W November 18, 1977 2–1 @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 3–10–2 16 W November 19, 1977 4–3 Houston Aeros (1977–78) 4–10–2 17 L November 23, 1977 0–3 @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) 4–11–2 18 W November 24, 1977 12–2 Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 5–11–2 19 L November 26, 1977 2–4 @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 5–12–2 20 W November 27, 1977 4–3 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 6–12–2 21 L November 30, 1977 2–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 6–13–2
December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 22 W December 2, 1977 7–5 @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 7–13–2 23 W December 4, 1977 3–0 Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 8–13–2 24 L December 7, 1977 3–6 New England Whalers (1977–78) 8–14–2 25 L December 9, 1977 1–2 OT New England Whalers (1977–78) 8–15–2 26 W December 13, 1977 5–3 @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) 9–15–2 27 W December 15, 1977 5–3 Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 10–15–2 28 W December 18, 1977 3–2 Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 11–15–2 29 W December 21, 1977 5–0 Czechoslovakia (1977–78) 12–15–2 30 W December 26, 1977 6–1 Soviet All-Stars (1977–78) 13–15–2 31 L December 27, 1977 1–8 @ New England Whalers (1977–78) 13–16–2 32 W December 29, 1977 7–1 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 14–16–2 33 L December 30, 1977 2–6 @ New England Whalers (1977–78) 14–17–2
January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 34 L January 1, 1978 2–5 Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 14–18–2 35 L January 4, 1978 1–4 @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 14–19–2 36 W January 6, 1978 6–4 Houston Aeros (1977–78) 15–19–2 37 W January 8, 1978 5–4 @ New England Whalers (1977–78) 16–19–2 38 L January 10, 1978 4–6 @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 16–20–2 39 L January 11, 1978 2–11 @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 16–21–2 40 W January 14, 1978 4–3 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 17–21–2 41 W January 18, 1978 3–0 Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 18–21–2 42 W January 20, 1978 5–3 Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 19–21–2 43 L January 22, 1978 2–4 @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) 19–22–2 44 W January 25, 1978 6–2 Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 20–22–2 45 L January 27, 1978 2–6 New England Whalers (1977–78) 20–23–2 46 W January 28, 1978 8–5 Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 21–23–2 47 L January 31, 1978 2–4 Houston Aeros (1977–78) 21–24–2
February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 48 L February 2, 1978 2–4 Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 21–25–2 49 W February 4, 1978 5–2 Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 22–25–2 50 L February 5, 1978 1–6 @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 22–26–2 51 L February 7, 1978 3–8 @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 22–27–2 52 L February 8, 1978 0–9 @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 22–28–2 53 L February 12, 1978 0–7 @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 22–29–2 54 L February 14, 1978 1–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 22–30–2 55 W February 16, 1978 5–2 @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) 23–30–2 56 W February 17, 1978 5–4 OT Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 24–30–2 57 L February 18, 1978 2–3 Houston Aeros (1977–78) 24–31–2 58 L February 19, 1978 3–4 OT @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 24–32–2 59 W February 23, 1978 7–3 Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 25–32–2 60 W February 25, 1978 7–3 Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 26–32–2 61 L February 26, 1978 3–6 Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 26–33–2
March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 62 W March 1, 1978 4–3 Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 27–33–2 63 W March 4, 1978 5–2 @ New England Whalers (1977–78) 28–33–2 64 L March 5, 1978 3–4 Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 28–34–2 65 W March 9, 1978 9–2 Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 29–34–2 66 L March 10, 1978 4–5 OT New England Whalers (1977–78) 29–35–2 67 L March 12, 1978 2–3 @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 29–36–2 68 L March 14, 1978 0–6 @ New England Whalers (1977–78) 29–37–2 69 L March 15, 1978 2–7 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 29–38–2 70 W March 17, 1978 3–2 @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) 30–38–2 71 T March 19, 1978 3–3 Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 30–38–3 72 W March 21, 1978 5–4 @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 31–38–3 73 W March 22, 1978 5–3 @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 32–38–3 74 L March 24, 1978 3–4 OT Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 32–39–3 75 L March 25, 1978 1–3 Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 32–40–3 76 W March 31, 1978 5–2 Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) 33–40–3
April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 77 W April 1, 1978 5–1 Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 34–40–3 78 L April 5, 1978 4–5 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 34–41–3 79 W April 7, 1978 5–3 Houston Aeros (1977–78) 35–41–3 80 W April 9, 1978 9–7 @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 36–41–3
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1978 Avco Cup playoffs
Quarterfinals vs. Winnipeg Jets – Jets win 4–1 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series 1 April 14 Birmingham Bulls 3–9 Winnipeg Jets 1–0 2 April 16 Birmingham Bulls 3–8 Winnipeg Jets 2–0 3 April 19 Winnipeg Jets 2–3 Birmingham Bulls 2–1 4 April 21 Winnipeg Jets 5–1 Birmingham Bulls 3–1 5 April 23 Birmingham Bulls 2–5 Winnipeg Jets 4–1
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Ken Linseman C 71 38 38 76 126 6 5 4 0 Peter Marrin C 80 28 43 71 53 9 7 1 0 Paul Henderson RW 80 37 29 66 22 4 11 1 0 Mark Napier RW 79 33 32 65 90 −11 14 0 0 Brent Hughes D 80 9 35 44 48 12 3 0 0 Tony Cassolato RW 77 18 25 43 59 −3 4 0 0 Dave Gorman RW 63 19 21 40 93 18 2 0 0 John Stewart C 48 13 26 39 52 13 2 1 0 Frank Mahovlich LW 72 14 24 38 22 −5 6 0 0 Serge Beaudoin D 64 8 25 33 105 14 1 0 0 Joe Noris C/D 45 9 19 28 6 −9 0 0 0 Phil Roberto RW 53 8 20 28 91 7 0 0 0 Jim Turkiewicz D 78 3 21 24 45 10 0 0 0 Dave Hanson D 42 7 16 23 241 10 0 0 0 Rod Langway D 52 3 18 21 52 10 0 0 0 Steve Alley LW 27 8 12 20 11 17 1 0 0 Frank Beaton LW 56 6 9 15 279 −8 0 1 0 Bob Stephenson RW 39 7 6 13 33 −2 0 0 0 Dale Hoganson D 43 1 12 13 29 −6 0 0 0 Pat Westrum D 77 2 10 12 97 −7 0 0 0 Steve Durbano D 45 6 4 10 284 −12 1 0 0 Tim Sheehy RW 13 4 2 6 5 −14 2 0 0 Vaclav Nedomansky RW 12 2 3 5 6 −9 1 0 0 Gilles Bilodeau LW 59 2 2 4 258 −14 0 0 0 Chris Evans D 12 1 2 3 4 −7 0 0 0 John Garrett G 58 0 3 3 26 0 0 0 0 Wayne Wood G 32 0 3 3 22 0 0 0 0 Paul Terbenche D 11 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 Danny Arndt LW 4 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO John Garrett 3306 58 24 31 1 210 3.81 2 Wayne Wood 1551 32 12 10 2 99 3.83 1 Team: 4857 80 36 41 3 309 3.82 3

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG Ken Linseman C 5 2 2 4 15 0 0 0 Peter Marrin C 5 0 3 3 2 0 0 0 Frank Beaton LW 5 2 0 2 10 0 0 0 Dave Gorman RW 4 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 Paul Henderson RW 5 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 Frank Mahovlich LW 3 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 John Stewart C 5 1 1 2 6 0 0 1 Jim Turkiewicz D 5 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 Steve Durbano D 4 0 2 2 16 0 0 0 Mark Napier RW 5 0 2 2 14 0 0 0 Steve Alley LW 5 1 0 1 5 0 0 0 Serge Beaudoin D 5 1 0 1 46 0 0 0 Phil Roberto RW 4 1 0 1 20 0 0 0 Dave Hanson D 5 0 1 1 48 0 0 0 Pat Westrum D 3 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 Gilles Bilodeau LW 3 0 0 0 27 0 0 0 Tony Cassolato RW 4 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 John Garrett G 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dale Hoganson D 5 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 Brent Hughes D 5 0 0 0 12 0 0 0 Rod Langway D 4 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 Wayne Wood G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO John Garrett 271 5 1 4 26 5.76 0 Wayne Wood 29 1 0 0 3 6.21 0 Team: 300 5 1 4 29 5.80 0

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts;

Draft picks

Birmingham's draft picks at the 1977 WHA Amateur Draft.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	6	Rod Langway (D)	United States	University of New Hampshire (ECAC)
2	12	Brad Maxwell (D)	Canada	New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
3	22	Mark Johnson (F)	United States	University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
4	31	Norm Dupont (LW)	Canada	Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)
5	40	Steve Baker (G)	United States	Union College (ECAC-2)
6	49	Greg Tebbutt (D)	Canada	Regina Pats (WCHL)
7	58	Bob Suter (D)	United States	University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
8	67	Curt Christopherson (D)	United States	Colorado College (WCHA)
9	75	Jean Savard (F)	Canada	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
10	83	Ken Linseman (F)	Canada	Kingston Canadians (OHA)

See also

• 1977–78 NHL season