Today in Hockey History (1973)

May 6th 1973

The New England Whalers beat the Winnipeg Jets 9-6 in Hartford, Conn. to win the 1st WHA Hockey Championship Avco World Trophy.  

 New England won the Series 4 games to 1.

In the deciding game Larry Pleau scored a hat trick.  After winning the game, the Avco World Trophy had not yet been completed.  As a result of the this the Whalers skated their "victory lap" with their divisional trophy causing an embarrassment for the WHA officials.

1976 27 Dec. WHA Super Series '76-'77 New England Whalers upsets USSR, 5--2

December 27th 1976

 WHA Super Series '76-'77 

New England Whalers upsets USSR, 5--2

WE LOVE HOCKEY!

June 27th 1972 Bobby Hull signs with the World Hockey Association's Winnipeg Jets

below is a young Brett Hull holding the New England Whalers logo

Today in Hockey History

1973 - 1st WHA championship, New England Whalers beat Winnipeg Jets, 4 games to 1 and win the Avco World Trophy.

This was the culmination of the first WHA regular season and playoffs. The 2 best teams in the regular season were the Whalers, who won the Eastern division with 94 points and the Winnipeg Jets who won the Western Division with 90 points.

The playoffs saw the Whalers lose only 2 games on the way to the WHA Finals series and the Jets lost only one. The Whalers disposed of the Ottawa Nationals 4-1 and then the Cleveland Crusaders 4-1 while the Jets whipped Minnesota Fighting Saints 4-1 and romped over the Houston Aeros with a sweep 4-0.

The finals continued a trend as the Whalers took the series and the Avco World Trophy 4 games to 1. The 5th and deciding game was a 9-6 win for the Whalers with Larry Pleau getting a hat trick for the champs.

The Jets had come into the playoffs with 3 of the leagues top 10 scorers in Bobby Hull, Norm Beaudin and Chris Bordeleau. The Whalers had Tom Webster and Terry Caffery in the top ten of the leading point getters.