1972–73 Alberta Oilers season – Wikipedia
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WHA hockey team season (inaugural season)
The 1972–73 Alberta Oilers season was the Oilers’ first season, as one of twelve inaugural franchises of the now-defunct World Hockey Association (WHA).
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Regular season[edit]
The Oilers victory over the Ottawa Nationals on October 11, 1972, was the first game in league history, with Ron Anderson scoring the first goal.
Jim Harrison led the team in scoring, with 39 goals and 86 points. On January 30, 1973, in an 11–3 defeat of the New York Raiders, Harrison set a major professional hockey record with 10 points (3G, 7A) in a single game. That feat was later matched by Darryl Sittler on February 7, 1976, in a National Hockey League game.
The Oilers posted a winning record in the regular season, with 38 wins, 37 losses and 3 ties. The Minnesota Fighting Saints finished with an identical record, so a single game playoff was contested to decide fourth place in the Western Division. The Fighting Saints defeated the Oilers 4–2 on a neutral site rink (in Calgary), ending the Oilers season.
Season standings[edit]
Playoffs[edit]
The Oilers and the Minnesota Fighting Saints were tied at the end of the season. They had the same number of victories and points, and they had both won four games against each other. Subsequently, it was decided that the two teams would play a one-game playoff to decide the final spot in the playoffs, to be played in Calgary. The Oilers lost the game, and the Fighting Saints went on to play in the Quarterfinals.
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Player statistics[edit]
Skaters[edit]
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties In Minutes
†Denotes player traded to the Oilers mid-season.
‡Denotes player traded away mid-season.
Statistics for all players reflect only games played with the Oilers.
Goaltenders[edit]
Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | SO | SV% | GAA | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | SV% | GAA | |
| Jack Norris | 64 | 3705 | 28 | 29 | 3 | 189 | 1 | 0.903 | 3.06 | 1 | 59 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0.833 | 4.07 |
| Ken Brown | 20 | 1034 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 63 | 1 | 0.883 | 3.65 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Awards and records[edit]
Four Oilers were selected to play in the mid-season All-Star Game on January 6:
Milestones[edit]
| Regular Season | |||||||||
| Player | Milestone | Reached | |||||||
| Ron Anderson | 1st WHA Game 1st WHA Goal 1st WHA Point |
October 11, 1972 | |||||||
| Bill Hicke | |||||||||
| Eddie Joyal | |||||||||
| Ron Walters | |||||||||
| Ken Brown | 1st WHA Game 1st WHA Win |
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| Steve Carlyle | 1st WHA Game 1st WHA Assist 1st WHA Point |
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| John Fisher | |||||||||
| Val Fonteyne | |||||||||
| Al Hamilton | |||||||||
| Bob McAneeley | |||||||||
| Bob Wall | |||||||||
| Bob Falkenberg | 1st WHA Game | ||||||||
| Ed Patenaude | |||||||||
| Jim Harrison | 1st WHA Game 1st WHA Goal 1st WHA Assist 1st WHA Point |
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| Jack Norris | 1st WHA Game | October 13, 1972 | |||||||
| Roger Côté | 1st WHA Goal 1st WHA Point |
October 15, 1972 | |||||||
| Val Fonteyne | 1st WHA Goal | ||||||||
| Eddie Joyal | 1st WHA Assist | ||||||||
| Ron Walters | |||||||||
| Ron Anderson | 1st WHA Assist | October 17, 1972 | |||||||
| Jack Norris | 1st WHA Win | ||||||||
| Bob Falkenberg | 1st WHA Assist 1st WHA Point |
October 20, 1972 | |||||||
| Ed Patenaude | 1st WHA Goal 1st WHA Assist 1st WHA Point |
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| Ron Walters | 1st WHA Hat-trick | ||||||||
| Brian Carlin | 1st WHA Goal 1st WHA Point |
October 24, 1972 | |||||||
| Bill Hicke | 1st WHA Assist | ||||||||
| Dennis Kassian | 1st WHA Goal 1st WHA Point |
October 28, 1972 | |||||||
| Ross Perkins | 1st WHA Assist 1st WHA Point |
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| Ken Baird | 1st WHA Assist 1st WHA Point |
October 29, 1972 | |||||||
| Ross Perkins | 1st WHA Goal | ||||||||
| Doug Barrie | 1st WHA Goal 1st WHA Point |
November 3, 1972 | |||||||
| Brian Carlin | 1st WHA Assist | ||||||||
| Bob Wall | 1st WHA Goal | ||||||||
| Dennis Kassian | 1st WHA Assist | November 5, 1972 | |||||||
| Doug Barrie | |||||||||
| Steve Carlyle | 1st WHA Goal | November 7, 1972 | |||||||
| Al Hamilton | |||||||||
| Ken Baird | 1st WHA Goal | November 9, 1972 | |||||||
| Bob Falkenberg | 1st WHA Goal | November 11, 1972 | |||||||
| Jim Benzelock | 1st WHA Assist 1st WHA Point |
November 25, 1972 | |||||||
| Bob McAneeley | 1st WHA Goal | November 30, 1972 | |||||||
| Jim Benzelock | 1st WHA Goal | December 12, 1972 | |||||||
| Roger Côté | 1st WHA Assist | December 21, 1972 | |||||||
| Jim Harrison | 1st WHA Gordie Howe hat trick | ||||||||
| Ross Perkins | 1st WHA Hat-Trick | January 1, 1973 | |||||||
| Jack Norris | 1st WHA Assist | January 16, 1973 | |||||||
| Jim Harrison | 1st WHA Hat-Trick | January 30, 1973 | |||||||
| Jack Norris | 1st WHA Shutout | February 9, 1973 | |||||||
| Al Hamilton | 100th WHA PIM | February 27, 1973 | |||||||
| Ken Baird | 100th WHA PIM | March 17, 1973 | |||||||
| Ken Brown | 1st WHA Shutout | ||||||||
| Jim Harrison | 2nd WHA Gordie Howe hat trick | ||||||||
| Doug Barrie | 100th WHA PIM | March 28, 1973 | |||||||
| Ken Baird | 1st WHA Game | TBD | |||||||
| Doug Barrie | |||||||||
| Jim Benzelock | |||||||||
| Brian Carlin | |||||||||
| Roger Côté | |||||||||
| Derek Harker | |||||||||
| Dennis Kassian | |||||||||
| Ross Perkins | |||||||||
Transactions[edit]
Draft picks[edit]
The WHA General Player Draft was held on February 12–13, 1972 to stock each new WHA team with their initial rosters. The Oilers selected four NHL players with their “priority” selections:
Ullman and MacGregor would eventually play for the Oilers, but not for the 1972–73 season. Both were Edmonton-born players who finished their playing careers with the Oilers after long NHL careers.
The Oilers selected an additional 96 players in subsequent rounds of the draft. Of those, 22 players would play for the Oilers, 16 in the 1972–73 season.
Trades[edit]
Free Agents[edit]
References[edit]
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