1972–73 Los Angeles Sharks season

1972–73 Los Angeles Sharks
Division3rd Western
1972–73 record37–35–6
Home record18-20-1
Road record19-15-5
Goals for259
Goals against250
Team information
General managerDennis Murphy
CoachTerry Slater
CaptainTed McCaskill
Alternate captainsEarl Heiskala
Gerry Odrowski
Jim Watson
ArenaLos Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (35 games)
Long Beach Arena (4 games)
Average attendance5,982 (41.7%)
Team leaders
GoalsGary Veneruzzo (43)
AssistsJ.P. LeBlanc (50)
PointsGary Veneruzzo (73)
Penalty minutesTom Gilmore (191)
WinsGeorge Gardner (19)
Goals against averageRuss Gillow (2.88)

[1][2]

Offseason

The WHA awarded a franchise to Los Angeles and it was originally called the "Los Angeles Aces," while the San Francisco franchise was called the Sharks. However, when funding fell through and the San Francisco franchise was then moved to Quebec to become the Nordiques, the Los Angeles group took the name Sharks and created the stylized menacing shark logo. The team colors of red and black were based on the original nickname "aces", being that the two colors in a deck of cards are red and black.

Regular season

The Sharks hung around the .500 mark for much of the season. The Winnipeg Jets, led by Bobby Hull, were clearly the class of the WHA's Western Division. Four teams (the Houston Aeros, Minnesota Fighting Saints, Alberta Oilers, and Sharks staged a season long see-saw battle for 2nd through 5th place, with only the top four making the playoffs (The Chicago Cougars finished in a distant 6th place).

The Sharks strength was their defense, which ranked 3rd in the league. Bart Crashley, Gerry Odrowski, and Jim Watson anchored the blue line. George Gardner (GAA 3.30) was a capable #1 goalie for the first half of the season, while 32-year-old rookie Russ Gillow (2.91 GAA) took over the top spot for most of the second half. In fact, Gillow was second in the WHA to Gerry Cheevers in GAA.

The offense had quality but lacked depth. It was led by 43 goal scorer Gary Veneruzzo while Alton White was 2nd on the team in goals with 20. Veneruzzo also led the team in points with 73, followed by playmaking center J.P. LeBlanc (19 goals and 50 assists for 69 points), and defenseman Bart Crashley, who anchored the power play and chipped in 18 goals and 27 assists.

Sharks special teams were solid, ranking 4th in the league in power play and 5th in penalty killing.

Ultimately, the Sharks went 6–3–1 in their last 10 games, including winning their last two to climb from 5th place to 3rd.

Final standings
Western Division
GP W L T GF GA PIM Pts
Winnipeg Jets784331428524975790
Houston Aeros7839354284269136382
Los Angeles Sharks7837356259250147780
Minnesota Fighting Saints783837325026984379
Alberta Oilers7838373269256113479
Chicago Cougars782650224529581154

Game log
Regular season schedule
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1LOctober 13, 19722–3Houston Aeros (1972–73)0–1–0
2WOctober 15, 19725–1@ Houston Aeros (1972–73)1–1–0
3WOctober 17, 19725–1@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73)2–1–0
4WOctober 19, 19724–2Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73)3–1–0
5LOctober 22, 19722–4Chicago Cougars (1972–73)3–2–0
6LOctober 25, 19725–8Ottawa Nationals (1972–73)3–3–0
7LOctober 27, 19724–5@ Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73)3–4–0
8WOctober 28, 19724–3 OT@ New York Raiders (1972–73)4–4–0
9WOctober 31, 19724–2@ Quebec Nordiques (1972–73)5–4–0
10TNovember 2, 19721–1@ Ottawa Nationals (1972–73)5–4–1
11WNovember 4, 19723–2 OT@ Chicago Cougars (1972–73)6–4–1
12WNovember 5, 19724–0Houston Aeros (1972–73)7–4–1
13WNovember 8, 19722–1New York Raiders (1972–73)8–4–1
14LNovember 9, 19722–7@ Alberta Oilers (1972–73)8–5–1
15LNovember 11, 19723–5@ Alberta Oilers (1972–73)8–6–1
16LNovember 12, 19722–5@ Winnipeg Jets (1972–73)8–7–1
17LNovember 14, 19720–8@ Winnipeg Jets (1972–73)8–8–1
18WNovember 15, 19726–4@ Houston Aeros (1972–73)9–8–1
19LNovember 17, 19721–5Winnipeg Jets (1972–73)9–9–1
20LNovember 19, 19723–4Winnipeg Jets (1972–73)9–10–1
21LNovember 21, 19722–5Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73)9–11–1
22LNovember 23, 19723–4@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73)9–12–1
23LNovember 24, 19722–3 OT@ Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73)9–13–1
24WNovember 26, 19726–2@ New York Raiders (1972–73)10–13–1
25LNovember 28, 19723–4@ Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73)10–14–1
26WNovember 30, 19726–3Houston Aeros (1972–73)11–14–1
27WDecember 1, 19725–3@ Chicago Cougars (1972–73)12–14–1
28WDecember 2, 19724–2@ Chicago Cougars (1972–73)13–14–1
29WDecember 8, 19724–2Alberta Oilers (1972–73)14–14–1
30WDecember 10, 19725–3Alberta Oilers (1972–73)15–14–1
31TDecember 12, 19723–3Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73)15–14–2
32LDecember 14, 19722–5New England Whalers (1972–73)15–15–2
33TDecember 17, 19724–4@ Houston Aeros (1972–73)15–15–3
34LDecember 19, 19725–7@ Houston Aeros (1972–73)15–16–3
35TDecember 21, 19724–4@ Ottawa Nationals (1972–73)15–16–4
36LDecember 23, 19721–2@ Quebec Nordiques (1972–73)15–17–4
37WDecember 24, 19725–3@ New England Whalers (1972–73)16–17–4
38LDecember 28, 19722–4Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73)16–18–4
39WDecember 29, 19725–2Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73)17–18–4
40LDecember 31, 19721–3Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73)17–19–4
41WJanuary 9, 19734–3 OT@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73)18–19–4
42WJanuary 10, 19738–5@ Chicago Cougars (1972–73)19–19–4
43LJanuary 12, 19731–2Alberta Oilers (1972–73)19–20–4
44LJanuary 13, 19731–4Alberta Oilers (1972–73)19–21–4
45WJanuary 15, 19734–3@ Alberta Oilers (1972–73)20–21–4
46LJanuary 16, 19735–6 OT@ Alberta Oilers (1972–73)20–22–4
47LJanuary 19, 19731–4Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73)20–23–4
48WJanuary 21, 19733–2Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73)21–23–4
49LJanuary 26, 19734–5 OTNew York Raiders (1972–73)21–24–4
50WJanuary 28, 19739–2New York Raiders (1972–73)22–24–4
51WJanuary 30, 19735–2@ Houston Aeros (1972–73)23–24–4
52WFebruary 2, 19733–1New England Whalers (1972–73)24–24–4
53WFebruary 4, 19734–3New England Whalers (1972–73)25–24–4
54WFebruary 8, 19733–1Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73)26–24–4
55LFebruary 10, 19735–6 OTWinnipeg Jets (1972–73)26–25–4
56LFebruary 11, 19730–3Winnipeg Jets (1972–73)26–26–4
57LFebruary 13, 19731–6Chicago Cougars (1972–73)26–27–4
58LFebruary 15, 19735–6@ New England Whalers (1972–73)26–28–4
59TFebruary 16, 19732–2@ Quebec Nordiques (1972–73)26–28–5
60WFebruary 18, 19734–1@ Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73)27–28–5
61WFebruary 20, 19734–2@ Ottawa Nationals (1972–73)28–28–5
62LFebruary 24, 19733–5Quebec Nordiques (1972–73)28–29–5
63WFebruary 25, 19734–2Quebec Nordiques (1972–73)29–29–5
64WMarch 1, 19734–1@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–73)30–29–5
65LMarch 2, 19731–2@ Winnipeg Jets (1972–73)30–30–5
66LMarch 4, 19731–2@ Winnipeg Jets (1972–73)30–31–5
67WMarch 6, 19733–2 OTQuebec Nordiques (1972–73)31–31–5
68LMarch 7, 19731–3Houston Aeros (1972–73)31–32–5
69WMarch 9, 19735–1Houston Aeros (1972–73)32–32–5
70WMarch 11, 19734–2Ottawa Nationals (1972–73)33–32–5
71LMarch 13, 19731–3Ottawa Nationals (1972–73)33–33–5
72WMarch 15, 19736–2@ New York Raiders (1972–73)34–33–5
73WMarch 17, 19732–0@ Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73)35–33–5
74TMarch 19, 19735–5@ Cleveland Crusaders (1972–73)35–33–6
75LMarch 20, 19731–4@ New England Whalers (1972–73)35–34–6
76LMarch 23, 19733–7Philadelphia Blazers (1972–73)35–35–6
77WMarch 25, 19731–0Chicago Cougars (1972–73)36–35–6
78WMarch 27, 19734–1Chicago Cougars (1972–73)37–35–6

[3]

Playoffs

The Sharks' 3rd place finish enabled them to avoid a first round matchup with Bobby Hull's powerful Winnipeg Jets and earned them a series with the 2nd place Houston Aeros, who finished 2 points ahead of the Sharks in the standings.

After opening in Houston with an uninspired 7–2 loss, the Sharks bounced back to win game two by a 4–2 score. Heading back to L.A. with a split, the Sharks won a thrilling game three by a score of 3–2; goalie Russ Gillow made several spectacular saves to preserve the win. The turning point was game four. The clubs battled through regulation tied at 2; if the Sharks scored the next goal, they would have a commanding 3–1 series lead but if Houston scored, the series would be tied going back to Houston. Winger Murray Hall scored for Houston, and the Sharks didn't win another game, losing game five 6–3 and game six, 3–2. After the series, coach Terry Slater was criticized for starting George Gardner in games 1 and 5 despite the fact Gillow played better the second half of the season. Gardner was pulled in game 1 (a 7–2 loss) and did not play well in game 5 (a 6–3 loss). Garnder's GAA for the series was 5.69 while Gillow's was 2.91. Slater stated he wanted the veteran Gardner to start game 1 over the rookie Gillow.

Houston Aeros 4, Los Angeles Sharks 2 - Semifinals
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1April 5Los Angeles Sharks2–7Houston Aeros0–1
2April 7Los Angeles Sharks4–2Houston Aeros1–1
3April 11Houston Aeros2–3Los Angeles Sharks2–1
4April 13Houston Aeros3–2 OTLos Angeles Sharks2–2
5April 15Los Angeles Sharks3–6Houston Aeros2–3
6April 17Houston Aeros3–2Los Angeles Sharks2–4

Player stats
Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Gary VeneruzzoW784330733401305
J.P. LeBlancC77195069490213
Bart CrashleyD70182745100700
Joe SzuraC73133245250300
Alton WhiteRW57201737220200
Tom ServissC73112637320030
Gerry OdrowskiD7863137890010
Mike ByersRW56191736200200
Tom GilmoreLW711718351910600
Earl HeiskalaLW701217291500200
Jim NiekampD78722291550010
Bill YoungLW50141226460600
Peter SlaterRW73121224870300
Ralph MacSweynD7802323390000
Ted McCaskillC731111221500020
Jim WatsonD75515201230100
Steve SutherlandLW4411617980000
Fred SpeckC2831316220000
Mike HyndmanRW198715110100
Bernie MacNeilLW424711480000
Bob JonesLW2027980100
Howie HeggedalLW821300100
Jarda KrupickaRW610120000
Larry MavetyD210120100
George GardnerG4901120000
Russ GillowG3800060000
Mike JakuboC700000000
Bob PerreaultG100000000
Jerry ZrymiakD100000000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
George Gardner271349192241493.301
Russ Gillow19823817132962.912
Bob Perreault60110022.000
Team:475578373562473.123
Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Fred SpeckC63252100
Ted McCaskillC623512000
J.P. LeBlancC60552000
Tom GilmoreLW51342000
Gary VeneruzzoW63034101
Jim NiekampD621310000
Ralph MacSweynD61234000
Gerry OdrowskiD61236001
Mike HyndmanRW603317000
Earl HeiskalaLW51124100
Bart CrashleyD60222000
Steve SutherlandLW60228000
Alton WhiteRW61010100
Jerry ZrymiakD21012000
Jim WatsonD40112000
George GardnerG30000000
Russ GillowG50000000
Howie HeggedalLW10000000
Bernie MacNeilLW30004000
Tom ServissC60000000
Peter SlaterRW60002000
Joe SzuraC20000000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
George Gardner116312115.690
Russ Gillow247512122.910
Team:363624233.800

[4]

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

3rd round, 8th pick (32nd overall pick) – Robert Klein, D – Kamloops

See also

References
  1. World Hockey Association (1972). WHA 1972-73 Media Guide. World Hockey Association.
  2. World Hockey Association (1973). WHA 1973-74 Media Guide. World Hockey Association.
  3. "1972–73 Los Angeles Sharks Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
  4. "1972-73 Los Angeles Sharks Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
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