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The 1976–77 Southern Hockey League season was the fourth and final season of the Southern Hockey League. The Roanoke Valley Rebels ceased operations, and two new teams were added for the season.[1] The Baltimore Clippers transferred from the American Hockey League, and the Richmond Wildcats were an expansion team. Both the Richmond Wildcats and Greensboro Generals folded on January 3, 1977 due to financial problems.[2][3] On January 7, the Tidewater Sharks folded after missing payroll, and the Winston-Salem Polar Twins pulled the Polar Twins out of the league.[2][3] The remaining three teams considered adding a fourth team, but the league was short on funds when Greensboro and Winston-Salem defaulted on $25,000 loans.[4] The league also considered playing a round-robin tournament to determine a champion, or develop an interlocking schedule with either the North American Hockey League or the International Hockey League.[2] On January 22, 1977, both the NAHL and IHL rejected the proposal, and the final game was played on January 31, 1977, although the league planned on playing a 1977–78 season.[2]
Final standings of the regular season.[1]
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hampton Gulls | 50 | 32 | 16 | 2 | 198 | 152 | 66 |
| Tidewater Sharks | 41 | 26 | 13 | 2 | 158 | 131 | 54 |
| Charlotte Checkers | 50 | 22 | 25 | 3 | 180 | 186 | 47 |
| Baltimore Clippers | 47 | 21 | 24 | 2 | 182 | 169 | 44 |
| Richmond Wildcats | 38 | 21 | 16 | 1 | 160 | 144 | 43 |
| Greensboro Generals | 40 | 15 | 24 | 1 | 140 | 173 | 31 |
| Winston-Salem Polar Twins | 42 | 11 | 30 | 1 | 130 | 193 | 23 |
Southern Hockey League franchises were primarily affiliated with World Hockey Association teams, however some also had agreements with National Hockey League teams. Summary of WHA/NHL affiliation agreements:
| SHL team | WHA parent clubs | NHL parent clubs |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Clippers[5] | Edmonton Oilers | none |
| Charlotte Checkers[6] | Birmingham Bulls Winnipeg Jets | Buffalo Sabres |
| Greensboro Generals[7] | none | Atlanta Flames Cleveland Barons Colorado Rockies |
| Hampton Gulls[8] | Cincinnati Stingers Minnesota Fighting Saints | none |
| Richmond Wildcats[9] | none | New York Rangers St. Louis Blues |
| Tidewater Sharks[10] | Calgary Cowboys | none |
| Winston-Salem Polar Twins[11] | none | New York Rangers |
Top 10 SHL points scoring leaders.[12]
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Don Grierson | Baltimore | 30 | 45 | 75 |
| 2 | Claude Chartre | Hampton | 20 | 38 | 58 |
| 3 | Paul O'Neil | Hampton | 21 | 34 | 55 |
| 4 | Jack Surbey | Charlotte | 21 | 32 | 53 |
| 5 | Ted Long | Hampton | 16 | 36 | 52 |
| 5 | Ron Morgan | Hampton | 21 | 31 | 52 |
| 7 | Cam Colborne | Greensboro/Charlotte | 14 | 34 | 48 |
| 7 | Dan Djakalovic | Hampton | 18 | 30 | 48 |
| 9 | Pat Donnelly | Hampton | 23 | 24 | 47 |
| 9 | Ken Gassoff | Winston-Salem | 16 | 31 | 47 |
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